Yamaki YD-35

A great deal later than intended, here, finally, is the entry about the Yamakai YD-35. As mentioned in the previous post, this is another alternatively braced model from Yamaki, somewhat of a brother to the YW and YM models. The YD series was a little different to the YW and YM though, offering a far samller range: a YD35, YD50, and a YD80 were the only options, at ￥35,000, ￥50,000, and ￥80,000 respectively.

Visually these are quite different to the YW and YM models, from the lighter pickguard, to the Martin D45 style torch inlay on the headstalk. Further D45 influences can be seen in the fingerboard position inlays; the gradual shift from snowflake inlays up to the 12th fret, to the cat's eye(s) inlays from the 12th fret upward. The soundboard is a fine spruce top, likely Ezo spruce (Picea Jezoenis - a native Asian evergreen, the Eastern counterpart to Western Sitka Spruce), with a simple abalone rosette, an ebony bridge. The top also features double cream binding onto Indian rosewood sides, and a 2-piece Indian rosewood back, with a centre strip in detailed wood mosaic. Onto the body is a 3-piece mahogany neck, with a cream bound ebony fretboard featuring the aforementioned inlays in mother-of-pearl. Continuing up to the headstalk sees a rosewood veneer, with mother-of-pearl and abalone inlayed Yamaki & Co. Est 1954 and the D45-syle torch. The machines are high quality Yamaki-branded Gotoh units which are exceptional. Internally is clean and tidy as normal, with the model and serial number branded on the neck block.

Tonally this is much bolder than the YW or YM models, great volume but pronounced bass response, which further leans towards the guitar being modelled on the D45.

Here are some photos:













You can find the whole album to view here

Next will be another Yamaki, earlier in their time line to the early 70s, with the F series.

Yamaki YW-35

Finally, another entry on one my favourite brands; Yamaki. Away back in October last year i wrote about the YW-50-12 model, where i discussed the back story of the Yamaki brand, so please revisit that entry for the company history. Here, we will look at the Yamaki YW-35 model.

Like the YW-50-12 before, this YW-35 (originally sold at 35,000 Yen), sees the Yamaki Western design body. This YW model ran along side the YM and the YD models at the same time (mid 1970s to early 1980s), with each model having a slightly different bracing design and features. This is also the case with Tokai around the same time in their Cat's Eyes series of guitars, seen with their CE, CE-CF, and CE-D models, with each suffix defining what era of Martin design the guitars bracing was based on (CE = pre-war, CE-CF = post-war, CE-D = modern). Whether in the Yamaki case, these work around the same concept and eras, i really amn't sure, but their is no escaping the Martin-basis in all their models.

Looking at the features of this YW-35, we find the soundboard is solid red-cedar. Yamaki were one of very few brands to use cedar soundboards on their dreadnought guitars, thought its use was common-place in the quality nylon strung guitars crafted in Japan at the same time. Re-known for being a warmer, softer tonewood, the use of cedar here gives this guitar a slightly different tonal character to that of some of the spruce-topped Martin based designs; highly responsive, and slightly darker, this does work wonders when matched to some pure bronze strings; their natural brightness counter-acts the overly dark and muddy realms cedar can be subject to, giving a complex and lively voice, particularly when fingerpicking. Cedar is known to open up alot quicker than spruce as well, though on a 40 year old guitar, i think plenty time has passed for both to have become more complex with age. Simple cream and black rings form the soundhole rosette, with a similarly simple purfling around the edge of the cream binding to the sides. The sides are made of Indian rosewood, whilst the back has the Martin D-35 style 3-piece back of Indian rosewood, darker cuts used on the outer flanks, with a more red-rich cut used in the centre. Wood mosaic purfling is used down each seam. A rosewood bridge and bone saddle are also found. The neck is 3-piece mahogany, with quite an antique stain that shows the grain nicely. The rosewood fingerboard features snow-flake mother-of-pearl inlays and cream binding. The headstalk is Martin shaped, faced with a rosewood veneer and Yamaki written in gold script across the top. Tuners are Yamaki-branded quality Gotoh models. Internally is the usual case for Yamaki, with the model branded on the neck block, whilst Yamaki Co. Ltd, Since 1954, Made in Japan is embossed into the wood of one back seam braces.

