4:23 From the look of these grotty strings, either player never washes his hands, or too cheap to replace strings, or guitar hasn't been played in at least ten years. Yechhh!
A good friend asked me to look at his guitar because he was having major intonation problems (I'm just and amateur, BTW). I didn't look at it, I asked him when he last changed the strings - 'oh, about 5 years ago or so'. Problem gone.
These unashamed Guild copies have always given me a chuckle, especially the Takamine Guild-inspired shield logo on the headstock. But the fake trussrod cover really takes the cake
I wish I knew the superglue and capo trick when I had my first (very bad) guitar, where the high E string would slide off the fretboard and get stuck under the first fret (triggering the 'slide pick along neck' dance)
That very fine second crack below the bridge at 9:15 is easy to spot by the discontinuity in the finish reflection. It may only be a few thousandths, but there's definitely a discontinuity there.
Had a so-sue-me Takamine years ago. Played great. Sounded great and better as it aged. Gifted to someone I heald in high regard. I get to visit it some. 🙂
That crappy guitar looks just like my lovely 1972 Epiphone F150. The Japanese factory could have cared less about anything concerning this instrument. It was a love gift from my young wife and it was unplayable. Action was about 3'8 ths of the inch. Intonation was a joke. Zero fret, stupid. I put it away, because it was just shit, for about 30 years. When I opened the case, the neck shot up because a brace had given up and fell into the body. I have worked on this guitar to make it playable, and it seems to work now thanks to you. Much super glue has become part of it. Action is 5/64ths across the board, it has a new nut and several pieces of Walrus ivory chips to temper intonation. A new saddle of said Walrus Ivory and I can now make Barre Chords. Had this guitar for over half a century and it now is my every day go to. Thank you Master.
Dry guitars probably sound better because the sound waves are not dampened by the water in the wood. As a furniture maker myself, I don't build with anything that isn't below 12% moisture, preferably 5-7%. I couldn't imagine making an acoustic guitar out of wood that has been sitting around in a very humid environment for months.
You would think that manufacturers would build with slightly less humidity in their shops. But then again, that would rob them of their repair $$ as weather changes!!
Good information, thank you. I have a 1977 Takamine 12 string solid top. I can't recall the model number, it's stored away in the closet at the moment. My Takamine looks a lot like a Martin d45, abalone inlay at the fretboard, soundhole and around the perimeter of the top. I've had it since 1991. I took it down to 6 strings in about 1996 to reduce the string tension. It sounds, looks and plays really nice
Being A Dorset born man loved your I've got a brand new razor blade with tape tune.. it were proper funny! love the videos, keep educating me it's great...
I used to own a Takamine F360S. Great sounding, playing and looking guitar. So good, a musician friend offered me double what it was worth. So good it was also stolen a couple of years later when I moved to San Diego.
I did a neck reset on a W117 Mansfield. After heating up the "neck joint" for a long long time, I found out the neck was attached with dowels. Love your channel. Thanks.
Ted always makes me chuckle at the most unexpected times in his videos - the "Brand New Key" parody was priceless. Nice to see he's finally crossed the Silver subscriber threshold.
If you're out there, Ted, I was one of those who commented in the zero fret thing. Your remark around extra wear is convincing. It is worsened where there is lots of space between the 0 fret and the string guide. I have had 0 fret guitars made for me dating back to the 70s and I still have one. I looked at it and there is NO fretwear whatever - unlike the Mansfeild which looks to have big divots - despite the guitar having been played hard and put away wet for 46 years. Roger Bucknall of Fylde talks about this a lot. Good quality wire and a good fit = less wear than on the frets that get played. They aren't getting pressed up and down. As always, your experience trumps most things. Maybe I just got lucky.
You've hit the right combination of humor, information and just being yourself. Whatever it is, you've found that comfort spot, like a worn, soft Tshirt or pair of shoes.. Like others, I would watch a daily video , but you are only one man already stretched out to thin. Don't overdo any of it. Stay sane and take breaks when necessary. Peace ✌️
Another fantastically informative video. I genuinely look forward to these coming out. And watching your videos has also helped me to perfect headstock break repairs. I really appreciate the effort you put into these.
I know you're not an instructional channel exactly, but you have encouraged me to reglue the lifting/detached bridge from my Ibanez Hummingbird copy and do a bit of a setup/fret polish on my Takamine New Yorker parlour guitar. Thank you. :-)
Heh heh ... dry guitars sound good ... amen! We live in a dry western mountain climate, with the wood stove cracking 24/7 in the winter, which is already dry to begin with. My J45 sounds amazing in the winter at about 1 in the morning, kid you not. The dryness of course, introduces cross grain tension on the top, which is a really weak direction for wood strength. Wood bends great, and is strong in regular tension. But, see how easy it is to split a chunk of wood, or bend or pull apart a thin piece, and it will crack in a hurry. Both introduce cross grain tension. Having said that - tension is what makes things vibrate, including strings, large roadway bridges that fail (check out the Tacoma Narrows bridge - which was unfortunately tuned to the same frequency of the wind), and my house, as the new neighbors decided it was a good idea to cut the site and drop it 10', which is making my house stretch and one side sink ... but the floors are so nice (not) and loud now when you walk. Unfortunately, guitar tops can only go so far in cross grain tension, until that nice tension turns into a crack. Fortunately, the J45 hasn't cracked yet ... but others have. I try to keep them low, against the couch now, and not high on the wall, where the dryness and heat rising combine to produce cracks. Don't get me started about edge seams on fiddles ... you are super great. I want to send you a guitar for a neck reset - it is a crappy guitar, and most people wouldn't think worth fixing. But, it was my first "ok" guitar, and I still think it sounds good. Sorry to blab ... thanks for the vid.
