73
« on: July 31, 2016, 06:14:31 AM »
That's awesome! Especially to find a local with a collection of Japanese instruments. A few years back I marched through all of the guitar shops near Ochanomizu in Tokyo looking for a part for a Yamaha SA-15 guitar and maybe another SA-17 bass. Most stores only had US brands and maybe a few European instruments. I think I only found one Japanese axe.
The sales guys were really interested in the photos I showed them of the two Yammies. ("Cho kakui yo!") One guy even called Yamaha to see if they had the part I needed but they didn't.
Later in that week, I was in a saloon in Naka-Meguro and overheard a Japanese guy and two Americans talking. The Yanks ran a studio in LA and the local was a blues guitarist. I interrupted them and told the Japanese guy how I could find no Japanese guitars in Japan. He laughed and said "You will have better luck in the US. We did not respect Japanese brands back then!"
That said, there has been an upsurge in interest in quality Japanese guitars since then.