Takamine Lawsuit Model Guitars

[maLavvo]

Has anyone have experience on these Takamine-Martin Lawsuit guitars.  Apparently, Takamine produced copies of Martin model guitars, specifically the headstock shape and logo.

Came across online a Takamine F-400 (12 string).  According to some review, it is an exact copy of a Martin  for D12-28.  It's selling for less than $300 and it looks like still in very mint condition.  Just wondering how it sounds.

If anyone have any experience on these, I appreciate to hear some info.  I'm sure it will also be interesting to other people here in the Forum.

Thank you.

[JOYCEfromNS]

The Takamine 12 string I'm sure is a fine guitar.

The use of the term Lawsuit however without drilling down in this case is tossed around frivolously by many sellers in order to make it more attractive to the market.

[believer936]

I played one in a music shop in Maine one time.  It was a very easy guitar to play and sounded great.

[SMan]

I have three.  An EF385 12 string, a F307, and a F360S (solid spruce top).  All decent guitars that play well.  I am surprised at the prices I have seen some listed for.  Typically if the model does not have an "S" after it, then it is a laminate top.  I have played many of the "lawsuit" 12 strings and they all sounded and played quite well for a lower priced guitar.

[maLavvo]

Thank you all for sharing your experience and information about this guitar.  And Sman, thanks for sharing the photos. They all look nice guitars.

[Dale_I]

Typically if the model does not have an "S" after it, then it is a laminate top.

True statement. I used to have an FS-400 and it was a truly stellar 12-string.

[acousticphd]

I've had one (F-340S) and played a number of others. 
The solid-topped ones are good, solid guitars and I think were very good guitars for the money.  Like a lot of older, "vintage" guitars, the lawsuit guitars from the 70s are now often overpriced at $300-$500, in my opinion, when you consider that it is pretty easy to find a 5-10 yr old Martin D15, D-1, or D16 for $500-$600 that I think honestly is a much better guitar than the 1970s Taks.  And like most '70s Martins, a lot of '70s Takamines are probably needing a neck reset, or close to it.  Our '77 F-340S is a cool guitar, but it is nowhere near the equal of my '99 Martin D-1.


Also, be aware that the "lawsuit" models, while based on counterpart Martin models (for eg, F340S = D18, F360S = D28, F310 = 00-18, a Takamine New Yorker copy, and so on) , were not dead-on copies.  Most if not all of the lawsuit models had plywood back and sides unlike the Martins, rosewood FBs and bridge rather than ebony, in some cases narrower nut and string spacing, and so on.

The designate "S" for solid top is important, as many models were made in solid-top and laminate top versions (ie, F-340 vs. F-340S).  However, you will see some guitars from the early '70s that have a solid top, despite not having an "S" in the model.

[pastorharry]

Iv'e had a six string and 12 string from that era and they were fine guitars, albeit,not Martin quality or tone, but also not in the same price catagory either.
To clarify about the "Lawsuit" question, there never was a lawsuit between Martin and Tak, just as there never was one between Gibson and all the various companies that copied their guitars-although you'll often see them advertised on e-bay as "Gibson Lawsuits"-touting that they were making Gibson nervous....NOT! You'll see other Martin copies as well such as the infamous C.F. Mountain  and Marlboro guitars, but none of these came as close to the real thing as Takamine.
Takamine was originally in position to be the Asian knock off Martins under Martins corperate umbrella,(a sister company like Vega, Levin),but they were so sucsessful on their own they decided to remain their own seperate company and that's when the SIGMA line was born.

[tuffythepug]

I used to have one of these Takamine 12-string "lawsuit" models.   It was a lefty and it had a beautiful spruce top and some of the nicest rosewood I've seen on a guitar in that price range.   I bought it used and played it off and on for a few years before selling it and buying something else.   I've never played a Martin 12 string so I couldn't offer an opinion about how they compare.   

T the P