The Japan News by The Yomiuri Shimbun
Vintage domestic electric guitars rocking anew as prices skyrocket
Yuta Tanaka is as surprised as anyone. While the pandemic wreaks havoc in a wide range of businesses, the used guitar shop in Tokyo where he works and others like it are singing a happy tune.
“e popularity of ‘Japan vintages’ is astonishing,” said Tanaka, referring to the current name for electric guitars domestically produced decades ago as copies of famous U.S. brands. “I believe prices will further go up.”
Tanaka is a 41-year-old employee of second-hand guitar store Shimokura Second Hands, located in the Ochanomizu district in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward, famous for its many musical instrument stores.
I ventured there recently to nd out what is driving the demand among enthusiasts and causing the instruments to suddenly as much as double in price.
e hottest sellers are the electric guitars produced by Japanese manufacturers in the 1970s and 1980s that were copies of such famous U.S. brands as Fender and Gibson.
As their popularity has grown, so have the prices. Shimokura Second Hands said that last year it got in stock a Japan vintage guitar manufactured in the early 1980s by Hamamatsu-based Tokai Gakki Co. e guitar retailed at that time for ¥50,000, and the store sold it at the end of July this year for about ¥110,000.
Other guitar shops in the area are experiencing the same situation, and are even receiving a ood of inquiries from overseas customers.
FINE ATTENTION TO DETAIL
e secret to the new-found acclaim for the guitars is the quality of the materials and the cra smanship of the manufacturers.
Takeshi Hirai, 52, an editor of guitar-related books at Shinko Music Entertainment Co., a music publisher in Chiyoda Ward, and others said a generous amount of high-quality wood that today is highly sought a er was used back then in the making of instruments.
In addition, the cra smen at Japanese manufacturers at that time were extremely fussy about such details as bonds and the precision of metal parts, resulting in many products of a quality higher than their price re ected. Japanese cra smanship produced guitars that were nearly equal to the originals.
However, it all began to go downhill when U.S. manufacturers started ling lawsuits against the Japanese manufacturers, citing “infringement on their business interests.” From then, the copy industry died out.
From the beginning, the copies drew high marks as “good quality for the money.” But with guitars seen as something that could be enjoyed indoors during the COVID-19 pandemic, it has only been recently that overseas buyers have taken notice of the old Japan-made electric guitars.
A look at overseas sales websites shows products that are o en priced higher than in Japan. “Prices in Japan are rising, driven by overseas price hikes,” a music store sta er said.
SKEPTICISM OF HIGH PRICES
However, there are some in the business who are skeptical about the situation.
“I wonder if the old guitars are worth that price,” said Shohei Adachi, 64, chairman of Tokai Gakki Co. “We have always been very particular about the details, but today’s guitars have a higher precision.
e prices of old guitars have risen too high.”
A sta member at guitar manufacturer Fujigen Inc. of Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, which was also contracted to make many of the Japan vintage guitars, says it is all a matter of choice.
“Honestly speaking, it is nice to see guitars we made still being appreciated,” said Ryota Yamazaki, 43. “But in the end, it is a musical instrument, and the most important thing is whether the player likes it. I want them to give [several] a try and get the one they like.” (Aug. 23)