Guitarz 5000th Post!

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Though I'm not one to typically celebrate milestones I'm in the unique position of having been a fan of Guitarz for a lot longer than I've been a contributor.

So, I thought since I was going to abuse my power I'd celebrate 5000 posts by revisiting some of my favourite guitars featured on this site from when I was just a fan. Feel free to let us know if you have a favourite as well.

When this Hayman 3030 was posted it was the first time I'd ever seen a Hayman guitar. I don't think I'd even heard of Hayman before, which is made extra odd by that fact that I've been a Burns fan/owner for a long time. Some histories are missed. I am still on the lookout for a 3030 like this one to add to my arsenal, should anyone have an extra one they would want to part with.

This Forrest Custom Telecaster with B-Bender makes the list because it has 3 elements that I love ( aside from the fact it's a tele ). It's green , it's paisley, and it has a b-bender. A trifecta of telecaster love.

The Burns Jet Sonic designed by Pagelli came in two different colours. A Blue and Red combination and the less understated Black and Yellow/white shown here. I admit that I like the black version much more. If you have a crazy and unique design why bother dressing it in crazy colours. Probably the second or third guitar I'll buy if I ever win the lotto.

Another Burns! This Magpie from 1980 is a great example of the design and has the added bonus of a 6 in-line tuner configuration which in my opinion makes more sense with this design. The bird on the headstock is a nice touch too.

I've never disliked a Daion, and the Savage is probably my favourite design. The only fault I see in this Savage is that the original pickups have been replaced with dimarzios. Not that that isn't possibly an upgrade, I just think I'd prefer it to be stock.

This Greco Brawler BR600 is a great example of 1970s made in Japan quality, only this time it's not a copy of an existing guitar. The curves on this guitar are great and I see a nod to a Tiesco Tulip.

My first guitar was a 1984 Ibanez Roadstar and looked almost exactly like this one. But mine was a very reserved black. I loved this one on first sight as it simultaneously made me feel nostalgic and go "wow". I'm not sure I would have had the courage to play a bright beauty like this in 1984, to stand out so obviously. But I'd play it with pride now.

There is a lot to like about this John Birch guitar. The modular pickups, the simple design, the symmetry, the arm-carve on the bouts, and not least, the colour. This is one of those designs that I'm surprised didn't catch on. I guess it was ahead of its time.

This Quest Manhattan  is another fine example of Japan getting it right in the 1970s and 1980s. When I first saw this guitar I coveted it so much that I came to within inches of buying a seafoam green version at a very inflated price. I made the right decision and passed on the purchase, yet why do I feel remorse?



This Northern SG holds a couple of unique distinctions for me. Firstly, it's the only SG style guitar that I have loved the look of, even if it rails against all of my usual tastes. I cannot dislike this guitar.
Secondly, I'm pretty sure this is the first time Gavin posted a guitar that I sent him. It's really quite a beauty and is likely as playable as any 1970s Japanese guitar.


That's just the tip of the iceberg for my love of the guitars on this blog. Feel free to share your favourites as well.

R.W. Haller



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Another Daion Headhunter 555

guitarz.blogspot.com: 

This (magnificent) Daion Headhunter 555 is nothing new for Guitarz' regular readers, we've seen one here - but it was already back in 2010, and this picture is much better than the one I showed last time ! Even the sunburst finish - that I usually quite dislike - looks cool!

And one picture reveals something I didn't know, that though it is a semi-hollow body, the Headhunter has a string-through-body bridge - it is quite unusual if I'm not wrong! [It has a solid centre block in the body, like on a Gibson 335. See: http://daionguitar.com/electric.php - GLW]

You will also find extra information about Daion guitars on this other previous post.

Bertram

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

1980s Daion Savage with brushed alu pick guard

guitarz.blogspot.com

We've seen a Daion Savage on Guitarz already, but I take the opportunity of having found this one with black finish and a cool (and very 1980s) brushed aluminium pickguard to propose a couple of links.

First I finally found a website dedicated to Daion guitars that fills a real void (the first time I heard about Daion, there was zero online ressource about it), with catalogue excerpts and galleries...

Then I recommend to you an interesting article on myrareguitars.com  about Daion but also about the shift from Japanese copy era in the 1970s to the original neck-through / humbuckers / natural finish guitars of the 1980s, that start to reach the status of vintage guitars and raise a new interest.

Bertram

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

BC Rich NJ Series Made In Japan electro-acoustic jazz guitar

guitarz.blogspot.com:

B.C. Rich's NJ Series replaced the B.C. Rico brandname that originally appeared on their Japanese-made instruments and which had been the subject of a lawsuit from the Rico Reed Company. Although the initials NJ stood for "Nagoya, Japan" where the first NJ instruments were built, later Korean-made guitars also received the NJ Series designation.

This B.C. Rich NJ Series electro-acoustic jazzer, reminiscent in some ways of Gibson's Howard Roberts model, is a Japanese-made example which the seller claims was made by the Daion company. (Check here for other Daion guitars that we have looked at previously here on Guitarz). Daion guitars were manufactured from the lates 1970s through to 1984 by the Japanese company Yamaki, so I guess that it was this same company who built these B.C. Rich models rather than Daion specifically.

The guitar features a humbucker pickup at the neck plus a piezo in the bridge, controlled via volume and tone pots for each and a 3-way pickup selector switch all boldy mounted on top of the guitar. The soundhole is a suitably angular shape considering the brand, as is the sharp Florentine cutaway. The heel of the neck is comfort contoured so as to facilitate playing at the top of the neck.

This guitar is currently being offered for same on eBay UK (although the item is actually located in Sweden) with a starting price of £599.99 and a Buy It Now price of £999.99.

G L Wilson

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

1982 Daion 555 HeadHunter

guitarz.blogspot.com

I talked about the Daion 555 Headhunter a few weeks ago (when I found one on a flea market but couldn't afford to buy it [sob]), and I'm happy to have the opportunity to show one today.

Not easy to have much information about Daion, a late 70s Japanese-Texan brand that produced apparently good guitars but didn't last very long - they stopped in 1984 - and didn't leave much information. All this starts to give them some kind of cult status (also the fact that they have cool designs and are not mere copies people expected from Japanese guitars in these times), and I have to admit that I was quite impressed when I saw a real Headhunter, before I even started to dig the Internet to know more.

I love the back cutaway on a classic ES-335 body, and the unusual bridge on a semi-hollow!

Bertram

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!

Daion Savage from 1982

guitarz.blogspot.com:
The Daion Savage is another all-but-forgotten Japanese guitar from the late 70s/early 80s.

It's a good looking guitar equppied with with DiMarzio pickups, and featuring a heel-less bolt-on neck. The shape appears to be quite ergonomic having a pronounced upper wing which would support the right forearm nicely.

I can't find out a lot about Daion guitars on the net, other than the name is mentioned in conjunction with the famed Matsumoko factory out of which many other quality Japanese brands also emerged (Westone, Aria, Univox, etc...). There is also mention of the brand having grown out of the earlier Yamaki guitars brand. One thing is certain, that is these were quality instruments and are beloved by those who own them.

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!