First Post and New (Old) Mandolin - K. Yasuma & CO YM-012 F-Style

[waligosk]

Hey friends,

First post here at MC, although I'm a long-time member of other forums around the web. I used to noodle on mandolin in college here and there but have spent the past several years working professionally on 6-string and pedal steel guitars. But, my lady is a fiddler and goes to picks often, and we both attend bluegrass festivals each summer, so I've been looking for an excuse to get back into a little mando and keep one around the house...

So, when this popped up locally on CraigsList, I couldn't resist. According to the label it's a K.Yasuma & Co, model YM-012, which from what I understand is a mid-to-late 70s Japanese copy of a Gibson F-style mando. I'm not completely certain if it's all solid wood or not, but it might be. FWIW, it does say "hand-made" on the label and both the top and back appear to be separate pieces of wood binded together. The top is either carved or a nice press + carve, as the F-scroll also has an arch to it... but can anyone tell me for sure?

Here's a pretty filtered shot of the whole mando after I cleaned it up:


And here's some more detailed photos of it, pardon the grime on those before the clean up: http://s1115.photobucket.com/user/co...uma%20Mandolin

Even though I'm still somewhat limited in my knowledge of mandolins, I've been playing instruments my whole life and this little guy seems to be a great value so far for the $150 (case included) I paid. It's loud, plays/projects evenly across the neck and is sound structurally, which is all I can ask of a "cheap" mando, although I suspect it might be bringing a good deal more to the table than other cheap imports avail new in the sub-$300 range, or even higher perhaps. The frets are in mostly good shape and it hasn't gone out of tune since I put new strings on it 3 days ago...

Anyways - not that any of that really matters to all of you, but mostly just a wanted to say hello and see if anyone happens to know any more about this maker/mando as there is very little online about them, and nothing specifically about this model.

Biggest bonus? This thing is about 70lbs lighter than my D10 Sho~Bud pedal steel, which is nice for a change!

Cheers,
-Ben

[MikeEdgerton]

If you post a picture of the tuners from the back we might be able to tell you where you can get a replacement button, assuming the one in the pictures is actually missing.

[waligosk]

Thanks Mike. The one un-matched tuner button doesn't totally bug me, but it's a pretty easy swap out if someone can point me in the right direction of the right replacement.

[MikeEdgerton]

Those are Gotoh tuners, I just don't know if they are the new or old style posts. If you can pull a button tell me if it is square on the end or if it has two flats and two rounds.

[waligosk]

Mike, the posts under the button are square...

[MikeEdgerton]

Old style Gotoh. The Waverly buttons from stewmac.com will fit it. I don't know if you can match up the fake pearl though.

http://www.stewmac.com/Hardware_and_...ner_Knobs.html

[waligosk]

Thanks Mike! I'll get around to that someday, but you're right, I don't think the perloid on those ones quite matches up. For the time being, the gold replacement on there is doing the trick, but I'll keep it in mind and really appreciate your help!

[Mandoplumb]

You have played enough to know it it's playing right and intonation is correct and sound is acceptable so I would say you got a bargain whatever name is on the peg head. Don't worry MAS will strike and you'll have to have a "better" one sooner or later.

[waligosk]

Thanks Mandoplumb, I'm with ya... and I completely understand the MAS, GAS and all that business. But thankfully this seems to be a mando that'll put up with my "dabbling" for a good while at least. It's just always nice to know more about these things, especially vintage instruments, so I certainly still welcome any more specific input on it's history and construction!

[Jess L.]

... any more specific input on it's history and construction

Doesn't seem to be a lot of info about them.

MandolinCafe member fatt-dad said he used to own a Yasuma, and luthier and MandolinCafe member Paul Hostetter said this:

"I believe Yasuma was its own shop. I read an article about them, with photos of Mr. Yasuma, the whole bit. I don't think it was a put-on. All the Yasuma mandolins I have seen have all had tops that were pressed, not actually carved. Have also worked on a number of Yasuma guitars which were, unlike so many others from Japan at that time, what people fondly call "parlor guitars" now - approximately 12-fret single-O slotted headstock items. Unremarkable, but tidy."

Other info from the web, not mandolin-specific but just about the company in general, from Lardy's Ukulele Database:

"In 1948 Kimihiko Yasuma started making Guitars in Nagoya. In 1950 he founded K. K Yasuma Gakki and was making Guitars branded New Ance, (and yes it was suppose to be a pun on nuance)... In 1960 the firm was incorporated and became K. Yasuma & Co. ... they may also have made instruments branded T Yasuma between 1953 and 1970? ... When they were making Instruments they made Guitars, Mandolins Ukuleles and Tiple Ukuleles that were very good copies of Martin Instruments. ..."

The 7th post on a webpage, by OldGuitarPlayer at HarmonyCentral, says about Yasuma guitars:

"One of many Japanese companies copying Martin dreads. Apparently they also made mandolins and smaller size guitars.. It also appears that these guitars were marketed extensively in the UK as it seems that many people from the UK have bought them either new in the 1970's or recently used. It also appears they stopped production in the late 1970's or early 1980's."

I also took a quick 1-minute look at the first dozen or so search results for every post about Yasuma at MandolinCafe but didn't see anything else relevant.

To get back to the OP's question, does anyone have any additional info about Yasuma mandolins?

[waligosk]

Thanks for linking all of that! I was able to find some of that prior to posting as well but as you can see, still not a ton of info out there even including all that stuff, and if I'm not mistaken I still haven't found anything referring specifically to this YM-012 model. I suppose it may just be one of those things and I shouldn't be surprised that a foreign maker from 4 decades ago doesn't have much history avail here in the US, but I figured it was worth putting it out to the masses.... cheers, if anyone else stumbles onto this and knows more, we're all ears!