The Forgotten Jewels of Takamine's Past

Takamine ventured into set neck, solid-body electric guitars and basses in 1984-1986 to draw in the metal/rock community that had started to thrive in Japan. A lawsuit over multiple models of their acoustic guitars looking too similar to Martin models caused the Takamine factory to be relocated away from Mount Takamine in the central Japanese town of Sakashita where they had originated a s a small local business. During this move, a mass amount of paperwork, files, and guitar bodies were lost/confiscated. Due to this, what could have been a major breakthrough in electric guitars was left in the shadows of the 80's.

15 years or so went by and slowly the guitars began showing up on websites and pawnshops across the seas in the United States. The steamrolling technology of the internet helped pushed Takamine's lost jewels into the collector's world. A mass effort of collectors and enthusiasts have worked together in piecing together this nearly forgotten history. The Mount Takamine factory released only a couple hundred of each model of guitar/bass and some of the series were manufactured with even more limited special edition colors. All guitar models featured DiMarzio styled Humbuckers; The basses with Double Precision Pickups.

Even now in 2015, some new unknown models have surfaced and have caused some debate as to whether or not they are actually from the series or if they are fan made frauds. There are roughly 4 different models that are still a mystery including the one shown in the photo for this submission. Below is a list of the confirmed models released in the 80's.

GX-100 (Explorer Style Guitar)

GX-100BT (A version of the GX-100 with a Tremolo bridge)

GX200 (A Gibson SG Style Guitar)

GX200T (A version of the GX-200 with a Tremolo bridge)

GE-400KT (Highly Detailed Explorer Style Body)

GE-400GT (Bass Guitar version of the KT With Double Precision Pickups)

BG-400KT (A Detailed 2 Point Shape. More Like An Arrow Fletch Than A Flying V Shape)

BG-400GT (A 4 String, Double Precision Pickup Version Of The 400KT)

GZ-340T (A Body Similar To The Ibanez Pro Line With A Tremolo Bridge)

GZ-300 (A Les Paul Style Bodied Guitar)