what can you tell me about Nagoya guitars?

[ironmikezero]

Originally Posted by jwellsy

Found this old thread on Nagoya guitars. A Nagoya N-50 just popped up on craigslist. I can't find any info on the N-50. It looks just like the model 7000 in the catalog that SOF scanned.

This isn't my guitar, and I'm not really interested in another cheap guitar that probably smells like cigarette smoke, but this does intreage me. It looks pretty fancy. But, it's easy to get fooled by a pretty Esteban or a pawn shop clone of a knockoff.

I've only found one post online that mentions a Nagoya N-50. But, it doesn't really say anything about it. This thread seems to be THE place for Nagoya aficionados

Any insights on a Nagoya N-50?

The N-50 is a copy of the Guild F-50, and very rare. It was the top Nagoya offering in the early '70s at Veneman Music in the D.C. Metro area. Veneman contracted with luthiers in Nagoya, Japan to copy a line of 1970 Martin guitars. The N-50 was an exception as a Guild copy. The quality of the guitars was exceptional for the retail price point--almost loss leaders. Veneman could only do so because of the economies if scale at the time. Who he actually contracted with is part of the mystery; Takamine and Terada have been anecdotally associated with the deal. Who knows? However, the overall quality of the guitars tends to support this notion.