(SOLD) Elite by Takamine HM-30 Dove Style Dreadnought 1974
Elite by Takamine HM-30 dreadnought, made in Japan 1974. This is a lovely old guitar, it really has a lot of personality. The 'Elite' brand covered Takamine's early Gibson style offerings, they're not exactly common and like all early Japanese Takamine stuff, it's beautifully made. This model references the classic Gibson Dove model, so it's a traditional square shoulder dreadnought with a spruce top and mahogany back and sides. It's got the tasty block inlays, dove monogram and crown inlay... cheekily close to the original, frankly. The action is pretty workable and the neck is a an agreeable moderate profile, so while it's not a speed machine, it's a nice strummer and you don't have to work too hard to get it singing. The tone... singing is the word, frankly. This has a lovely balanced tone, there's a big fat warm bass matched by a rich, complex midrange and an eloquent treble. It's one of those guitars you start enjoying as soon as you hit the first chord, all the notes seem to gel together nicely... like a gooey chocolate pudding for your ears. The heavily yellowed finish and inlays lend a tasty vintage aesthetic to the match to tasty vintage tone... it looks superb. I really like it, I suspect you will too.
Model: Elite by Takamine HM-30
Made: Japan, 1974 (serial 74400469)
Finish: natural top, red stained back and sides, gloss poly
Body: dreadnought style shape; laminate spruce top, laminate mahogany back and sides
Neck: mahogany, rosewood fingerboard, dovetail joint, 25.5" scale, 15" radius
Weight: 2.075kg
Pickup: none
Mods: none
Case: basic non-original vintage hard case
Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. Headstock has a tiny chip on the end and some scuffs on the front and back, no major marks. The neck has no major marks, just some minor dimples on the back. The back has a few minor scuffs on the back, no major marks. The sides have no major marks, just some scuffs near on the elbow area and bottom edge. The front is pretty clean, just some dimples on tje bottom edge below the bridge and some play wear on the guard and horns. Overall: very good condition (8/10).
Playing condition notes: action is moderately, neck is straight, intonation is good, truss rod works. Frets look nice and even and in pretty good shape, 8/10 for fret life left. Wearing fresh 12/54 Moonshiners strings.