Kiso Suzuki Violin Company

Sunday, December 16, 2007

23 comments:

AO said...: I have a Kiso Suzuki W-350, dated from around 1978. Label looks like this picture. Still fantastic to play; January 13, 2009 at 7:58 AM
Unknown said...: I have a Kiso Suzuki F-150, dont know the date of it? But it plays nice and has a great sound to it. Would like to know more about the F-150 series???????????; January 19, 2011 at 7:41 PM
Anonymous said...: ive got the same label inside of my f 100 i know nothing of this guitar other than its one of the nicest acoustics ive ever played...id like to get some info on it but i havent found anything on it yet...any info would be much appreciated; February 20, 2011 at 4:27 PM
Unknown said...: I have a F100 Suzuki & Co (est 1951)
on the neck

Inside Kiso suzuki Violin Co Ltd F100 made in Japan

Love this Guitar would like to know a little history; March 29, 2011 at 6:03 AM
Nicole said...: i'm looking for a suzuki w350...is here anybody who would sell it or does anybody know where i can buy one??? PLEASE i'm desperate :(; August 7, 2011 at 10:45 AM
william artrip said...: Hello, I have a Kiso Suzuki guitar that is built like the Gibson ES 335 and I would love to find out more about the value of this guitar. Thanks; December 10, 2011 at 5:38 AM
Anonymous said...: i have a g 100; December 25, 2011 at 8:45 PM
Anonymous said...: Io ho una Suzuki (Kiso) con etichetto "W 180". Ha un suono digitoso, leggera, buona suonabilità. Però non so di quale materiale è fatto il top (massello o laminato). Chi ne sa di più?
Ciao,
Mario, Roma-Italia; February 22, 2012 at 4:50 AM
Ide said...: Hi,

I have a W350 (ser.N.51113), my Father owned it from new until he died 2008.

The most beautiful sounding Guitar i ever played!

The neck was broken, it is repaired professionelly now and still sounds great!

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-sRlwL8vaD7s/T3R3fpF7LHI/AAAAAAAAF2U/UmLTrjZOI3s/s640/R0016378.JPG; March 29, 2012 at 11:29 PM
Anonymous said...: I have a Kiso Suzuki W500 any info on this model would be appreciated.; April 18, 2012 at 11:22 AM
tomas said...: please send pictures!!!!!; April 19, 2012 at 10:47 AM
Andrew said...: I have a Kiso Suzuki with a stamp in it 60322 does that mean it was made in 1960? the model number is A031B, is it worth anything? it sounds amazing.

simmosworld@hotmail.com; May 5, 2012 at 10:12 AM
Anonymous said...: I have a kiso Suzuki violin co ltd guitar. I'm unsure as to what year it was made and I would like to know. The model number is W-100 and under that it says 91105. Does anyone know when this could have been made? Perhaps 1991?; October 25, 2012 at 2:50 AM
Anonymous said...: I am in Japan for a few months for work and just found a sad, dirty but straight-necked guitar that turns out is a Kiso Suzuki Model F150. It appears to have a solid top and laminate sides/back. I just finished cleaning it up and getting new strings on it, sounds quite nice, especially for 3,000yen (about $40.)! Serial # is 50230.
alanb@mindless.com; January 26, 2013 at 12:39 AM
Unknown said...: i have a w-650s and I was told it was used by a former band but I don't know who does anyone have any info about it cause I cant find any; May 8, 2014 at 7:22 PM
tomas said...: Jason
Please send pictures...I have never seen that guitar before. It must have been an expensive model
Tomas
suzukiguitars@gmail.com
Thanks; May 9, 2014 at 5:12 PM
Anonymous said...: I have a Sears branded guitar from the late '70s/early '80s that appears to be almost identical to a Kiso Suzuki F100. It has an unmarked black headstock, appears to be a solid top spruce, and label inside says Sears, Roebuck & Co Model 319.12172200, Made in Japan. Anyone know for certain if Kiso Suzuki supplied Sears at any time during these years?; July 13, 2014 at 6:28 PM
Unknown said...: how do i figure out my guitars date?; December 14, 2015 at 3:59 PM
tomas said...: look at the serial number...5-digit, first number is significant. 6-digit, first two numbers are significant. In other words, a '5' would be 1975/1985/1965. A '77'would be 1977.; December 23, 2015 at 6:01 AM
Unknown said...: I have 12 string acoustic label inside says model no. W-2001 2 and under that 00304
Is similar label to the picture
KISO SUZUKI VIOLIN CO LTD
Would love to know more about it and if it has any value

Thanks; December 28, 2015 at 10:59 PM
Paidifantasma said...: I also have a Kiso Suzuki Violin Co. Ltd. classic guitar with serial Nr. G-150; April 3, 2017 at 7:50 AM
Jules said...: I have a kiso suzuki guitar model#AB335R serial#45129 with the maple and rosewood three panel back. Love this guitar. Plays and sounds great. If anyone has info of how to break down what year and value this is id appreciate it.; June 1, 2017 at 7:34 AM
Unknown said...: hi, I have a KISO SUZUKI model WT100, 12 strings, I want to know about the history of this model, and year of crafted in Japan
Any info of this model would be appreciated

Thanks; November 5, 2017 at 11:12 PM

Some History of Kiso Suzuki...

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 - Suzuki Violin Company originally started by Masakichi Suzuki in 1887 that produced the well-known "Suzuki Violin" violins - and later became a 3-factory company; Kiso, Nagoya, and ?Manji Suzuki - with all companies run by sons or relatives . It was after the 2nd World War that the original company was split up into the Suzuki Violin Company (now Kiso Suzuki Violin Company) and Suzuki Violin Manufacturing Company (now Nagoya Suzuki Violin Company). Masakichi actually started making guitars sometime in the early 1900's.

Kiso Suzuki apparently then became a manufacturer of guitars in 1951 and worked with other distributors and trading companies to manufacture guitars for not only the Japanese market but also for the overseas market. Some notable companies/names under which Kiso Suzuki distributed guitars: Iwama Trading; CSL Gypsy; Tomson; Kansas; Takeharu; Halifax; and possibly many more. They also made some mandolins, cellos, and violins.

One of the divisions/brands was Takeharu, which was a collaboration between Kiso Suzuki and a famous composer, Yamamoto Takeharu...(see www.takeharuguitars.blogspot.com).

Model #'s...

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 large Gibson-type headstock
A=?
T=? Takeharu sometimes
R=? Rosewood
O=?
J=Jumbo shape
(if you can help with understanding their system, please DO write me at suzukiguitars@gmail.com!....Thanks!)

Kiso Suzuki Construction...

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 ... http://www.liutaiomottola.com/myth/quartersawn.htm

Suzuki laminates were generally very good quality, and many people feel there guitars, even though laminated, sound better than many solid tops. Suzuki craftsmanship surely played a role in the sound too.

More Construction Info...

Kiso Suzuki guitars have very comfortable necks – and that makes them very playable . Sometimes you'll find 'zero' frets installed -intonation was a problem with some acoustic models - and they generally sound great then.

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..."Have a nice life with Suzuki guitar.”