Regarding how to acquire the second Morris I currently own and an acoustic guitar
This is a Morris F-15 (Terada Gakki) made in 1974. After acquiring my beloved F-18, which had just been repainted, I somehow fancied getting a guitar with pickups fitted, so I won it on Yahoo! Auctions. I believe it was around 6,000 yen. That’s the beauty of Yahoo! Auctions – the bargains you can get at that price.
When it comes to acoustic guitars, I often adopt a ‘spray and pray’ approach, buying cheap ones in the hope that one will be decent. When bidding on Yahoo Auctions, I choose listings that specify the neck condition. A bad neck can be fatal, but if that’s okay, there’s often a decent chance it’ll be manageable. That said, if I don’t like it, I’ll just sell it on…
Now, regarding the crucial sound quality – I reckon this varies too much between individuals to be of much reference. After all, people selling 40-50-year-old guitars often do so because they’re just cluttering up a corner of the house. The strings are usually completely rotten, and most sellers have probably lost interest in the instrument altogether.
Morris F-15 (Terada Gakki Seizo) ·· Unfortunately, it wasn’t a big hit. But it’s not bad.
This guitar is a 1974 Terada Instruments model, and unfortunately, it’s not exactly a home run. Among the mind-boggling number of guitars out there today, I’d say it’s just about average. Due to its age, it sounds much better than a new one, with a forward, relatively delicate tone. However, it didn’t have that astonishingly rich volume like my F-18.
But since I intended to install pickups anyway, it’s not a problem. The neck condition is excellent, allowing me to set the string height very low, and the playability is superb, so I’m satisfied.
Incidentally, the top is spruce laminate, and the sides are rosewood. Many people insist on solid wood, but both Japanese vintage guitars I’ve encountered were laminate, so I don’t care at all. Or rather, I’ve hardly ever noticed any difference. (Well, maybe I just don’t know enough.)
Since this guitar was inexpensive to begin with, I immediately replaced the tuners, installed a piezo pickup, and swapped the strap pins for ones with jacks. I also shaved and adjusted the bridge and replaced the endpin with a brass one.
I usually string this guitar with D’Addario Ultralight strings and set it up more for playing single notes and high chords. I rarely perform with an acoustic guitar in front of others, so I haven’t taken it out yet, but I can add effects to it, and well, I just enjoy it casually as a second guitar.
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