History of Japanese Electric Guitars | Illustrated Guitar Reference Book with Vintage Models and Pickups | Collectors Guide for 1940s1960s Instruments with Guitar History and Factory Origins

This book is chalked full of information on vintage Japanese guitars from different makers. It has hundreds of clear photos and original ads of these guitars along with great background information on them. It has been invaluable to me as a vintage collector. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in instruments of that era.

Great pictures and very informative! Explains the history behind these cool guitars. A must own if you like collecting these guitars!

I was definitely not prepared for what I was getting with this book! I'm used to guitar books with one glossy, high res pic of a single guitar per page and a brief couple of paragraphs. This book has wonderful pictures taken from advertising, shots for the book as well as historical pictures from the guitar firms themselves. The writing is outstanding and this book is a fantastic chronicle for someone that had no idea Japan had played such an integral part of the music revolution. I look at these guitars through very different eyes now and I'm guessing this will create a collectors market (if it doesn't already exist) for these beautiful instruments. I highly recommend this book, it cannot be perused or read in a few hours. The pictures alone gobble up a lot of time. The histories and back stories will drive you to Google to look for more info as well. My only wish is for a second book! Maybe something in collaboration with Deke Dickerson: Frank could call it "Teisco in the Attic". I'm sure that between the production in Japan and the demand in the US and around the world, there are many stories yet to be told about these wonderful guitars. This book and the wonderful guitars it contains reminds me of a quote from the movie Ratatouille: "Not everyone can become a great artist; but a great artist *can* come from *anywhere*. It is difficult to imagine more humble origins than those of the genius now cooking at Gusteau's, who is, in this critic's opinion, nothing less than the finest chef in France. I will be returning to Gusteau's soon, hungry for more." It is difficult to imagine more unpretententious origins than the guitars, men and women contained in this book yet it is likely they could be some of the most innovative instruments ever produced and most assuredly this book has left me hungry for more.

I see some other reviews who are disappointed that they were not able to date or discover any details about their particular guitar from this book. Had they actually READ the book it would be clear that for these Japanese guitars of the 60's it is completely impossible to find out who actually made them, where various parts came from and so on. In order to keep up with exploding world demand for guitars the known manufacturers subcontracted parts and assembly to myriad small shops and even to each other, which explains why many of the different brands have obvious similarities. It was a chaotic time with the manufacturers scrambling to keep up with demand any way they could. Kudos to the author for uncovering at least some of the story.

This is excellent, the history here is amazing. The research in the pickup section is impressive and very detailed. My cat Zelda prefers early '60s Japanese guitars.

The book has a lot of beautiful pictures and rare photos and some interesting facts. But if you expected to find out the name of your Japanese guitar and in what year it was made - you will be disappointed. This is not a reference book or determinant.

Amazing book.

Lots of details and pictures on history of Japanese guitars and manufacturers, recommended for anybody interested in this chapter of guitar manufacturing.

This book is a long overdue and a welcome addition to my bookshelf. Though the photography and layout isn't really up to the standards of other guitar titles I'm marking this at 5 stars because Frank Meyers deserves huge respect for documenting the brands contained. Many of the mysteries that surround Japanese guitars from the 60's are explained here and Frank has done his research properly. This book is a must for any vintage guitar enthusiast looking to broaden their knowledge or their horizons. It's great that someone has finally got round to writing this history - it may not be the definitive title on the subject but it's certainly the first in English and a great read.

Un libro molto completo sulla fase iniziale della produzione giapponese, fa comprendere appieno anche il lato industriale del boom della chitarra elettrica verificatosi negli anni 60 e fornisce una messe di notizie sulle chitarre di produzione orientale, che in effetti hanno alimentato il boom; unica cosa che spiace è che non è presa in considerazione la produzione delle 'copie' giapponesi (ad es. Aria Matsumoku), che invece è di grandissimo interesse per il collezionista.

Si eres algo "friki" de las guitarras antiguas con formas raras este es un interesante libro. Habla del origen y el boom de la fabricación de guitarras en Japón, de sus principales fabricantes y además el libro viene ilustrado con fotografías de sus modelos más conocidos. El libro aunque tiene 173 páginas se puede leer en 2 sentadas, ya que tiene muchas fotografías. Ya me gustaría que hubiera otro libro similar de guitarras italianas de los 60...

Was expecting better!

No es un libro de texto o de consulta. Es una reseña de muchas marcas. Creo que la investigación estuvo fuerte y significativa, pero se aprecia poco texto e historia. Lo bueno es que es historia significativa, poca se encuentra en internet con esta exactitud. Puedes ver muchas páginas, más de la mitad, llena de fotos, muchas a color, de los diversos modelos de guitarras. Si te interesa saber más de las marcas japonesas de guitarras, ésta es una buena lectura. Se puede acabar en dos días sin problema, pues es corto el texto y es mucha imagen.