Maybe they had to move the saddle position forward on the Mansfield because of the zero fret? Re: Humidifier - really, get a Venta or similar, those vaporizers tend to leave lime residue over surfaces and also can have nasty hygienic implications, blowing fungus spores all over your shop. This is the best late sunday evening channel (I'm in Germany), getting a bit of common sense and calm before the bleak monday morning. Thanks and keep up the good stuff!
Was that an ultrasonic humidifier that Ted was using? Those things are very bad unless you used distilled water (expensive) and they're not self sterilizing like a steam humidifier.
I call those Mansfield type guitars campfire guitars. The laminated body and top make them great to take camping; they're so durable, you can use them for a paddle, in a pinch! This one sounds great.
First off, sorry for the long comment.. But it's funny about leaving items from the build process in side the guitar (it was over looked). My Recording King had a square piece of sandpaper (the size of the sound hole) left inside that was used to block finish from getting inside while they sprayed it. Some how it came loose while spraying the finish and stuck back onto the lower top of the guitar and no body found it. I heard something inside the guitar, flopping around, and thought a large spider found it's way into my guitar...lol... But was surprised to find it was that piece of sandpaper. This guitar is all solid wood, Adirondack Spruce top and solid East Indian Rosewood back and sides with carved braces, like the original 1930's D-28. This guitar is a cannon.
Very clever! Of all the pronouciations of Takamine, that one is new to me! I have 2 factory lefties, both Martin clones: 1984 F340S (last year of the Martin headstock) and a 1977 F360S (with the most incredible factory amber overspray). Wish I could find a lefty in the Guild jumbo style!
It's great to see you take so much care with these instruments. Another popular guitar UA-cam channel that will remain nameless doesn't do anything to care for the guitar. It's shocking
Re. the tuner layout on the Mansfield: my Martins (with pedal-shaped headstocks) all have the same or similar headstock layout, i.e. the tuners for the A and b strings are located further inward than the rest. This, when done right, is to allow all strings to run unobstructed from nut to tuner-peg w/out touching other pegs or strings. So it's not a snafu on the part of Mansfield, but rather an exact copy. Thanks for another enjoyable and instructive video!!
Nice, thanks. First time I've noticed your clamp for pulling the crack up tight. Got a rebuild going on a personal instrument that will probably benefit from one of that styling. Thanks again sir. Always enjoy the knowledgeable commentary.
I live in southern Arizona, right on the Mexican border. In monsoon season, about July 4th to mid/late September the humidity is high…80%ish. The rest of the year it’s dry dry dry. I don’t have AC, I use a swamp cooler and that helps humidity a bit. Not nearly enough. I used to keep a mist humidifier going most of the time set at 40%. I had to fill it constantly and the fine white powder coated everything. Not good for my amps and recording gear. I switched to a large evaporative humidifier. Holds 5 gallons and last for days with zero white dust. I’ll never do mist again! My 000-15M is VERY sensitive to heat and humidity and it cracked from the centerline of the bridge just about to the binding. Didn’t take long, either. I neglected adding water to the mist humidifier for about 4 days and it cracked. I keep my music room/studio at 40-45% year round and use a case humidifier when I take it out to gig. My Gibson CJ-165 gets dry but has never cracked. Can’t stress enough the importance of heat and humidity control!!
I just read an article comparing Taylor and Takamine. I'm a Takamine fan. So, I was floored that by the end of the article, Takamine won out over Taylor. Personally, I would say that they are both awesome guitars. But I have never found another guitar that I've felt the love for like my Santa Fe. I fell in love with the ascetics the first time I saw one in a Mark Chesnutt video in 1993. I finally got mine 22 years later in 2015.
@Tusk 1157 bought mine from a small music shop in I think Greenwich village NYC ( I'm from the uk and was on holiday touring the States in 93/94 iirc) I'm a lefty and I walked in and I was looking around and seen only one left handed guitar and it was the en10c! Anyway I bought it and cost around £700 uk money. Downside was it was right at the beginning of the holiday and I was visiting around 10 different locations in the US. So it was on and off aeroplanes and stuffed into the boots ( trunks) of countless cars across thousands of miles east coast to west to south and all over before it came back home with me. Its done hundreds of gigs and the only thing that needed repairing was the pre amp. I just replaced it with something else but that was 15 years ago! Amazing guitar and I wouldn't hesitate to buy another.
