This ’70s Japanese lawsuit-era guitar was brazenly designed to mimic a Martin D-41, and to our columnist’s ears, sounds just as good as the original.
It’s a 14-fret dreadnought acoustic with a spruce top and rosewood back and sides. It’s appointed with beautiful reduced-hexagon abalone inlays, matching binding, and multi-stripe detail throughout. The logo reads vertically instead of horizontally, and it has a rich, powerful tone. Surely I’m referring to an heirloom-quality, America-made Martin D-41, right?
On the headstock, Takamine imitated the style of the vertical Martin logo. Takamine took the same approach to their Guild and Gallagher copies.
Nope! I’m talking about the delightful 1978 Takamine F-450S-A, an unashamed, fractions-of-an-inch-accurate copy of one of Martin’s most prized designs. According to Takamine’s 1976 catalog, the F-450S-A was “the finest guitar made by Takamine,” featuring genuine Pacific abalone pearl inlaid by hand. The catalog boasts of the experienced older craftsman slowly teaching young apprentices the “Takamine way” to make guitars. While there can be no doubt the F-450S-A is a fine instrument, the Takamine way sure looks a lot like the Martin way to us!
A revealing statement can be found just a page further in the catalog: “To the eye and to the ear, a Takamine matches any guitar on the market today.” You don’t say!
“To the pocketbook however, a Takamine is no match. Play and compare. You’ll find the sound you want at about a third the price.”
The logic was simple: A quality Martin clone made cheaply in Japan could easily be marketed to American consumers who couldn’t afford the real thing. While researching, I came across this illuminating post on The Unofficial Martin Guitar Forum: “Being from Western North Carolina and picking out with older folks on porches, I could never afford a Martin. When we would be picking, others would come up and say I like your Mar... tin... and then stop and look like they took a bite out of a rotten tater.”
Takamine mimicked other brands, too. The same 1976 catalog features the name “Takamine” contorted into the distinctive “peaked” Guild logo. Not too long ago, we had a Takamine-made Gallagher copy come into Fanny’s House of Music, with the famous Gallagher “G” subtly morphed into a “T.” This period in the 1970s is often called the “lawsuit era,” a term that refers to a 1977 lawsuit filed by Gibson against Ibanez for infringing on their headstock design. The phrase “lawsuit era” might suggest that American companies were suing their Japanese counterparts left and right, but the truth is, lawsuits were rare, and Gibson and Ibanez settled out of court. There was no lawsuit against Takamine for their headstocks, although Martin did send a cease and desist letter. Soon, Takamine, Ibanez, and other Japanese companies began cranking out great original designs of their own, and the lawsuit era was over.
The oblong-hexagon abalone inlays on the fretboard are another feature of this guitar that resembles a Martin.
According to the Takamine catalog, the back and sides of our F-450S-A are made of jacaranda, and, boy, did that ever send me down a rabbit hole! It sure looks a lot like rosewood to me. Besides, with everything else on this guitar being such a close copy of a D-41, why would Takamine use an entirely different species of wood for the back and sides? Jacaranda is a genus of 49 species of flowering plants, and rosewood belongs to the genus Dalbergia, which famously does not flower. Everyone knows that. (Just kidding.)
As it turns out, the journey the word “jacaranda” takes from Portuguese to Japanese to English can leave us with a term that generally means “rosewood,” even though jacaranda is a very different species. Washburn, Tokai, and other Japanese manufacturers sometimes even listed fretboard material as “Jacaranda (Brazilian Rosewood),” which is nearly enough to turn my brain to mush! At a certain point, one has to admit defeat and begin climbing out of the rabbit hole. We may never know exactly what species of wood we’re dealing with here, but who cares when the guitar sounds this good?
The Takamine catalog says the back and sides are jacaranda, a colloquialized umbrella term that often just means “rosewood.”
The neck of our Tak’ has a comfortable medium-C shape and nice low action. It’s clearly a well-built instrument with good volume and depth of tone. It’s in outstanding condition for its age, with hardly a mark on it, which means there’s a lot of songs in this old gal! It may be a mere “knock-off,” but don’t knock it ’til you try it. It’s a great guitar and I can’t wait to see who it inspires next.
A torrefied top makes this classy and super-playable Takamine a sweet-sounding alternative to vintage.
RatingsPros:High-quality, all-solid cutaway dreadnought from one of the top names in the acoustic-electric market. Cons: Side-mounted preamp controls. Street: $1,799 Takamine EF360SC TT esptakamine.com | Tones: Playability: Build/Design: Value: |
Forty years ago, Takamine introduced its Palathetic system—an acoustic-guitar pickup with six individual piezo transducers that, to many ears, created a more realistic amplified sound than any other device on the market. The system created such a stir that some players cannibalized the electronics from Takamine guitars for use in their own instruments.
