Daion Caribou

Daion "81 Caribou made in Japan SN 108888. It is an electric/acoustic cutaway with 22 frets. It has a solid cedar top and Maple arched back and sides, 3-piece maple/rosewood neck, rosewood finger board, and a brass nut and bridge saddle http://home.att.net/~daion/elecacoust.html. When I purchased it I was told the transducer system under the bridge was made by Takamine.

I play all the soft rock stuff from James Taylor to CS&N and some Clapton and Zepplin. These days I am doing John Mayer, Cold Play and the like. I performed for over twenty years on and off and used the Daion as a main piece along with my Guild F50R. I got the Daion because it was bright in contrast to the Guild Rosewood. I bought the Daion in '81 or '82 and at that time it was the best acoustic/electric sound through a good amp but I ended up micing it same as the guild. When you set the guitar for low action you have total control of the sound. You can make it mellow and deep or let it ring like steel on brass. Each string has equal volume and you can hear them all like the beginning part of Heart's "Crazy On You" It is a great guitar with great sound.

My Daion was not set up the best in the factory, the action was high but the neck was accurate all the way up. I think they set the action higher to increase the sustain effect of the brass nut and bridge. When I lowered the action and put extra light strings on it it played like a Les Paul. The neck was very fast. With the lighter strings I didn't lose much tone, just a little volume.

Like I said I had it almost thirty years and it is still great. Yes I would and have used the Daion on a gig without a backup. The only wear is the tarnishing of the brass nut and gold plated tuning buttons. There isn't even any finish checking.

I never used customer support so I can't say much.

I have a Martin HD-35, Guild F50R, Ibanez f-hole electric, and the Daion as my main guitars. I used the peavey Tri-flex PA system with a Peavey M-500 head. I run my mic and guitars first through a Fender Acoustasonic Junior amp. In a small room I just use the amp. I put the Fishman Rare Earth Blend in the Guild and Martin. I think the quality of the Daion is very close to the Martin and Guild and when you need bright and ringing The Daion is the one I grab for. I tend to do my fingering on the Martin, Strumming on the Guild and the Daion is great for acoustic blues with muted bass chords and bright lead. People love the look of the Daion and I get comments all the time. I am considering having my luthier put a new pickup system in it. I am not sure. I have listened to the upper level Takamines with their pickup system and wish I could put one in my Daion.

'81 Daion Caribou - Made in Japan
(Acoustic / Electric) It is what it is.

Great sounding guitar. Strings would buzz in the middle of the neck. (See below)

Action was high - these are notorious for having a crack in the body where the neck ends next to the pick guard. These guitars are a work of art, but over time, they have proven to no be durable. The one I had was cracked when I bought it in '91. Couldn't do anything for it. Guitar shops talked about resetting the neck, but I couldn't stand the thought of cutting the neck off to make it play right. Due to the body cracking, the string were high and more and more out of tune the higher on the neck you went.

The wood, workmanship and finish were excellent. The structural integrity was lacking near the cut-away. The pickup quit working in around '98. Traded it for an air compressor in 1999. Still hoping to find one without the crack near the neck...

I had the original registration card, but failed to send it in...

At times I'd wished it's "hips" weren't so wide - not comfortable for sitting and playing - tends to slide off your leg. Out of owning this, got me interested in the other wonderful Daion guitars. Chose it mainly for it's looks, but it was my first acoustic, and at the time, it sounded great.

Bought an '85 F-349 Takamine in 1997 that still had plastic on the pick guard.

a pittiful $89 that's about $65 american I think!

I bought this guitar (the beautiful '81 Caribbou) on impulse, based mainly on its looks and feel - I'm studying music but i'm a begginner and was just looking for something portable. Then i got it home and played it some more and fell in love!

