MADE IN 2002 - RYOJI MATSUOKA MH100 - VERY LOVELY HAUSER STYLE CLASSICAL GUITAR

Ryoji Matsuoka MH100 2002

This guitar was made in 2002 and it was a midrange model in entire Matsuoka lineup of that era.

In early 2000s the lower priced Matsuoka models were M50, M65, M75/MH75 (all made with cedar tops and laminated Indian rosewood b/s and rosewood fingerboards).  

These Hauser style guitars were introduced by Matsuoka in 1978 and made in Japan until 2014.  

Even though it was not the top of the line, nor it matches the magnitude of MH100 guitar from 1978, it certainly is a great instrument, which in terms of volume and tonality exceeds model MH100 made in 2012 and many guitars currently sold in USA for $2500+.

It offers quite impressive volume and response, combined with sweetly charming tonality, relatively deep and rich with overtones basses and clear & sweet trebles. All notes are magnified by great sustain. With its current action it is also easy to play, hence great find for devoted student.    

Despite its age this guitar remains in very good overall condition. The condition of its fingerboard and frets sugessts that it hasn’t been played a lot during its lifespan. Its only imperfections are of cosmetic nature: several very minor marks in various places and one dent/chip on the side of its headstock being the most conspicuous one. Visible on the pictures, mild cloudiness of its finishes is hardly noticeable in regular light.  

Specifications:

Top: Solid Spruce/ Hauser style bracing

Back and Sides: very high grade Indian Rosewood laminates

Neck: Mahogany

Fingerboard: Ebony

Scale: 650 mm

Nut width: 52 mm

Current action is set to 3.20 mm under E6 and 2.80 mm under E1 with still extra room on the saddle.

Guitar will be shipped in used hard shell case in still good condition.  

Some other relevant info:

Ryoji Matsuoka was well known Japanese guitar maker who has been producing guitars in Nagoya, Japan since the 1960s. Nagoya is Japan’s 4th largest city and a major industrial port city located on the main island of Honshu in Aichi prefecture.
The Nagoya/Aichi/Kani area (Kani is the prefecture next to Aichee) is one of Japan’s major musical instrument making centers. The city and the outlying areas have a long classical guitar making history with many small shops producing guitars. Major guitar and violin makers include Matsumoku Industrial, Suzuki, Takaharu, Sada Yairi, Kazuo Yairi (Kani), Daion, Yamaki, Ibanez/Hoshino, and Ryoji Matsuoka. Additionally, there are numerous small guitar shops and factories that contract to larger firms, such as Yamaha in Hamamatsu.
The Ryoji Matsuoka guitar works was a small scale guitar manufacturer with less than 15 employees. For a few years during the 1960s and early 1970s, Matsuoka produced the higher end Aria guitar models for Shiro Arai, founder of Aria . These Aria models either have Ryoji Matsuoka's name on the label or are marked RM with a red stamp on the neck block. Matsuoka also made some models for Ibanez, including a few steel string flatop and archtop models.
During the early 1970s, Matsuoka produced Fleta, Hauser, Kohno and Rubio. The copies of Kohno guitars with 2 ebony strips in the necks and higher grade spruce tops were made in much greater numbers than copies of other luthiers. They were also sold at higher price.

From 1975 to 1980 the company produced their own line of guitars: the concert, artist and artisan series.
The Concert series includes the M20 (solid spruce top, nato neck), M30 (solid spruce top, mahogany neck), M40 (solid spruce top, mahogany neck). All 3 models have laminated rosewood back and sides and rosewood fingerboards.
The Artist Series includes the M50 and M60. These guitars have better quality spruce tops and were made in several versions. Some of them, less expensive versions, were made with laminated Indian Rosewood or laminated Jacaranda back and sides, ebony fingerboards and plain neck. On the other end of the spectrum there were also all solid versions with Solid Indian rosewood or solid Jacaranda back and sides, with one or double Ebony reinforcement in the neck.
The Old World Artisan Series includes the M70 and M80, made with all solid woods and one-piece mahogany necks.
During the 1980s and early 1990s, Matsuoka models included the M50, M60, M70, M80, M100, M150, M200, and M300 with Ramirez style headstock and models MH100, MH150, MH200, MH300 with Hauzer style headstock. All of them were made with solid Spruce tops. M50, M60, M70 were made either with laminated back and sides or as all solid guitars. All other models were all solid wood guitars.

In the late 1990-ties models M65 and M75 with Cedar tops were added to the production line mostly with laminated back and sides.

To make matters little more complicated, by the end of 1990-ties some Spruce top models were also made with Cedar top without any change on the label. So we can for example encounter model M60 with either Spruce or Cedar top. Most likely each guitar was sold with attached precise specification.

Since early 1990-ties Matsuoka has also been making guitars for Aranjuez label (launched in early 1970s by Masaru) and lower priced cosmetic copies of a Mathias Dammann classical guitars (they were not exact copies). The top Aranjuez model M720 has been made in cooperation with Kohno/Sakurai workshop. Masaru Kohno and later Masaki Sakurai were making tops with their superb bracing, while Ryoji Matsuoka was responsible for all other parts and final assembly. This cooperation continues until today between Toshiaki Matsuoka and Masaki Sakurai. These M720 guitars with Matsuoka and Sakurai labels offer exceptional quality of sound at moderate price. They are sold at Guitar Salon International in Santa Monica, CA for $2700.

Since 1986 Matsuoka Co. was managed by Ryoji's son and also great luthier Toshiaki Matsuoka. Soon after Ryoji's death in September of 2014, his workshop's website disappeared from internet and production of "made in Japan" Matsuoka guitars ended. As of today, all brand new Matsuoka guitars available on Japanese market are made in China. Available models are: M70(MH70) through M180(MH180).