Yamaki do make some of the best sounded guitars from the era in Japan. Richer, fuller, more complex than a good deal of its cohorts at the same price bracket from the time, they really are worth searching out.

Here are some photos of this YW-35:














Not the best set of photographs i have taken with this guitar due to lower light conditions. I'll need to retake them on a better day.

Next up is another Yamaki model: a YD35.

Yamaki YW-50-12

Another brand to talk about is Yamaki, a name perhaps more familiar than others written about so far. An excellent retelling of its history comes from an exert from a magazine that a poster on the acoustic guitar forum put up. I will quote from there:

"The complex story of Yamaki guitars is entwined with the histories of a number of other Japanese companies. In the late 1940s, brothers Yasuyuki and Kazuyuki Teradaira started working for Tatsuno Mokko, an instrument-building firm that later split into two different companies, one of which was called Hayashi Gakki. In 1954 Hayashi Gakki was bought out by Zenon, a large music distributor. In 1962 Yasuyuki left Zenon to start an instrument distributor he called Daion, which means “big sound” in Japanese. In 1967 Kazuyuki left Zenon to produce classical guitars under the name Yamaki, an auspicious Japanese word meaning “happy trees on the mountain.” By the early 1970s, Kazuyuki expanded the Yamaki line to include a large number of steel-string guitars, many of which were based on C.F. Martin and Co.’s designs and were distributed exclusively through Daion. Along with Yamaki guitars, Daion sold instruments from Shinano, Mitsura Tamura, Chaki, and Hamox, some of which were built by Yamaki at various times, and Harptone guitars, which they imported from the US.

Sometime in the late 1960s, Daion began exporting Yamaki guitars to America, where they were well received. By the early 1980s, however, Daion felt that the Yamaki Martin-style guitars were getting lost among similar instruments from other Japanese builders like Takamine, Yasuma, and C.F. Mountain, so they redesigned the entire acoustic line and started building acoustic-electrics and solid-body electrics as well as oddities like double-neck acoustics. They dropped the Yamaki name and rebranded their instruments as Daion guitars. Daion began an extensive advertising campaign to introduce the new line around 1982, but this was a time when musicians were more interested in the new MIDI-equipped synthesizers than in guitars. In 1984 Daion stopped importing guitars to America and soon went out of business. Yamaki, on the other hand, survived the downturn of the 1980s and now makes parts for other Japanese guitar companies."

I think that covers it very well. Indeed, Yamaki guitars were sold to the West, though for some reason Canada was the one country to be most exposed to their models. I think their is a strong fanbase for their guitars there due to that. As ever, the top of the range models still seem to be more prominent in native Japan than anywhere else, with prices well above $1000 being the going rate for these.

I have a few Yamaki guitars; the one i am featuring here is one i sold earlier in the year. This 12-string Yamaki YW-50-12 was made in 1981, and originally retailed at 50,000 Yen. It is quite a stunning guitar by any measure, with its fine slotted headstock, central maple inlay, and the beautiful orange/green/cream/black chevron purfling, and then the quality of the tone woods used as well. Yamaki guitars are well reputed for their excellent stock of wood used in their guitars, and this is a great example of an even, tight grained solid spruce top and fine figured rosewood used in the sides and as the outer panels of the three-piece back. The bound rosewood fretboard features some of the nicest positional marker inlays i've seen, namely a rectangle in mother-of-pearl overlayed by a thinner and longer rectangle in mexican shell abalone. Highly skilled stuff, and not too bling on the eye. As you go up the mahogany neck, it is hard not to notice a rosewood veneered slotted headstock, which are exceptionally unusual for a steel-strung guitar. Nothing looks quite so good once you see it, something so vintage about it. Don't get me wrong, it's a bit of a pain in the ass to restring! But once you have, and you strum a lush open chord on this, it's entirely worth it. Sonorous, a classic full 12-string ring sings out. Wonderful stuff.

I do have a second one of these from 1984, but the headstock was poorly padded in transport and arrived to me split at the joint, and sits awaiting repair. I have no doubts it will play as well as this, but wont be in such fine condition.

Here are some photos to enjoy:



















Please find additional photos here