Features - read the other reviews, i can't be bothered writing it all again, I have RSI. I think mine is all original though, but in fairly poor condition.
I'm a pretty slim ( rake skinny) guy of 5 foot 9 inches with small hands, and I find that standing or sitting this guitar fits me like a spray-on glove. The unique rear cutaway looks great (for anyone who doesn't know what we're talking about, imagine you look down the strings of a guitar from the bridge end, where the strap button is, and take a bite out of it about 10 inches across. Put the strap button and lead jack in that indent and call it the '81 Caribbou!) and it stands up by itself! An oval shaped soundhole and small, tapered headstock complete this beautiful package. No accessories with mine at all, and the electrics were all damaged by age.

A lot of people have talked about the brass nut, which can give it a VERY bright sound, but you can strum a bit further up and avoid that. I can understand if people change the nut and saddle for bone or plastic, but I love the versitility this gives it. I do singer songwriter type stuff ( think Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, Jeff Buckley) and if I had a choice I would use no other guitar, this thing can do it all. And it's really clear, can do acoustic soloing beautifully. By using the brass hardware to it's full advantage it will cut through any backing guitar sound to take the lead.
But it has a passive (very passive) pickup, not much volume and when you get close to the amp the soft wood of the top can echo and feed back hugely. Would take judicial use to do a gig plugged in, solo would probably be OK you have more control.
I just use mine acoustically at this stage, but I'm seriously thinking of spending big dough to get a new pickup and electrics in it, I just love the feel so much. The acoustic sound is incredibly clear and great volume. Sustain is huge! And the thin wood top, while perhaps fragile, gives great resonance.

Factory setup is irrelevant, this guitar is 25 years old!

Like I said I got this for a mega cheap price so didn't expect half of what I got. But this guitar is in bad shape. There was a sticker on the front of it, and I found out when I got it home that this hid a massive crack where someone dropped an amp on it or something like. A few other dints and scratches, and the bridge itself has started to pull right out of the body and has been packed with epoxy to keep it in. So i can't even really comment on the finish of this guitar, except manufacturing wise. It holds its tune beautifully, the tuning pegs are accurate, neck join is immaculate and the single cutaway gives all the neck access you could need. I've had the action looked at to fix a couple of string buzzes, they're still there when you hit it hard but what do you want!?
The acoustic sound is huge for a medium sized guitar, I think that has to do with the arched back. Neck is straight and just the right size for my small hands. I give it a 10 in anticipation of what it must have been like in its youth.

Have not used this live, but I would do in a heartbeat, no backup. Good finishing details mean you won't break strings too often, at least not the guitar's fault if you do!
Again mine is in pretty bad physical shape but all wear and tear issues, after 25 years of who knows what kind of treatment this guitar has shown no manufacturing faults at all. But it is soft wood on top, Mine didn't come with case and I desperately want to protect this thing. Strap pegs and lead jack are particulerly solid!

N/A, compny went out of business 20 years ago.

Been playing for years but only seriously for about 1. This is the first good acoustic I've ever owned and I'd be happy for it to be my only, even if it did cost me the price of a pair of shoes! OK maybe not, a brand new one with a good active pickup would be a great addition to my collection, but I don't think I'll ever find another guitar with this much character and attitude to match. I'd give it a ten if mine were in better shape. It's a work of art. If you can find one you gotta try it!

81 Caribou. The cutaway on the bottom of the guitar, which means it can stand up unassisted, was what first made me curious. All the brass fittings also make this a beautiful guitar, and the wood finish is really "warm".

I'm a songwriter doing mainly solo acoustic stuff, bit of fingerpicking, bit of hard strumming, with a few fiddly licks thrown in. I also used to use this guitar in a fairly frenzied folk rock band. The sound is very versatile, sounds good acoustically. When I was setting up the PA myself, I always kept the tone control on the guitar right down, and boosted the bass on the channel, otherwise the sound was a bit tinny. But thesedays I do open mics quite a bit, and people often have told me its one of their favourite guitars to mix, although the output level is low compared to active electronics.

