K.Country D-400, made in Japan 1977 approx. There's not a whole heap of info around on these, but I've scraped a bit from here and there. K.Country guitars were made and marketed by Kasuga, who made guitars for Tokai and Yamaha among others. They were sold exclusively to the Japan domestic market. This model sold for ¥40000 new, around twice the price of the more common Martin style guitars you see from more ubiquitous makers like Morris or Tokai Cats Eyes, so it was a pretty high-end offering in it's day. The design is based on the Martin D-45, so you get the classic square shoulder dreadnought shape with a spruce/rosewood tonewood combo.  The back has the D-35 style three piece construction, which I've always thought looked superb. There's some talk these are made from Brazilian rosewood, which was often called 'jacaranda' by Japanese sellers to save hassles from CITES, but I can't 100% verify that. The 'laminate' construction on these was generally two-ply, far less plies than a modern laminate, so the build method sits enjoys some of the added stability while maintaining some of the tonal purity of a solid guitar. The sound: it's huge, it's warm, it's lovely. There's a gorgeous thick, rich natural low end on tap, balanced by a juicy midrange with heaps of air and life in it rounded out with a crisp, responsive treble. It's naturally loud with great projection, but it's very sensitive and articulate under a light touch too. The naturally yellowed finish lets the woodgrain do all the talking, this a certain vintage swagger to it that new guitars never possess. The neck is a comfy round C shape, it's easy on the hands and never makes you work too hard. All in all: this is an absolutely superb vintage acoustic, it'll make someone very happy.

Model: K.Country D-400
Made: Japan, 1977 approx (serial 512)
Finish: natural, gloss poly
Body: square shoulder dreadnought style; laminate spruce top, laminate rosewood back and sides
Neck: mahogany, rosewood fingerboard, dovetail joint, 25.5" scale, 15" radius
Weight: 2.015kg
Pickup: none
Mods: none
Case: basic non-original vintage Yamaha hard case

Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. Headstock has some minor marks on the end. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, minor dimples on the back and glossing from play only. The plastic heel cap veneer has cracked, but it only serves a cosmetic purpose anyhow. The back has minor scuffs around the outside edge of the whole body as well as some minor rub wear in the middle, no major marks. The sides have no major marks, just a few dimples on the top horn and bottom bout. The front has no major marks, just some light scuffs from play on the guard and horns and some dimples around the whole back edge. Overall: very good condition (8/10).

Playing condition notes: action is moderately low, neck is straight, intonation is good, truss rod works. Frets look pretty even and in good shape, 7/10 for fret life left. Wearing fresh 12/54 Moonshiners strings.