@@stu-j,, Takamine's durability is one of the things that they are know for. Taylor was just getting a name for themselves around that time, too. When they first came out, one of their downfalls was that they wouldn't have survived the plane trip that you and your Takamine took. Another was they had no pre-amps or piezo pickup. I don't think they started putting Fishman electronics until around 1998. I've got an EF341 and EF38112string, too. I think, I recall the model you have. I had to Google it to make sure that it was the one I thought it was. It is and the black blocks around the sound hole were I recalled the most. It's a very nice guitar.
@@TUSK1157 yeah block soundhole rosette and it had the takamine equaliser pre amp fitted but that was replaced with a fishman just because getting stuff from Japan takes time and I needed it quickly. They are a bulletproof guitar and looking about they still hold value quite well also! Especially the early 90s stuff. I've only got one Taylor so not much experience with them as it's new ish ( and a cheap ish GS mini) it's a massive sounding guitar for being small body. Love my en10c and would never part with it!
Friend of mine has a similar Takamine though not quite that old. Early eighties maybe. Absolutely beautiful sounding guitar. Always love playing with him just to hear it.
I had a Takamine like this, made mid '70s with a mahogany top finished kinda dark. Sounded darker too but I liked that. Top never cracked in years of travel across different climates but the mahogany neck warped, rising on the low E side at the nut until I couldn't file frets and nut to keep up with it and make it playable. Lucky too it wasn't the treble side rising because the action wasn't bad over there at first. By '85 it was done, that top left corner was affecting everywhere on the neck. But it was just not valuable enough a guitar to be worth really fixing or even re-necking so I traded it away. I kinda wish now I'd kept it. I bet the twist stabilized and there was enough fretboard thickness to plane and sand the NW corner of the neck straight and flat again and refret it. Oh well, would've been a fun experiment. Those were solidly built guitars though. Maybe the bodies were too rigid for their tops sometimes. And things like my neck twist are just very rare. But they're probably still not worth re-necking if that was the remedy.
More nice work. I tend to like Takamine guitars, I don't know why. The humidity thing, and the reactions of wood, we may never quite figure it out, but I'll agree with you, makes since. Study, study, study, blah, blah, blah, bonk bonk on the head.
Awesome hearing you talk about Payne music. Bob was a treasure - never failed to show me pictures of my dad that were posted on the wall, though I was too young to appreciate it at the time.
Fine workmanship as always! I appreciate the level of care you put into making these old import guitars playable again. The owners will be able to enjoy them for many more years.
How absolutely fantastic! ......... That Mansfield could be a clone to my Yamaki of the same era! Mine was purchased in London. I never noticed the offset A and B tuners till you pointed it out on that guitar, and yes mine is the same. Thanks for a great video!
I was looking at my Ibanez acoustic just now and thought about you. It's cool to see a video pop up right after. If my guitar ever needs help, you're first on my list.
I must be a bit sparse but the very first image of this video I said, "Oh that's a beautiful Guild"...Wroooong... But then I finally get to see the headstock about 7:11 and it still seems Guild-y. Is there some part of history that I just plain never knowed?
@4:54 I definitely had a “boo” coupled with a little 🤢 I’m working on a ‘75 Ampeg SVT that looks and smells like it was owned by a chain smoking cat. Ughhhhhh
Always enjoy the skills you share and experience along the way I put in my list of knowledge as well sharing in a group since I want your experience and channel to expand to others have a wonderful new year as always thanks for allowing us to enjoy your life as a repairman
Is there a number $$$ that would make a “don’t ask” into…sure I’d love too. It would be a pickup in person, no shipping, no flights, because United throws guitars.
Aww, I was hoping to see a Takamine neck reset. I've got a '73 F375 that's in serious need. Action's at 8+ 64ths and there's no saddle left to shave. I might be able to shave the bridge down, but not sure it's a good idea to take the needed 1/8" off that. I'm tempted to try to do a neck reset myself since I don't think it's worth spending $300+ to get that done. I've seen you struggle with a few Japanese neck removals, so I'm not sure if I want to buy the tools and attempt the full blown reset or instead do a 'kung-fu" style one. Oh, well - I guess it'll sit in the corner a while longer while I continue to 'fret' about it :-(
I love your videos and enjoy them all! This is the first time I see a Mansfield guitar on your channel. I have a small collection of Mansfield guitars. I did a lot of research on them and picked a few on kijiji because my cousin had one back in the 70's and it was a cool guitar. Back 20 years ago I reached out to M. Peate Jr and he confirmed that they used to outsource in asia from many manufacturers, including Hoshino-Gakki. So it is true that some of them were made by Hoshino-Gakki but not necessarily all of them. I have one 1974 model 694 that is from the same production line as the Ibanez Concord 694 (Hoshino-Gakki). I have also 2 Mansfields that were done by Kiso Suzuki (WT100 and S65D). My cousin's Mansfield is also a Kiso Suzuki, model W180. I have one that is a Takamine F370 build and 2 more that are Sigma Martin DM-3 build (most likely Korean). They all have the Mansfield label, and they all have some unique signature that allowed me to identify their manufacturing source. I had a few other that I was not able to identify and that I sold. They are all entry level laminated top and they are all pleasant to play (following some TLC..). I have seen a few that were obviously rejects from the original production line, and recycled in the independent label order. For example, I had 2 that had 12 holes under the bridge and they were both 6 strings guitars (those bridge resets required a bit more than expected...). I observed that many Mansfield models have the same model number as their sibling (true for many Ibanez Concord models, Kiso Suzuki, and Takamine) In some cases the model number does not match (ex: Sigma Martin and some others) For the one in this video, it is not clear to me that it is from Hoshino-Gakki. I found a vintage Yamato F111 on reverb that have the same misalignment of the tuning pegs... same model number, same misallignment... so this Mansfield could very well have been made from the same manufacturer as the Yamato. Cheers!
