Diastone ukuleles
This
is a little gem I found at a yard sale, and my only foray into
vintage ukes to date (likely my last, given the cost of most).
It's a 30 to 40-year-old uke, made by a Japanese company that went out of business in the mid to late 1970s. It is a laminate mahogany soprano, with mahogany neck and possibly fretboard (may also be a lighter rosewood).
It says Model 14 on the inside. It's fairly plain.
Diastone apparently made instruments for Martin when the Martin company workforce was on strike. Comments on other forums suggest their guitars were quality products and are collectible items today.
It was in good condition, a little worn from the years, but has a straight neck, no cracks, and sounds pretty good for the old strings it still has. A small ding on the front (see photo) but that's really all. New strings would make all the difference, I suspect.
I decided I would sell or trade it to a collector who appreciates vintage instruments. I am not a collector per se, rather someone who simply likes to play, so vintage doesn't appeal to me as much as new instruments.
According to Wikipedia
(several articles conflated):
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 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.
Overall, it wasn't a bad find, although hardly in the class of a vintage Martin or Gibson. Certainly got it for a reasonable price. I sold it on eBay to a collector who I hope will appreciate it more than I. The best it did for me was convince me that I didn't want a soprano (or to spend a lot of time mucking about with vintage instruments). The necks are small, tight and my hands feel big and clumsy on the fretboard. Tenor is the choice for me: the soprano is a bit small for my fingers.
I'm not a collector of old ukuleles, nor particularly moved to seek out vintage instruments. I like modern, and I like to play, not just collect, so the value of this instrument and its heritage was somewhat wasted on me. I was pleased to see that others were more sympathetic to its nature (it was bought by a fellow Canadian with 45 other ukes in his collection - a severe UAS sufferer!).
Would I purchase another Diastone? Unlikely,
unless it was another yard-sale bargain. I'm not a vintage collector.
Would I recommend them to others? Yes, for collectors more than
players.
Rating (0-5): **1/2
Status: Sold.
