This guitar has rosewood back and sides, with a 3-piece back, Abalone Shell inlays around the sound hole, as well as on body bindings. Abalone Shell block inlays in the fretboard, and floral inlay on rosewood-veneer headstock, mahogany neck, spruce top, Martin-style headstock. This guitar is a copy of the Martin model D-45, but with a D35-style three piec back. The back & sides are apparently Brazilian rosewood.
I bought this guitar from an antique furniture dealer in Santa Ana CA in about 1980 to 1082 (I can't remember exactly when). This was a dealer that I had bought furniture and other items from on numerous occasions, and when I found the guitar in his store, it was standing against the wall in a corner with no strings on it, looking lonely and forlorn, and it said to me, "Won't you please take me home?" I checked it over carefully to make sure the neck was reasonably straight and there were no other obvious problems, and bought it for $95.00. The first stop on the way home was Guitar Center for a set of strings--which I installed as soon as I got back to the car. This guitar is still the best-sounding and best-playing acoustic I have ever owned!
Here are some comments I found online from other people who own T Haruo guitars:
Posted by Charles (from: ) on June 26, 2002 at 00:22:59:
In Reply to: Re: T. Haruo acoustic guitars posted by Peter on June 16, 2002 at 23:46:16:
I have a T. Haruo acoustic which I purchased in a small guitar shop in Tucson, AZ about 1983, but I can't recall the name of the store. I do, however, still have the warranty card that came with the guitar; the listed USA distributor was Pennino Music Co. in Westminster, CA. I tried looking it up on the web, but there is no listing for the company. I wish i could find out more info about the brand, also. I enjoy the quality of my guitar, which is a very close copy of the Martin D-45.
\: Here is the rumor I have heard. Granted, this may be apocryphal, but it’s the only thing I have heard that sounds remotely plausible. I have found T. Haruo ads from guitar magazines in the 70’s and I heard about these guitars when I was a kid. The ad indicates that there were a number of guitar stores – a lot of them on the West Coast (McCabe’s was on there as I remember) listed as carrying them and they were marketed as a quality guitar at a reasonable price. I now have a Model 80 12-string and a model 100 6-string. I have seen a model 50 (at least I think I am remembering that right – it was not all that great sounding a guitar, poorer quality than either the 80 or the 100 which are quite good). There was also a model 150 which is pretty much a dead knock-off of a Martin D-45. Those are about the only facts I know for sure. What I have heard is that the fellow who made the T. Haruo guitars was a master luthier at Yamaha and left because he wanted to make higher end guitars. He did so with the T. Haruo line, but went bankrupt in the process. If anyone knows more or can either debunk or confirm any of the above, let me know. pberge@mm.com
: : i have a beautiful acoustic guitar that i bought about 15 years ago in California.
: : it is made by a Japanese guitar co. called T. Haruo but i have been unable to find any info on the maker.
: : its a wonderful d-45 style acoustic with great inlay work.
: : any info anyone has on it would be great.
: : thanks
More from other newsgroup posts that Yahoo found for me:
>I bought my Haruo 6 string model 60 built in 1976 second hand in Reno's music shop in Manchester, England in 1985. It sings beautifully and the only problem I have is that I can't upgrade it because I can't afford the massive amount of money it would cost me to buy one better! I bumped into someone in Scotland this year with almost the same model, but built (I think) in 1980. He had bought his in New York. It seems incredible that someone can make such beautiful instruments and yet no one knows anything about them. Shouldn't they be a saint or something?>
>
>
>good luck. i have same exact axe. nobody on earth knows anything about them.
>>
>>
>>>In 1976 I received a T. Haruo 12-string as a gift from a family member(Model 80-12 with mother of pearl bindings and a vine up the fretboard). It sounds and feels great and a number of people I've shown it to agree that it's very well-built and has a great tone. Unfortunately, I've been unable to learn much about the maker, history, reputation, etc. of the guitar. I've been told that the builder used to work for Yamaha and was one of their finest builders. If anyone can help shed light on this mystery I would really appreciate it. Thanks!
