Takamine C132S plug

[Tom Wimsatt]

I realize this thread is a bit old, but here goes. I have a C132S, that was made in 1989. This model has a plastic bridge, saddle and nut. I'm thinking of converting to ebony and bone. I recently discovered the new c132 models use these materials.

Anyone out there ever tried this?

I have a 1978 Takamine C132 (Made on Feb 25 to be exact) with the Ramirez headstock and 660 scale and all. I bought it used and it already had a bone nut and saddle which appears to be original. I'm not sure if they later switched to plastic, or if you happen to have one that was switched with a plastic saddle later by a previous owner. In any case, switching from cheap plastic to bone should yield a noticeable improvement in sound quality. You'll notice greater depth, warmth and fullness to the sound.

Thanks for the quick response. This is getting interesting. After reading your response, I did a quick search for used C132 models for sale and discovered some variations in design (of the bridge) I was not aware of.

I bought the guitar new so it has not been modified. I recently restarted playing after ~ 25 year absence. I've noticed dents/compression around the strings at the bridge and saddle, and I've recently learned of how to fix this and the potential improvements sound-wise.

I'm curious as to why they temporarily modified the design (to plastic parts) but it looks like that's what happened. Lucky me. Mine was made in February also by the way (SN 8902...).

What do you mean by Ramirez headstock? Also, I guess I'll check my guitar because I thought my scale was 650 mm.

[soltirefa]

Not bad at all for a cheap guitar, huh?

https://youtu.be/1CciEz6ryW4

[Tom Wimsatt]

Not bad at all for a cheap guitar, huh?

https://youtu.be/1CciEz6ryW4

Very enjoyable. Thanks for posting.

[fraim]

very nicely played! thanks!!

i have a c128 that was my 1st guitar in the early '80s. still in amazing condition. i can make it sound good, my teacher makes it sound great.

i have 2 other guitars, so if someone wants to make an offer....just saying

[Jeffrey Armbruster]

soltirefa inspired me to haul out my C132s and play it more extensively. It really is a great guitar. The 'card' pasted inside the body just states the model, not the year. Although I seem to remember it being a 90's model---hmmm. Any way to determine this? It also has plastic saddle and nut--I think.... Is it true that changing out to bone will improve the tone? I did have a local luthier shave the saddle to lower the action and now it plays like a dream.

edit: never mind, I found the serial number. It's 8308 so, 1983, August. It's a tank, in really good shape. All that shellac...

[SteveL123]

I have a 1977 C132S and it has solid Indian Rosewood back and sides, not laminated. Bone nut and saddle, not plastic. What year did Takemine start to cut back on materials in the C132S? Can you folks with a C132S measure the fret height. Mine is 1.1 mm. I am curious if your's is the same or different.

[Jeffrey Armbruster]

I meant shellac! I don't know the materials on the back and side of mine but it looks like some dark solid wood.

edit: Takemine says Rosewood. "Modeled after original drawings of Torres"."Traditional ladder bracing".

[Tom Wimsatt]

1989 c132s fret height ~ 1.0 mm

[MessyTendon]

It's good enough for Christopher Parkening when he's not playing his Ramirez.

[souldier]

Not bad at all for a cheap guitar, huh?

https://youtu.be/1CciEz6ryW4

This is actually the exact guitar I now own. I bought it directly from Tavi.

Tom Wimsatt, if you look at the guitar in this video, you'll notice the Ramirez headstock copy that I was referring to.

[souldier]

I have a 1977 C132S and it has solid Indian Rosewood back and sides, not laminated. Bone nut and saddle, not plastic. What year did Takemine start to cut back on materials in the C132S? Can you folks with a C132S measure the fret height. Mine is 1.1 mm. I am curious if your's is the same or different.

That's quite surprising if you have solid IRW. Have you looked inside the guitar to see if the grain is identical on the outside of the guitar? Mine is a laminate or double plate, though in the end all I really care about is the sound and playability.

[SteveL123]

I have a 1977 C132S and it has solid Indian Rosewood back and sides, not laminated. Bone nut and saddle, not plastic. What year did Takemine start to cut back on materials in the C132S? Can you folks with a C132S measure the fret height. Mine is 1.1 mm. I am curious if your's is the same or different.

That's quite surprising if you have solid IRW. Have you looked inside the guitar to see if the grain is identical on the outside of the guitar? Mine is a laminate or double plate, though in the end all I really care about is the sound and playability.

Of course I looked inside the guitar to check if the grains matched. How else other than removing the back looking for glue joints? What kind of wood is your's laminated with on the inside?

[SteveL123]

1989 c132s fret height ~ 1.0 mm

Thanks for taking the measurements. Anyone else?

[SteveL123]

soltirefa inspired me to haul out my C132s and play it more extensively. It really is a great guitar. The 'card' pasted inside the body just states the model, not the year. Although I seem to remember it being a 90's model---hmmm. Any way to determine this? It also has plastic saddle and nut--I think.... Is it true that changing out to bone will improve the tone? I did have a local luthier shave the saddle to lower the action and now it plays like a dream.

edit: never mind, I found the serial number. It's 8308 so, 1983, August. It's a tank, in really good shape. All that shellac...

Shellac is the ingredient in French polish. I don't think a guitar with the price point of the C132S is French polished. It's probably sprayed on Lacquer.

[SteveL123]

I realize this thread is a bit old, but here goes. I have a C132S, that was made in 1989. This model has a plastic bridge, saddle and nut. I'm thinking of converting to ebony and bone. I recently discovered the new c132 models use these materials.

Anyone out there ever tried this?

Are you sure the bridge is plastic also? The bridge is the biggest piece of the three and is glued onto the top.

An easy test if the nut or saddle is plastic or not is to clamp a small sewing needle in a Vise-grip, heat it red hot on a gas stove and quickly shove it in the saddle or nut in an area that won't go near the wood. If it's plastic, it will melt and puncture into the plastic. If it's bone, nothing will happen to it.