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1975 MASARU KOHNO #30 An amazing Classical Guitar Owned by me for 37 years
Estimated price for orientation: 6 499 $
Category: Classical Guitars
Class:
Description Brand: Kohno String Configuration: 6 String Model: #30 Country/Region of Manufacture: Japan MPN: Does Not Apply Body Type: classical Dexterity: Right-Handed UPC: Does not apply
1975 MASARU KOHNO #30
CLASSICAL GUITAR
Offered here is my wonderful Kohno 30. Provenance: I bought the guitar from John Sutherland, who was my guitar instructor at the University of Georgia, back in the early '80s. The guitar arrived in his shop (Sutherland Music, Buckhead) in '78 and was owned for a brief time by a local Atlantian. As I recall the story he decided to get out of classical guitar and sold the guitar back to John. John played it for a short while before I purchased it from him. So it was a bit of an orphan for the first 5 years of its life. I adopted it in 1980 and it has been with me ever since. I played it through my time at UGA, so it does show some signs of play. Graduate school led me away from guitar, so my beloved Kohno was mostly stored away until the late 1990 when I finished a PhD. In the years since I have played it some, but in recent years I've found myself drawn to jazz and archtops. I've been transcribing many of Joe Pass's solo recordings for the past 12 years, so I just haven't needed the concert power of my Kohno. I've finally decided that it's time to pass it on to someone who wants a professional classical guitar. Condition: There's a surface bruise on the middle of the back of the head stock; it doesn't go through to the wood. I don't recall how it got there. My guess: it was either there when I bought it from John or in a very rare unguarded moment I leaned it against something. These moments were indeed rare as I handled the guitar with the greatest of care and respect. Before I bought the guitar the head scroll was bumped and repaired; I don't know the story behind it. The back shows only very minor wear. The wood is darker that the camera shows and the finish remains bright. Most of the surface wear is the kind of thing that one has to tilt the guitar around in light to see. After I listed the guitar I did find a hairline break in the finish at the top of the back, front bout--about where the back of the guitar leans against one's chest (See pic 5). It does NOT go into or through to the wood--I inspected it on the inside and outside. It has been repaired. The top does show some small, surface bumps. The noticeable use is around the sound hole, mostly underneath. It's all on the surface. The frets show a little wear in the first and second positions, but there is no buzzing. The frets have a lot of life left in them. I've tried to capture all of this in pictures, but most of the imperfection is so superficial that my camera can't pick it up. I'm happy to try again if you wish. Oh yes, the picture of the fret board has an unevenness in color; it's all a uniform ebony. Sound: The sound is extraordinary. It's full, round, warm, and clear at every fret, in every position. (It's much brighter and clear than the Ramirez guitars I've played over the years.) The bass strings are big sounding and the high strings sing with a crisp, clear voice. The guitar actually sounds better after 37 years than it did back in the early 80s. It is more "opened up." As everyone who has a Masaru Kohno knows, his guitars, especially his top-of-the-line guitars, do and have it all: beauty of sound and look. Many Kohno owners even remark about the fresh spruce smell of their guitars; this one has a distinct smell that I've never noticed in any of my other classical guitars. I do note, however, that I've not noticed the smell as much in its new case. If one breathes into its sound hole, the spruce smell is still there. The case is new and has a rather strong, new smell of its own.I recently purchased a new $300 HumiCase for it. It's due for a new set of strings: I've included a set of D'Addario ProArte strings. Specifications:The back and sides are solid BRAZILIAN ROSEWOOD
The top is SPRUCE
Nut Width is 2 1/16"
The STRING HEIGHT is pretty much the same as all quality classical guitars.
There is ROOM FOR THE SADDLE TO BE LOWERED IF DESIRED. I have always played it as Masaru set it in his shop.The SCALE LENGTH is 660MMINCLUDES New Humidity HARDSHELL CASE WITH KEYThe label is signed by Masaru Kohno
Looking at other Kohnos on Ebay and elsewhere, I estimate that Masaru would charge between $9000 amd $10,000 to build this guitar today. However, he died several years ago, so his luthiering is over; and the number of Masaru Kohnos is fixed in history. Also, I'm pretty sure that in 1975 the Kohno 30 was the top of his line. In the years following he built a 50 and a Concert model. I've played both and they seemed to me to be the same as my 30 but with a few ornamental additions.