Takamine’s reputation as a great guitar for live amplification has remained consistent in the decades since. And it’s a testament to the Palathetic’s great utility that its basic original design is still intact and used on many Takamine guitars, including the EF360SC TT reviewed here. But with a “toasted” torrefied top, the EF360SC TT utilizes more than the company’s solid electronics to create a great sounding whole. And if this guitar is any indication, the Japanese builder is making some of its best guitars to date.
Baked to Perfection
The EF360SC TT is a dreadnought with a Venetian cutaway—hence the SC (soft cutaway) in the model name. The TT stands for Thermal Top technology, which is Takamine terminology for torrefaction: a process where raw wood is treated via a high heat/low oxygen “toasting” process that (in theory) changes the wood’s characteristics to sound and respond more like the wood on a vintage guitar. Torrefaction also darkens the coloring of wood, to a degree, and the solid spruce on the review model has taken on a rich amber hue that contrasts nicely with the deep browns of the non-torrefied, solid Indian Rosewood back and sides.
The EF360SC TT is very attractive, in a subdued and traditional way. Ornamentation is minimal and tasteful, with ivoroid body and neck binding, multi-layer purfling on the soundboard and the back, and a rosewood headstock overlay adorned with a script T. My only complaint about the design is that the guitar’s black pickguard looks a bit down-market compared to the rest of the appointments.
Handmade in Takamine’s shop, in Sakashita, Japan, the EF360SC TT is well built, to say the least. Construction is immaculate from headstock to endpin. Nut slots are perfectly notched, as are those on the split saddle. The frets are perfectly seated, polished, and free of jagged edges. Inside there’s not a trace of excess glue or any other artifacts of the manufacturing process.
A Refined Workhorse
Though the torrefied top is intended to give the EF360SC TT a mature voice, the slim C-shaped neck and faultless, high-gloss finish give the Takamine a decidedly modern feel. At well over five pounds (the extra weight is largely attributable to the electronics system), the EF360SC TT doesn’t entirely float on the lap. On the other hand, many guitarists will find that the EF360SC TT plays better than the typical dreadnought. It shipped from the factory with perfect low action. There were no dead spots or buzzing anywhere along the neck, and intonation was spot-on. While 1.75" nut width is increasingly common these days—and not just the preference of fingerstylists—the EF360SC TT’s nut width is a more typical, vintage-style 42.5 mm (1.67 "). But just as with those older guitars, the Takamine doesn’t feel cramped in the slightest.
The EF360SC TT doesn’t seem geared toward a particular style, in the way that, say, an old Martin D-18 or D-28 is a quintessential bluegrass machine. Nor does it always sound completely vintage. At times it seemed to be missing some of the depth you hear in the best vintage flattops. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. And where it might lack a totally authentic vintage voice, it compensates with a balance that makes it forgiving to play and adaptable to many musical situations. Whether I picked G runs on the EF360SC TT, strummed hard, or tried delicate fingerpicking in DADGAD and open-G tunings, I was impressed by the guitar’s evenness between registers, projection, and sustain. The bass is strong without being boomy, the midrange is punchy, and the trebles are clear and full. It’s also certainly reasonable to expect the EF360SC TT to age as gracefully as a vintage instrument, even with its torrefied head start.
Potent Plugging In
In addition to the undersaddle pickup, the EF360SC TT is equipped with the CT 4B II preamp, which is available only on Japan-built Takamines. The preamp includes +/-5db low-, mid-, and high-band EQ sliders, a volume control, and a built-in chromatic tuner. While the tuner is set to the standard A440, it can be calibrated to other frequencies. When the tuner button is pressed, it mutes the guitar’s output, for silent tuning onstage. It’s hard to get excited about the aesthetics of the side-mounted preamp, but the unit’s functionality makes up for its lack of visual appeal. It’s intuitive, the EQ is super flexible, and, plugged into a Fender Acoustasonic amp, the system delivered a very convincing reproduction of the guitar’s acoustic sound.
The Verdict
Takamine uses torrefied woods to excellent effect in the EF360SC TT. It’s fantastically flexible and beautifully built. It has the solid feel and the sonic versatility of a real workhorse that you may be very reluctant to put down.
An American classic undergoes a modest makeover.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we all missed out on a phenomenal bargain. Just a few weeks ago, Larry Cragg (a vintage amp and guitar expert, and Neil Young’s longtime tech) sold a 1963 D-28 for $396,000. Man, you’ve got to jump on those eBay bargains as soon as they’re posted!
