Yasuki Stratocaster

[dan74]

I've recently purchased an old vintage Japanese Strat copy.
The brand is Yasuki and a sticker underneath the scratchplate dates the electronics as 1979. It has 2 single pickups and a humbucker.

Has anyone heard of this make before?
I've been told it may possibly have been made by Matsumoku, but this isn't confirmed so could be bollox??!

[Bassassin]

Funny that this brand should come up just now, a Yasuki Strat neck just sold on Ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Yasuki-1970s-Japa ... 0296329553

I've never heard the name connected to Matsumoku - but that doesn't mean it isn't. However there were a lot of different Japanese manufacturers, all of whom seemed capable of producing high-quality instruments.

If you can post some clear, detailed pics it might be possible to identify the manufacturer - details like hardware, neckplate, electronics, neck construction etc, and anything stamped, written or marked anywhere on the instrument can all provide clues.

Is the humbucker original? If it's a 70s guitar, I'd think an HSS configuration would be pretty unusual.

Jon.

[dan74]

ok i'll be totally straight with you, the guitar is not actually complete and that ebay ad is actually part of the guitar i've bought!

The body is missing, which according to the seller was used on a different project or discarded some time ago. I bought the neck plus scratchplate, which dates back to 1979.

There's a little bit of info on Google but after digging very deep can only find snippits. According to one source, the bodies were actually shite and plywood based, however the necks are noted by a few sources to be somewhat "special"!

sorry if my first post was misleading, just wanted to get some info on the complete guitar. I'll post some pics of what i've got when i get a chance.

[Bassassin]

Well I have to say whatever it was originally like, you got a bargain! That was in my watch list but I missed the end of the auction - typical!

Still might be able to tell something from pictures, anyway.

J.

[dan74]

OK, some more info....

The scratchplate is loaded with HSS and the humbucker looks original. There's no sign of tampering on the solder joints and the plate itself hasn't been modified to take it. There's a sticker on the inside of the plate itself stating the following... WIRED BY: PM, DATE 09 24 79, INSPECTED BY: signature.

The single coils are wax filled and have metal plates finishing them off on the bottom. The selector switch is nice and big and the pots are A-500K. There's a section of foil backing the pots and switch only.

The mounting holes are very different to the standard. 10 holes in total and the shape doesn't fit a standard strat layout very well. The cutaway for the bridge is only 70mm and when in place, the neck section is out of line by about 2-3mm.

On the neck the machine head holes are 8mm and the truss rod is at the head. Distance between the machine heads, centres and end to end is 125mm (5x25mm). Neck plate states "made in Japan".

Haven't got a camera to hand but will take pics when I can.