Suzuki WT-200 Folk (Takeharu)

This is an early Japanese Takeharu made steel strung dreadnought around 1967-1968. Has a zero fret which usually means late 60's.
In the 1960's I think Takeharu were a stand alone company but they
were later bought up by Kiso-Suzuki to make the Suzuki brand guitars
(Although the brand name changed, Suzuki acoustics are remarkably
similar in construction to Takeharu's).
I own 3 Takeharu's ( and also 2 Suzuki's) but this is the earliest.
All solid wood. Spruce top. Rosewood sides and back. Mahogany neck.
Rosewood fretboard with block MOP inlays. Full bindings nicely aged. Fretboard has white binding as does headstock. Body has white binding top and back. Inside the top binding is a further abalone binding - v.nice. Detailed inlaid rosette. Tortoiseshell scratchguard. Tuners have been replaced but probably match the originals - 3 on a strip open. The replacements work fine. Adjustable bridge. The label calls this a Folk guitar and it has obviously had a very busy working life. A lots of knocks, scratches and dints. Almost certainly was gigged for many many years.
Appears to have been professionally repaired a couple of times. The unusual feature is the rosewood sides and back. Showing its age now - nearly 40 years old - but must have looked very nice when it was new.

I play mainly acoustic - martin simpson stuff, renbourne, davy graham,
plus some ragtime, acoustic blues, celtic DADGAD etc.
I have several steel strung acoustics but this is the only one with Rosewood back and sides. I bought this off eBay, based on my experience with my 2 other mahogany backed Takeharu's but was not sure what to expect as regards the sound of this rosewood backed instrument. I was very pleased - beautiful ringing tone - much more sustain than mahogany. Very clear and very sweet. In comparison
my mahaogany Takeharus sound slightly woody - this rosewood one
just chimes and rings - nicest sounding steel strung acoustic guitar I've ever owned.

I bought this as a rebuild project. It had been sat in a attic for
15 years and needed a lot of work. Took a couple of hours just to clean the dust out of it. Broken neck had previously been professionally repaired - an excellent piece of work. Truss rod had been adjusted to the point where the fretboard had started to separate from the neck. Top and binding were starting to come away near the bottom strap button. The bridge pin holes were so worn the pins would no longer stay in. Obviously it had had a very hard working life. I spent 6 months restoring it and getting it into good order. To anyone else restoring an acoustic with worn pin holes - you can buy oversize bridge pins (rosewood) - no need to replace the bridge.

I guess this guitar had spent 20 years on the road
being played live probably every week. But it
has survived (just) and still sounds gorgeous.
The lot of general wear and tear from frequent use
over such a long period. It obviously became
indispensible/irreplaceable and a lot money was spent on
repairs and renovation over the years (I would think that the
repairs have cost much more than the guitar originally cost).
However, anything that is still working well after 40 years
of frequent use must be regarded as very durable.

Never contacted Takeharu or Suzuki.

Been playing for 40 years+. Have 8 guitars at the moment including
2 other Takeharu's, 2 Suzuki's, a Takamine and an Ibanez Hummingbird.
I have found that Takeharu's are excellent guitars - on a par with the Japanese made Takemine's. This Takeharu WT-200 has the sweetest tone of any steel strung I've ever played. It is one of those guitars which when you're playing in a crowded room, you just have to run your thumb across the strings and everybody goes quiet.