My only acoustic is a beautiful Takamine Santa Fe 59. With turquoise inlays and wooden sound hole art work. I purchased for $1200 in 2001. Looks new and sounds amazing. The electronics still work great. I bet the electronics will last longer than I will. I’ve been to bunch of music stores over the years. Just to see what’s out there now. Trying to see if there is a better sound. But keep leaving empty handed.
Thanks to everyone for their responses. Please look up the guitar-lists article dated 2017-10-16 entitled Martin Lawsuit Acoustic Guitar Logos for examples of what I would call shameless "homage" Martin guitar copies including Jagard & Co, Takamine & Co., CF Mountain and CF Suzuki & Co. Fun fact: in the late 1960s I bought a Japanese Antoria branded copy of a (Japanese made) Yamaha. In the same store there was an Antoria branded copy of a Gibson Hummingbird.
I've got a lefty converted to righty '78 Tak F-360S...the top is in good condition, only one short little hairline crack in the finish, but the binding all dried up and cracked off probably 20 years ago. I rebound it, and with fresh strings she still sounds fantastic.
I have an old dreadnought that I'm pretty sure comes from the same factory! It's branded "Centennial". It has the same mock truss rod cover, zero fret, and adjustable bridge. It was given to me when I was 12. I'm 46 now. It's not the worst guitar at all. It survived my adolescence and several years hanging in my friend's metal shop.
I use a depth micrometer or a step micrometer to measure fret height instead of calipers. But that is because I am a retired tool maker.I never eye ball critical dimensions instead I use precision gage blocks.
I live in Eastern Canada and hang all my guitars on the wall.I never have had a problem with cracked tops in 50 years.I have a guild that Takamine copied that one of
I live in NB and in the winter in my living room i forgot to put my Martin D35 back in the case overnight. In one day the dryness opened up the seam behind the bridge. My tech fixed it but he said it did not surprise him. The dryness in the winter here is brutal on solid acoustics
"The onboard fuzz circuit"
The delivery on these jokes is as funny as the joke itself
I appreciated the power of the the dad joke contained in that lol
4:23 From the look of these grotty strings, either player never washes his hands, or too cheap to replace strings, or guitar hasn't been played in at least ten years. Yechhh!
A good friend asked me to look at his guitar because he was having major intonation problems (I'm just and amateur, BTW). I didn't look at it, I asked him when he last changed the strings - 'oh, about 5 years ago or so'. Problem gone.
These unashamed Guild copies have always given me a chuckle, especially the Takamine Guild-inspired shield logo on the headstock. But the fake trussrod cover really takes the cake
Now I know why the Takamine on the headstock was shaped like that. That is a Guild looking logo.
@twoodfrd470 🤡
@@op8388 scammer
@@mellowvids9637 Of course
@@op8388 just in case anyone else was wondering. People have been duped on this channel before
Love how that crazy glue wicks under the offending finish. I have learned so much from this channel!! Many thanks, Ted!!
I wish I knew the superglue and capo trick when I had my first (very bad) guitar, where the high E string would slide off the fretboard and get stuck under the first fret (triggering the 'slide pick along neck' dance)
That very fine second crack below the bridge at 9:15 is easy to spot by the discontinuity in the finish reflection. It may only be a few thousandths, but there's definitely a discontinuity there.
Had a so-sue-me Takamine years ago. Played great. Sounded great and better as it aged. Gifted to someone I heald in high regard. I get to visit it some. 🙂
I almost did the same thing,still have the 340s
Beautiful Jumbo Guild copy (Takamine)
That Takamine has a nice voice.
Using a capo as a single fret clamp !?! how have I lived not knowing this trick? Old dogs can earn new tricks. Thanks Ted!
@OfficialVerhulst05how does it feel to be a moron?
Omg a capo to hold frets down while gluing (slap self upside head)!
That crappy guitar looks just like my lovely 1972 Epiphone F150. The Japanese factory could have cared less about anything concerning this instrument. It was a love gift from my young wife and it was unplayable. Action was about 3'8 ths of the inch. Intonation was a joke. Zero fret, stupid. I put it away, because it was just shit, for about 30 years. When I opened the case, the neck shot up because a brace had given up and fell into the body. I have worked on this guitar to make it playable, and it seems to work now thanks to you. Much super glue has become part of it. Action is 5/64ths across the board, it has a new nut and several pieces of Walrus ivory chips to temper intonation. A new saddle of said Walrus Ivory and I can now make Barre Chords. Had this guitar for over half a century and it now is my every day go to. Thank you Master.