What I've Found Out About T. Haruo:
I have been trying to find out more about this guitar and the person or company that made it. The best story I've found so far is the following text, found in a search on Yahoo for "T Haruo Luthier:"
Posted by Charles (from: ) on June 26, 2002 at 00:22:59:
In Reply to: Re: T. Haruo acoustic guitars posted by Peter on June 16, 2002 at 23:46:16:
I have a T. Haruo acoustic which I purchased in a small guitar shop in Tucson, AZ about 1983, but I can't recall the name of the store. I do, however, still have the warranty card that came with the guitar; the listed USA distributer was Pennino Music Co. in Westminster, CA. I tried looking it up on the web, but there is no listing for the company. I wish i could find out more info about the brand, also. I enjoy the quality of my guitar, which is a very close copy of the Martin D-45.
\: Here is the rumor I have heard. Granted, this may be apocryphal, but it’s the only thing I have heard that sounds remotely plausible. I have found T. Haruo ads from guitar magazines in the 70’s and I heard about these guitars when I was a kid. The ad indicates that there were a number of guitar stores – a lot of them on the West Coast (McCabe’s was on there as I remember) listed as carrying them and they were marketed as a quality guitar at a reasonable price. I now have a Model 80 12-string and a model 100 6-string. I have seen a model 50 (at least I think I am remembering that right – it was not all that great sounding a guitar, poorer quality than either the 80 or the 100 which are quite good). There was also a model 150 which is pretty much a dead knock-off of a Martin D-45. Those are about the only facts I know for sure. What I have heard is that the fellow who made the T. Haruo guitars was a master luthier at Yamaha and left because he wanted to make higher end guitars. He did so with the T. Haruo line, but went bankrupt in the process. If anyone knows more or can either debunk or confirm any of the above, let me know. pberge@mm.com
: : i have a beautiful acoustic guitar that i bought about 15 years ago in california.
: : it is made by a japanese guitar co. called T. Haruo but i have been unable to find any info on the maker.
: : its a wonderful d-45 style acoustic with great inlay work.
: : any info anyone has on it would be great.
: : thanks
More from other newsgroup posts that Yahoo found for me:
>I bought my Haruo 6 string model 60 built in 1976 second hand in Reno's music shop in Manchester, England in 1985. It sings beautifully and the only problem I have is that I can't upgrade it because I can't afford the massive amount of money it would cost me to buy one better! I bumped into someone in Scotland this year with almost the same model, but built (I think) in 1980. He had bought his in New York. It seems incredible that someone can make such beautiful instruments and yet no one knows anything about them. Shouldn't they be a saint or something?>
>
>
>good luck. i have same exact axe. nobody on earth knows anything about them.
>>
>>
>>>In 1976 I received a T. Haruo 12-string as a gift from a family member(Model 80-12 with mother of pearl bindings and a vine up the fretboard). It sounds and feels great and a number of people I've shown it to agree that it's very well-built and has a great tone. Unfortunately, I've been unable to learn much about the maker, history, reputation, etc. of the guitar. I've been told that the builder used to work for Yamaha and was one of their finest builders. If anyone can help shed light on this mystery I would really appreciate it. Thanks!
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I got a tip from another S150 owner that there was a serial number stamped into the headblock of the guitar, so I looked and found the numbers shown in the picture below. The "serial numer" is H910125, with the model number 150 below it. BUT (and this is a real big BUT) this alleged serial number is exactly the same number as that on the guitar owned by the guy who gave me this tip. Sooo.... while it is apparently NOT a serial number, it must indicate something about the guitar - maybe when it was made, where it was made, who made it? If anyone has some ideas, I'd love to hear them.  |
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My nephew Kevin found an add for T. Haruo guitars on Ebay a while back, and had it framed for me. Here's a scan of the ad, which was apparently run in one of the guitar-oriented magazines, probably in the late 70's or early 80's:  The ad indicates that the guitars were distributed by Pennino Music Company, which was a small chain of music stores in Southern California in the 70's and 80's when I lived in Anaheim. They had a store in the Orange Mall back then, but I think they have since gone out of business. |
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