Up for sale, a 1974 Masaru Kohno No. 30 classical guitar in excellent, 100% original condition, complete with the original hardshell case. One of the most prominent and influential figures in the world of Japanese classical guitars, 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.”

Introduced in 1974, this first-year No. 30 was the absolute highest model tier at the time of production (the No. 50 was introduced in ‘77), with an initial price tag of a whopping ¥300,000. Premium tonewoods include a ladder-braced spruce top, Brazilian rosewood back and sides, five-piece mahogany/ebony neck, and an ebony fingerboard. Tonally, this guitar yields rich expressiveness akin to the “Spanish sound” guitars produced by legendary luthiers like Fleta and Torres, with warm, rich-yet-airy lows, shimmering treble articulation, and great natural bloom in the midrange ideal for sonorous melodic playing. Weighing 3lbs 12oz, this Kohno No. 30 has been professionally setup here at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar with normal tension strings and ideal action.

Neck Specs:

-Wood: Mahogany/ebony (five-piece)
-Shape: Round D, measuring .895” 1st fret, .999” 9th fret
-Fretboard: Ebony
-Frets: Slender, faint wear on frets 1-4
-Scale Length: 660mm
-Nut: 53mm, bone (43mm string spacing)
-Tuners: Open-gear strip

Body Specs:

-Wood: Spruce, Brazilian rosewood
-Bracing: Spanish-style ladder
-Bridge: Brazilian rosewood, bone saddle
-Marquetry: Ornate rosette and matching purfling, Brazilian rosewood binding
-Serialization: Label dated to 1974, signed by Masaru Kohno (the only model tier to sport his signature at time of production)

This is a crack-free and extremely well-kept instrument, with only light wear across the soundhole on the gloss cashew lacquer finish. The lacquer on the neck profile is clean and smooth, with some palm wear along the treble-side shoulder and central to the carve in the lower registers. There is a small UV tanline on the back of the peghead where a distributor’s sticker was previously affixed.

The original hardshell case is included.