Think I'm beginning to understand why I like this channel so much. It appeals to my easy going nature and yet my hyperactive attention the detail.
Dry guitars probably sound better because the sound waves are not dampened by the water in the wood. As a furniture maker myself, I don't build with anything that isn't below 12% moisture, preferably 5-7%. I couldn't imagine making an acoustic guitar out of wood that has been sitting around in a very humid environment for months.
You would think that manufacturers would build with slightly less humidity in their shops. But then again, that would rob them of their repair $$ as weather changes!!
Always be polishing. Nice one.
Thanks for playing them for us Ted.
Good information, thank you.
I have a 1977 Takamine 12 string solid top. I can't recall the model number, it's stored away in the closet at the moment. My Takamine looks a lot like a Martin d45, abalone inlay at the fretboard, soundhole and around the perimeter of the top. I've had it since 1991. I took it down to 6 strings in about 1996 to reduce the string tension. It sounds, looks and plays really nice
Ahhh my weekly dose of sanity...Happy New Year Ted
I've watched every video you've put out but I'm watching every video from the newest to the oldest on my paid day off today.
Being A Dorset born man loved your I've got a brand new razor blade with tape tune.. it were proper funny! love the videos, keep educating me it's great...
I reckon he was doing the original version (Brand New Key) Don’t think The Wurzels made it to The New World ?!…although it WOULD be better !
I shot JR….I’ve still got the sign on the back of my car….
@@joelfildes5544 🤣
I used to own a Takamine F360S. Great sounding, playing and looking guitar. So good, a musician friend offered me double what it was worth. So good it was also stolen a couple of years later when I moved to San Diego.
I still have one, can't bear to let it go.
Hi Ted. I cannot get enough of your videos. I don’t know why. Cheers, from Melbourne Australia.
I get to see your videos around 10pm, before I go to sleep for Monday mornings... I love the zen your work brings to us. Thank you, sir!
I did a neck reset on a W117 Mansfield. After heating up the "neck joint" for a long long time, I found out the neck was attached with dowels. Love your channel. Thanks.
Ted always makes me chuckle at the most unexpected times in his videos - the "Brand New Key" parody was priceless. Nice to see he's finally crossed the Silver subscriber threshold.
If you're out there, Ted, I was one of those who commented in the zero fret thing. Your remark around extra wear is convincing. It is worsened where there is lots of space between the 0 fret and the string guide. I have had 0 fret guitars made for me dating back to the 70s and I still have one. I looked at it and there is NO fretwear whatever - unlike the Mansfeild which looks to have big divots - despite the guitar having been played hard and put away wet for 46 years. Roger Bucknall of Fylde talks about this a lot. Good quality wire and a good fit = less wear than on the frets that get played. They aren't getting pressed up and down. As always, your experience trumps most things. Maybe I just got lucky.
Onboard fuzz unit!! Nice!
Thank you for the video
Lol! I live 40 miles away from Malibu Beach. 25 miles north of Hollywood. Our humidity in July to November is as low as 5% to the high of 25%.
85% humidity is 50% higher than 70% humidity, if ya know what I'm saying?...lol
Another great video!
Thanks again for sharing your skills, I learn something new on almost all your repair videos.Its always a good day when you post a video.
Thank you for another enjoyable video.
Nice Melanie reference.👍
You've hit the right combination of humor, information and just being yourself. Whatever it is, you've found that comfort spot, like a worn, soft Tshirt or pair of shoes.. Like others, I would watch a daily video , but you are only one man already stretched out to thin. Don't overdo any of it. Stay sane and take breaks when necessary.
Peace ✌️
I have a 1978 Takamine F360S the Martin D28 lawsuit model that I purchased in 1978 and after 45 years it still plays, sounds and looks great!
Another fantastically informative video. I genuinely look forward to these coming out. And watching your videos has also helped me to perfect headstock break repairs. I really appreciate the effort you put into these.
As a (retired) hvac/refrigeration engineer, I very much enjoyed your discussion of manufacturing floor humidity. Spot on!
I know you're not an instructional channel exactly, but you have encouraged me to reglue the lifting/detached bridge from my Ibanez Hummingbird copy and do a bit of a setup/fret polish on my Takamine New Yorker parlour guitar. Thank you. :-)
Great video Ted, thank you for posting.
Keep safe 👍
I think one of my favorite parts of your videos is when you play the instruments you work on.
@twoodfrd470 Piss off, scam boy.
Heh heh ... dry guitars sound good ... amen! We live in a dry western mountain climate, with the wood stove cracking 24/7 in the winter, which is already dry to begin with. My J45 sounds amazing in the winter at about 1 in the morning, kid you not. The dryness of course, introduces cross grain tension on the top, which is a really weak direction for wood strength. Wood bends great, and is strong in regular tension. But, see how easy it is to split a chunk of wood, or bend or pull apart a thin piece, and it will crack in a hurry. Both introduce cross grain tension. Having said that - tension is what makes things vibrate, including strings, large roadway bridges that fail (check out the Tacoma Narrows bridge - which was unfortunately tuned to the same frequency of the wind), and my house, as the new neighbors decided it was a good idea to cut the site and drop it 10', which is making my house stretch and one side sink ... but the floors are so nice (not) and loud now when you walk. Unfortunately, guitar tops can only go so far in cross grain tension, until that nice tension turns into a crack. Fortunately, the J45 hasn't cracked yet ... but others have. I try to keep them low, against the couch now, and not high on the wall, where the dryness and heat rising combine to produce cracks. Don't get me started about edge seams on fiddles ... you are super great. I want to send you a guitar for a neck reset - it is a crappy guitar, and most people wouldn't think worth fixing. But, it was my first "ok" guitar, and I still think it sounds good. Sorry to blab ... thanks for the vid.
