Product: Suzuki WK-65D Takeharu
Price Paid: $800 (AUD) used
Submitted
05/01/2005
at
04:15am
by
Andrew
Email: webstera at optusnet<dot>com<dot>au
Features
:
8
I was told it dates from 1975. Made in Japan by Takeharu of the Kiso Suzuki Company. It is a dreadnaught acoustic which appears to be acopy of a Gibson Hummingbird. It has the double block parallelogram mother of pearl inlays, a large tortoiseshell pickguard embossed with a picture of a white dove (not a hummingbird) and roses and a gibson shaped headstock with Takeharu printed on it. It also features a an adjustable height bridge. It has binding around the body and neck and is elegantly simple and functional. A real beauty.
Sound
:
10
This is the best sounding and playing acoustic I have ever owned - and I have owned a lot. The sound is evenly distributed across the register with lows that are full and rich but that do not dominate the higher register. The guitar suits pick and fingerstyle alike and is truly responsive to attack and dynamics. Played load or soft the guitar projects superbly and the whole instrument resonates in response. Absolutely faultless sound.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
9
The Takeharu plays like a dream, whether playing single note jazz lines or open tuning fingerstyle the guitar is just so easy and comfortable. Across the entire fingerboard the guitar retains a consistency of tension and tonality that is stunning. I want to play this guitar non-stop - I struggle to put it down.
Reliability/Durability
:
9
The guitar is about 30 years old and is unmarked. As strong as ever. I have replaced the machine heads - but the ones that I replaced looked like they were not the originals. Looks like it could last another 30 years.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
No idea. But I would like to find out more about Takeharu. There are a few references to their guitars on the net - generally users who are as impressed as I am but who can't find anything out about them.
Overall Rating
:
10
I have been playing for 20 years - mainly jazz and blues. I have owned too many guitars to remember and am always turning them over. The Takeharu is here to stay. I have neither owned or played an acoustic that plays or sounds as good as this one. It is now one of the three guitars that I will never part with. If it were stolen I would have no hope of finding another - but if I see another Takeharu I will buy it without a second's thought - regardless of the model.
