The Interwebs are sorely lacking on search results for these guitars! There's a particular one for sale on my local Craigslist, which is why I started researching. I thought Suzuki guitars were 70's creations only, and inexpensive student guitars at that. However, the seller claims this particular Suzuki dreadnaught is from the early 90's and that it's a quality all solid-wood build.

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The name on the headstock says 'Suzuki Triple S' and the model is AD320. Does anyone have a Blue Book with more info? Any insights would be greatly appreciated. Some years ago I had a cutaway Nagoya acoustic. I can't remember the model number but the headstock as the same as the W 120 on the internet. The finish was a dark tobacco sunburst, very pretty! I think it was a laminate but that certainly didn't affect the sound, very well balanced with enough sound for anyone.

Lovely neck shape and feel, used regularly at home and on holidays, sessions and even trying to support a VERY loud bluegrass banjo. I never had a problem with the instrument losing tuning, lifting the bridge, neck needing a reset or any of the many and varied problems which can attack a guitar over the 15 or so years I owned it. My friends also played it - a variety of styles, all liked it. Eventually sold (with a clear conscience) to a friend when I upgraded to a Guild. Suzuki was making guitars fro a long long time, maybe they exported mainly laminates, can`t say for sure, but I`ve found a few all solids over here.

I checked a site that has catalogs including Suzuki but didn`t see the model you listed so I didn`t post a link in this thread. I`ll post pics of the labels of those I own that are solid wood. This is a `48 nylon string. A 1950 Kiso Suzuki. I`ve got three of these, no dates on the labels, but two are certainly solid.

One, the most recent, I`m not sure about, but if I had to bet I`d say yes. All three have different colored labels but all have the diamond cut bracing. Heres what the diamond cut bracing looks like. Here is a link to a site with some Suzukis.none of the labels on mine appear there, and some of the data they have conflicts with the guitars I own so I can`t swear the info there is accurate, in fact I know some isn`t but it`s very difficult finding stuff on many old MIJs I own, I`ve got a whole bunch in the 'unsolved mystery' file, but hey, whatever.I buy em to play, guess I`ll just have to struggle through life not knowing everything there is to know about some of my oldies. As long as they sound good, I`m happy. I have still got a Nagoya Suzuki w-120VSC cutaway tobacco sunburst exactly as you describe.

I bought it new in about 1983 and you are right -it is a fantastic guitar for the money. Although I use a Takamine en-20 (another 1980s relic)for gigging, the Suzuki is the first choice at home for composing or noodling about on.

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The action is fantastic and the sound is well rounded. It hasn't got the volume or tone of the Tak, but it's a much nicer guitar to play. My wife won't play any other and she won't let me sell it!

I have never adjusted anything other than replacing strings in all those years. It's hard to fault really. The build quality is good -the g string sometimes 'jumps' or clicks when you tune it and the intonation gets a bit suspect right up past the 12th. These could probably be sorted easily, although i've never felt the need.

Apart from a few chips, the finish has stayed in remarkably good condition(compared with the Tak which is disintigrating around the soundhole). I think I paid about. You might want to check the archives here as well. There was a thread on guitars branded 'Nagoya' that I guess were Suzukis. No really good records on these things. Mine is in my lap as I speak.

Just boned the bridge. It's about a '72 model, as far as I can tell. Solid spruce top, and the sides and back appear, to the best of my ability to determine, to be solid EIR. Mine is a true copy of a contemporaneous Martin, down to the oversized rosewood bridge plate. It was manufactured as a 'House Brand' for a local music store in the D.C. Point being, though they made a lot of student level stuff, they were capable of turning out better guitars. $350 sounds a little steep, but with a good hardshell case, it's not out of the ballpark.

Compare it to other guitars in he price range, like the Yamaha 7XXS series, and make up your own mind. Only rule of thumb I haveis, If it sounds good, it is good.

Kiso Suzuki is the name of a now-defunct guitar company from the Kisofukushima region of Japan. This region is well known for it's mountains and trees, and the lure of the region with it's valuable lumber brought craftsman to the area - one such interest was, of course, guitar-making.Kiso Suzuki and Nagoya Suzuki were one company before the war - a 3-factory company started by Masakichi Suzuki that produced the well-known 'Suzuki Violin' violins. But after the war the company was split up into the Suzuki Violin Company (now Kiso Suzuki Violin Company) and Suzuki Violin Manufacturing Company (now Nagoya Suzuki Violin Company). And there the relationship ended.). Re: the serial number: on many of the models the first one or two numbers in the serial number stands for the year in which it was manufactured; from the 60’s to the 80’s.

I have never seen a definite 1950's guitar yet, mainly because I don't know enough about them yet.The other prefixes/suffixes.W, C, S, VS, D, G, A, T, R, O, J.may follow other common meanings. W = Western model F= Folk Model C= Cutaway E=Electronics K=?

S=Spruce (top) VS= Violin Sunburst color D=Dreadnaught shape G=Grand Concert shape for classicals; some 'G' acoustics however had a Gallagher type headstock A=? Takeharu sometimes R=? J=Jumbo shape (if you can help with understanding their system, please DO write me at suzukiguitars@gmail.com.Thanks!). 'I have a Suzuki, but it doesn't sound as good as I had hoped for.' If you have a Suzuki that doesn't sound so great. Not every Suzuki guitar is equal to an 'inheritance' guitar.

But, some are. Some may just require a setup to sound better; others may be too heavily built or have intonation problems (personal experience with some steel strings built by Kiso). BUT, it's possible to fix some of these problems and have your guitar sound a lot better. Also, different years, different labels (jobbers?), and whether the guitar was intended for export or for Japan - seems to have made a difference. Some woods used were Linden, Rosewood, Maple, Ovangkol, and Nato. Spruce and Cedar were used for the tops – usually laminated for the overseas market, as laminates don’t readily crack, but some models are solid tops. There is a popular theory about solid tops sounding better, but there is disagreement on this matter by some well-respected people.

See the website. Suzuki laminates were generally very good quality, and many people feel their guitars, even though laminated, sound better than many solid tops. Suzuki craftsmanship surely played a role in the sound too. The numbering system is usually tied in with the price. An F100 would have been 10,000 yen, an F130 would have been 13,000 yen, an W250 would have been 25,000 yen and so on.

But some models are lower numbers yet very ornamented, so it doesn’t seem like this always holds true. (see the F35 scrollwork on the fretboard). One interesting thing that stands out is the change in labels. If you’ll notice, there were a few different labels. Were there different divisions or contract manufacturers?

I don’t know at this time. There are thousands of players worldwide who would like to know more about their Kiso Suzuki guitar. It's a common story that when someone has G.A.S (Guitar Acquisition Syndrome) and needs to let a guitar or two go, the Suzuki is the one that stays behind and can't be replaced.

If you own a Kiso Suzuki guitar - congratulations on what you probably already know - that you own a well-crafted and good sounding instrument. One that is still undervalued in the opinion of many players. Maybe you'll hang on to it and see that there is something special about many of their instruments. In any case, as Tetsu said.'

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Have a nice life with Suzuki guitar.”.