Aging With an Emperador

When we began playing instruments, particularly guitars, we all started out on cheaper imports. I mean, after all, we were the sons of steel and quarry workers. But it was all good because we were content with any approximation of a “cool” guitar. Case in point: the Emperador!

Of course we all would have been happy with a real Gibson, but to us a guitar like this was almost as cool. Towards the tail end of the 1960s, imported “copy” guitars were becoming more popular and caused quite the stir in guitar-land with the threat of legal action towards spec-by-spec clone guitars. It was difficult to regulate, and many Japanese guitar makers changed minor aspects to keep U.S. guitar manufacturers at bay.

This guitar offers that classic SG shape but with some Japanese flair. The more extreme cutaways and body sculpting combined with a tremolo and different pickups make it a more adventurous example than the typical faded cherry SG. The Emperador finish is bright and in your face.

You might have noticed this guitar has Guyatone components, like that tailpiece/tremolo. That was a Guyatone exclusive, found on the famous Sharp 5 guitars and a few others. And those pickups are also Guyatones. In fact, those were specially designed alnico units (which sound really nice) from around 1967. Even the electronics were Guyatone designs. I’ve seen examples of this same instrument in a vibrant blue color as well. So, is this a Guyatone guitar? Well, yes and no.

The Emperador brand name was apparently used by a Canadian importer, so if you live up north you may have seen this name before. The backstory of Guyatone and these Guyatone-adjacent guitars goes like this: The owner/founder of Guyatone was Mitsuo Matsuki, and believe me when I say this guy was a scrapper. He had been in the musical-instrument game since the late ’40s, primarily making amps and electronics. The company really dove into electric instruments in the late ’50s and Mitsuo was building new factories to keep up with growing demand. Alas, as the 1960s wore on, that demand faded and Guyatone went bankrupt in 1969. Now, just because a Japanese company goes bankrupt does not mean the factory gets shuttered. All those parts and partially made instruments will be resurrected in some way, and that’s what happened all the time in the late ’60s and early ’70s.

For instance, some factories only made the wood portions of guitars. And other factories only made the electronics and/or hardware like tremolo units, tuners, etc. During the ’50s and ’60s in Japan, many guitar factories simply partnered with others to make whole guitars. During Guyatone’s run, there were some years when they made guitar bodies and necks, and other times where the work was farmed out. But Guyatone consistently made electronics like pickups, and they were some of the best to come out of Japan.

Basically, what we have here is like a “combo” guitar that incorporated Guyatone components during a time when Guyatone was struggling. Matsuki came out in the ’70s by rebuilding his company from the ground up, and Guyatone guitars did rather well in the ’70s. But this guitar was made during that strange window of time where Guyatone was at the lowest point in the company’s history.

Sitting around the fire pit with my friends that night was a nice ride around old memories, like wisps of gray hair. We may have achy joints, but we’ve still got eyes as vibrant as this Emperador’s finish, glowing in the fading flame of youth.