Emperador Unknown

Solid spruce soundboard. Dreadnought. Sunburst finish. Mahogany sides and back. Narrow neck, 20 frets, Zero fret. Adjustable saddle. (If not for the adjustable bronze/brass saddle, I would rate the features a 10.)

Open book headstock, just like Gibson. Great looking pickguard. Wide lower bout.

Gold foil label inside reads Emperador Hand Made. The wood inside is stamped Made in Japan.

Well balanced sound. Projects very well. Warm tone and good sustain. Perfect for my style of playing. I was told that if I replace the adjustable saddle with bone or macarta it will sound even better.

Action is adjustable. I plan to have this saddle replaced. But my local luthier is asking a bit too much to replace the saddle with bone. I think $90 is a little too much. So for now, it will have the original saddle.

The sunburst finish is complemented with a very nice black pickguard with floral accents. The pick guard is just like Gibson's.

My emperador has a wide lower bout. 16 1/8" wide. My friend has a Gibson that looked exactly like my Emperador.

My guitar will be with me until it crumbles to dust. There's no way that I will sell it. But of course, if someone offers me something that I cannot refuse, I will part with it (with grief!)

Never need service. I still would like the adjustable saddle replaced though. Maybe my local luthier can talk me into it. He said that he needed to hand make a replacement saddle, that is why he would charge me $90.00.

I think this guitar will last for a very long time. I bought it last month for $475.00 from my neighbor who is a guitar collector. He said he bought it brand new in the 70's.

This guitar was hand made in Japan. I think the company no longer exist. I was told by the seller that Emperadors were hand made in Japan by the same people who made the Cortez guitars.

This is my 5th year playing and this is my second guitar. My first guitar was a Carvin. I paid $575.00 for the Carvin. Unfortunately, I left it in my car for three weeks while I was on travel. The summer heat damaged the top. It bulged. I still have it though. But my Emperador sounds better compared to my Carvin.

I thought of buying another Carvin, but when I told my neighbor about it, he said to compare first. We brought the Emperador to our local Guitar Center and compared to the mid priced guitars there ($500-1,000.) Nothing compared with this Emperador in that range. I am very happy with my emperador. It is old, but it is great. (If you guys find any Emperador (Gibson copy) buy it. You will not regret. They are very hard to find though.