I do offer the 2 days return

　　policy described at the bottom of this page.ARANJUEZ

　　No5 1972This

　　guitar was made in 1972 by Takamine workshop under the supervision of Masaru

　　Kohno workshop. Aranjuez

　　guitars line was founded by Masaru Kohno in 1968 (soon after he took over

　　Takamine and delegated his pupil Mass Hirade to manage the company). At first

　　these guitars were named Yamato and had identical design label as you can see

　　on this guitar. Aranjuez guitars were designed exclusively for Japanese market.

　　They were made by Takamine workshop under Masaru Kohno’s supervision until 1977.

　　In 1 they were still made by Takamine however Kohno stamp was absent on

　　their labels. In 1979 Takamine discontinued their Ramirez style Elite line and started

　　making models with identical design and construction as Aranjuez brand, while

　　Aranjuez line was discontinued for at least few years. The Aranjuez brand was resurrected

　　in the late 1980s and made by Ryoji Matsuoka workshop. Their headstock was like

　　on Mathias Dammann guitars. After the closure of Matsuoka’s workshop (2014)

　　Aranjuez guitars are again made by Takamine co. under Masaki Sakurai’s supervision.

　　The

　　secret of Aranjuez guitars is that they have always offered exceptional value

　　to the player on a budget. Top Aranjuez models sounded better than many guitars

　　sold by leading Japanese makers at 2 times higher prices. Since the

　　origin of this brand the very top models were assembled and finished at Kohno’s

　　workshop. The bodies of those top models were made by Takamine or Matsuoka

　　workshops, while soundboards were made by either Masaru Kohno himself or one of

　　his associates, perhaps by Masaki Sakurai. Currently the very top Aranjuez

　　model 725 is still being assembled and finished personally by Masaki Sakurai and

　　is priced 250 000 yen, while it sounds better than many other guitars sold in

　　Japan 350 000 yen.  This

　　Aranjuez No5 guitar was priced 50 000 yen in 1972 yen while it sounds on pair

　　with many guitars from that era priced 100 000 yen. From the early

　　through late 1970s the top of Aranjuez line was model 7 assembled at Masaru

　　Kohno workshop. The second from the top was model No6. Both models 6 & 7 were

　　“all solid woods” construction. Although I have never seen or heard about one,

　　I am confident that both models were already made in 1972. Therefore model 5 certainly

　　wasn’t the top of the line even though its headstock closely resembles

　　headstock used by Masaru Kohno on his top of the line models. I have sold several

　　and seen hundreds of Aranjuez guitars yet never before seen one with such a

　　headstock. What

　　is also very important to mention is that while all Aranjuez models of 1970s had

　　Cedar tops, all Kohno models had Spruce tops. Regardless of what some sellers

　　believe and claim in their listings, Masaru Kohno wasn’t making Cedar top

　　guitars until 1985. Those Kohno’s Cedar top models were made in very limited

　　numbers (perhaps by special order only), their soundboards look very dark,

　　rosettes and bridge decoration are different from those used on regular Spruce

　　top models.This

　　truly majestic guitar offers exceptional volume and response combined with very

　　romantic tonality. Its trebles are super sweet, round, yet very crisp. Basses

　　are deep and full of overtones, yet relatively clean. All notes are well

　　balanced, note clarity and separation fantastic, sustain amazing.I am sure that

　　every experienced player will agree that this guitar beats many “hand made in

　　Spain” $5000+ guitars available on US market. Takamine C132S currently sold for

　　$1950USD is sounds like a “child’s toy” if compared to this Aranjuez 5 1972

　　guitar. This guitar remains in practically

　　mint condition, without any sign of use. Only with a magnifying glass or falcon’s

　　eye one can find a mark on its body. Original tuners also looked like new but

　　were hard to turn and were replaced by brand new Gotoh set.  Specifications:Top: High Grade Solid Cedar/cashew lacquerBack and Sides: Non-Solid Latin America Rosewood /cashew lacquerNeck: MahoganyFingerboard: EbonyTuning Machines: high grade gold platedScale: 660 mmNut Width: 52 mmNut & Saddle: BoneStrings: Savarez Cristal Normal Tension Current action

