BARGAIN - YUKINOBU CHAI NP30S 1982 - IGNACIO FLETA CLASS CLASSICAL 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 OLD GROWTH BRAZILIAN ROSEWOOD ARE PRICED MINIMUM $18000USD.   

This guitar was made in 1982 by Master Luthier Yukinobu Chai for Niibori School of Guitar Ensemble.

It was priced 300000 yen being the highest model within NP line designed exclusively for Niibori School and most likely the highest cedar top model within Yukinobu's entire selection. The highest Yukinobu’s model of that era was No50 made with Spruce top and figured BR b/s, priced 500 000yen. Besides Masaru Kohno and Sakazo Nakade, very few other Japanese luthiers had 500 000 models in 1982. 

Although he was originally a violin maker, Yukinobu Chai started making guitars in late 1960s and over the years he became one of the highest respected luthiers in Japan. Most likely the major reason for that were very moderate prices for his truly wonderful instruments.

Yukinobu never apprenticed at any other workshop. In the 1950s he learned violin making based on books the real violins. He was also making other string instruments, before in the early 1960s he became seriously interested in making guitars. He naturally was looking at guitars made by many famous European luthiers, but was especially inspired by Antonio de Torres, Herman Hauser and Santos Hernandez. While he was constantly adding his own innovations, his guitars made from the late 1960s through early 1980s were mostly inspired by Santos Hernadez’s blueprints, which (on the outside) was manifested by Santos’s headstock design. Because I have already sold several Yukinobu’s guitars from that era, I dare to say that they are of equal class with those made Santos Hernandez. Since the early 1980s the great majority of Yukinobu’s models were made based on Ignacio Fleta’s blueprints. Yet he was also making limited number of Hauser, Torres and Bouchet models.                                

In early 1980s Yukinobu became the major supplier for Niibori School of Guitar Ensemble, making not only whole range of prime (regular) models but also many alto, soprano, bass and contrabass guitars. Since Yukinobu's passing in 2011, his workshop is managed by his son Yukihiro, a great luthier on his own. Yukinobu's most famous pupils are Ichizo Kobayashi, Tatsuro Kobayashi, Sakae Ishi and Kuniyoshi Matsui.  

To my ears, Yukinobu Chai was one of the best Japanese luthiers ever and remains my favorite Japanese luthier since I encountered his guitars made in 1970s. I am totally not bothered by discolorations of finishes on his guitars from that era. After selling several of his guitars I know that truly experienced guitarists looking for a “truly special” instrument are not bothered by these cosmetic imperfections either. I deeply understand why Hiroki Niibori has decided to offer Yukinobu such lucrative contract.   

This guitar offers immense volume and super response, combined with simply breathtaking warm and sweet multilayered tonality, with deep and rich (cello like) basses, strong sweet, colorful and ringing (piano like) trebles, all notes with plenty of overtones, with superb note clarity and separation, and all magnified by heavenly sustain and natural reverb. When chords are played this guitar behaves like a Symphony Orchestra. With its superb sensitivity it seems effortless to play.

This guitar was certainly made based on “old Spanish blueprints” with Fleta style bracing and Ramirez style doble structure sides. However, it mostly is Yukinobu’s own creation, and he gets all the credits for its wonderful sound.     

Here you have 3 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

This guitar remains in "excellent for its age" overall condition. In fact, besides several very minor scratches (some visible only from certain angles) and couple small dents on its soundboard, and light dent on the very tip of the back of its headstock, other surfaces of body and neck look relatively clean. Very importantly its quite slim neck is straight, fingerboard and frets remain in truly excellent shape. It is rather obvious that this guitar hasn’t been played a lot during its lifetime.

What is visible to the naked eye (and greatly exaggerated in the pictures) are few "fingertip-like" discolorations embedded within the finish on the back. Such discolorations are quite common on Japanese guitars of that era, not only on those made by Yukinobu and most pronounced on guitars made with Brazilian Rosewood b/s. This finish cloudiness and "fingerprints" certainly don’t affect the tonality or playability of this very precious guitar.    

Such cloudiness occurs only within the finish while the wood itself doesn’t lose its natural color. It is a result of mixing finishes, like covering shellac with cashew lacquer. After cashew lacquer dries it is harder, more durable and scratch resistant than shellac. Later as the shellac ages it often becomes “cloudy”. The intensity of this cloudiness depends on what shellac formula was used. Sometimes instead of uniform cloudiness, there are only a few or several “fingerprints” visible. These “fingerprints” are traces of shellac pads. 

French polishing is the application of shellac with the use of shellac pads. Shellac finish on guitars is always applied by “French Polishing”. On other wooden items and furniture shellac is usually applied by paint brush.

The great majority of Japanese luthiers while finishing their high-end models, were using very thin coat of cashew lacquer as the last layer over the shellac usually only on the back and sides. Some luthiers (like Masaru Kohno, Ryoji Matsuoka, Hiroshi Tamura) were using this approach also on the soundboards. Cashew lacquer is more durable and resistant to wear and scratches etc. and that is why Japanese were using this method. Therefore, when there is Cashew lacquer on the surface, it is very likely there is a shellac underneath.      

New message from: almeles_17 (0)          12/21/2023

Hi I just want to point out that the Brazilian rosewood on this guitar is tight grain quarter sawn which is the rarest most desirable --so tight grain and quarter sawn that it might be mistaken for Indiana rosewood---I consider myself an expert and have resawn hundreds of sets of Brazilian rosewood and I wanted to point out this is an extremely high quality quarter sawn (tight grain) set of Brazilian Rosewood virtually impossible to find now in 2023.

Specifications:

Top: Very Tight Grain Solid Cedar/fan based 7 braces system/Shellac

Back: Highest Grade Solid Brazilian Rosewood/Cashew lacquer (over shellac)

Double Structure Sides: Brazilian Rosewood on the outside and Cypress on the inside.    

Double structure means 2 separate plates not glued together. This invention greatly enhances response, sound depth and sustain.  

Neck: Mahogany

Fingerboard: Ebony

Scale: 650 mm

Nut width: 51 mm

Its action is set to 3.50 mm under E6 and 3.00 mm under E1, with still extra room on the saddle.

This guitar will be shipped in a used hard-shell case in still 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.