HI Pike,
I realise that i am corresponding with senior members ,But if Yamaki made all of the early guitars D30S,Prairie Song custom, then which models was Jim smith referring to in the article i saw on the net some of which is quoted on this site.
Per the inarguable Jim Smith Sr -
QUOTE"Where did their imports come from?
It started in Japan in 1974 with the Yairis, [Sadao and Hiroshi] who were a father and son team in that started making guitars for Washburn in ’74. I think they did most of the product line through the mid-1980s until their factory burned down. And then after that Washburn was looking for the cheapest vendor with the best quality. After that it was probably Korea, starting around 2000."
IF as the owner of the company and one of the most knowledgeable washburn collectors both say YAIRI made the early guitars which models were they!??
Of the two manufacturers Yari Probably had the edge on yamaki, but they would have been very close vis a vis quality,I wonder if the D30s and the prairie song etc could have been made by both factories?? washburn would not be the first guitar company to have the same models made in two different factories.
my research into Japanese guitars suggests that Yamaki and Daion merged into one company with Daion making almost exclusively electrics whilst yamaki made the acoustics.
Trying to find out which Japanese manufacturer made which guitars is like trying to find your way in the worlds craziest maze logic wont help it's mostly informed guesswork. but the beckman guitars do look like TERADA models .
I Have a couple of guitars made by matsumoko "westone thunder " bass and a "westone thunder" guitar the wing series do look like matsumoku models but there is also a great deal of debate on that subject, although I have read that SUZUKI bought some unfinished bodies from DAION that looked just like the wing series bodies, It's all becoming as clear as mud you might say