8 BEST Guitars Made in JAPAN

It’s true to say that good guitars are made all over the world today. We’re lucky as players, because that means we get more choice and better value, but still, there’s something pretty special about getting a Japanese made guitar. Japan has long been synonymous with meticulous high quality, and that’s especially true in the world of guitars.

Masters of the craft for decades, Japanese luthiery includes world class classical guitars, famous design electric guitars that are sometimes better regarded than their US brethren, and a whole world of instruments of their own. Indeed, there’s a whole submarket of deliriously exotic looking guitars that we never get to see over here in the West, which is a shame for the more adventurous among you. Still, we get some great stuff over here too, and that’s what today’s article is all about. 

Today, I’ve rounded up a group of acoustic and electric instruments, all built in Japan, that have knocked my socks off over the last couple of years. I’ve tried to keep it to one guitar per brand, but sometimes I might have to mention a few more honourable instruments. I’m sure you’re okay with that, eh?

Okay, here’s how the Japanese guitar landscape looks to us in the UK today…

James Tyler was a Los Angeles-based luthier who made guitars with remarkable finishes. Tyler are a top-priced boutique brand, and though James has sadly passed on, his company continues to build to his meticulous standards.

Several years prior to his passing, he travelled to Japan with some of his best artisans, and trained a specific number of builders at the Asuka factory to build guitars to his exact specifications. This included the famous Schmear finishes, and though still expensive guitars for sure, they are somewhat more attainable than the US models.

Tyler Japan replicates the look, feel and spec of the LA guitars, and they are so popular that at time of writing, we have no stock left! I still wanted to include them, because you need to know about these guitars in advance! I’ve known colleagues here who have put in orders for their own and patiently waited YEARS for them to arrive! So, if you see a pre-order for Tyler Japan Studio Elites, don’t wait too long deliberating…

Yamaha’s acoustic guitars are for the connoisseurs. Those who can see the understated looks and go deep into the tone. Boy, does this Yamaha FG7 M sound good. It has that perfect amount of bottom end strength that supports the whole chord without muddying it or booming over the mids, and it has a sweet top end that isn’t as harshly trebly as other top brands. 

If you prefer the sound of a rosewood body ove rthis one's mahognay, just check out the Yamaha FG7 R instead!

In short, it’s exactly what you’d want a great acoustic guitar to sound like, and it will only season and improve with age. If you are like me, then you can find it hard not to be attracted to more obviously ostentatious looking guitars (say, ones with a little bird humming away on the pickguard), but do yourself a favour and add this to your ‘serious’ list of potential purchases. I think you’ll have a very fun and difficult time trying to find a guitar at this price point to match the Japanese-made Yamaha FG7.

If you do, come back here and tell me!

Back in the early 80s, Fender noticed that several of the Japanese copycat guitar companies were building better Fenders than Fender themselves. They promptly hired these people, created Fender Japan, and began a line that has enjoyed an almost mystically illustrious reputation since.

When people excitedly tell you that their Japanese fender is the best guitar they’ve ever owned, I’d say there’s good grounds for that to be pretty true. Fender Japan do not build guitars in anything like the same numbers as Fender’s California and Ensenada plants, so numbers are thinner on the ground. But still, we regularly get them in stock, and this Yngwie Malmsteen model is a superb example of their craft.

It’s relatively unusual to get Artist Signature models from more than one country of manufacture, but then when did Yngwie Malmsteen ever follow the normal path? This Japanese version of his famous cream Strat is a perfect example of their expertise, not least in those judiciously scalloped frets!

Takamine were perhaps the first Japanese acoustic guitar company to show the world how to make an acoustic for the stage. Their adoption by stars such as Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi have inspired huge numbers of players to look to Takamine for their stage strummers. The brand’s distinctive look and innovations in electronics have helped them maintain a high profile since the 70s. An affordable range - the Takamine G Series - is highly popular amongst students and gigging players on a budget, but their Japanese-made Pro Series is what the fuss is all about.

Take this gorgeous Takamine P5NC model. It’s made in Japan (underneath Mt Takamine, hence the company name) and features all-solid spruce and rosewood construction. The body is Takamine’s own unique design that offers similar projection to a dreadnought in a smaller body size. This is one of those do-anything instruments that excels at fingerstyle and strumming, with lots of volume but also plenty of dynamics in there, too. Add in Takamine’s Palethetic pickup and you’ve got a lifelong companion right here.