　　is set to 3.80 mm under E6 and 3.20 under E1 with still extra room on the

　　saddle (about 3.00mm on the E6 side and 2.00mm on the E1 side).It

　　will be shipped in a used original hard-shell case that is fully functional but

　　with serious deterioration on the outside. This case is free.  Real

　　Value of Japanese Vintage GuitarsThe key to understand value

　　of vintage Japanese guitars is to acknowledge galloping price inflation

　　(devaluation of Japanese yen) during 1960s & 1970s. This inflation slowed

　　down in the 1980s.During 1960s and most of

　　1970s model numbers of Japanese guitars were strictly interconnected with their

　　prices in Japanese yen. By early 1980s and during following decades model

　　numbers were no longer strictly associated with their prices. Some Japanese

　　guitar makers introduced model names instead of model numbers. Others were

　　still using model numbers with the addition of letters and/or other symbols. It is then important to

　　understand that two Yamaha GC10 guitars made 10 years apart are two instruments

　　of totally different class. The same applies to any other Japanese maker/brand.

　　  The logical way to estimate

　　the true class of any given Japanese made instrument is to compare its price

　　with the average annual salary of wage workers in Japanese private sectors.

　　This salary was: 450 600 yen in 1965 - 825 900 yen in 1970 - 1 868 300 yen in

　　1975 - 2 689 000 yen in 1980 - 3 163 000 yen in 1985 - 3 761 000 yen in 1990 -

　　4 107 000 yen in 1995 - 4 082 000 yen in 2000. Any guitar priced 100 000

　　yen in 1970 (labelled as No10 or No100) would be priced 200 000 yen in 1975

　　(relabeled to No20, No200 or 2000), 300 000 yen in 1977 (labelled as No3, No30

　　or 3000) and 500 000 yen by 1985 (labelled as No50 or 5000).Starting in 1977 Masaru

　　Kohno introduced his new models No40 priced 400 000 yen and No50 priced 500 000

　　yen. By the early 1980s Kohno started using model names instead of numbers and

　　was steadily raising their prices without changing model labeling. His very top

　　model 50 became model “Special”, and a decade later it became model “Maestro”.

　　Naturally, all other Japanese guitar makers were doing similar pricing

　　(labelling) upgrades.Knowing all of that, you

　　can bet on that Masaru Kohno No50 made in 1982 is practically the same grade

　　instrument as Kohno No20 made in 1972, or Kohno no 30 made in 1975.In the early 1970s the

　　lowest Ryoji Matsuoka (all plywood) model was 10, followed by (solid top)

　　models 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 80 and (all solid woods) models 100 and 150.

　　Models 50, 60 and 80 were made with non-solid figured Brazilian Rosewood

　　(double) back and sides and top model 150 was the only one made with solid

　　figured Brazilian Rosewood b/s.In 1980 the lowest Matsuoka

　　model was (all plywood) 20, followed by (solid top) models 30,40,50, 60 and all

　　solid woods models 80,100,150 and 200. By 1990 the lowest Matsuoka model was

　　M40 and the highest was M300. By 2010 the lowest Matsuoka model was M50, and

　　the top model was M270. You can bet that Ryoji

　　Matsuoka model 50 from 1980 is of the same grade as model M100 from 2000, model

　　100 from 1980 is of the same grade as model M150 from 2000, model 150 from 1980

　　is of the same grade as M200 from 2000 and model 200 from 1980 is of the same

　　grade as model M300 from 2000.It is important to mention

　　that if modern era luthiers are using 40+ years old woods to make an “all

　　solid” wood classical guitar, its price is minimum $8000.All vintage guitars made

　　with Brazilian Rosewood are especially precious, including those made straight

　　grain varieties and those with non-solid b/s.Because response and tonal

　　properties of Spruce soundboards are improving over time, long seasoned Spruces

　　are far more precious than long seasoned Cedars.

　　It is not very difficult to

　　find out what are current prices of such guitars made by the world’s leading

　　luthiers.ReturnsIf you are not happy

　　with your purchase, you may return the guitar for a full refund of original

　　payment less any shipping costs. All you need to do is:1.    Notify me within 48 hours after receiving the guitar.   2.    Pack guitar the same way I do it, using the same box and materials

　　and ship it back to me within 24 hours after "return notification". 

　　Naturally if you expect

　　to receive a full refund, guitar must be returned in the same condition as I shipped

　　it to you. P.s. If you'd like to check my modest playing skills click on the links below:http://youtu.be/ExVwfhLy1gQhttp://youtu.be/XNdeSWxb2nUhttp://youtu.be/mecVgriaKJ0http://youtu.be/O9ErnhZhDxwhttp://youtu.be/ceVTybPnq7chttp://youtu.be/Zyz8eZeTSRQhttp://youtu.be/T8bkPi4jhsshttp://youtu.be/W1FaCjodgZM