yamaha mandolins

[Ray(T)]

What I find strange is Yamaha only used that particular label and logo with a Piano from 1934 to 1936.

That begs the question of what they used the label on back in the 30s? Presumably it wasn’t on their pianos. Finding an earlier label on something later doesn’t bother me as much as finding a later lable on something which is clearly earlier. What does bother me though is the fact that the label isn’t straight and every other Yamaha I’ve ever come across has either had Yamaha or the crossed tuning forks on the headstock. I don’t remember another of their instruments with a model name there.

Thanks for getting back; we can be an impatient lot when something interesting crops up!

[fernmando]

I think I have seen that script on early Yamaha classical guitars from the 50s and early 60s.

[MikeEdgerton]

Is the country of origin (Made in Japan) listed on the bottom of the label? I can't quite make out what is there.

[MikeEdgerton]

Although Yamaha was originally founded in 1887 to produce pianos and organs, the company did not start building guitars until the early Forties, eventually opening a factory dedicated exclusively to guitar construction in Hamamatsu in the late Forties. Yamaha’s first guitars were nylon-string classical models, and these guitars were sold only by retailers within Japan through the Fifties and early Sixties.

https://www.guitarworld.com/gear/loo...yamaha-guitars

The fact that they are writing the company name in the Latin alphabet suggests it was built for export, I'm surprised they would call it the Californian but at least they didn't brand it Kentucky.

[rcc56]

I have only seen labels of that type on instruments that were built before the early '70's instruments with orange labels.
I do not recall seeing a crooked label in a Yamaha instrument, at least not an old one. It makes me wonder if the label was added later.

[Jeff Mando]

FWIW, and working at a vintage guitar shop we rarely saw Yamaha acoustic guitars that predated the FG red label Nippon Gakki series of the late 60's. Most will date to early 70's unless they were purchased by servicemen and brought back prior to that date. One guitar I distinctly remember was an early D size Yamaha from mid-60's or earlier. The peghead said Yamaha and had an Native American face in profile also on the peghead, similar to what is on a Nickel. Very cool looking, but the quality of the guitar, both in hardware, overall build and finish was several notches below the well-regarded FG red label guitars. I wanted to like it, but it just wasn't a very good guitar and even with a bunch of money spent toward a setup, it still wouldn't be a very good guitar, IMHO. But, a cool wall-hanger, for sure! Wish I had a picture, but I don't. Sorry.

[tntb]

I do not recall seeing a crooked label in a Yamaha instrument, at least not an old one. It makes me wonder if the label was added later.

So if that were the case what is the label from? Size wise it is correct for the instrument and there is no indication of any other label that was there prior.

[MikeEdgerton]

This is a 50's to 60's Yamaha Dynamic Guitar (classical guitar) label and they are using the piano. Interestingly enough they were already finishing the insides of the guitar to keep it stable during the ocean voyage. That continued through the red labels, I have no idea if it went beyond. I would guess the mandolin label was pre the red label guitars.

[MikeEdgerton]

From circa 1900 on the American music scene had a whole lot of people building "for the trade" to be labeled or not labeled with someone else's brand. Other industries did this as well. It wasn't limited to the US, it was common in some European countries as well. I suspect that Yamaha didn't one off a mandolin but may have shipped one to their early distributors to see if they could sell them. This is really similar to the Suzuki products and I suspect that it was built by Suzuki for Yamaha and labeled by Yamaha and the person installing the label didn't bother removing the strings. Thus the label is crooked.

You could actually contact Yamaha with pictures from their website and ask if they can give you any history. Don't expect them to offer up that they bought it from someone else but they might be able to tell you how it got here.

I'm sure it was labeled by Yamaha. There would be no money in faking this instrument. It may have been a salesman's sample.

[wbelve]

Looking for information: Yamaha mandolin. My granddaughter inherited this and we are trying to get information and possibly a idea of its value so she can sell it. I'm incuding 2 photos. It seems from the previous posts that this is a mandolin unicorn. Thanks for the help.

[wbelve]

Looking for information: Yamaha mandolin. My granddaughter inherited this and we are trying to get information and possibly a idea of its value so she can sell it. I'm incuding 2 photos. It seems from the previous posts that this is a mandolin unicorn. Thanks for the help.I posted this in another thread that is old. I apologize for any confusion.

