# Where can I get an appraisal in Alberta



## Rick9 (Aug 19, 2020)

I've had this super old, 1969, beatup classical guitar for awhile that was handed down to me. It is made in Japan and the luthier used beautiful woods -- Spruce and solid Brazilian Rosewood B/S. So I assume at point it was a high quality instrument

However, not many guitars like this come in such terrible condition. So I don't really know if it is worthless or actually expensive, no references. I care mainly about the fact I enjoy playing it, but curiousity does make me wonder what it's worth. If anyone is an expert on this, I'll attach some images below too
The label inside says: 1969 Guitarra Tamura P50


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## Stephenlouis (Jun 24, 2019)

Hiroshi Tamura is a famous builder. His guitars can sell for a lot. yours has issues from the strap button to what damage I can see. I bet it still plays amazing, would be nice to get a better look at the signature. I know this model.


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## Stratotone (Jan 29, 2014)

Stay far away from Lillo's. Probably Myhre's Music in Edmonton is your best bet. Pretty sure there are some high end Luthiers in Calgary to choose from.


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## Rick9 (Aug 19, 2020)

Stephenlouis said:


> Hiroshi Tamura is a famous builder. His guitars can sell for a lot. yours has issues from the strap button to what damage I can see. I bet it still plays amazing, would be nice to get a better look at the signature. I know this model.


Firstly, thanks for the reply and the wealth of information you offered

I read P50 on the label. I also noticed this blue stain left inside the guitar, which I confirmed was not mold, and then scraped it off rather easily. As you can see in the attached photo

It actually does play amazing! I began guitar in the classical school for about a year, but gave up on it, played other styles. Later, when I was given this guitar, I began to play a lot of classical music again. I've never used a pick, so I get a lot enjoyment on this nylon instrument -- regardless of price.
1. Responsive
2. Really deep expressive bass
3. Great sustain


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## Rick9 (Aug 19, 2020)

Stratotone said:


> Stay far away from Lillo's. Probably Myhre's Music in Edmonton is your best bet. Pretty sure there are some high end Luthiers in Calgary to choose from.


What's wrong with Lilo's?
I bought a ukulele from them for my younger cousin with no troubles and a fair price
Just curious what your experience has been.


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## Lincoln (Jun 2, 2008)

I'd give these guys a call too. Acoustic Music Shop


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## Ship of fools (Nov 17, 2007)

Not worth a ton of money I would bet maybe in the $550- 625. area the P-50 is not one of their top line classical guitars and yours has been well played and loved from all the bumps and bruising. And as said I am sure it still plays very well from the looks of the fret board.
He stopped making guitars in the early 80's such a shame that he passed.
I do know that there are a fair number listed on E-Bay for super high pricing but these are in great shape and well over priced and like all things its what the buyer is willing to pay


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## BMW-KTM (Apr 7, 2015)

Plus one for Alfie Myhre.
I think my second choice (distant second) would be Stang.

Plus one for staying away from Lilo's as well.


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## Eric Reesor (Jan 26, 2020)

Well worth preserving and as really good older Japanese luthier made classicals go that is not exactly the low end of the scale. In the day when they were made they were crapped on by the snobs of the world of classical guitar and called "cheap crap Ramirez A1 clones" ( that was mostly by teachers that rely upon a substantial commission from instrument sales to make their living ) Classycat guitar teachers like that still exist to this very day as do the aficionados that frown upon the really great instruments that have come out of Japan. 😸😸😸😸

Fortunately history has proven this to be absolute bullcrap to say the very least. My good ol' Tama TC 15 (Khono workshop made) which is in many ways similar to that guitar blows the doors off most factory made Ramirez A1 guitars hands down. In the case of your guitar if well taken care of it will be worth what a good guitarist is willing to pay, better to not let someone make too much money on it flipping it IMO a reasonable commission if you decide to sell it yes, but not what some are asking for that model of that guitar on the internet. My estimate just from the pictures mind you and if the guitar has no playing issues or structural problems is a value of perhaps 2200 Canadian that is if the guitar is a good sounding one with no wolf notes and drop outs in the mids up the neck when playing on the third string at the twelfth fret with good strings. AND most importantly the top undergoes a good quality refinish and touch up to the rest of the guitar.

