Up for sale, a 1964 Masaru Kono (Kohno) Model 3-6 in excellent, 100% original condition, complete with the original hardshell case. One of the most prominent and influential figures in Japanese guitar manufacturing, Masaru “Ken” Kohno began his tutelage in Madrid in 1959 at the workshop of revered Flamenco and classical luthier Arcangel Fernandez. After returning to Japan to refine his craft, Kohno received first prize at the Liege Concours National de Guitares a few short years later in 1967. The chairman of the adjudicators at that competition was the “Stradivarius of the classical guitar” Ignacio Fleta, who remarked that Kohno’s guitar was “very much like his own.” This particular Kohno is an extremely rare, obscure model that dates to the period between the conclusion of Kohno’s tutelage and his win at the Liege Concours: these select few years in the ‘60s are considered by many aficionados to be Kohno’s (or Kono, as he was spelling his name in this era) “Golden” era, with sparingly few handcrafted instruments leaving his workshop and an exceptionally high level of attention to detail.

This Model 3-6 features a ladder-braced spruce top, bookmatched Indian rosewood back and sides, mahogany neck, and ebony fingerboard. Tonally, this guitar is warm and sweet, with an airy openness befitting an instrument of this vintage, and there’s a dark, rich expressiveness to the tone that hearkens back to the “Spanish sound” guitars produced by the legendary luthiers like Fleta and Torres (unsurprising considering Kohno’s tutelage and inspiration). The trebles have a vocal-like smoothness, with a complex, layered midrange and a punchy immediacy, balancing well with the wound strings. This Kono weighs 3lbs 7oz, professionally setup here at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar with normal tension strings and ideal action

Neck Specs:

-Wood: Mahogany
-Shape: D, measuring .830” 1st fret, .910” 9th fret
-Fretboard: Ebony
-Frets: Slender, no wear
-Scale Length: 650mm
-Nut: Bone, 50mm, string spacing 41mm
-Tuners: Open-gear, ivoroid buttons

Body Specs:

-Wood: Spruce (top), Indian rosewood (back/sides, bookmatched)
-Bracing: Ladder
-Bridge: Rosewood, bone saddle, 58mm string spacing (saddle)
-Label: Dated 1964, “3-6” model designation
-Marquetry: Ornate rosette, mult-ply purfling

This is a crack-free example, and cosmetic wear on the gloss nitro lacquer finish is limited to some scuffing and pinhead sized nicks on top along the strum path and just a few faint finish scratches on the rims. The neck profile retains its smooth nitro gloss, free of palm wear with only some microscopic marks along the profile length that are virtually undetectable to the palm.

The original black tolex hardshell case is included.