The action on mine seems a bit high at the moment, and the brass is getting a bit jaded, and the Daion lettering has disapeared off the headstock, and the bit where a scratchplate would normally go is - well, scratched. PLus the case (really good fitting interior) is pretty bashed, including a massive dent after one round the world air trip. But I'm going to get it looked at professionaly soon - first time in about ten years of ownership.

Very strong guitar - has had to be to survive the last ten years! Chucked in the back of vans, knocked off stage, beer spilt on it, plus lots of hard playing. Still rocking on! Could have done with some protection in the scratchplate region though.

Never even knew who made it!

This took over as my main acoustic guitar ten years ago. At that time I was playing professionally in Europe. If it was stolen or lost, I would be gutted, this guitar has a real personality, its very individual and people remember it and connect it with the player. The shape is unique. Its pretty rare too, I've never seen another one! I'm about to get it properly serviced, and I hope to be playing this for many years to come.

Daion means;
1.great sound of enlightenment
2.big sound
How true these definitions are!!!

-Solid cedar top, beautiful red stain over entire guitar.
-flamed maple (solid I believe), bookmatched back.
-flamed maple sides(again, solid I beleive)
-Flamed maple headstock veneer
-Oval sound hole
-A THICK maple neck. you can snap a string....or 2 and it won't go out of tune!!!!
-Rosewood fretboard and bridge. The bridge is uniquely carved.
An ebony end pin jack. This meant nothing to me, but a local luthier said that only the high end acoustics came (come) with ebony pins.
-X brace top design.
-cutaway
-mine originally had the brass saddle, got replaced with bone and I have since gone back to the brass.
-brass nut and dot inlays including the headstock inlay.
-Full binding around fretboard, body and headstock.
-I was told by a different luthier that Daion used a unique method in glueing their braces in. Giving them incredible strength.
-I don't know how to describe the headstock to neck joint other than to say "try and find it!" it is seamless, right at the point that the headstock pitches back. And it is curved.
-pickup was gone when I got it. Put another in.
-My Caribou has no writing inside of it and has slide controls (still passive) rather than the rotary knobs that I always see. The controls are fitted on a nice raised wooden control panel.

-Of important note is the arched UN-BRACED back. This is what gives it such projection in volume when compared to bigger acoustics. Other guitars using this unbraced arched back design sell for $5000 minimum!!!

-I have been told by a luthier that this guitar nowadays would sell for at least the $2000 plus range. Just because of what skills it takes to make it. It is truely artistic in every sense. You can tell that the builders loved what they did. Everything is unique but not so artsy that it looks odd. Even the little Daion logo on the back of the machine heads...a nice touch

-I don't give it a 10 because the plugged in tone was lacking without a lot of equalizing.

The tone of this guitar is so vast. Strum lightly and you get a nice warm tone. Use fingerstyle and that cedar top just glows! Strum hard .... and I mean NASTY and you get a raspy raunchy rockin' tone. I hear what people say about the brass nut and saddle. But that is what brings out the guitars definition. Even playing hard, note definition is there. Nothing muddies up.

I play folk, rock, blues, funk, punk, metal and whatever else strikes me. Now metal is a stretch on acoustic, I know. But I tell you it's possible on this guitar. Pick close to the bridge and the more metalic sound of the brass saddle comes out. Strum closer to the neck for the warm tones (as a general rule of course).

Again, a 9 only becasue the guitar lacked plugged in tone without eq'ing. UNPLUGGED IT'S AN 11!!!

I don't know how it was from factory. Probably amazing!!! The reason that I know of the strange headstock joint is that mine is a bit off. The strip of wood down the back to cover the truss rod slot is of line at this exact point. A luthier noticed it and said that it is a kind of joint that only the Japanese would attempt for the most part.

My bridge plate was coming off when i got this guitar. Mind you I live in the driest part of Canada. Saskatchewan has the reputation of splitting many acoustics. This Daion has done very well. Especially considering that I knew nothing of how to care for an acoustic until a year ago. I have had this guitar for 10 years! It has to be about at least 20 years old. There is surface crack along the whitish maple strip going up the back (separating the bookmatched back).

