The Tama series guitars from the seventies, named after
the presidents wife of the Japanese manufacturer. It was
a seventies project that can be divided in two parts: The
earlier Martin copies but sometimes still produced with
veneered woods used and the later serie that was a
forerunner of the Ibanez Artwood guitars from which
the first batch had bindings constructed out of wood.
TAMA 3558S
This dreadnought is an earlier example of one of the
Tama products. The details are in fact all a bit less
than on the TG120 guitar. The gluing and further
set up of the woods such as modelling of the braces
have been done with the same care!
In fact that is where the master craft of the Japanese lies:
Veneering back and sides and make it look like a real
gorgeous soundbox. Abalone inlay for the sides and
abalone markers for the fingerboard as well. One remark
really has to be made regarding the veneered sides and
back as the inner layer is made out of the same wood
species: Sometimes apparently from more than two
pieces of wood (back) but the Japanese factories did
not do this only for economic reasons: While exporting
to foreign countries these laminated parts hold up
better and to be honest: Jose Ramirez also laminated
his sides in his premium class 1 guitars.
There are several differences in building up these guitars:
3558S versus TG120. In the 3558S type announcement
the S stands for Solid which means a solid top.
To our opinion the necks have been made out of different materials:
The TG 120 has that beautiful mahogany while the neck of the 3558
looks more like a stained Nato one though the Hufschlag site states
otherwise. The fretwork is of a lesser quality than on the TG120 so
I replaced the frets with ones that have more "material" and are a
bit higher. To enhance the transport of the string vibration from
the frets to the neck I used glue in the fret slots. Besides that I
securely placed the top nut for better contact with the wood of the
neck. It gave a significant better response of the lower strings.
I really do like the Martin copied head the 3558S possesses.
The tuners have been copied from Schallers / Grovers but they work
really smooth. An extra plus is the truss rod on these guitars.
The nice volute they've added on the later produced 3558
and the TG 120 is not yet present on this model.
Nice inlay work but the fret jobs could have been done
better on these guitars. One of the only minors that even was
there after labeling these guitars with the Ibanez brand!
I like these branded stamps! Serial number and
type number are branded in the inner heel block.
Some claim these earlier Tama guitars as being less
loud and not that sparkling as the later models.
I must say this is not my experience! Lots'
of overtones and volume!
TAMA TG120
Those who are inspecting all my blogs must have been aware
about the tradename Tama displayed on my Orozco blog as
well. I've stated there that the Orozco, Kohno and Sakurai
classical guitars for the world market have been produced in
the TAMA workshops. TAMA also produced classical
guitars under their own brandname. These guitars do
resemble the earlier mentioned brands a lot. This is the
further developement of their Martin D28 copy. Where
possible they adjusted some features to conform it more
according to their taste and provided this model with
another head that has no resemblance anymore with
Martin. Except from the scratchplate all parts are made
from genuine wood parts. Top of solid Alpine spruce.
This guitar came to me in this brand new case. The former
owner inherited this instrument from his brother and was
careful with the guitar as well! Most likely from 1978 as
the number system is as follows: first number 8 means 197(8)
second and third: the month (12) fourth and fifth: the day
(03) and last three digits: example number. This numbering
system also can be found in the Juan Orozco guitars of that
time. They're from the same factory!
Solid rosewood back and sides, maybe a bit
dull but remember that wood figured this way
is less prone to cracks while wildly figured pieces
of wood tend to possibly give more problems.
The completely written brandname "TAMA" has disappeared
on this model but a tasteful mother of pearl inlaid "T" really
does the job. Grover look alikes as tuners. In fact a bit of
uncommon looking Gotoh's.
The volute in the same manner as the first batch of Ibanez
Artwood series 1 have been provided with. Tasteful!
The overall craftsmanship on these instruments is
really marvellous. Premium materials, good fret and
glue work. Close grained solid top and ebony bridge
and fingerboard. The inner struts seems to be hand
carved which explains the total refinement.
I've included this detail as alongside the bindings 4 layers
of different colored wood have been placed. Believe it
or not: only 0,3 mm thick! They used the same strips
in the circles around the sound hole. By clicking
on this picture you are able to study it.
Besides the numbers that are branded in the heel block,
the label is small but clearly says TG 120. And then the sound:
Lots of volume but the refinement in tone is there as well.
Just slightly different from my Martin D28 but no less!
It is all about that silky tone most Martin guitars have as well.
Need a top sounding dreadnought at an affordable price?
You should really consider these guitars if you can
lay your hands on them…..
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten