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| Moderated by: Richard Hefner |
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| Diastone ukuleles - General Ukulele - Ukulele - ezFolk Forums | |||||||||||||||
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ichadwick Approved 
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I just picked up a Diastone soprano ukulele at a yard sale. Made in Japan, inside sticker says Model #14. Appears to be laminate mahogany with either rosewood or mahogany fretboard. Rosewood saddle. Decent shape, not bad sound - will improve with new strings. Anyone know anything about his brand or model? Are they still in business? And if not when were they manufacturing? Any comments on their quality or sound? Will clean it up and post a few pics shortly. Last edited on Sun May 4th, 2008 11:51 am by ichadwick ____________________ Ian ------------------------------------------- Ukulele reviews: http://www.ianchadwick.com/essays/ukuleles.htm Harmonica reviews: http://www.ianchadwick.com/essays/harmonicas.htm |
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ichadwick Approved
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A few pics:    
____________________ Ian ------------------------------------------- Ukulele reviews: http://www.ianchadwick.com/essays/ukuleles.htm Harmonica reviews: http://www.ianchadwick.com/essays/harmonicas.htm |
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ichadwick Approved
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Found a few comments on http://www.guitarsite.com that suggest the company folded in the mid-1970s. Apparently Takamine made some of their guitars (according to a few people who said that was on the labels), and one comment that Diastone made guitars for Martin when the Martin workforce was on strike. So this uke is probably 30-40 years old.
____________________ Ian ------------------------------------------- Ukulele reviews: http://www.ianchadwick.com/essays/ukuleles.htm Harmonica reviews: http://www.ianchadwick.com/essays/harmonicas.htm |
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Mike Bagneski Approved
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Actually quite nice looking. Is that waviness in the wood, or is it some trick with stain. Is it solid wood?
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ichadwick Approved
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Mike Bagneski wrote: Actually quite nice looking. Is that waviness in the wood, or is it some trick with stain. Is it solid wood? It's the way the grain catches the light. The wood is quite flat with no buckling or bubbling. It's a laminate top (and I suspect back & sides) and very solid. Very conventional/traditional look.
____________________ Ian ------------------------------------------- Ukulele reviews: http://www.ianchadwick.com/essays/ukuleles.htm Harmonica reviews: http://www.ianchadwick.com/essays/harmonicas.htm |
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ichadwick Approved
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A little more info has surfaced. Back in the 1960s, there was one factory in Japan that basically made almost all Japanese guitars, ukes, banjos, etc. Yamaha and Ibanez and even some Martin guitars were all made there. Many of the models were the same for different companies, just different finished and brand name changes. Quality was generally very good for their products. Apparently that's where Diastone had its instruments made as well. According to Wikipedia: In 1957 Hoshino Gakki manufactured what would be considered the first of the modern era Ibanez guitars. In 1962, Junpei Hoshino, Yoshitaro's son, opened the Tama Seisakusho factory to manufacture electric guitars and amplifiers. The Tama Seisakusho factory produced a line of guitars that included clones of several popular guitars, including the Martin Dreadnought. At the time they were also manufacturing Star Drums, available in either the Imperial or Royal models. Hoshino Gakki stopped making guitars at the Tama Seisakusho factory in 1966 (but continued making Drums) and from then on contracted outside guitar factories, like there main factory and exclusive one in Japan, FujiGen , to make guitars. FujiGen started in 1960 with the production of violins and classical guitars. In 1962 FujiGen started production of electric guitars. In the 1970s FujiGen started making guitars (OEM) for companies such as Hoshino Gakki (Ibanez), Kanda Shokai (Greco guitars) and Yamaha. In 1977/1978 FujiGen went into a joint venture with Roland Roland Corporation to produce guitar synthesizers. In 1981 FujiGen opted out of acoustic guitar production to mainly concentrate on solid body guitar production. In 1981/1982 FujiGen obtained the Fender Japan contract which lasted until 1996/1997. In mid/late 1992 FujiGen obtained a part of the Orville by Gibson contract which ended in 1998 and from then on have made Epiphone Japan solid body guitars, some Gretsch models and their own branded FgN guitars. FujiGen still do OEM guitar manufacturing for companies like Ibanez and Epiphone but in much smaller quantities than in the past. FujiGen has 3 factories in the Matsumoto area, the Omachi factory, the Hirooka factory (established around 1992) and the main FujiGen factory. FujiGen has also manufactured Variax guitars for Line 6.
____________________ Ian ------------------------------------------- Ukulele reviews: http://www.ianchadwick.com/essays/ukuleles.htm Harmonica reviews: http://www.ianchadwick.com/essays/harmonicas.htm |
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en4cer Approved 
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I also have been looking for Diastone Info... had read on another site that they had a relationship with Takamime??? I have a baritone that I am fixing - the nut that was on it had been replaced (not even remotely well done) with a hacked out piece of pressure treated lumber.... . Had to find a collar, only 1 was missing and got a new set of strings. It looks as if it may be a rather nice unit when back together again. I would post some pics but have not figured out how to do that here....
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ichadwick Approved
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Yes, I read that about Takamine and Diastone. I can't recall the details, but I believe Tak made Diastone's higher-end instruments.
____________________ Ian ------------------------------------------- Ukulele reviews: http://www.ianchadwick.com/essays/ukuleles.htm Harmonica reviews: http://www.ianchadwick.com/essays/harmonicas.htm |
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balno Approved
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I have an Harmony ukulele looking very similar, except maybe the headstock, wich is a bit wider as far as I can see. The body's all laminated wood and the label inside says "Harmony - made in Japan". I guess it was built in the mid or early 70's, just after Harmony stopped production in the States. Dunno, but seeing your Diastone strongly reminds me of this ukulele, which is not a bad one. I bet these ukes were made in the same factory. The neck is probably the thinest I've ever seen. Here is a picture beside a Mahalo soprano ULTD2 :  Does your Diastone have such a peculiar neck too ? Last edited on Fri Nov 28th, 2008 11:19 pm by balno ____________________ http://www.myspace.com/balnof http://www.youtube.com/fbalno |
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en4cer Approved
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I wish I could post a pic for you - is there a quick way you can tell me how to do that???
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banjo brad Super Moderator 
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You need to upload your photo to the web somewhere, first. If you have an artist account here, you can put it in the photo album there. Then, on the page (not in the control panel), right click on the photo, select "copy image location" and copy the link to your clipboard. Then, in the forum here, you would click on the iconthat looks like 3 ballons, and insert your link between the two middle ] and [. That should insert your photo into your post. Or you can just insert the link to the pic.
____________________ ezFolk Help Brad Prickly Pear Music Banjo Brad's ezFolk page TOTMC |
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| ezFolk Forums > Ukulele > General Ukulele > Diastone ukuleles | |