I can play this guitar so hard and it just takes it. Although I have worn a farely large hole though it where a pickguard would be. That cedar is soft. But I would never trade the tone. I just have more projection holes! And it adds character.

My friends Ovation is useless once he snaps a string. It really goes out of tune. My Daion can handle a string or 2 going. I can't handle it though! But it's good to know that you can at least finish the song.

I am the 3rd owner and we have all played it a lot!!! 20 years of playing and I still can't find much to compare to it. That's pretty good!!!

Take care of a good acoustic and it will take care of you!!!

Well here is what I have found over the past few years. Daion's were hand made in Japan. Yamaki bacame Daion after someone found the name a little to close for comfort and sued. GJ Gould appears to be from the same factory. Daion made electric guitars, basses and acoustic guitars. They went out of business in the mid 80's. A couple of sales reps were touring the united states and Canada at that time trying to get anything they could for the remaining Daions. The original owner of mine bought it new for $500 CDN (about $375 US at the time) when they retailed for $645 US in 1982.Which basically translates to getting the guitar at cost. Even up to 2 years ago Daion's were pretty cheap on ebay. Now you just have to hope for a pawn shop special!


Here are some good Daion links;
http://home.istar.ca/~pcarter/daion_guitars/daion_guitars.html
http://home.att.net/~daion/index.html
http://home.istar.ca/~pcarter/daion_guitars/daion_index.html

THE TRADE:

I traded a beat up Ibanez electric (but it sounded sweet) and a crate 2x8 40 watt amp (solid state) for; A GT mountain bike, a tire, a Garnet all tube amp head (30 watt) with 1x12 cab and this Daion. I ONLY WANTED THE BIKE AT THE TIME!!! I see this same Garnet head going up in $$$ considerably.

I have been playing for 18 years now. I have flip flopped to the bass and back a few times. Very glad that I did. The bass playing improved my guitar playing and vice versa.I play a Ibanez 6 string bass (cheaper version but not as cheap as the newer ones).

On the one hand, I am glad that my guitar is so worn. The chance of someone swiping it is slim!

The neck feels a little thick at times, yet that is where a lot of the good tone comes from. Not to mention the strength! I can still easily wrap my thumb around for the f note on the low E string when playing a full D chord!

This guitar as served as a major blessing to me. Most of my true musicianship as a song writer has been realized with it. I love to sing with it. God really blessed me with it! God is so good!

OK,I CAME TO THIS SITE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS GUITAR THAN I CAN SAY ABOUT IT MYSELF,BUT I CAN GIVE A GOOD REVUE AFTER OWNING ONE FOR TEN YEARS.MINE IS A 6 STRING '81 CARABOU'.AS SOON AS I SAW IT THERE HANGING IN A PAWN SHOP I KNEW IT WAS SPECIAL.THE SHAPE IS A TRUE WORK OF ART & VERY COMFORTABLE TO PLAY.THE BASE OF THE GUITAR IS MORE BULBOUS THAN OTHERS BUT YOU REALLY DONT SEEM TO NOTICE BECAUSE IT HAS A FLARED WEDGE DEPTH.MINE CAME WITH THE HARD CASE WHICH IS ONE OF THE MOST DURABLE I'VE SEEN,BUT THE HANDLE SEEMS TO BE POSITIONED WRONG FOR BALANCE AND YOU DO GET A SORE WRIST WITH A LOT OF LUGGING AROUND.INSIDE OF HARDCASE IS MID BROWN COLOURED FLUFFY STUFF(YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN) & GUITAR FITS REAL SNUG WITHOUT A HINT OF MOVEMENT.I LIKE THE THIN ELECTRIC FEEL OF THE NECK AND WITH A CUTAWAY MAKES IT EVEN MORE LEAD-BREAK FRIENDLY.AND YES IT CAN STAND UP ON ITS OWN DUE TO BOTTOM CUTAWAY(BIT OF A NOVELTY FOR ME),BUT BEST LEAN IT ON SOMETHING SAFE & IT AINT GOING NOWHERE.

