A Del Vecchio Pinocchio, But a Decent Resonator Guitar Just the Same…

Today I am going to discuss a single model line of guitar that often gets overlooked, and I am going to stray a little from my usual fare. Instead of pre-war North American instruments today I am looking to the 1970s and the second Japanese invasion, when the quality level began to climb while still remaining cheaper. There can be some unexpected gems, at a reasonable price range…

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When I was a kid, I remember someone in our circle of musical friends had a “Magenta” branded resonator guitar that had a wood coverplate. I also remember thinking it sounded pretty awesome but I was a kid. Then recently I was passing by a pawn shop in Peterborough and there was the same model of “Magenta” resonator hanging on the wall. I made a mental note to come back and get a closer look when I get the time. That was a mistake. Then next time I was in town I went to the shop to find it was gone.

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Now being a reso guitar greenhorn somewhat, I had not really become aware of the Brazillian Del Vecchio resonator guitars until this point. I have obviously since been immersed in recordings of Chet Atkins but however fantastic this instrument is… it’s definitely not the same as the one I am seeking. Eventually though, I began to find other examples of the same guitar, but with different names. Then I discovered more guitars with the newly found name brands that had a distinctive peacock motif metal cover plate. Next up… how about cherry burst finish with the peacock cover plate and a built in single coil pickup? Most of the owners of these I found online indicated that they were a decent quality guitar that played nice and had a rich tone. None seemed to either know who actually made the guitar or that the name on the headstock was not the maker.

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That’s when I found a reverb ad for a “Conrad” branded version, and in the description the seller had listed a number of alternate brands along with… Takemine DB180. Takemine is an actual Japanese maker not just a brand name, they began the company in 1959 and named it after a local mountain in 1962. The company is probably most famous for revolutionizing acoustic guitar pickups in the late 70s. So far as I can tell, these are all mahogany in either finish, mahogany biscuit, bone saddle, zero fret. There was an acoustic model DB180, an electric model DB180E, and the model with wood coverplate and no pickup. ADDENDUM: I now have a model in hand and have discovered the hand rest is easy to unscrew by hand and the saddle has adjustment screws.

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Florida bluesman Blind Johnny Brown (1910-86) played one in recordings made in 1978 in St. Petersburg Florida. Here is a link to the recording at Florida Memory. Thus far, beyond the original Takamine brand name I have also found the following labels: Conrad, Magenta, Maya, Shaftsbury, Orpheum, Taro, Elite, Barcley and Dorado. Dorado was owned by Gretsch and there are two different models I have seen thus far, one of these made by Takamine and another model with standard grill covers and a dobro style cone made by Terada. As usual, I will close with a small gallery.

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