SHUNPEI NISHINO 15 1974 - 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 FIGURED OLD GROWTH BRAZILIAN ROSEWOOD ARE PRICED MINIMUM $18000USD. DISCONTINUED IN 2025 YAMAHA GC70 WAS PRICED AT THAT LEVEL.

Youhei Nishino was a Japanese luthier pioneer, who since 1955 apprenticed at Tsunesaburo Kurosawa’s workshop, working side by side with Sumio Kurosawa, Katsumi Arai and Takashi Yamano. In 1965 he established his own workshop along with his younger brother Shunpei. However, in the early 1970s both brothers went their separate ways, but both were using identical headstock design.

While Shunpei’s guitars made since 1980s through late 2010s are not very hard to find on Japanese second-hand market, his early guitars are quite rare. The major reason for that is that Shunpei preferred to work just by himself and was making a very limited number of guitars, many of them of unique construction and many as “only one of their kind”. Construction of his guitars was initially based on Spanish and German blueprints. He, however, innovated a lot, and was mostly using his own blueprints. He never complained about lack of orders. I am not sure whether he still makes guitars but certainly was until 2020.

This guitar sounds simply fantastic. This offers great volume and superb response. It produces truly wonderful notes, very clear, glassy, yet very colorful trebles, somewhat metallic basses, with all notes well separated, and all with very impressive sustain. It also offers a great level of transparency when chords are played.

The overall condition of this guitar can be described as “very good for its age”. While it is structurally sound and fully functional, one can find some minor cosmetic flaws in its body. Its soundboard shows several very minor dents and scratches embedded in its finish, with few reaching the wood. Most of these imperfections are visible only if looked at from a close distance and from certain angles. There are a couple light indentations on the back of the neck. At the bottom seam between side plates, some small sections of original finish have been rubbed off over the years, but these are not “cracks”. Other surfaces are relatively clean. Very importantly its fingerboard and frets remain in excellent condition. Because parts of its original tuners were damaged, I have reconstructed them using newer frames but kept original peg rollers.   

Being priced 150 000 yen in 1974, it was a very expensive instrument. In that year only top elite Japanese luthiers (Masaru Kohno, Sakazo Nakade, Mitsuru Tamura and Yamaha) had their very top models priced 300 000 yen. For many other luthiers 200 000 yen was the maximum they could get for their best instruments. For less known makers 150 000 yen was their price ceiling.  

Similar class brand new guitars currently made by leading Japanese luthiers are priced at least $12000. If, however, made from 50 years old woods and with solid figured Brazilian Rosewood b/s their prices reach $18000 level

Leading European or American guitar makers charge about 50% more. If these luthiers were to use 50 years old woods including solid figured BR for b/s, you might need to sell a car to get one.

Specifications:

Top: High Grade Solid Spruce/ shellac

Back and Sides: Solid Brazilian Rosewood/ shellac

Neck: Mahogany

Fingerboard: Ebony

Nut and Saddle: Bone

Nut Width: 51 mm

Scale: 650 mm

Action is set to 4.00 mm under E6 and 3.30 mm under E1, with no extra room on the saddle.

This guitar will be shipped in a used hard shell 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.