Tama 3557-12

Model 3557-12 serial#6076438 12-string mfd. 1978 in Japan, inspected by Mark Taxa 20 frets, neck to body joint at 14th fret. Has solid, slightly figured, matched sides, tightly grained spruce top, mother- of pearl looking inlay around sound hole, same m.o.p. material and some sort of whitish body binding, rosewood bridge. Neck and tilt back headstock is one piece mahogany with rosewood veneer on top of headstock with mother of pearl looking "Tama" inlay. Fingerboard is ebonized rosewood with dot inlays at 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th, 15th frets. Tuners are Japanese Schaller copies silver in color with black stars on bottoms. Truss rod adjustment from under plastic plate at headstock. Width is approximately 2 1/4 inches at 24th fret. Came with a padded semi-hardshell case. Body is dreadnaught, made of matched pieces of gorgeous reddish (probably Indian) rosewood, sides are matched as well as bottom. Bottom has no inlays down the middle, just finely fit together halves. Has clear, durable, glossy finish. Bracing is adequate, just heavy enough to do the job, light enough and hand thinned in just the right places to enhance tone. Great construction and workmanship for a factory Guitar! This guitar lacks the foo-foo fancy inlays that the more expensive models have, it was built for great tone out of great woods instead! I purchased it new in spring of 1977 from a violin maker named Ray at Ray's String Shop on Broadway in Salt Lake City. Price was 600 bucks with a Barcus-Berry pickup inside it, but I said "All I have is 450 bucks cash, can we do a deal? Was the best 450 bucks I spent in my life!

The sound through the Barcus-Berry was very bright, with every fret fingering squeak coming through loud and clear, unfortunately. Transients were harsh, however, that was par for the course in the 70's. The natural sound of the instrument was full in the bass, great midrance and sparkling, almost glassy highs with harmonics almost bell like, especially the fifth and octave harmonics. An expressive player can make it grunt, howl, or sing, depending on where the strings are plucked relative to the distance from the bridge. This guitar is bright enough even with old strings. It never sounds dead, best strings for it are D'addario phosphor bronze light guage. With a slight truss rod adjustment, it is happy and stable tuned up to regular pitch. I hate capos on 12-strings, and I like to play along with my friends. You can tune this guitar, put it away, come back a month later and it will still be in perfect tune. Unlike most 12-strings, you can go way up the neck with absolutely no intonation problems, even the big strings! The sound has improved with age, you would have to spend a huge ($1800-2500 or more) amount of money to buy a 12 string today to sound as good as this one did new in 1977, it sounds even better now, especially after I had Doug Campbell go through it. (more on that later)

Factory setup was great, action was low and easy. As mentioned earlier, top was bookmatched, back was bookmatched, even the curved sides were symetrically matched grain. Fit and finish are outstanding, and despite all the places I have taken it, the body finish has held up, the spruce top is getting darker with age. Neck is stable, stable, stable! No finish or wood cracks anywhere.

This guitar has accompanied me in my Chainsaw toting days as a firefighter in U.S. Forest service project fire camps in Utah. It has served countless camping trip campfire singalongs in nights cold enough to chill my coat covered back while cooking uncomfortably hot on my face from the campfire's radiating heat. It has been sweated on playing in the hot sun, it has had wine slobbered on it while seducing beatiful young women on the sheepskin rug in my living room, it has ridden back and forth at least forty 850 mile trips between Park City and Fresno, California in the back of some car or pickup truck. Hell yes, it's giggable! Had it detailed out By Doug Campbell at Backline guitar and amp repair in Fresno in October 2002. Doug milled the frets and slightly shaved down the bridge in such a manner as to increase the hold down angle of the bass strings to improve the already great bass and midrange. Wow, you should hear it now! Then he ripped out the scratchy sounding Barcus-Berry and installed a Seymour Duncan mag mic active sound hole pickup. this pickup fits the 2 1/4" width at 24th fret strings and the 12 individually adjustable pole pieces aligned perfecly under each string! Mr. Duncan never said anything about using this pickup for a 12-er in the instructions, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING COMES CLOSE TO THE SOUND CAPABILITIES AND QUALITIES THIS PICKUP GAVE THIS INSTRUMENT. Spend the money, it is well worth it!

As this Guitar is no longer made and quite rare, I guess there is no factory support. But with the capable luthier and technical abilities of Doug Campbell, nothing more is necessary.

I've played for about thirty years. If it were stolen or lost, I would be incredibly depressed. It is my special geisha girl, so much more reliable and sweet that any woman I have known in my 48 years as a bachelor. I would sell it for fifty thousand dollars, and absolutely not a penny less! The sound is that good now!