THE SOUND ON MINE IS EXCEPIONAL,WITH A VERY BROAD TONE RANGE.EVERYONE ELSE HERE IS TALKING ABOUT BRASS NUT & BRIDGE,BUT MINE HAD BONE NUT & WOODEN BRIDGE THAT I THINK HELPS SUBDUE ANY TINNY SOUND.FROM A SIMPLE TONE SLIDER I CAN GET DARK MELLOW TO BRIGHT RINGING TONES EASY AS.THE VOLUME ON THE PICK UP IS AS LOAD AS YOU CAN GET WITH NOT A HINT OF FEEDBACK.I MOSTLY USE MINE FOR HOME RECORDING WORK & SOME STAGE.THE RESONANCE OF MINE MUST BE SUPERIOR THAN OTHER OWNERS ON THIS POST,I THINK,BECAUSE I THINK ITS FAR BETER THAN ANY OTHER ACOUSTIS I'VE PICKED UP.I'EVEN USED DISTORTION & WAH WAH AND IT DOES'NT SOUND TO BAD TO MY EARS(VERY GIBSONY).

I DONT REALLY KNOW ABOUT FACTORY SET-UP ON THIS,BUT I WOULD'NT TOUCH MINE FROM WHOEVER DID IT LAST.ACTION IS GOOD,NO BUZZING,SUPER LOW FOR AN ACOUSTIC,STRAIGHT AS A DIE NECK,EASY TO TUNE.MINE MUST HAVE THINNER COAT OF LACQUER THAN MOST,I FIND IT HARD NOT TO DENT THE TOP(SOUND HOLE SIDE)EVEN A PRESSED FINGER WILL PUSH A HOLE IN,THIS HAS DETRACTED A LOT FROM THE LOOK & I'M CONSIDERING A CUSTOM SCRATCH PLATE TO COVER IT ALL UP(ANY SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL,AS I WAN'T THE PLATE TO BE A MATCHING WOOD TOO).MY GOLD HARDWARE HAS OXIDIZED & PITTED A BIT BUT I CAN LIVE WITH THAT,A BIT OF CHARACTER,MAKES IT LOOK EVEN OLDER,SAY AROUND 50'S.ONLY THINGS THAT HAVE COME ADRIFT IS THE TONE SLIDER STOPPED WORKING(STILL TOP BE FIXED),HANDLE ON CASE FINALLY DEPARTED(I THINK DUE TO WEIRD ANGLE) & THOSE DAMN DENTS(MOST FRUSTRATING!).

ITS A FABULOUS LIVE PERFORMER,MINE DONE VERY LITTLE WITH ME BUT ITS BEAN GREAT WHEN I HAVE.STRAP BUTTONS ARE THERE TO STAY.I HAVE NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT TAKING A BACK-UP & SO FAR ALL OF MY INTUITION ABOUT THIS GUITAR BEING "SPECIAL" HAVE BEEN CONFIRMED HERE WITH OTHER REPORTS.

I'VE NEVER HAD IT REPAIRED YET OR SET-UP PROBLEMS,BUT IT IS GOING TO HAVE TO GO SOMEWHERE FOR THE TONE SLIDER IF I CANT FIX IT MYSELF.THANKS FOR THIS FORUM BECAUSE NO-ONE I'VE ASKED AT ANY SHOP CAN TELL ME ANYTHING ABOUT THEM.