[MikeEdgerton]

If it was me I'd put it on eBay with a high reserve and a low starting price. If it doesn't hit the reserve you don't have to sell it. When the bidding is done you can relist it at the highest price it got to. This is not going to grab you any great amount of money. Unfortunately just because you can't find them doesn't equate to market value. It generally means they didn't sell well in the first place.

[MikeEdgerton]

No confusion, I'm going to merge this thread with the other one.

[wbelve]

Thanks, Mike. That might be the solution for us. I'm a little concerned about how to pack it to be sure there is not damage during shipping. The mandolin is in its orginal (very worn) case.

[MikeEdgerton]

There are a few threads here that might shed some light on the subject.

[keith.rogers]

If you haven't already, and aren't in a rush, you might try contacting Yamaha directly, though I suspect that the USA branch won't know anything about this, it can't hurt. (I did a search on their site for info about serial numbers [for guitars] and manufacturing date, and found a couple articles in the FAQ, but the links they had were no longer valid, so I think "history" is not high on their priority list.)

p.s. if you are intending to sell it, more information, even if determined by a visual inspection by someone that is familiar with mandolins, would help you fill out some info, like is it a solid/laminated top, back and sides [appear to be] solid/laminated, condition of frets, does it hold tune and is playable "as is" (with a set of new strings), etc.

[wbelve]

Thanks, keith. I did contact Yamaha and was surprised by how quickly someone responded. After providing photos, their rep seemed surprised by the mandolin. HIs response was WOW. He stated that he had never seen anything like it. He did say the label inside lists the Japanese factory that was making Yamaha instruments in the 60's. Thanks for the suggestions for selling. A local guitar instructor suggested that I not have it tuned since it will put tension on the strings.

[Ray(T)]

I’m with Mike in terms of value. This particular instrument is more of a curiosity than a valuable rarity. It’s probably worth more than a more common instrument of comparable quality but not that much more. You really need to persuade geeks like us that we want to buy; which most of us wouldn’t! Interesting non the less - thanks for posting.

[mandocello8]

we have two of these Suzuki mandolins in Vancouver BC. 1968 and 1969 vintage. one still plays well, with very light strings and a "sound post" to stop folding across the sound hole. the second one has a failed neck joint, now a wall decoration at Cafe Calabria on Commercial drive (there is quite a collection of mandolins and musical instruments on the wall there).

[MikeEdgerton]

we have two of these Suzuki mandolins in Vancouver BC. 1968 and 1969 vintage. one still plays well, with very light strings and a "sound post" to stop folding across the sound hole. the second one has a failed neck joint, now a wall decoration at Cafe Calabria on Commercial drive (there is quite a collection of mandolins and musical instruments on the wall there).

Yamaha and Suzuki are not the same company.

[mandocello8]

the suzuki mandolins we have here look the same as the "yamaha" mandolins photos posted above. distinctive feature is the black dots next to the bridge. I should try to get some photos tomorrow. ... found my notes, label says "nagoya suzuki mandolin no 601, 1969". "601" seems to be the model designation, same "601" is visible on the label of the "yamaha" mandolin.

[MikeEdgerton]

Get the pictures, if they are actually Suzuki built instruments at least there is some history.

[mandocello8]

here is the suzuki mandolin from vancouver, bc. 2nd mandolin with failed neck joint is identical, no pictures.
label reads: "registered trademark / suzuki violin co.,ltd. / nagoya japan / [no 601] [19?9]". based on other photos of such mandolins, i believe "601" is the model number, "1969" is the build year.

note1: a length of yellow pencil is holding top against collapsing/folding across the sound hole where it is thinned by the decorative pickguard. no loss of tone or volume. (correct repair is to install a brace).

note2: bridge position looks wrong, but is correct by stroboscopic tuner, intonation of E,A,D strings is okey, G string is off, as expected from a non-compensated handmade bridge (piece of graph tech guitar bridge saddle). not sure what happened to the original bridge.

[MikeEdgerton]

The dots for the bridge placement, the unique pickguard shape, The rosette, the shape of the instrument and headstock. They were made in the same factory. The question would be which one?

[mandocello8]

right, probably by the same master luthier, too. https://mandolinluthier.com/japanese...rs_suzuki.html