Matsuda Guitars M2 No. 154A - Crossroads - Adirondak Spruce

Guitars are something more than tools for the musician in my case. I like to use the same stage of artistic creativity musicians use for their music, and all artists use for their works. I hope I can pour something inspirational for players into my guitars. Maybe it is not inspiration, instead it could be anything that makes the player think, and feel. It would be wonderful if there could be some metaphysical communication between the players and me, through guitars I make.  

This is an OO-size guitar with a ladder-braced top, an Adirondack spruce soundboard, mahogany back and sides, a mahogany neck, and a Wenge fingerboard and bridge. It features a 25" scale length.
Ladder bracing is often considered an early or “primitive” style associated with inexpensiveness. However, it was widely used in many budget instruments in the United States in the early twentieth century. Many musicians used these guitars to create remarkable music and recordings—especially in blues from the Mississippi Delta. I consider these instruments, and their distinctive sound, to be one of the roots of acoustic guitar tone in American music.
This project is also inspired by two historically well-known stories of musicians interacting with supernatural forces.
One is the story of Robert Johnson, the blues musician who, according to legend, sold his soul to the devil at a crossroads in exchange for his extraordinary musical talent.  The other is the Japanese folktale “Hoichi the Earless,” a well-known story in Japan. In this tale, a gifted travelling musician/storyteller Hoichi, is haunted by ghosts because of his musical abilities. He is ultimately saved by Buddhist sutra calligraphy covering his entire body, although the spirits take his ears. This guitar is my contemporary interpretation of instruments popular during the time when Robert Johnson was active in the Mississippi Delta. Also, it is covered in sumi-ink calligraphy, inspired by the story of Hoichi. Instead of Buddhist sutras, the calligraphy features phrases in English, Spanish, and Japanese drawn from the 1st, 4th, 5th, and 14th Amendments to the United States Constitution, along with passages on human rights from the Declaration of Independence.

• Body - Mahogany
• Bracing - Ladder
• Neck - Mahogany
• Neck Shape - Matsuda Standard
• Fretboard - Wenge
• Headstock - Rosewood Multi Piece
• Binding - Rosewood
• Scale Length - 25"
• Fretboard Radius - Matsuda Standard
• Nut - 1.3/4"
• Bridge - Wenge
• Tuners - Waverly