This is an interesting guitar.
There is a signature at the end of the headstock in addition to the Duncan logo. I assume transitional between the two?
Seymour Duncan (Yubi Sound Lab) "CTM ST (1989)"
Purchased the other day. It was an order item and I didn't know the product name, so the store I bought it from named it "CTM ST".
Yubi Acoustic Laboratory, which sold guitars under the name Seymour Duncan in the 1980s, remains a company shrouded in mystery.
It is considered to be a particularly high quality and valuable guitar even among domestically produced guitars.
They are traded at a premium price compared to the ESP products sold under the name Seymour Duncan in the 1990s.
While being rated higher than the high-quality guitars of that ESP. There is very little information about elegant acoustics on the Internet.
Originally, Yubi Onkyo was a repair company whose main customers were professional guitarists. Since elegant acoustic guitars were mainly sold to professionals and were not widely available, This is probably because only a few people can speak about this company.
When I bought this guitar, I happened to find out that one of the employees at the music store where I bought it had previously worked at Yubi Onkyo.
Although it was indirectly reported through hearsay from a store clerk, I was able to get some information about elegant acoustics.
Yubi Acoustic Laboratory was founded around 1978-1980.
The company was opened in Waseda by the president, Mr. Matsuzawa, and Mr. Shozo Shimura, who was not an employee but was a close friend of Mr. Matsuzawa. Shozo Shimura is a famous setup man who has served as a guitar tech for many famous guitarists.
Because Yubi Onkyo also had connections with Seymour Duncan, they became the company's distributor in Japan and began selling guitars under the Duncan name.
The company later moved to Shibuya and disappeared in the early 1990s. There is so little information that I'm not sure if it's okay to write about it, so I'll leave out the details, but it seems that they were involved in a dispute.
The guitars were mainly manufactured by OEM from several factories in Nagano Prefecture, and the assembly was apparently of exquisite acoustic quality. Up until around 1985, for higher-grade custom orders, necks made in Phil Kubicki's workshop were also used.
By the way, Phil Kubicki is a legendary bass builder who was formerly an employee of Fender and later built basses under the name Philip Kubicki .
There are no specific markings indicating the product was made by Kubiki. Although there is a serial number, it is difficult to determine the manufacturing year. I found out that the guitar I purchased had the year 1989 stamped on the pots.
Apparently, the manufacturing of these guitars was outsourced to Kid's Guitar from around 1987 until the early 1990s, and this guitar was made by Kid's Guitar.
By the way , kid's guitar is also a legendary guitar workshop founded by Hiroshi Kido, former head of the ESP factory.
But when I search online for information about the relationship between kid's guitars and elegant acoustics, I can't find anything. I don't doubt it, though.
There really is a lot of mystery surrounding Yubi Acoustics, so I hope that a specialist magazine or something will look into it in depth.
The pickups used are of course made by Seymour Duncan. The front is APH-1n , the center is probably APS-1 , and the rear is TB-4 JB . The center PU has no tone and the center front has an out-of-phase sound, which makes it seem like an Eric Johnson -like specification.
The wood is a maple neck with an ebony fingerboard, and the body appears to be ash or sen.
By the way, when I bought it at the store I heard that the reason why Sen bodies have not been used in recent years is related to the decline of forestry in Hokkaido.
Although the specifications and tone are a bit quirky, the basics are perfect, and the front PU is versatile and the clean and distorted sounds are excellent.
The sound is good, and the 6th string has a lot of sustain. It's amazing how much it sustains.
In conclusion, please give this guitar a try as it has a beautiful acoustic quality. I'm sure it will be a great product.