Very good information! It looks like my Guild F-50
That looks like a Mosrite string guide. I'm sure it's quite a bit wider. They made them in chrome plated brass
Maybe they had to move the saddle position forward on the Mansfield because of the zero fret?
Re: Humidifier - really, get a Venta or similar, those vaporizers tend to leave lime residue over surfaces and also can have nasty hygienic implications, blowing fungus spores all over your shop.
This is the best late sunday evening channel (I'm in Germany), getting a bit of common sense and calm before the bleak monday morning. Thanks and keep up the good stuff!
Was that an ultrasonic humidifier that Ted was using? Those things are very bad unless you used distilled water (expensive) and they're not self sterilizing like a steam humidifier.
I call those Mansfield type guitars campfire guitars. The laminated body and top make them great to take camping; they're so durable, you can use them for a paddle, in a pinch! This one sounds great.
First off, sorry for the long comment..
But it's funny about leaving items from the build process in side the guitar (it was over looked). My Recording King had a square piece of sandpaper (the size of the sound hole) left inside that was used to block finish from getting inside while they sprayed it.
Some how it came loose while spraying the finish and stuck back onto the lower top of the guitar and no body found it.
I heard something inside the guitar, flopping around, and thought a large spider found it's way into my guitar...lol... But was surprised to find it was that piece of sandpaper.
This guitar is all solid wood, Adirondack Spruce top and solid East Indian Rosewood back and sides with carved braces, like the original 1930's D-28. This guitar is a cannon.
Very clever! Of all the pronouciations of Takamine, that one is new to me! I have 2 factory lefties, both Martin clones: 1984 F340S (last year of the Martin headstock) and a 1977 F360S (with the most incredible factory amber overspray). Wish I could find a lefty in the Guild jumbo style!
The “e” is always pronounced like “eh” in Japanese. Should be easy for a Canadian to say:
Tah kah meen eh
It's great to see you take so much care with these instruments. Another popular guitar UA-cam channel that will remain nameless doesn't do anything to care for the guitar. It's shocking
Re. the tuner layout on the Mansfield: my Martins (with pedal-shaped headstocks) all have the same or similar headstock layout, i.e. the tuners for the A and b strings are located further inward than the rest. This, when done right, is to allow all strings to run unobstructed from nut to tuner-peg w/out touching other pegs or strings. So it's not a snafu on the part of Mansfield, but rather an exact copy. Thanks for another enjoyable and instructive video!!
Nice, thanks. First time I've noticed your clamp for pulling the crack up tight. Got a rebuild going on a personal instrument that will probably benefit from one of that styling. Thanks again sir. Always enjoy the knowledgeable commentary.
I live in southern Arizona, right on the Mexican border. In monsoon season, about July 4th to mid/late September the humidity is high…80%ish. The rest of the year it’s dry dry dry. I don’t have AC, I use a swamp cooler and that helps humidity a bit. Not nearly enough.
I used to keep a mist humidifier going most of the time set at 40%. I had to fill it constantly and the fine white powder coated everything. Not good for my amps and recording gear. I switched to a large evaporative humidifier. Holds 5 gallons and last for days with zero white dust. I’ll never do mist again!
My 000-15M is VERY sensitive to heat and humidity and it cracked from the centerline of the bridge just about to the binding. Didn’t take long, either. I neglected adding water to the mist humidifier for about 4 days and it cracked.
I keep my music room/studio at 40-45% year round and use a case humidifier when I take it out to gig.
My Gibson CJ-165 gets dry but has never cracked.
Can’t stress enough the importance of heat and humidity control!!
Love my 90s en10c lh it's a beautiful guitar and sounds fantastic! Yes it's not a Taylor or a Martin but the higher end takamine guitars are fabulous.
I just read an article comparing Taylor and Takamine. I'm a Takamine fan. So, I was floored that by the end of the article, Takamine won out over Taylor. Personally, I would say that they are both awesome guitars. But I have never found another guitar that I've felt the love for like my Santa Fe. I fell in love with the ascetics the first time I saw one in a Mark Chesnutt video in 1993. I finally got mine 22 years later in 2015.
@Tusk 1157 bought mine from a small music shop in I think Greenwich village NYC ( I'm from the uk and was on holiday touring the States in 93/94 iirc) I'm a lefty and I walked in and I was looking around and seen only one left handed guitar and it was the en10c! Anyway I bought it and cost around £700 uk money. Downside was it was right at the beginning of the holiday and I was visiting around 10 different locations in the US. So it was on and off aeroplanes and stuffed into the boots ( trunks) of countless cars across thousands of miles east coast to west to south and all over before it came back home with me. Its done hundreds of gigs and the only thing that needed repairing was the pre amp. I just replaced it with something else but that was 15 years ago! Amazing guitar and I wouldn't hesitate to buy another.