Jackson are one of those brands that, as a teenage metalhead, I get very nostalgic about. Their headstock is quite iconic in my eyes, and the roster of players who’ve used them make up some of the most gifted shredders to have graced the instrument.

Well, my kid self would be very pleased to learn that not only are Jackson stuff very much doing their thing, but that you can now own a Japanese-made model from them, with everything that makes Jackson awesome! The Jackson MJ range contains a few key pieces (you can have a Randy Rhoads, hell yes you can) and I had to go for the Soloist SL2 here today.  That was always an object of desire: the through neck Jackson with the dual Seymour Duncans, it was like a heavy metal Ferrari. Still is. It’s immense, with a feel and response that will elevate your playing. Find out for yourself and experience the glory you always sought!

Gretsch are an all-American company in terms of their heritage, their style and also in much of the music they get used for. The fact is, though, that hardly any Gretsches are made in the USA, and that’s been the case for a long time. 

Happily, it doesn’t really matter much because the quality levels of Gretsch guitars have been at a high point for years, too. From the most affordable Streamliners through to the popular Electromatics, every Gretsch you try has the right feel and sound.
That said, all Gretsch fans really want to own a Pro Series model, whether that’s a Nashville, a Jet or of course the ubiquitous White Falcon. They are too cool for school, and all Pro Series Gretsches are Japanese!

For an example, please let me introduce you to the G6129TG-59VS. It’s a looker! A sparkly red single cutaway Jet with a fair amount of trademark Gretsch bling and a wonderful feel that just obligates you to turn that ‘quick ten minute strum’ into an entire evening of playing. Remember when you used to do that?

Ibanez are surely one of the most significant companies hailing from Japan. They put the country on the map as manufacturers in the 80s (they’d been building for decades by that point) when the shred generation of Vai, Satriani, Gilbert, Petrucci and Timmons all played and endorsed their wild superstrats. Quality and eccentricity were their main selling points back then, and it's quite telling that 40+ years after that time, all but one of those artists I mentioned had stuck with Ibanez and never strayed.

They build in several countries, like many big brands, but the stuff coming out of their J-Custom workshop is sensational. This is a special section of the world-famous Fujigen facility, one of the most revered guitar-building locations on earth. Ibanez J Custom stuff is staggering, so if you’ve not tried it, you need to change that, frankly! 

Why not start with this beautiful Ibanez J Custom RG8570, complete with a flame top, Tree of Life inlay (on a Macassar Ebony fingerboard) and a set of DiMarzio pickups! As technique platforms go, there is none better equipped, nor as impressive!

Titanic metal brand ESP started out in Tokyo in the 70s. They’ve since opened an HQ in Los Angeles, but lots of their high-end output is still created at the original Tokyo location.

Like some of the other brands I’ve looked at today, ESP Japan make a wide range of unusual and quite over-the-top looking guitars for their native market, and do not tend to export them. It’s a shame: they are some of the most creative guitars I’ve ever seen! I used to love receiving the yearly catalogue, and so I encourage you to do a little bit of searching to see what I mean.

Still, the Japanese built guitars that we do get are exceptional specimens too. Confusingly, they go under the name ‘E-II’, because all ‘ESP’-branded guitars are currently being built in the US. Calling a spade a spade, the Japanese E-II guitars can go toe-to-toe with any of the American ones, and indeed any other company’s top output. It’s ridiculously good stuff.

I chose the E-II Horizon NTII today, just as an example of what to expect. I don’t think every superstrat needs to have a whammy bar, so for anyone who enjoys downtuning and changing up their tunings, this is heavy guitar Valhalla: quilted maple, EMGs, Gotoh hardware and an ebony board: it’s the Champagne of mosh guitars, as are all E-II instruments.

Japan is quite obviously still a major force in guitar building. I’d maybe go as far as to say that there’s nothing between the best American guitars and the best Japanese guitars. With some companies, it has been this way for a while, and for others, there’s less and less of a gap. 

More than ever, it’s about choice, price and artist association. When factories like Fujigen have had a reputation for decades, that goes beyond even brand recognition! Whatever ESP call their Japanese guitars (to my mind, it should be ‘ESP’ but that’s just me), the reputation of those guitars precedes them. 

This is as it was in the early 1980s with Fender, which you may already know about. Japan is home to many of the greatest guitar makers on earth, and I hope this short article of highlights has helped reinforce that fact in your mind.

Go and try some! Compare them to anything at a similar price and I think you’ll start to notice one recurring theme: phenomenal quality.