Tsunesaburo Kurosawa 1968This

　　terrific guitar was made in 1968 by Tsunesaburo Kurosawa, one of Japanese

　　luthiers pioneers who (along with Sakazo & Rokutaro Nakade) started

　　modernizing Japanese lutherie in early 1950s. This guitar has no model number printed on the label,

　　hence must have been a custom order.Tsunesaburo

　　Kurosawa was a great luthier himself, making terrific classical and flamenco

　　guitars. He also trained many other great luthiers, including his famous

　　nephew, Sumio Kurosawa (who later reached for the very top among Japanese elite

　　luthiers). Tsunesaburo, however, had great business drive and in late 1960s

　　established his own HITACHI guitar factory (in which Sumio had a leading

　　position). In early 1970s Tsunesaburo started to build a chain of his own music

　　stores all over Japan. As of today, Kurosawa’s network is the largest domestic

　　distributor and retailer of musical instruments in Japan.During

　　those late 1960s and early 1970s Tsunesaburo was making rather limited number

　　of guitars, many of which were custom made and waiting time for one was about 2

　　years. Many of his guitars were “one of its kind” with different unique

　　headstocks and/or ornamental extras. All his instruments represent truly world

　　class level.  This

　　guitar was made based on Jose Ramirez blueprints, yet it is more of

　　Tsunesaburo’s own creation. Even though it wasn’t made with Spanish heel it can

　　easily challenge any Ramirez 1a ever made. I strongly believe that most players

　　who own, have owned, or have great experience with these famous Ramirez guitars

　　will agree with my statement.       This guitar (you are looking at) surely deserves “Grand

　　Concert” title. It offers immense volume and superb response. Its sound is

　　simply very majestic, with deep and rich (cello-like) basses and strong ringing

　　(piano-like) trebles, all notes with their own overtones yet exceptional level

　　of clarity and separation. All notes are magnified by very impressive

　　sustain. Despite

　　some visual imperfections the overall condition of this guitar can be described

　　as “excellent for its age”. Its body is free from any visible scratches or

　　dents. The only (light) dent is located on the fingerboard between frets 2

　　& 3. What

　　is greatly exaggerated in the pictures and barely visible in regular light is the

　　cloudiness of its finishes. In regular light the soundboard looks like milk

　　chocolate. The most intense cloudiness is within the glaze coat of the

　　fingerboard side bindings where they meet with soundboard. It seems that are a

　　few short hair-like cracks within this glaze finish in the very corners

　　(between the fingerboard edge and the soundboard plane). These finish cracks

　　are not associated with any cracks in the wood nor any separation between

　　adjacent parts. Very importantly its neck is straight, fingerboard and

　　frets remain in excellent shape, its action can be set way below the standard

　　and its finishes don’t show signs of any real deterioration.    Specifications:Top:

　　Solid Cedar/ Ramirez style bracing/ very thin coat of lacquerBack

　　& Sides: Solid Indian Rosewood/ very thin coat of lacquerFingerboard:

　　EbonyNeck:

　　MahoganyScale

　　660 mmWidth

　　at Nut: 51.00 mmIts

　　action is set to 3.20 mm under E6 and 2.80 mm under E1 with still plenty of

　　extra room on the saddle.This

　　guitar will be shipped in a used original hard shell case in still decent

　　condition.******************************************************Here are the messages that I received

　　on 05/31/2023 from a professional California flamenco guitarist, who is 79

　　years old yet still performs, just like he has been performing for the last 51

　　years in venues along US West Coast.   “Hi Victor, I have purchased from you in the past. This

　　Kurosawa flamenco interests me. I had two similar to it. I bought one in 1967

　　and the other in 1969.They were two of the best flamenco guitars I ever owned.

　　They were very light in weight and had a powerful sound due to the cedar top. I

　　played them professionally. I have played several other guitars made by famous

　　Spanish luthiers. However, the Kurosawa had more power and volume. In 1969, I

　　was at Candellas Guitar Store in Los Angeles. I had just bought my second

　　Kurosawa. Sabicas was there. He played my Kurosawa and commented on the light weight

　　and powerful sound it had. Another friend of mine, Lee Beeder, who owned a

　　guitar shop in Hollywood, offered several times to buy my first Kurosawa. Lee

　　built guitars and was very impressed with the volume of the Kurosawa. Three

　　times when I was at his shop, he would always stick his hand into the sound

　　hole of the Kurosawa, feeling for how it was braced. Also, in 1970, I was

　　playing guitar at El Cordobes night club when the other guitarist, Manolo

　　Vasquez, (famous at the time) played my Kurosawa and said to me, " Que

　　sonido tan bonito y potente tiene esta guitarra", which means "What a

　　beautiful powerful sound this guitar has." Two famous flamenco dancers

　　also complemented me on the beautiful loud sound my guitar had, as did flamenco

　　dance teacher Vilma Coral when I played for her classes in 1971. Lastly, my

　　friend, guitarist Vicente Gomez, also liked the Kurosawa and how well the

　　Japanese were making guitars.”*****************************************************  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 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 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 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

　　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 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