OSAMU NAKADE FC30 1994 - FELIPE CONDE CLASS FLAMENCO CONCERT GUITAR - CEDAR/BRAZILIAN ROSEWOOD

YOU ARE LOOKING AT A WORLD CLASS INSTRUMENT PRICED AT THE BARGAIN LEVEL. CURRENTLY MADE IN JAPAN BRAND NEW GUITARS OF THIS CLASS MADE WITH FIGURED OLD GROWTH BRAZILIAN ROSEWOOD ARE PRICED MINIMUM $18000USD. DISCONTINUED IN 2025 YAMAHA GC70 WAS PRICED AT THAT LEVEL. 

This guitar was custom made in 1994 by Osamu Nakade. The name of its original owner is handwritten on the label.

Osamu is the son of world famous Rokutaro Nakade. Rokutaro and his younger brother Sakazo were both the pioneers who greatly contributed to development of Modern Japanese Lutherie, years before Masaru Kohno emerged as the top Japanese luthier. Just like Sakazo's sons (Teruaki, Toshihiko and Yukio), Osamu was a very successful as independent guitar maker. He is highly regarded in Japan (especially for his flamenco guitars) but not very well known among Western players.

Just like it was true for Sakazo's sons Teruaki and Yukio, Osamu couldn't price his instruments at the same level as his uncle Sakazo, Masaru Kohno or his cousin Toshihiko, and had to accept much lower prices for his equally fine instruments.

This guitar was priced 300 000 yen in 1994 being one of highest end models among all Japanese made flamenco guitars of that era. If it was made by Masaru Kohno, it would be priced at least 500 000 yen.  

I hope you’d understand that when buying an instrument signed by famous maker, you often pay more for the label than guitar itself.

As of today, if you wanted to order similar class brand new guitar made by Japanese luthier with figured Brazilian Rosewood b/s it would cost you minimum $15000. If you would like to place the same order with a Japanese elite luthier, the price could easily be $18000. 

This Osamu Nakade’s guitar can easily compete not only with higher priced Japanese made guitars, but also with much higher priced instruments currently made by leading Spanish makers.

This terrific instrument certainly deserves a title of Grand Concert Guitar. Its tonality can be described as modern style flamenco, rather than traditional. It has its uniquely beautiful tonality, with moderately deep, full of overtones yet rather focused basses; thick, very sweet, glassy yet moderately bright trebles; all notes well balanced, with great level of note clarity and separation and relatively long sustain. If played softer it turns into very lyrical instrument.

Although the body of this guitar bears couple very minor cosmetic flaws (with small attrition on the soundboard located near the edge of right lower bout being the most serious “damage”) overall condition of this guitar can be described as “near mint”. Although a “frightened mind” can imagine the crack on the soundboard (running along the center seam below bridge) the “cool mind” will find out that this is just “an early stage of surface crack within the finish”.

Very importantly its neck is straight, while fingerboard and frets remain in “practically unused” condition.

Specifications:

Top: Very High-Grade Solid Cedar/orange tinted cashew lacquer

Back & Sides: Solid Brazilian Rosewood/ cashew lacquer

Neck: Mahogany

Fingerboard: Ebony

Scale: 660 mm

Nut width: 53.50 mm

Strings: Felipe Conde Flamenco Normal Tension

Currently the action is set to 2.80 mm under E6 and 2.30 mm with no extra room on the saddle. Original saddle sets the action at 3.30 mm under E6 and 2.80 mm under E1.

The guitar will be shipped in a used Aranjuez archtop case. 

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.