I HAVE BEEN PLAYING FOR 15 YEARS'BUT ITS A SLOW PROCESS WHEN YOU'RE SELF-TAUGHT.I DREAD THE DAY THAT IT WOULD BE TAKEN FROM ME TO A NOT SO DESERVING & CARING HOME,I DON'T LIKE MY CHANCES OF FINDING ONE NEAR ME AGAIN.I HAV'NT SEEN ANOTHER ONE ANYWHERE & IS THE REASON I WEN,T SEARCHING HERE,TO SEE VARIATIONS & PRICES & COMMENTS,etc.FOR ALL YOU LUCKY ENOUGH TO OWN ONE,TREAT THEM WELL,GUARD THEM WITH YOUR LIFE & DEFINATLEY RECORD WITH THEM IF YOU WANT A SIGNATURE ACOUSTIC SOUND.MY FRETS ARE SOLID AS BUT ARE WEARING DOWN A BIT,NOT ENOUGH TO NOTICE IN ANY HARMONIC WAY YET.CHEERS ALL.ENJOY YOUR PIECE OF CLASSIC MUSICAL BRILLIANCE.

I have the '81 Caribou and I assume that's the year it was made. The top appears to be cedar and the back and sides are definitely maple with an arch in the back. This is the 6-string version with a scooped cutaway on the treble side o f the neck and another one in the bottom of the lower bout which gives the Caribou a peanut-shaped appearance and also permits the guitar to stand on it's bottom as long as there isn;t a jack in it. It has a nice wooden plate with a volume and tone knob that look like wood (maybe they are) which were originally connected to a piezo under the bridge which didn't need a battery. When I originally got the guitar, the pickup wouldn't broadcast the D and G strings so I had it replaced with a Baggs hooked up to the original controls (it needs a battery now). Nut and bridge are brass. Tuners are gold-tone grover style, fingerboard appears to be ebony or some really hard black material (the reason I have doubts about it being ebony is because this fingerboard show no signs of wear after years of intensive playing). Neck is slightly fatter up and down (though not wider) than a normal acoustic. The Caribou came with a hardshell custom fitted case also very beautiful.

Acoustically the Caribou sounds a little like a National to me (probably because of the brass bridge & nut) albeit a trifle thinner than most stricctly acoustic players would like. Where the Daion shines is amplified through an amp or p/a system or plugged directly onto a board for recording where it creates beautiful clear acoustic sound without feedback. The tone and volume controls work really well and you can get a lot of timbres with them. I mostly do blues/country/folk fingerpicking stuff, but I have used this guitar in a rockabilly power trio in place of my telecaster. The pickup outputis about twice that of my tele - this guitar kicks!

I got this guitar second hand from a guy who bought it second hand from Matt Umanov in NYC . Matt probably sets up everything he sells, so it's hard to say what factory condition was like. The original pickup was busted so you can't count that either. However, the wood and workmanship in this guitar are lovely and itis super durable. Action is normal for an acoustic, but the guitar has a slightly unyielding feel to it that everyone notices but can't seem to find a reason for. The neck is straight and the intonation absolutely perfect. The tuners work really well and the guitar hardly ever goes out of tune.

This is where the Daion is king!! I have played countless gigs and sessions with this guitar, let other people play it, it has fallen on hard floors several times, been slammed in a few doors (while in the gig bag) and all it has to show it terms of damagae are fingerpick scratches on the treble side of the soundhole. I have never taken a backup guitar to a gig when I have the Daion.

I'm still trying to find the manufacturer just out of curiosity. I don't think customer support is actually available.

I received this guitar in exchange for teaching a note for note arrangement of "Poor Man" so that certainly is a great deal . I would hate to lose this guitar, it's really quite good. I have other acoustics, a Gibson J45, a Dean Nouveau, a Guild custom 12-string and various electrics and a couple of basses. What I like about the Caribou: 1)reliable in every situation 2) good looks
3) simple effective controls 4) great amplified sound. The only thing I don't like is that it has a stiff playing feel (previously mentioned), you have to work harder to get good music out of it. Still, it's worth it.

- 12-string gutar with dark red/purple finish
- Bought the guitar new back in 87 in Germany for about 800 DEM (I guess about 400-500 USD back then) with factory case. The guitar had been sitting around in the store for quite a while but was still new.
- Has the typical body form already mentioned here, including cutaway, bridge pickup with 2-way controls (vol. and tone) etc.

