Masaru Kohno Kono 4-12 412 Early Golden Era Rare MIJ 1963

An authentic “Kono” guitar from his Golden Era, the years between when he studied under Fernandez in Spain and when he won the Gold metal at the International Guitar Competition in Belgium in 1967. During this time he had perfected his craft and was building guitars mainly by himself. After the gold metal his popularity skyrocketed and he had a number of apprentice builders in his shop. This one has the highly coveted gold letter label as well, a truly special guitar from the greatest Japanese luthier of all time.

If you are a collector I also have the guitar built immediately after this one, number 413 available so it’s a rare chance to own consecutive guitars from this small shop!

The guitar plays and sounds wonderful. The top is select solid spruce, the back and sides are solid rosewood. It sounds like you would expect a guitar that is pushing 60 years old, built by a master, and made from the best materials available should sound. Lush and full of tone!

The guitar is in good overall condition. There is a small crack right near the edge on the top, some dings and scratches here and there and the back of the headstock has severe scratches where someone probably removed the name of a previous owner. The tuners appear to be non-original but are vintage and work well. There are paint dots on the side of the neck that could be easily removed. The 6th string is 4.5mm at the 12th fret and there is about 3mm of saddle above the bridge. See pictures for condition.

Case: Road Runner padded gig bag
Scale Length: 650mm
Nut Width: 51mm
Frets Remaining: 7/10
Action at 12F (1st): 3.5mm
Action at 12F (6th): 4.5mm
Weight: 1574 grams
Overall Condition: 7/10
Cool Factor: 11 out of 10

USA Seller, check my feedback to see how I value my customers and see my other listings for more rare Japanese Guitars and other unique gear! I use recycled packaging for reduced environmental impact and ship all items 100% insured against loss or damage.