This 1982 Youhei Nishino No.30 classical guitar is a rare piece of Japanese lutherie history. In 1965, Youhei established a handmade guitar workshop in Nerima, Tokyo, alongside his brother Shunhei. Youhei built far fewer instruments than his brother, and this model originally retailed for 300,000 yen, placing it among his top-tier work and making surviving examples especially sought after today.
Built in Japan, this lightweight instrument weighs 1.53 kg and features a 642 mm scale length with a traditional 51.0 mm nut width. The neck measures 22.1 mm thick near the first fret and has no truss rod. The frets retain 60 to 70 percent of their original height, with the shop noting the current height is more than sufficient for comfortable play. It arrives freshly strung with Matsuoka MC1000HT high-tension strings and includes a non-original hard case.
This secondhand guitar earns a B rank for condition, showing honest wear from decades of use. There are dents along the back of the neck near the first five frets, finish cracks on the sides and end, a repaired wood crack on the upper back, and numerous scratches throughout the body consistent with its age. To ensure it is ready to play, the shop cleaned the instrument, restrung it, repaired four areas of loose bracing, and replaced cracked tuning peg posts. It also comes backed by a 12-month warranty.
1982 Youhei Nishino No.30 handmade classical guitar, made in Japan. The Youhei Nishino workshop was established in Nerima, Tokyo in 1965 with his younger brother, Shuhei. Produced in considerably smaller numbers than Shuhei Nishino guitars, this was a higher-grade model with an original list price of ¥300,000.
The guitar has dents on the back of the neck around the 1st through 5th frets, finish cracks on the body sides and end, and a repaired wood crack at the upper body back. As a vintage instrument, it has numerous scratches and dents overall. It has been cleaned and restrung, with four loose bracing points repaired and a damaged tuning-machine post replaced.
No truss rod. Frets retain approximately 60 to 70% life, with sufficient fret height. String height at the 12th fret is 4.0 mm on the bass side and 3.2 mm on the treble side. Nut width: 51.0 mm. Neck thickness at the 1st fret: 22.1 mm. Scale length: 642 mm (25.27 inches). Weight: 1.53 kg. Set up with MATSUOKA MC1000HT high-tension strings. No serial number. Includes a non-original hard case.
