ED300 Classical on eBay

[charles]

Here's an interesting one. AN ED 300 classical.

I can honestly say I have never seen this model before, nor one that has this style of sound hole label; which explicitly states that this particular guitar was "Made By Terada". It's a real looker but the asking rice is currently $800USD + $100USD for shipping, which translates to about $1300CAD

It's interesting enough to take a look at the listing and photos, at any rate:
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/ULTRA-RARE-SUPER ... SS:CA:3160

[Barry]

Wow!

The label picture is too blurry for me to make out but if it indeed identifies Terada as the builder that's a huge clue methinks as to who may have been making the top end acoustic models at least (I still suspect Matsumoku for many of the solid bodies).

Terada is a top quality builder who is still in business, and among other things builds the signature models for Gretsch. Having dealt with those first hand when I was at the shop I can tell you the workmanship is still immaculate, virtually flawless right off the delivery truck from Japan!

This ED guitar is absolutely gorgeous. But that price? Dunno.

edit:
Just noticed the skunk stripe on the neck. That would indicate a truss rod, unusual for a classical guitar but it would definitely keep it from warping and raising the action as these things tend to do over time.

[charles]

The sound hole label appears to say both "Hand made" and "Made by Terada".



I have never seen a sound hole label for an El Degas make those same assertions, so I really doubt the same is true of most ED acoustics or even just the classicals. One could guess that the brand may have done these for a time before shifting into more of a "budget brand" later on, but it would be purely a guess pulled out of thin air (though never seeing a label make these same claims is pretty telling) .

[Barry]

Yep she's a rare one for sure.
Tantalizing ain't it?

[charles]

Tantalizing ain't it?

Not at that price.
My fingers are far too clumsy for a classical, anyways!

[Barry]

(I meant the fact that Terada may have had an involvement in the ED construction)
But yeah, classical has always been a challenge and these days almost out of reach.

[charles]

I for one am skeptical as to whether this points to Terada being involved in the later classical stuff from ED. It would make no sense for them to stop putting "hand made" and "Made by Terada" on the later models if that were the case.

If I were to be forced to make a bet on it, I'd say they did not sell a whole heck of a lot of the classical models and there were cost-cutting measures down the road for most consumer models (even if the manufacturing stayed at Terada). I'm just spit-balling here.

[fuzzy]

"This listing was ended by the seller because there was an error in the listing."

Interesting. Wonder why that happened. Doesn't look like it sold, in any case.

Wasn't quite aware of this side of El Degas' history. Got me thinking...

Is that really a reasonable price for a guitar like that in that condition? Are the Tereda made more valuable? I seen a El Degas classical at a local pawn shop quite some time ago and it went for $200-ish. Sold before I returned with cash in hand. I don't recall many details about it or if it was Tereda crafted, but if I do happen across Tereda made El Degas guitars, should I be a little more hasty buying it? Not that I play lots of classical, but I try to get any El Degas guitars I can get my hands on.

[Barry]

As I said above, Terada has certainly been and continues to be one of the consistently outstanding manufacturers and anything made by them deserves a serious look. The guitar in question is made of of top grade woods making it more desirable.

[charles]

In my opinion, ED Classical models are buyer-beware if only for the fact that classical guitars have a very limited demand/appeal. I would definitely not assign the same assumption of a Terada pedigree to anything not labeled as such!

This ED-300 was very different than others I've seen. As I mentioned, I don't recall seeing ones with that sound hole label that specifically says it is hand made and made by Terada. To me, this one was likely an very early ED classical model and really is not too common, but does that make it worth $1300 CAD? In my opinion - certainly not.

Unless you are a real classical guitar aficionado, I don't believe you'd ever see a return on that investment; and if you are looking for a Terada-made instrument, just a cursory search on eBay will find you a handful of instruments that are, by and large, lower priced and arguably more desirable.

In fact, here today I find an El Degas ED-180 with the same Terada pedigree, but after the exchange and shipping you'll be putting down about $700 CAD buckaroos. (Appears to be the same seller)
http://www.eldegas.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1876

[fuzzy]

I'm by no means a huge classical guitar fan, but I do enjoy playing them on occasion and I certainly wouldn't mind an ED classical. It just stuck me so odd that an ED was selling at that price; never before had I considered one could go for that, so I had to know more.

Thanks guys. Good to know information. ED classicals and Tereda in general were a gray are for me, knowledge wise. Still are, but less so.

[Barry]

These are both well made guitars but from what I see they are not equivalent. The 300 is clearly made of more expensive woods and has a truss rod construction. Hard to tell exactly but finish appears a tad more luxurious?

That said, I agree the 300 is not worth the original asking price, especially under the ED brand. Miserable but unfortunately true. Perhaps that was the "error" that caused the retraction of the ad.