I played various styles on this guitar, and mostly used it for ballads and occasional background strumming in various musical and jazz bands.

In my opinion the sound is rather cold and metallic and not very good in mid and low ranges. Even though this is a typical and desired characteristic of a 12-string, it is a bit too much for my taste. Also the guitar lacks sustain. This might be caused by the unusual form of the guitar and the inside bracing. That does not mean that the sound is bad in general, or that this type of sound could not be corrected with a good EQ -- but then you need an amp setting and can not play completely unplugged.

I usually have it tuned lower with the e string at d# (or sometimes d). I mainly to this to reduce tension on the guitar, but I also find that it makes the sound a bit warmer and it gives a richer - less metallic - sound.

Compared to other guitars, I feel that you need to use a certain minimum volume to have it sound decent, yet when the guitar is played too loud, the sound lacks brilliance and is not very transparent . This characteristic reduces the volume range in which the gutar can be used effectively. When fingerpicked or when you pick it with a pick, however, it sounds just beauitful.

Even though the guitar is not new anymore, I remember that I've felt this way from the beginning. I also compared old recordings, so I don't believe it's a matter of the guitar aging. Over the 15 years that I have this guitar the sound characteristics has not changed, even though it could use some maintenance now.

In general I am quite happy with the quality of the guitar, even though
I always found the guitar rather difficlult to tune, since the tuners seem to be not very precise. It is extremely difficult to get it right in the first place, but then it stays good for a long time.

Compared to to other 12-strings I played, you need a lot of power in your left hand to play the Caribou well, no matter what string type and
tuning you use, but this might be a personal preference.

Soon after I bought the guitar some frets in the area of the cutaway have become slighly loose on one end, which means that if you strum very stongly, the high e-string sometimes can get caught under the fret which can be pretty annoying in a gig (and of course is not good for string life either). I had this corrected once, and should probably do it again now (or maybe get competely new frets). This is however the only real flaw in terms of quality of the Caribou.

- I used the guitar a lot in gigs (which means carrying around a lot) during the first 7-8 years and then let it sit at home and almost never played it again until recently. The case got quite some mishandling, yet protected the guitar well enough. It seems to be rather sturdy compared to other cases I've seen, only that it kills your hands if you carry it for more that 10 seconds.
- Since the guitar has not been used a lot in the last years, it could need some attention now, such as readjustment of the neck and some frets. I already had the neck readjusted back in 1989 or so, but that's about it.
- The finish seems to be rather soft, compared to other guitars I owned
and got a few scratches now, but nothing serious.

Never needed customer support

I have the guitar for 15 years now and have never regretted bying it. If I were to buy a new 12-string today I'd probably look for an instrument with a richer sound and better sustain -- just my personal preference

I also own a two Yamahas APX-6C and FG-340 (both 6 String acoustics, the latter one treated rather badly in everyday use) and a 1988 US Stratocaster.

This is a beautiful and extremely durable handcrafted japanese flattop. "The 81 Caribou" carved inside the soundhole gives a subtle hint of the year of manufacture. It has a solid top and a bulging laminated back.
The shape of this cutaway model is strikingly unusual. The bottom is nicely concaved, and this feature is actually very practical, as the guitar can stand on the floor even without external support (not recommended, of course).
Two wooden knobs control the output of a piezo microphone built under the bridge. The frets are very wide, and they are the only thing that have needed attention in the 17 years that I have owned this instrument. And it has seen some serious action, too.

Acoustic sound is quite nice, but very weak. The body is rather thin, but this does not wholly explain the lack of volume. Perhaps the extra bracing the unusual shape requires does.
When amplified this guitar gives a very clean and powerful sound. If you turn the tone control almost all the way down. It controls the treble, and if used excessively - nay, even moderately - it shrieks like a seagull in heat. But when you learn the curious way this tone control works, the sound is very warm.
I play traditional Irish music, and The 81 Caribou has accompanied me on countless gigs and rehearsals over the years.