Contrary to most, refinishing a classical guitar, especially a newer Cedar top one does nothing to hurt the sound unless you do something crazy and do a coffee table top Martha Stewart plastic job on it the way some of the really cheap guitars these days from Spain and elsewhere do.

Might also be a good idea to ascertain the scale length if it is a guitar that is similar in construction to the older Ramirez A1s. It may be a long scale over 660 mm and might even have now rare tuners that are 39 mm spaced like my Tama does. 

660 mm plus Ramirez style guitars are not popular anymore and require a player with long fingers and huge technique to do much more than solo note play. My hands do fine with a 650 but beyond that pieces like BWV 998 become far too much of a stretch in the lower positions where most of that piece must be played. I play some of it fairly well with a capo 1st fret in the fingering of the key of D Major so it sounds out in the original key in which Bach wrote it. 
Only guitarists with hands and fingers like Parkening can play it decently on a 660 scale classical transposed down a semi-tone to the key of D major. Personally I prefer what Yepes did years ago on his ten string classical in the original key! Mind you he did change the tuning of his lower cantor strings a little to accomplish the feat but I do not think he played it with a capo at all to play but played it in the very difficult key of E flat on his remarkable ten string.

My Tama has different bracing and is a 648 scale like most Kohno guitars with a cedar top and a variant of Sudoku style bracing. It is a very rare Japanese made guitar.

Sorry but I think you might be wrong about it being a spruce top unless the top has been very heavily tinted to hide minor discolorations in the spruce. Your picture looks like it is has very high grade cedar top not a spruce top guitar that has been poorly touched up and even sanded incorrectly on the treble side of the upper bout. 

The back and sides are most likely top quality Indian Rosewood, the wood does not have the long dark black bands characteristic of Jacaranda, the much vaunted and over glorified "Brazillian Rosewood" moniker. The finish on your guitar does not look like it is a standard French polish like a Ramirez A1 from the same era but it may have been a very well done hard lacquer of some sort. Are you absolutely certain that the guitar has a spruce top? 

I personally do not think that if the top is deliberately stained dark to hide a little red or blue in the wood that it makes a whit of a difference to the sound or quality of a solid top guitar. The only way to really tell if it is a real gem of a well aged hand made Japanese guitar is to play it and hear it speak.

FYI Ramirez was the Spanish Luthier who made cedar top classical guitars popular and a viable option largely because of the dimensional stability of red cedar from the West Coast of North America and the fact that it does not require the aging or playing in that spruce topped guitars to sound loud across the register if well built. His designs for cedar topped guitars became extremely popular after Segovia started to perform on a custom built one and therefore the design was copied endlessly because the laminated sides and even the back in some instances of Ramirez guitars made them more stable when shipped around the world. By and large they could sound good but you had to luck out to get a really good one. Same as any decently made factory guitar regardless of price. 

To this very day many highbrow classical guitar aficionados dismiss the cedar top Japanese made guitars because they are not a Ramirez with "French polish" and if they are spruce top guitars they do not really have the mandatory "European spruce top that has been blessed by the Pope" otherwise they are not high end classical guitars. MEOW

My guitar has had the finish redone, but I am different I like the look of a well played great sounding weathered guitar with a French polish like an old violin... that is barring putting holes in it like Willy Nelson did with his nylon string guitar.


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## JamesW1988 (Sep 18, 2020)

I


Rick9 said:


> I've had this super old, 1969, beatup classical guitar for awhile that was handed down to me. It is made in Japan and the luthier used beautiful woods -- Spruce and solid Brazilian Rosewood B/S. So I assume at point it was a high quality instrument
> 
> However, not many guitars like this come in such terrible condition. So I don't really know if it is worthless or actually expensive, no references. I care mainly about the fact I enjoy playing it, but curiousity does make me wonder what it's worth. If anyone is an expert on this, I'll attach some images below too
> The label inside says: 1969 Guitarra Tamura P50
> ...


it looks great!


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