Kiso Suzuki Acoustic Guitars: SJ200 front

Thursday, January 24, 2008

SJ200 front

5 comments:

Anonymous said...: Never in 28 years have I seen another guitar like mine! Very cool. Although, I'll have to look up what the S means. My label just says J-200. Love mine. The pick guard on mine, though, is well used. The lower two dandelion flowers are pretty much gone. Nice... I wouldn't trade this guitar for anything. I got it new for my high school graduation in 1981. My mom said she paid $200, including a hard case.; August 13, 2009 at 11:29 PM
Anonymous said...: Amazing!!!!
My dad gave me his guitar which he got in 1984 for about £300.

It's Identical to yours and has the nice plush blue velvet lned hard case.

In my 20+ years of playing i've never seen another like it until now.

Do you know what the going rate for these guitars is these days?

I'd never sell it.
The adjustable bridge is an absolutely brilliant idea.

I've owned Martins, Loudens and Taylors and none have sounded or played remotely as well.; May 27, 2011 at 2:22 PM
Unknown said...: I have had mine since 1976 I have played others but none compares to my old susy would never part with it it might need refretted but havent a clue what would cost; January 7, 2014 at 8:36 AM
Unknown said...: Used mine in band, Apache,great box ,mellowing well.hill hand down to the next generation..

Cheif; January 30, 2015 at 11:15 AM
Unknown said...: Holy smokes - I've got one of these and have been trying to find a value for it because I've had it since I was a kid and never ever managed to quite pick up playing the guitar held onto it in the hopes one day I would but think it's time to let it go.; July 18, 2017 at 7:23 AM

Some History of Kiso Suzuki....

(submit pictures by emailing suzukiguitars@gmail.com
Thanks!)

Kiso Suzuki is the name of a now-defunct guitar company from the Kisofukushima region of Japan. This region is well known for it's mountains and trees, and the lure of the region with it's valuable lumber brought craftsman to the area - one such interest was, of course, guitar-making.Kiso Suzuki and Nagoya Suzuki were one company before the war - a 3-factory company started by Masakichi Suzuki that produced the well-known "Suzuki Violin" violins. But after the war the company was split up into the Suzuki Violin Company (now Kiso Suzuki Violin Company) and Suzuki Violin Manufacturing Company (now Nagoya Suzuki Violin Company). And there the relationship ended.)

Model #'s

Re: the serial number: on many of the models the first one or two numbers in the serial number stands for the year in which it was manufactured; from the 60’s to the 80’s. I have never seen a definite 1950's guitar yet, mainly because I don't know enough about them yet.The other prefixes/suffixes ...W, C, S, VS, D, G, A, T, R, O, J...may follow other common meanings.
W = Western model
F= Folk Model
C= Cutaway
E=Electronics
K=?
S=Spruce (top)
VS= Violin Sunburst color
D=Dreadnaught shape
G=Grand Concert shape for classicals; some 'G' acoustics however had a Gallagher type headstock
A=?
T=? Takeharu sometimes
R=?
O=?
J=Jumbo shape
(if you can help with understanding their system, please DO write me at suzukiguitars@gmail.com....Thanks!)

Questions...
"I have a Suzuki, but it doesn't sound as good as I had hoped for..."
If you have a Suzuki that doesn't sound so great...
Not every Suzuki guitar is equal to an "inheritance" guitar.
But, some are.
Some may just require a setup to sound better; others may be too heavily built or have intonation problems (personal experience with some steel strings built by Kiso). BUT, it's possible to fix some of these problems and have your guitar sound a lot better.
Also, different years, different labels (jobbers?), and whether the guitar was intended for export or for Japan - seems to have made a difference.

Suzuki Construction...

Some woods used were Linden, Rosewood, Maple, Ovangkol, and Nato. Spruce and Cedar were used for the tops – usually laminated for the overseas market, as laminates don’t readily crack, but some models are solid tops. There is a popular theory about solid tops sounding better, but there is disagreement on this matter by some well-respected people. See the website ... http://www.liutaiomottola.com/myth/quartersawn.htm

Suzuki laminates were generally very good quality, and many people feel their guitars, even though laminated, sound better than many solid tops. Suzuki craftsmanship surely played a role in the sound too.

The numbering system is usually tied in with the price. An F100 would have been 10,000 yen, an F130 would have been 13,000 yen, an W250 would have been 25,000 yen and so on. But some models are lower numbers yet very ornamented, so it doesn’t seem like this always holds true. (see the F35 scrollwork on the fretboard).

One interesting thing that stands out is the change in labels. If you’ll notice, there were a few different labels. Were there different divisions or contract manufacturers? I don’t know at this time.

There are thousands of players worldwide who would like to know more about their Kiso Suzuki guitar. It's a common story that when someone has G.A.S (Guitar Acquisition Syndrome) and needs to let a guitar or two go, the Suzuki is the one that stays behind and can't be replaced. If you own a Kiso Suzuki guitar - congratulations on what you probably already know - that you own a well-crafted and good sounding instrument. One that is still undervalued in the opinion of many players. Maybe you'll hang on to it and see that there is something special about many of their instruments. In any case, as Tetsu said..."Have a nice life with Suzuki guitar.”