# My Ryoji Matsuoka



## Harold Burt-Gerrans (Jun 2, 2020)

I got this guitar as a Christmas gift in 1971 or 72. Can't remember exactly which..... The SN starts with 82 so that's clearly not the year. 
Anyway, this baby has great sound, even though some years it never got out of the case. But, working from home due to Covid-19 has given me a bit of quiet time to pick it back up.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

Nice, makes it older than mine.
Classical guitars are fun to play--whether you do classical stuff on it on not (or somewhere in between)


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## Stephenlouis (Jun 24, 2019)

I have 3 of his guitars including your export model. Does yours have the ebony neck strip? These are great guitars, and sound amazing. My best is a 1970's no 30 but I'm always looking for the elusive no.50 (not m50) I absolutely love the sound of all Matsuoka guitars!


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## JethroTech (Dec 8, 2015)

zontar said:


> Classical guitars are fun to play--whether you do classical stuff on it on not (or somewhere in between)


I totally agree. I don’t play classical music and it doesn’t really appeal to me, but a cheap MIJ Aria classical guitar got me excited about playing acoustic again. It’s counterintuitive, but I find the big fat neck and the flat fretboard quite easy to play. And the mellow sound is perfect for doing slowed down, finger style versions of popular songs. 

And to the OP, that’s awesome that you still have your old guitar. I wish I had been less concerned about “upgrading” my guitars when I was younger. It would be nice to pull something out of the closet like that these days.


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## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

My Ryoji AM566 from the 70's. Did a thread on it a while ago looking for info. I think this is what @Stephenlouis is saying is export model. Great sounding guitar.


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## Stephenlouis (Jun 24, 2019)

Yes, these are North American exports, (AM)... Europe got something exactly equivalent to the no.30 right down to the guitar rosette. as a 42/330 , and a lower 41/320 Im guessing is like a no.20.They in Europe seem to have 41-42 and then 3xx as model numbers. We have AM5xx then c or s for spruce or cedar as far as I can tell , at least back in the 70's to about 1980. I think 566 is the highest model and 561 the lowest. The wood on yours is beautiful Dorian2.


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## Eric Reesor (Jan 26, 2020)

Those older Santos Rosewood back and side Matsuoka guitars can be marvellous. It does not matter if they are laminated on the back they can still produce great sound. One important thing to be aware of is that some have tuners like my Tama that are 39mm spaced so new tuners are getting really hard to find in music stores, if one is stripped or if they otherwise wear out and can no longer hold tension. Gotoh might be the only tuner choice if you need to get a new set. I blew out the tuners on my Tama by neglect I admit and was fortune about 7 years ago to obtain a set of these from of all places Arkansas. They are now available through japarts,ca and the listing is for Gotoh 40AR2000-2M-GG at this page JAPARTS : Gotoh Guitar Tuners - Classical Standard
The 40 designation is a little confusing as they are 39mm classical tuners. 

Put a set of Savarez alliance normal tension on it and it will sound bright and wonderful. Change the savarez basses after you find that the d and a start to lose sound. I use D'Addario basses. The guitar will not explode, it will start to really come out of the closet and sing. Be aware that the number one E savarez flourocarbon at concert pitch is a little more tension than straight nylons so as you bring it up to pitch it will almost seem ready to go capow! The Matsuoka classics are really well built and by the looks of yours will have no trouble coming back to life. There are now neat little replacements for using ball end nylons on classical guitars. Here...https://www.rosetteguitarproducts.com/new-page an interesting idea and what it does is make using ball ends a thing of the past to lower a classical's action down without sacrificing the break angle. They do not add enough mass to the bridge to make any noticeable difference in sound from a traditional tie end. Classicals being used with steel roll ends can become a real problem I have seen them split bridges over time and tension by wearing into the holes for the strings especially if they are a skinny profile piece of round metal. The most modern luthier technique is to drill twelve holes in the bridge so the is looped only on the wood and not under the angle of the string going up to the bridge saddle. 

Good solid cedar tops like most Matsuoka solid top guitars do not take long to return to full power if put to sleep in a closet. Spruce tops are another kettle of fish and can take a while and a lot of playing to begin to wake up. When I first studied classical seriously it was Savarez trebles and different basses. Things have not changed much since then. Except that Savarez basses are a little better than the were in the 1970's and now last me over just a few weeks if I play allot.


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