These archives began in 1998 as a simple ISP home page space by the author to document the maker of the guitars he loved so much. By 2000 it had grown too large for the small space allotted by the ISP and the Guitar Gallery was born. Once the Guitar Gallery had it's own presence on the web things grew exponentially into what is here now. Today there are many great Matsumoku resources but it all began here with a group of like minded individuals pooling their knowlege and resources. The site may be outmoded and outdated but it will remain as an archive of where it all began and what eventually made Matsumoku a respected and sought after name in the world of guitars.

This repository represents the work of many like minded individuals spanning many countries. A great deal of effort went into documenting the brands and many models of guitars made by Matsumoku. We would like to thank the many contributors who made this site possible.
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To drill down to the information you are seeking use the search function above using model numbers or names such as CS-350, VSH-455, Prototype, Skylark or Vantage. Just remember ot keep your search terms simple or you may get too many or to few results. Try variations also. Alternately you can list by category as well. Some models have thier own PDF pages while others are covered in the catalogs.

There is another site that is dedicated to japanese guitars that has "borrowed" catalog scans from here, some of which contributors paid for such as DRK33. In the past the source was credited there but apparently no longer. In kind we have "borrowed" a few catalog scans from there but have cited the source out of courtesy on those pages. Whenever possible we have always cited the source.

This site has never required a subscription fee, charged for access or EVER SHOVED ADS in ANYONE'S face.
I find ads to be annoying, obtrusive and just plain AGGRAVATING.

Most of the content was provided by the community members as well as myself with explicit permission to be used soley by matsumoku.og. It has been supported and maintained by one individual since November of 2001. As I am now retired the costs come out of my retirement income. In the past I always turned down monetary contributions but times have changed. Any donations go directly to paying for site costs. When the site costs have been met the donate button will be removed until needed again.

Regardless the site will remain free to anyone seeking the information found here.
It has been my pleasure to share my passion with others and I wouldn't change a thing.


The forums have been archived, registration is closed but are searchable. You can find them HERE

The Westone Forums

This site is not affiliated with any of the brands or labels mentioned, only a tribute to their heyday and impact on the world of guitars in general. This site is not directly connected to Aria, Aria Pro II, Matsumoku, Vantage, or any other label produced by Matsumoku. Much of the media here consists of high resolution scans and full size PDF documents which have been categorized and indexed to enhance searching.