Fit and finish are up to standard, except for the frets. Being very wide they are comfortable to play and very durable, but very soon after I bought the guitar the frets started to bend upwards, making the instrument unplayable. I tried to hammer the rogue frets back down, but they wouldn't have it. So I finally took it to a luthier and had it refretted with slightly narrower frets. After the operation (which took place in 1984) there have been no problems. So if this is a typical fault with this model, I guess all have been refretted by now. If not, well, good luck.

If I had to emphasize one feature on this instrument, I would choose the indestructibility and good looks. That's two features, I know, but they blend quite nicely into a guitar that has attracted many people over the years. It has often happened, that after a gig a guitar player in the audience has come up to chat about the Daion. And, I should add, quite often the chat has led to the person wanting to buy the guitar from me. No way, I like money as much as the next guy, but this guitar is worth a lot more than any person in his right mind would be willing to pay.

The original price for this guitar was 7500 SEK, which in 1983 was around one thousand dollars. Believe me, it was a lot of money then. The Daion was my first serious flattop, I had one Finnish Landola and two electrics (a 68 Fender Mustang and a semi-acoustic Rickenbacker replica made by Ibanez in Japan).
Since then I have bought a Lowden S7, which is a jewel except for the fact that the lacquer on the top is way softer than the lacquer on the Daion. The top of the Lowden looks quite ugly now, as I tend to beat the strings somewhat heavily when I get carried away (pun intended). It would really need a pickguard. Wonder if it affects the sound very much...
The Lowden is bitchy with strings. The Daion doesn't mind as long as the strings are made of some kind of metal, but if I fit a set of d'Addarios on the Lowden, her tender balance is all but gone. She needs a set of bronze wound Martins, but the low E has to be phosphor bronze, or else the lowest bass will go all muddy. I don't know, maybe I should start playing with myself, this is starting to sound too serious.
My newest guitar is a 12-string Ovation, which is great when amplified, but totally useless as an acoustic. It looks great, though, with multiple soundholes and everything.

"The '81 Caribou" is stamped inside the sound hole so I assume thats when it was built. Information I have picked up on the Net says it was handcrafted by Terada of Japan, supposedly the finest guitar factory in that country. They no longer make this brand, but are now making guitars for Gretsch. It is a cutaway model with a spooned out bottom giving it an unusual shape and stability if leaned against something. The top is solid western cedar with no pick guard. The sides and back are birdseye maple, the headstock is striped maple. It has passive electronics with a funky wooden control plate with only 2 sliders, volume and tone(min and max),

It has a brass nut and saddle which seem to create nice overtones and a unusual almost electric/acoustic sound even when it is not pluged in

This guitar has the look of a handmade instrument with its odd shaped body and bridge, oval sound hole, and a beautiful headstock with only the Daion symbol which looks something like a harp. The woods and finish are excellent with nice bindings everywhere. The action is good. The neck looks too straight for an acoustic but does not buzz to my suprise.

This guitar has a heavy gloss finish which has protected it's soft cedar top well over the years. It is going to need some reworking of the bracing inside the guitar at the neck. There is a small crack appearing where the neck, top, and sound hole meet. I guess 18 years of 12 string tension is having it's affects.

I picked this gem up at a pawn shop where it had been hanging on the wall for months at $400. I finally sold an Ibanez Artist "335" so I could justify purchasing another guitar. The Ibanez was the last electric in my collection which now is: a '64 Gibson LGO, '87 Takamine EF349, 80's Limited Edition Maple Sigma DT22. As you can tell I like old Japanese acoustics, mainly because I can't afford collecting American acoustics. Some of my friends were horrified when I told them I paid over $300 for an old imported guitar. But when they see and play it they understand why. I'd like to hear from other Daion owners if they have any other info about these guitars or anyone with info on this Sigma I have.