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mjcleland
Joined: 18 Feb 2008
Posts: 2
Location: California
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 Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2008 7:00 pm Post subject: Tahara Guitars |
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I am looking for any information on this guitar maker.
I have a Tahara guitar that carries "Nashville" on the headstock. It is a copy of a Guild D-40. Purchased new in 1979. Workmanship is very good and materials all appear to have been prime when built. After 30 years, some of the edge moulding is showing some shrinkage but otherwise it is aging well and consistent with premium builder's work. I would like to learn any additional information about this builders work, or other's experience with the products. Mine sounds better every year. : I just found the comment about the Tahara Guitar. I have a mandolin which also has the words "made by Tahara", It has the name "Maya" on the kneck. I also have a Maya banjo which must be the same company. Both were bought about 20 years ago and I can't find any now. Does anyone know any more about these instruments? |
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1bassleft
Lowdown Cack-hander
Joined: 16 Feb 2005
Posts: 3788
Location: "Hit The North"
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| Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 5:13 pm Post subject: |
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Hi mj and welcome 
Maya is a name I came across, along with Yamato, when researching CMI guitars (a "sticky" that can be found on the main category here). Every Maya, Yamato and some CMI electrics I've seen have featured terrible hardware and ply bodies married to inexplicably good necks. Putting Tahara into the search found me some new, and useful, information here:
http://www.ezfolk.com/forums/forum16/762-1.html
Scroll past all the "I really like your playing" stuff to get the useful info near the end. Maya was a retailer that had cheap stuff made in Japan but also bought from better quality suppliers and your Tahara-san was a highly respected luthier in that country. Hope that helps, and thanks for adding another piece to my jigsaw  |
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lee_UK
Rolling Stone No.8
Joined: 04 Feb 2005
Posts: 3278
Location: London, UK
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| Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 12:33 am Post subject: |
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| I strongly disagree with 1bassleft, i have a Maya Tele copy from 1979/80 (made in Japan) and it is excellent, the neck is fantastic, the hardware is very good, i changed the pickups a few years ago and got some improved tone, you CAN'T put Maya in the same camp as Colombus and Satellite. |
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1bassleft
Lowdown Cack-hander
Joined: 16 Feb 2005
Posts: 3788
Location: "Hit The North"
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| Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 4:49 pm Post subject: |
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| My apols, Lee. I went back to the CMI sticky to post an update following on from this thread. I'd completely forgotten that I'd flagged up a very good Maya Strat copy; not at all like some of the planks I often see. Maya was just a brand name selling allsorts of stuff. I think they started out with the cheap, loose copies and then upped their game sometime in the 70s. |
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lee_UK
Rolling Stone No.8
Joined: 04 Feb 2005
Posts: 3278
Location: London, UK
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| Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 11:35 pm Post subject: |
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Apology accepted 
I actually changed my Tele to look like the one Springsteen has on the cover of Born to run LP, looks exactly like it, natural colour, 3 pickup, black scratch plate with maple neck and fingerboard. |
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mjcleland
Joined: 18 Feb 2008
Posts: 2
Location: California
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| Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 11:42 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks 1bassleft!
This was exactly what I needed regarding Tahara. For others who may follow this thread, here is the communication from Sage regarding Tahara:
I have found some information - scattered and incomprehensible probably - about "Maya"... I have been in touch with some really helpful people at Saga Musical Instruments, who have told me a bit about the man who built my mandolin. I think it would be safest to apply what I am going to say to just my earlier post here, but it may lead you to be able to research your own instruments. As I understand things, "Maya" was basically a distributor, that bought from various independent (Japanese) luthiers, who made everything from soup to nuts - electric, acoustical, etc... Regarding my mandolin, on the inside bracing is stamped: "MADE BY MR TAHARA", who turns out to be a man by the name of Ryohei Tahara, later known, with respect, as Tahara-sah. I will upload an article on him, from Frets Magazine, 1984. Where it gets cloudy is that, because I am researching my "new" mandolin, I am only drawn to anything I can find on this Mr. Tahara, who was a luthier that concentrated, I believe, mostly on acoustical guitars and instruments. From Saga Musical Instruments:
You are indeed on the right track. "Maya" was a brand named used by a
Japanese Trading Company from Kobe called Rokkoman. In the early 1970s Tahara-san had a factory in Matsumoto Japan that was engaged primarily in the production of lower-mid range acoustic guitars, but they also made some mandolins. Mandolins were a minor portion of their total output. Mr Tahara's factory in Matsumoto went into bankruptcy in the mid to late 1970s after which he moved to Tateshina outside of Maruko-machi in Nagano Prefecture where he focused exclusively on Mandolin production. Shortly after that move Saga Musical Instruments began a relationship with Tahara-san that started with specificational input and then with a majority financial interest in operation. Maybe this is more information than you need but I think that it fills in a few blanks!
Best regards,
Saga Musical Instruments
David Gartland
Marketing
http://www.sagamusic.com |
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