1965 Guytone LG-200T

My cherished Japanese “Bizarre Guitar”, a 1965 Guyatone LG-200T, is rare in its native Japan and extremely so in the U.S. It was never imported here (no ‘Made in Japan’ markings) and its somewhat outré appearance has kept it from being iconic. It is big and heavy (11 pounds!) yet its neck has a very narrow width.

This is the instrument that re-kindled my interest in guitars. I picked it up about eight years ago in a thrift store for the princely sum of $18. It needed a lot of work. Missing parts, destroyed finish, and the wiring was shot. I had to completely rework a Fender  bridge to get the proper string spacing. It also needed to have one of the pickups rewound. I ended up bypassing the pseudo-stereo wiring altogether. It is a great guitar, very playable and comfortable (although you might want to be sitting down.) It has a unique and very musical tone.

Ry Cooder has two of these, he uses them extensively on his Grammy-winning Mambo Sinuendo CD. You can get a good look of one in action at the 13:54 mark:



Here is a nice demo of the LG-200T as played by the prolific Ramon Goose:



Here he discusses the guitar’s construction in detail: