Up for sale, a 2015 FGN S5-Mine in near-mint, 100% original condition and in perfect working order, complete with the original hardshell case and hangtags. This very rare guitar was produced at the venerable Fujigen Omachi factory, exclusively for the Fujigen Custom House. It’s a modern iteration of the classic Guyatone Sharp 5, originally designed in the 1960s in collaboration between Tokyo Sound (Guyatone) and iconic Japanese surf rock guitarist Nobuhiro Mine. When Guyatone shut their doors in the 2010s, Fujigen continued to produce their Sharp 5 in limited quantities.
The S5-Mine offers a number of modern, player-friendly features when compared to its '60s counterparts including Sperzel locking tuners, a two-point Strat-style Wilkinson vibrato, and heel-less set-neck construction. The German Carved elongated Mosrite-influenced body, trio of single coil pickups, and vibrato system reflect just how deeply the Ventures surf craze reverberated within the Japanese market at the time. Tonally, this S5-Mine delivers smooth single coil snap with lots of body and sweetness. There’s an upper midrange cut in the bridge position, and a bold, sparkling quality with the neck pickup singled out. The three-way switch functions as follows: Bridge+Middle, All Pickups, Neck, and the middle pickup acts as more of a thickening agent in the two settings in which it's engaged. This later iteration of the Sharp 5 platform also has a push/push Tone pot, toggling the middle pickup on and off. This guitar weighs 8lbs 3oz, professionally setup here at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar with 10-46 strings, low action, and spot-on intonation.
The neck has a fast-feeling slender C-shaped profile carve with modest shoulders, measuring .795” deep at the 1st fret and .900” at the 12th. The 22-fret ebony fretboard is framed by multi-ply binding and has a 12” radius, with star inlay and practically perfect medium jumbo fretwire, only exhibiting a hint of wear beneath the plain strings on the crowns of frets 3-6. This guitar plays cleanly up the 24 3/4“ scale with a straight neck and a responsive, optimally-adjusted truss rod, and the nut measures 1 11/16“ in width. The headstock sports a large gold "5", with silkscreen Nobuhiro Mine signature and a star-embossed truss rod cover. The stock set of gold Sperzel locking tuners function smoothly with flawless gold plating.
Electronically everything works as it should; the pickups are governed by a three-position pickup selector switch and knurled gold Master Volume and Tone knobs, with the push/push middle pickup on/off control at the Tone knob. The Wilkinson by Gotoh VS1000N vibrato has a two-point design with a full-size block, actuating smoothly and bouncing quickly back to pitch for deep dives and snappy flutters. The gold plating on all of the hardware has plenty of shine, and the switch tip is brass. The two-ply blue pickguard rounds out the plastics, following the body’s extreme contours, with a few stray scuffs on the bass side of the guard. The pickup covers retain their N. Mine silkscreen signatures.
The gloss Blue finish is dark and rich, and cosmetic wear is limited to two pinhead-sized dings on the lower bout on top. The smooth gloss finish on the neck profile is immaculate and feels lightning fast in the palm.
The original faux alligator hardshell case with leather end caps is included, along with the original Japanese hangtags and documentation. The case retains the factory protective plastic on the handle.