@@stu-j,, Takamine's durability is one of the things that they are know for. Taylor was just getting a name for themselves around that time, too. When they first came out, one of their downfalls was that they wouldn't have survived the plane trip that you and your Takamine took. Another was they had no pre-amps or piezo pickup. I don't think they started putting Fishman electronics until around 1998. I've got an EF341 and EF38112string, too. I think, I recall the model you have. I had to Google it to make sure that it was the one I thought it was. It is and the black blocks around the sound hole were I recalled the most. It's a very nice guitar.
@@TUSK1157 yeah block soundhole rosette and it had the takamine equaliser pre amp fitted but that was replaced with a fishman just because getting stuff from Japan takes time and I needed it quickly. They are a bulletproof guitar and looking about they still hold value quite well also! Especially the early 90s stuff. I've only got one Taylor so not much experience with them as it's new ish ( and a cheap ish GS mini) it's a massive sounding guitar for being small body. Love my en10c and would never part with it!
Omg, the Walk Hard reference had me chuckling.
I have a 1981 Tak. It's a Martin copy. Excellent guitar.
Friend of mine has a similar Takamine though not quite that old. Early eighties maybe. Absolutely beautiful sounding guitar. Always love playing with him just to hear it.
I had a Takamine like this, made mid '70s with a mahogany top finished kinda dark. Sounded darker too but I liked that. Top never cracked in years of travel across different climates but the mahogany neck warped, rising on the low E side at the nut until I couldn't file frets and nut to keep up with it and make it playable. Lucky too it wasn't the treble side rising because the action wasn't bad over there at first. By '85 it was done, that top left corner was affecting everywhere on the neck. But it was just not valuable enough a guitar to be worth really fixing or even re-necking so I traded it away. I kinda wish now I'd kept it. I bet the twist stabilized and there was enough fretboard thickness to plane and sand the NW corner of the neck straight and flat again and refret it. Oh well, would've been a fun experiment. Those were solidly built guitars though. Maybe the bodies were too rigid for their tops sometimes. And things like my neck twist are just very rare. But they're probably still not worth re-necking if that was the remedy.
More nice work. I tend to like Takamine guitars, I don't know why. The humidity thing, and the reactions of wood, we may never quite figure it out, but I'll agree with you, makes since. Study, study, study, blah, blah, blah, bonk bonk on the head.
Awesome hearing you talk about Payne music. Bob was a treasure - never failed to show me pictures of my dad that were posted on the wall, though I was too young to appreciate it at the time.
Love his double-rod curve-caul clamp to bring the top plates together. I must make one TODAY
The 70s were a wonderful time.
Great video.
Fine workmanship as always! I appreciate the level of care you put into making these old import guitars playable again. The owners will be able to enjoy them for many more years.
How absolutely fantastic! ......... That Mansfield could be a clone to my Yamaki of the same era! Mine was purchased in London. I never noticed the offset A and B tuners till you pointed it out on that guitar, and yes mine is the same. Thanks for a great video!
I’ve got a brand new combine harvester, and thanks for askin me ;)
I was looking at my Ibanez acoustic just now and thought about you. It's cool to see a video pop up right after. If my guitar ever needs help, you're first on my list.
Happy new year Ted.
I don't even play guitar nor even own one but am always fascinated by your videos.
I must be a bit sparse but the very first image of this video I said, "Oh that's a beautiful Guild"...Wroooong... But then I finally get to see the headstock about 7:11 and it still seems Guild-y. Is there some part of history that I just plain never knowed?
Ive used that superglue trick to treat "Hameritis". Delaminating finish of the edges of the fretboard on Hamer USA guitars.
@4:54 I definitely had a “boo” coupled with a little 🤢
I’m working on a ‘75 Ampeg SVT that looks and smells like it was owned by a chain smoking cat. Ughhhhhh
Always enjoy the skills you share and experience along the way I put in my list of knowledge as well sharing in a group since I want your experience and channel to expand to others have a wonderful new year as always thanks for allowing us to enjoy your life as a repairman
Thanks Ted!
I love how Insta posts from Ted tell me what I'm gonna be watching in a few days. :)
I keep seeing Ralph Maccio off to the side thinking, "First it was ,wax on ,wax off...now it's, polishing polishing polishing ....
Takamine sounds so much nicer than the Mansfield😊!
Is there a number $$$ that would make a “don’t ask” into…sure I’d love too. It would be a pickup in person, no shipping, no flights, because United throws guitars.
Having a lot of guitars is nice, but the maintenance is never ending. Sometimes you just want to run away with one road worn strat.
If I recall correctly, Yamaha piano factory in Indonesia controls the humidity differently based on where the piano is shipped to.
love your sense of humor ted! keep up the great work.
