BARGAIN - SUMIO KUROSAWA CUSTOM 30 1986 - YAMAHA GC70 CLASS CLASSICAL CONCERT GUITAR - SPRUCE/BRAZILIAN ROSEWOOD

YOU ARE LOOKING AT A WORLD CLASS INSTRUMENT PRICED AT THE BARGAIN LEVEL. JAPANESE MADE BRAND NEW GUITARS OF THE SAME CLASS MADE WITH OLD GROWTH BRAZILIAN ROSEWOOD (ORNAMENTAL PURFLINGS AND BEAUTIFULLY CURVED HEADSTOCKS) ARE PRICED MINIMUM $18000USD. DISCONTINUED IN 2025 YAMAHA GC70 WAS PRICED AT THAT LEVEL.

This terrific guitar was custom made in 1986 by Japanese elite luthier Sumio Kurosawa for a lady whose name is written on the label. It was priced 300000 yen just like Sumio’s model 30, his second best model of that era. 

Sumio Kurosawa studied guitar making under his uncle, Tsunesaburo from 1958 and moved to Spain in 1963. There he studied with Victoriano Aguado for a couple years and returned to Japan. He established his own workshop in the early 1970s. Since that time, he became one of most regarded luthiers in Japan. By early 1990s he was already a permanent member of Japanese Luthier’s Elite. He could price his guitars at the same level as other most prominent Japanese classical guitar makers of that era: Masaru Kohno, Sakazo Nakade, Toshihiko Nakade and Yamaha’s Hideyuki Ezaki.  Sumio passed away in 2025. 

This guitar was priced 300 000 yen, just like Masaru Kohno’s model Professional J.  Both guitars represent very similar levels but have their own unique tonality. Briefly speaking, Sumio’s guitars are sweeter and more lyrical.

Here you have few other guitars from the same era sold at the same price:

https://reverb.com/item/88051613-made-in-1982-hiroshi-komori-no30-world-highest-class-classical-concert-guitar-spruce-brazilian-rosewood

https://reverb.com/item/77672994-made-in-1981-yukinobu-chai-no30-santos-hernandez-class-classical-concert-guitar-spruce-brazilian-rosewood

https://reverb.com/item/44740184-made-in-1983-shunsuke-yokoo-no30-masaru-kohno-class-classical-concert-guitar-brazilian-rosewood

https://reverb.com/item/84761012-hideo-ida-custom-1987-heavenly-sounding-classical-concert-guitar-spruce-brazilian-rosewood

Sumio’s model 30 is certainly a very high-grade instrument that can easily compete not only with Kohno’s high end models of that era, but also great majority brand new guitars currently sold in USA at $10000 level (like Yamaha GC82). It offers uniquely sweet tonality combined with great volume and response, superb note clarity & separation, all enhanced by fantastic sustain. It is very lyrical and hard to put down guitar.

As of today, if you wanted to order a brand new guitar with any Latina America Rosewood b/s made by Japanese luthier it would cost you at least $8000. If you would like to place the same order with a leading Japanese luthier, the price would be $10000. If you wanted to order a French polished guitar with old growth Brazilian Rosewood b/s you would have to pay at least $18000 for it (like for Yamaha’s highest model GC70).  

This guitar remains in perfect working and good cosmetic condition. Its top bears a few showy dents and scratches. There are also a couple of small dents and scratches on the back plate. Although not very showy, the most “serious damage” is “scratched and cracked” small section of finish right above binding and purfling at the very edge of soundboard (located in lower right area of the soundboard). These finish cracks are stabilized by the glue applied externally. This kind of damage doesn’t affect the tonality or playability of the guitar, and there is no need for a repair unless you decide to "beautify" this area.  

Specifications:

Top: High Grade Solid Spruce/ Shellac

Back & Sides: Solid Brazilian Rosewood/Cashew lacquer

Neck: Mahogany with Ebony Insert

Fingerboard: Ebony

Scale: 650mm

Nut width: 51.5 mm

Action is set to 3.50 mm under E6 and 3.00 mm under E1 with still some extra room on the saddle.

Guitar will be shipped in original “Takabe” Hard Shell Case in very good condition

THE ONLY PURPOSE OF THIS CASE IS TO PROTECT THE GUITAR DURING SHIPMENT. I WILL NOT PROVIDE ITS DETAILED DESCRIPTION OR MAKE ADDITIONAL PICTURES, NOR I WILL ACCEPT ANY COMPLAINTS. IF YOU DON’T LIKE THIS CASE YOU WILL NEED TO BUY A DIFFERENT ONE.     

WHEN YOU BUY ANY GUITAR, YOU MUST ANTICIPATE TAKING IT TO YOUR LOCAL GUITAR SHOP FOR FINAL ADJUSTMENTS CALLED “SETUP”. DEPENIDNG ON YOUR PLAYING TECHNIQUE, THIS SETUP ON USED GUITARS MAY INCLUDE NEW CUSTOM-MADE NUT AND SADDLE. IF YOU HEAR STRING BUZZ IT DOESN’T MEAN THAT GUITAR IS DEFECTIVE. IF YOU PLAY HARD ENOUGH ALL BASS STRINGS WILL BUZZ OVER THE FRETS, UNLESS THEY ARE SUSPENDED VERY FAR FROM THE FINGERBOARD. UNLESS YOU PLAY QUITE GENTLY, YOU CAN’T HAVE LOW ACTION AND NO BUZZES. KEEP IN MIND THAT CELLO-LIKE BASSES ON HIGH GRADE CLASSICAL GUITARS HAVE THEIR NATURAL “BUZZ”. 

Real Value of Japanese Vintage Guitars

The key to understand value of vintage Japanese guitars is to acknowledge galloping price inflation throughout the late 1960s and 1970s with its peak of 25% in 1974.

During 1960s and most of 1970s model numbers of Japanese guitars were strictly connected with their prices in Japanese yen.

The same class guitar sold in 1970 for 100 000 yen (labelled as model 10), would be sold for 150 000 yen in 1972 (labelled as model 15), 200 000 yen in 1974 (labelled as model 20) and 300 000 yen in 1978 (labelled as model 30). Therefore, you shouldn’t be surprised that two Yamaha GC10 guitars made 10 years apart are two instruments of totally different class. The same rule applies to all guitar models made by all other Japanese makers.

Japanese inflation slowed down in the 1980s. By the early 1980s and during following decades model numbers were no longer strictly associated with their prices. Some Japanese guitar makers introduced model names instead of model numbers. For several economic reasons, since 1980s Japanese made guitars were becoming more and more expensive, while their exports slowing down. Today (2025) Japanese high end classical guitar models are priced at $20000USD level.