Suzuki No.700

Spruce solid top......mahogany back and sides......not sure what the neck it but it is a very fine grain timber.......neck timber could well be an ash of some sought.......light weight construction......

well I play pop music and I picked this acoustic nylon string up to include the sound in the music I produce ........ this guitar has a nice flat sound through the audio range, infact it's quite miraculous how good it records and sounds......sounds way more expensive than I actually paid or it.....I have noticed It's a guitar that musos don't readily put down.....then thay start to ask questions about it etc, while still playing it!

I discovered this disheveled unloved guitar in the dusty grimy corner of a tip shop .......
the amazing thing was that an internal strut needed attention but the neck on casting my eye down it looked brilliant.....after all I was expecting to see a big banana warp. but no! she was straight no twists or bends, then I noticed the solid top and decided to get it whatever it took......it took $50.00 ........ The bridge was hanging off and its finish looked rough but savable.
The action came up realy good after a little TLC.

This Suzuki has been around for many decades now and sits proudly in my studio.
Its virtually original except for one internal strut.
It has recorded many sessions ......stays remarkably intune from session to session....just a little tweak to tune up each time .....totally reliable and I would use it anywhere appropriate
for a nylon acoustic to be used.

Playing music all my life say 40 years and you natuarally know a great instrument when you pick it up and play. 1 by the way it feels and balances..... 2 by the way it plays and 3 by the way it sounds.....this little guitar is a joy to play.

This is a smaller bodied classical guitar. Laminated cedar top, lam. maple back and sides. 19 frets bronze or brass on a stained mahogany fretboard. Nice large dots on the edge of the neck make finger positions easy to spot. Tuners needed lubrication to stop "snapping" sounds when tuning. All of the plastic tuning knobs have hairline fractures and one is missing, but I knew that when I bought it. Great affordable vintage classical or folk guitar with pretty rosette and inlay on headstock.

Very special sound, intimant and warm. Mine has rich sustained lows with mellow mids and short sweet highs. I knew from the first strum of rusty slack strings in the shop that I liked the way the the whole guitar vibrated. I only purchased this dinged up guitar for its tone. Very light weight and airy sound compaired to many other vintage Japanese classicals I have played. This guitar records well for acoustic -Nick Drake, Mary Paul and Peter- styles of music. I would not get this guitar for stricly classical music as the intonation is off up beyond the 9th fret.

Set up is OK and very playable, no fret buzz or need to press too hard on any of the strings. I was pleased for a 40 year old guitar. I will probably get a bone saddle made for it to lower the action some and improve intonation. The original nut is well made and in good condition so I'll leave it alone. Other flaws include: The top back brace is loose in the middle but does not rattle, easy luthier fix. The cedar top had pulled up along 4 inches of the bottom edge, and was missing a small section of black plastic trim. (not the wide edge piece but an inner trim section) I glued it down with a small amount of wood glue and inserted a length of incense wood painted black with India ink. Then I let it dry with books on top for a couple days holding it flat. (I took out a whole box of insense sticks and found one just the right width and then cut it to length) Sounds sketchy but when I had it in the luthier's shop to fix the tuning peg the guy looked over the whole guitar and did not even spot the fix. Everything metal on the guitar was lightly oxidized, fine steel wool returned the frets to shiny and smooth and gun oil helped the tuners work smoothly. I like to fiddle with things so I knew when I bought it would require some work. Vintage tone is either expensive or hard won I've found.

In its fixed up state I would play an open mic or wedding or coffee shop with it. I would not play it with an orchestra, but it wasn't really ment for that. Forty years and the neck is straight and no cracks in the wood, thats about as much as any classical guitar will do. The biggest concern is the fake ivory tuners cracking during tuning.

No warranty.

I have been playing classical guitars for 7 years. I also play jazz drumset, and acoustic guitar, but for longer. If it were stolen or lost I would be sad because ebay would be your only hope of finding another one. I really cannot campare it well to other guitars because everything about it is so odd. The neck is thinner and rounder than most old classical necks. (usually thick and flat backed) The body is so light weight and small, and the fretboard is mahogany. These all combine to a sweet little folk/classical guitar.