Aww, I was hoping to see a Takamine neck reset. I've got a '73 F375 that's in serious need. Action's at 8+ 64ths and there's no saddle left to shave. I might be able to shave the bridge down, but not sure it's a good idea to take the needed 1/8" off that. I'm tempted to try to do a neck reset myself since I don't think it's worth spending $300+ to get that done. I've seen you struggle with a few Japanese neck removals, so I'm not sure if I want to buy the tools and attempt the full blown reset or instead do a 'kung-fu" style one. Oh, well - I guess it'll sit in the corner a while longer while I continue to 'fret' about it :-(
Good job Ted! Both guitars came out well and sound decent.
You were on fire in this video! All I was missing was a rimshot or subtle bass slide after a couple of them zingers
I love your videos and enjoy them all!
This is the first time I see a Mansfield guitar on your channel.
I have a small collection of Mansfield guitars.
I did a lot of research on them and picked a few on kijiji because my cousin had one back in the 70's and it was a cool guitar.
Back 20 years ago I reached out to M. Peate Jr and he confirmed that they used to outsource in asia from many manufacturers, including Hoshino-Gakki. So it is true that some of them were made by Hoshino-Gakki but not necessarily all of them.
I have one 1974 model 694 that is from the same production line as the Ibanez Concord 694 (Hoshino-Gakki).
I have also 2 Mansfields that were done by Kiso Suzuki (WT100 and S65D). My cousin's Mansfield is also a Kiso Suzuki, model W180.
I have one that is a Takamine F370 build and 2 more that are Sigma Martin DM-3 build (most likely Korean).
They all have the Mansfield label, and they all have some unique signature that allowed me to identify their manufacturing source.
I had a few other that I was not able to identify and that I sold.
They are all entry level laminated top and they are all pleasant to play (following some TLC..).
I have seen a few that were obviously rejects from the original production line, and recycled in the independent label order.
For example, I had 2 that had 12 holes under the bridge and they were both 6 strings guitars (those bridge resets required a bit more than expected...).
I observed that many Mansfield models have the same model number as their sibling (true for many Ibanez Concord models, Kiso Suzuki, and Takamine)
In some cases the model number does not match (ex: Sigma Martin and some others)
For the one in this video, it is not clear to me that it is from Hoshino-Gakki.
I found a vintage Yamato F111 on reverb that have the same misalignment of the tuning pegs... same model number, same misallignment... so this Mansfield could very well have been made from the same manufacturer as the Yamato.
Cheers!
@twoodfrd470 not sure how to... I subscribed and I hope this is what you meant..
@twoodfrd470 I found your business mail and I will send you a mail. I am pretty curious to hear what you have!! Cheers!
My only acoustic is a beautiful Takamine Santa Fe 59. With turquoise inlays and wooden sound hole art work. I purchased for $1200 in 2001. Looks new and sounds amazing. The electronics still work great. I bet the electronics will last longer than I will. I’ve been to bunch of music stores over the years. Just to see what’s out there now. Trying to see if there is a better sound. But keep leaving empty handed.
Bravo...
Those inlays really cleaned up nice, Ted!
Hi Ted, greating from Wisconsin. Great work as usual. My wife thought the name of your channel was Two Odd fred. She so enjoys your channel too.
Thanks to everyone for their responses. Please look up the guitar-lists article dated 2017-10-16 entitled Martin Lawsuit Acoustic Guitar Logos for examples of what I would call shameless "homage" Martin guitar copies including Jagard & Co, Takamine & Co., CF Mountain and CF Suzuki & Co. Fun fact: in the late 1960s I bought a Japanese Antoria branded copy of a (Japanese made) Yamaha. In the same store there was an Antoria branded copy of a Gibson Hummingbird.
I've got a lefty converted to righty '78 Tak F-360S...the top is in good condition, only one short little hairline crack in the finish, but the binding all dried up and cracked off probably 20 years ago. I rebound it, and with fresh strings she still sounds fantastic.
I have an old dreadnought that I'm pretty sure comes from the same factory! It's branded "Centennial". It has the same mock truss rod cover, zero fret, and adjustable bridge. It was given to me when I was 12. I'm 46 now. It's not the worst guitar at all. It survived my adolescence and several years hanging in my friend's metal shop.
Happy new year from Scotland Ted
LMFAO at saving the vintage tape 🤣👍
I like the sticker 'DO NOT USE KATANA' on your humidifier.
Thanks for the great video, best part of my Sunday night here in Germany
Very nice Guild copy.
Congrats on 100k! Please do a q and a video to celebrate at some point
I use a depth micrometer or a step micrometer to measure fret height instead of calipers. But that is because I am a retired tool maker.I never eye ball critical dimensions instead I use precision gage blocks.
Chuckled at the Melanie reference
this channel is so inspiring. ordered a tusq slab and gonna make my first own saddle. not playing in tune is a major problem which i can fix myself.
Thanks.
I live in Eastern Canada and hang all my guitars on the wall.I never have had a problem with cracked tops in 50 years.I have a guild that Takamine copied that one of
Where in eastern Canada?
I live in NB and in the winter in my living room i forgot to put my Martin D35 back in the case overnight. In one day the dryness opened up the seam behind the bridge. My tech fixed it but he said it did not surprise him. The dryness in the winter here is brutal on solid acoustics