Shipping is included in the sell price. Ships Priority so that it will arrive in your hands in 3 business days.
Description
| Brand: | Kohno | String Configuration: | 6 String |
| Model: | #30 | Country/Region of Manufacture: | Japan |
| MPN: | Does Not Apply | Body Type: | classical |
| Dexterity: | Right-Handed | UPC: | Does not apply |
1975 MASARU KOHNO #30
CLASSICAL GUITAR
Offered here is my wonderful Kohno 30. Provenance: I bought the guitar from John Sutherland, who was my guitar instructor at the University of Georgia, back in the early '80s. The guitar arrived in his shop (Sutherland Music, Buckhead) in '78 and was owned for a brief time by a local Atlantian. As I recall the story he decided to get out of classical guitar and sold the guitar back to John. John played it for a short while before I purchased it from him. So it was a bit of an orphan for the first 5 years of its life. I adopted it in 1980 and it has been with me ever since. I played it through my time at UGA, so it does show some signs of play. Graduate school led me away from guitar, so my beloved Kohno was mostly stored away until the late 1990 when I finished a PhD. In the years since I have played it some, but in recent years I've found myself drawn to jazz and archtops. I've been transcribing many of Joe Pass's solo recordings for the past 12 years, so I just haven't needed the concert power of my Kohno. I've finally decided that it's time to pass it on to someone who wants a professional classical guitar. Condition: There's a surface bruise on the middle of the back of the head stock; it doesn't go through to the wood. I don't recall how it got there. My guess: it was either there when I bought it from John or in a very rare unguarded moment I leaned it against something. These moments were indeed rare as I handled the guitar with the greatest of care and respect. Before I bought the guitar the head scroll was bumped and repaired; I don't know the story behind it. The back shows only very minor wear. The wood is darker that the camera shows and the finish remains bright. Most of the surface wear is the kind of thing that one has to tilt the guitar around in light to see. After I listed the guitar I did find a hairline break in the finish at the top of the back, front bout--about where the back of the guitar leans against one's chest (See pic 5). It does NOT go into or through to the wood--I inspected it on the inside and outside. It has been repaired. The top does show some small, surface bumps. The noticeable use is around the sound hole, mostly underneath. It's all on the surface. The frets show a little wear in the first and second positions, but there is no buzzing. The frets have a lot of life left in them. I've tried to capture all of this in pictures, but most of the imperfection is so superficial that my camera can't pick it up. I'm happy to try again if you wish. Oh yes, the picture of the fret board has an unevenness in color; it's all a uniform ebony. Sound: The sound is extraordinary. It's full, round, warm, and clear at every fret, in every position. (It's much brighter and clear than the Ramirez guitars I've played over the years.) The bass strings are big sounding and the high strings sing with a crisp, clear voice. The guitar actually sounds better after 37 years than it did back in the early 80s. It is more "opened up." As everyone who has a Masaru Kohno knows, his guitars, especially his top-of-the-line guitars, do and have it all: beauty of sound and look. Many Kohno owners even remark about the fresh spruce smell of their guitars; this one has a distinct smell that I've never noticed in any of my other classical guitars. I do note, however, that I've not noticed the smell as much in its new case. If one breathes into its sound hole, the spruce smell is still there. The case is new and has a rather strong, new smell of its own.I recently purchased a new $300 HumiCase for it. It's due for a new set of strings: I've included a set of D'Addario ProArte strings.
Nut Width is 2 1/16"
The STRING HEIGHT is pretty much the same as all quality classical guitars.
There is ROOM FOR THE SADDLE TO BE LOWERED IF DESIRED. I have always played it as Masaru set it in his shop.The SCALE LENGTH is 660MMINCLUDES New Humidity HARDSHELL CASE WITH KEYThe label is signed by Masaru Kohno
Looking at other Kohnos on Ebay and elsewhere, I estimate that Masaru would charge between $9000 amd $10,000 to build this guitar today. However, he died several years ago, so his luthiering is over; and the number of Masaru Kohnos is fixed in history. Also, I'm pretty sure that in 1975 the Kohno 30 was the top of his line. In the years following he built a 50 and a Concert model. I've played both and they seemed to me to be the same as my 30 but with a few ornamental additions.