This particular instrument is the one Bob Dylan played at George Harrison’s 1971 Bangladesh benefit concert. Cragg bought it 40 years ago for $500, so he made just short of an 80,000 percent profit. Chances are you won’t see a similar return from a new D-28. But at least you’ll get a damn fine guitar.
An American Classic
Guitars don’t get much more iconic than the D-28. Past users include Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, the Beatles, and that Canadian guy that Cragg works for. So reviewing a D-28 feels a little bit like rating the Statue of Liberty. (“She’s okay, I guess, but what’s with the weird hat?”)
But not all D-28s are identical. The 1950s and ’60s models used by so many of the era’s country, folk, and rock artists differ from pre-WWII models. And now, the D-28 (2017) blends details from both pre- and post-War models, while introducing a couple of modern updates. (And yes, the parenthetical 2017 is part of the model name.)
Echoes of the Past
The 2017’s cosmetics mimic an old guitar. The lacquer finish has added toner to ape the appearance of aged nitrocellulose. Similarly, the back and top binding has a yellowed faux-antique look. The celluloid pickguard does a convincing impersonation of tortoise shell. The open-backed tuners are another nice retro touch. Mind you, we’re not talking vulgar “antiquing”—it’s a subtle and classy look.
Another historic detail is more structural: The bracing pattern is 3/4" closer to the neck than on models from recent decades. (This “forward shifted” design was introduced in the ’40s, but abandoned in the early ’60s.) According to Martin’s Scott Follweiler, “This forward-shifting alters the harmonic profile by losing a bit of fundamental focus of the X-brace protecting the bridge area. Moving it further away from the bridge adds some sonic complexity.” (More on this in a moment.)
Tapered for Today
The other key revision is a new neck profile. The width at the nut is 1 3/4", as opposed to 1 11/16" on standard-model D-28s. That extra 1/16" might not sound like a big deal, but you can definitely feel it. It’s the same width as on Martin’s OM models, which are favored by many fingerstyle players. Also, the neck’s taper is slightly more parallel than on a standard D-28, so the neck is a bit less flared near the top of the fretboard. Players who tend to cover the neck’s entire range are likely to dig this modified profile.
Beautiful Build
The workmanship on current Martin guitars is so consistently excellent that it’s almost boring to discuss. The binding around the guitar’s perimeter is immaculate, as is the inlaid back stripe. The low, narrow frets are installed with uniform perfection. The grain of the Sitka spruce top and East Indian rosewood back and sides is even and attractive. The bone nut is perfect. The review model played magnificently right out of the case. Total snooze fest, right?
Ratings
Pros:Excellent materials and workmanship. Magnificent tones. Equally great for picking and plucking. A fine recording guitar.
Cons:
None.
Tones:
Playability:
Build/Design:
Value:
Street:
$2,629
Martin D-28 (2017)
martinguitar.com
So let’s talk tone. For decades, I’ve been one of those players who prefer smaller 0-series guitars for recording work—especially anything involving bass and drums. Those guitars tend to have less low-range boominess than large-bodied instruments, making them easier to insinuate into a mix without intrusive EQ.
But a few hours recording this D-28 made me question those assumptions. Sure, it has more bass impact than smaller guitars. But the 2017’s low end is sculpted like a gym rat’s torso. Nothing floppy, nothing sloppy—it's firm in all the right places.
Nature’s Squeeze
That low-end focus owes much to the guitar’s remarkable natural compression. I mean that literally—at times it feels as if you’re plugged into a high-end compressor/limiter. The dynamic range is phenomenal. You can wail on the 2017 without overwhelming any specific frequency. This is truly a whisper-to-scream instrument. You won’t find many flattops with greater touch sensitivity.
I can’t claim to hear massive tonal differences due to the forward-shifted bracing. There are so many other variables on a factory-fresh guitar with bright new bronze strings! But I can attest that the 2017’s animated and complex highs are glorious.
The guitar is also extraordinarily comfortable. The string spacing is ideal for fingerstyle playing, but bashing out cowboy chords with a pick feels and sounds just as good. Plucked or strummed, the guitar boasts crystalline note definition and excellent string-to-string separation. Despite the low action, it’s damn hard to make the strings buzz if you have even semi-decent technique. The neck’s matte finish strikes a cool compromise between traction and mobility. Are there any dead spots or imbalances between registers? Of course not—don’t be silly.
The Verdict
D-28 (2017) is a superb-sounding instrument with taut, sculpted lows and complex, glistening highs. Its dynamic range and response are extraordinary. Lively harmonic animation and gorgeous natural compression make it a fine recording guitar—microphones love this thing. The price is fair, given the workmanship, materials, and stellar tones. I can’t say that this modified D-28 sounds “better” than Martin’s identically priced standard model. Any differences are matters of taste, not quality. I recommend auditioning both, trusting your ears, hands, and heart.