Guide / SELECTED VINTAGE GUITARS
Takamine: acoustic roots, electro-acoustics and an Elite TW-40G
From Sakashita to the stage: Takamine’s history and a closer look at the Elite TW-40G in our collection.
From Sakashita to Takamine
The Sakashita workshop began in 1959 and took the Takamine name from the nearby mountain in 1962. Luthier Mass Hirade arrived in 1968, becoming president in 1975 and expanding the company’s international reach.
Woodworking skills and a brand of its own
The company’s Japanese account highlights local woodworking skills and early production for other firms. Export under its own brand became important in the mid-1970s. Company names and the names appearing on instruments should therefore be distinguished when researching vintage examples.
Takamine Japan — historia zakładu / company history ↗
About the source: The manufacturer explains the business background; it does not identify every older instrument’s specifications or exact year.
Elite TW-40G: an acoustic chapter from the 1970s
Our Elite TW-40G, dated approximately 1975, is a dreadnought with a spruce top, rosewood back and sides and mahogany neck. Elite is this instrument’s designation, illustrating Takamine’s earlier acoustic range. Fingerboard levelling and new frets form part of its subsequent service history.
Selected Vintage Guitars — Takamine Elite TW-40G ↗
Preparing our instrument
Our service work included fingerboard levelling, new Medium frets, a bone nut and saddle, and installation of our own passive acoustic pickup. That pickup is a later SVG modification, not a factory Takamine system. We recommend comparing acoustic sound and playability first, then evaluating the amplified sound separately.
1978–1979: the acoustic-electric transition
Takamine dates Palathetic development to 1978 and the PT-007S acoustic-electric to 1979. The TP parametric preamp followed in 1988; replaceable preamps and an external battery compartment followed in 1989. Acoustic construction and stage electronics evolved together.
Takamine — oficjalna chronologia / official timeline ↗
Palathetic: a separate chapter in stage sound
Takamine’s later stage-guitar development includes the Palathetic system, with six separate piezo elements, one per string. The manufacturer describes their contact with the saddle and the assembly’s mounting in the instrument. It is a specific design, not a generic name for any piezo pickup. Earlier acoustics such as our Elite deserve to be considered separately.