Shipping is included in the sell price. Ships Priority so that it will arrive in your hands in 3 business days.
CLASSICAL GUITAR
Offered here is my wonderful Kohno 30. Provenance: I bought the guitar from John Sutherland, who was my guitar instructor at the University of Georgia, back in the early '80s. The guitar arrived in his shop (Sutherland Music, Buckhead) in '78 and was owned for a brief time by a local Atlantian. As I recall the story he decided to get out of classical guitar and sold the guitar back to John. John played it for a short while before I purchased it from him. So it was a bit of an orphan for the first 5 years of its life. I adopted it in 1980 and it has been with me ever since. I played it through my time at UGA, so it does show some signs of play. Graduate school led me away from guitar, so my beloved Kohno was mostly stored away until the late 1990 when I finished a PhD. In the years since I have played it some, but in recent years I've found myself drawn to jazz and archtops. I've been transcribing many of Joe Pass's solo recordings for the past 12 years, so I just haven't needed the concert power of my Kohno. I've finally decided that it's time to pass it on to someone who wants a professional classical guitar. Condition: There's a surface bruise on the middle of the back of the head stock; it doesn't go through to the wood. I don't recall how it got there. My guess: it was either there when I bought it from John or in a very rare unguarded moment I leaned it against something. These moments were indeed rare as I handled the guitar with the greatest of care and respect. Before I bought the guitar the head scroll was bumped and repaired; I don't know the story behind it. The back shows only very minor wear. The wood is darker that the camera shows and the finish remains bright. Most of the surface wear is the kind of thing that one has to tilt the guitar around in light to see. After I listed the guitar I did find a hairline break in the finish at the top of the back, front bout--about where the back of the guitar leans against one's chest (See pic 5). It does NOT go into or through to the wood--I inspected it on the inside and outside. It has been repaired. The top does show some small, surface bumps. The noticeable use is around the sound hole, mostly underneath. It's all on the surface. The frets show a little wear in the first and second positions, but there is no buzzing. The frets have a lot of life left in them. I've tried to capture all of this in pictures, but most of the imperfection is so superficial that my camera can't pick it up. I'm happy to try again if you wish. Oh yes, the picture of the fret board has an unevenness in color; it's all a uniform ebony. Sound: The sound is extraordinary. It's full, round, warm, and clear at every fret, in every position. (It's much brighter and clear than the Ramirez guitars I've played over the years.) The bass strings are big sounding and the high strings sing with a crisp, clear voice. The guitar actually sounds better after 37 years than it did back in the early 80s. It is more "opened up." As everyone who has a Masaru Kohno knows, his guitars, especially his top-of-the-line guitars, do and have it all: beauty of sound and look. Many Kohno owners even remark about the fresh spruce smell of their guitars; this one has a distinct smell that I've never noticed in any of my other classical guitars. I do note, however, that I've not noticed the smell as much in its new case. If one breathes into its sound hole, the spruce smell is still there. The case is new and has a rather strong, new smell of its own.I recently purchased a new $300 HumiCase for it. It's due for a new set of strings: I've included a set of D'Addario ProArte strings.
Specifications:The back and sides are solid BRAZILIAN ROSEWOOD
The top is SPRUCE Nut Width is 2 1/16"
The STRING HEIGHT is pretty much the same as all quality classical guitars.
There is ROOM FOR THE SADDLE TO BE LOWERED IF DESIRED. I have always played it as Masaru set it in his shop.The SCALE LENGTH is 660MMINCLUDES New Humidity HARDSHELL CASE WITH KEYThe label is signed by Masaru Kohno
Looking at other Kohnos on Ebay and elsewhere, I estimate that Masaru would charge between $9000 amd $10,000 to build this guitar today. However, he died several years ago, so his luthiering is over; and the number of Masaru Kohnos is fixed in history. Also, I'm pretty sure that in 1975 the Kohno 30 was the top of his line. In the years following he built a 50 and a Concert model. I've played both and they seemed to me to be the same as my 30 but with a few ornamental additions.