VG KTR-ES STD, natural gloss, made in Japan 2017. The VG 'Key to the Rock' series is a collaboration between Japanese music retailers Musicland Key and the esteemed Terada Gakki factory, providing acoustic and semi-acoustic guitars that sit alongside the also outstanding Crews Maniac Sound solid-body electrics. If you know you MIJ guitar factories, you'll already be paying attention: Terada made all those superb Orville by Gibson models in the eighties and nineties and still make the A$4k+ Gretsch Pro Series guitars today. The quality of materials and build on offer here is truly exceptional. The neck is a comfy round 1960 style shape, carved from a gorgeous piece of tightly grained African mahogany and streaky chocolate Indian rosewood. The natural finish on the neck lets the gorgeous deep red-brown of the mahogany show off, it's such a classy piece of timber. The body is a traditional 5-ply North American rock maple top, back and sides, paired with a 3-ply spruce and maple centre block. Again, the gorgeous gloss nitro finish allows the alluring wide grain lines of the maple do the talking, and paired with the 5-ply binding and tort guard, this is a very attractive item indeed. The spruce in the block adds a little low-end focus and tightness to the tone, which is where the real magic is. Even before you plug it in, every little note rings truly and proudly out at the lightest touch through the lightweight body. The neck pickup is dense and full with a gorgeous rolling baritone voice, which is balanced by a certain bell-like clarity and sweetness in the top end, ensuring no detail goes missing. The bridge pickup is creamy and open, with an expansive midrange that lends chords depth and complexity and brings out the nuance of every note in a lead line. The middle position is my favourite, the pickups sing beautifully together in contrasting harmony. This guitar will seriously scare USA-made instruments at 2-3 times the price, it's hard to overstate just how satisfying this is to the hands and ears in person. But yeah, bit of a weird name, right?

Model: VG KTR-ES STD
Made: 2017, Japan, Terada factory (serial 17061171)
Finish: natural, gloss nitro
Body: semi-hollow, 5-ply maple top/back/sides, 3-ply spruce/maple centre block, 44m depth, 410mm across
Neck: African Mahogany, Indian rosewood board, 24.75" scale, 15.75" radius, moderate 1960 shape, 44mm nut
Weight: 3.500kg
Mods: none
Pickups: KTR Original PAF-style humbucker x2
Case: basic non-original gig bag

Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has a couple of dimples on the end and bottom edge. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, minor dimples on the back only. The back has widespread very light scuffs around most of the body but no major marks. The sides have a couple of minor scuffs near the rear strap pin and some dimples near the jack and on the bottom horn. The front  is pretty clean, just a couple of little dimples above the bridge and near the knobs, some light scuffs in the elbow area and some play wear on the guard and horns. Overall: very good condition (8/10). 

Playing condition notes: Action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good, truss rod works. All electronics tested and working properly. The frets have minor wear only, 8/10 for fret life left. Wearing fresh 11/49 Moonshiners strings.