Year: 1967

Top: cedar

Body: indian rosewood

Neck: Spanish Cedar

Head Machine: Gotoh

String Scale: 660mm

Nut Width: 52mm

Finish: French polish

Condition:

very good

String height at 12th fret: 6th 3.8mm; 1st string 3.45mm].

Masaru Kohno (1926-1998) is arguably Japan’s most important luthier, and of course one of the most played, concertized and recorded of the 20th century. Top players of Kohno guitars include Julian Bream, Oscar Ghiglia, Sharon Isbin and Shinichi Fukuda, among others. Although Kohno began building guitars in 1948, it wasn’t until returning back to Japan in 1960, after a 6-month trip to Spain (where he apprenticed with Arcangel Fernandez) that he established his successful workshop. His international debut came in 1967 (notably, the same year this guitar was made), when he was awarded a Gold Medal at the “Concours International de Quatuor a Cordes et Rencontres Musicales Internationales de Liege” in Belgium (of interest, Daniel Friederich was another of the top winners at this competition). This has the classic sound from this era: clear, woody, and a bit dark. Condition is excellent with no crack or repair. The guitar is in concert-ready condition with comfortable set up and easy playability

It is almost impossible to find a 67 Kohno nowadays and you are lucky to see one.   As a Kohno fans, we all know the special of a 67, so that most of them are owned by collectors but rarely to see a re-sale. This kohno is 660mm, cedar top with Indian rosewood B&S, strangely there is no model marked on the label, but all the feature match with the awarding guitar. 

About the sound, as a Kohno collector for over 10 years, I have no doubt to say this 67 is one of the best in my memory amount my per 70’s collection. The guitar have a huge open sound. The guitar is not big in compare with the 70’s Kohno, but it is so powerful. From my understanding, Kohno won the Elizabeth’s prize with a cedar top guitar, so that Fleta said Kohno’s guitar has a very similar sound this his own work. From my personal experience a kohno from this period are very similar to Archangel guitar. I believe any Kohno lover will satisfy the sound of this 67 or even feel better than their expectation.