Maya F335G, Made in Japan
by claesgellerbrink
Maya F335G, Made in Japan 1970’s
On Saturday I found myself a Maya F335G. As mentioned before, I’ve been after a Gibson J-45 or J-50 for quite a while so when I saw this Japan made Gibson J-50 copy I couldn’t resist. It was in a terrible state and strung with 4 nylon strings so I couldn’t test it but I trusted my gut feeling. It doesn’t sound like a Gibson J-50, I didn’t really expect it too either, but it does sound pretty good. I would say that it sounds better than the two Suzuki’s I used to have, the Kiso Suzuki WE-150 and Suzuki Three-S F-120, even though the build quality is pretty much the same. There is a huge step up to my Morris WL-35 and Morris W-40 and my beloved K.Yairi TG-40, both in build quality and sound. Having said that, there is something with this Maya that I really like, it has way more bass then the Suzuki’s and overall a pretty nice and full sound. The only downside is that it feels pretty stiff to play so I will probably put 011’s on it next time I change the strings. According to my previous post about Japanese guitar brands Maya was made by Chushin Gakki in Kobe, Japan, during the 1970-80’s. Even though I really like this guitar I have it listed for sale if anyone is interested in buying it.
Maya F335G made by Chushin Gakki in Kobe, Japan
The previous owner had used a collection of random oversized wood screws to keep the machine heads in place so the first thing I did was to remove them and fill the holes. I polished the frets and oiled the super dry fretboard and then put on a bone nut and saddle which improved the tone quite a lot.
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[…] with a great booming bass, you can listen to it here. If you want more pictures you can check the post I wrote about […]
Hello Claes. Thanks for the information research you give about japanese guitar brands.
Recently I got a Maya F 338 H Hummingbird model. Great woods and craftmanship. Alike your F335 g, the guitar has quite a big bass for a hummingbird model, with a well equilibrated warm sound and a deep high response. All these even before visiting the luthier!
There’s a serial number stomped in the reinforcement by the sound hole, right under the fingerboard’s end. It says 06 078.
I guess the guitar was made in june 1980, and was the 78th instrument of the serie. Is it correct? Thanks in advance and congratulations for your the great job you’re making helping others to know more about the japanese guitar brands.
Most Japanese guitar brands serial numbers makes little to no sense, this include some of the bigger brands too like Ibanez, Sigma etc.
[…] Maya F335G, Dreadnought acoustic, Made in Japan, 1970’s, 200€ SOLD Japan made Gibson J-50 copy in a pretty good state for it’s age. I couple of marks on the spruce top and few knocks on the head but structurally very sound without any cracks. This Maya F334G was made by Chushin Gakki in Kobe, Japan, during the 1970’s. It has a really fat neck, it’s feels great to play, adjustable bridge with both bone nut and saddle. The sound is very full with a great booming bass. If you want more pictures you can check the post I wrote about it. […]