Vintage Morris not found in catalog - help

[Morrisma81]

Have anyone seen a Japanese made acoustic Morris guitar model “MA8130”? I have this model and it has a tree of life inlay on the fretboard with solid spruce top and solid side and back rosewood (I was told). It plays super nicely, loud and very clean! I was told by someone who studies Japanese guitars for 10 years that the guitar I have was never sold in Japan and perhaps could be a export model with low number of instruments produced! I am looking forward to learn more about my guitar. Thank you

[Dotneck]

I don't believe I've ever seen or heard of a Morris guitar. How old is it? There are lots of companies that spec out guitars and have one of the big factories make them with their company name...maybe its one of those. Or a small luthier guitar...what catalog is it not listed in?

[Morrisma81]

Hi. It is definitely an acoustic Morris OM style guitar. White label inside, “Morris” written horizontally on the top. It is not listed in any Japanese Morris catalogs! The closest I found was a model MA700’s in a 1987 catalog.

[MJScott]

While I am not aware of that model. I have a Morris (on permanent loan to one of my sons) that I bought in 1973 in Hong Kong. I believe it is a model F-10; a 000-18 copy. Morris was still around in 1998 or so when I actually started to play. So for those not aware it is a real brand-made in Japan.

[KalamazooGuy]

I have seen them around. At a glance it appears to say Martin.

[Rusty55]

If your Morris was made in Japan in the 1970s it was probably built in one of the three Terada factories - If you can't find a model that is an exact match in a Morris catalog - try visual matches with Thumb models made by Terada also Jagard and some Hohner guitars which were also made by Terada.

Most of these Terada made guitars with Rosewood back and sides are two piece laminates. Don't be put off by that - the higher end models are good guitars.

Generally the model numbers reflect the retail price in yen. The higher the model number the more expensive the guitar was when new. An 800 model 1974 guitar suggests that it would have sold for 80,000 yen - equivalent to about $275 dollars - for comparison - adjusted for inflation that would be $1500+ dollars today.

[Morrisma81]

Thank you Rusty55 - I appreciated your input!
As I said it, my guitar plays and sounds amazing. When the guy at the guitar store saw it he really liked and after playing some notes he said that I’ve found a treasure.

[sevenpalms]

Why are you yelling? �� just kidding…

[ship of fools]

http://www.oldguitar.jp/catalog/morris.htm
I have had several models of Morris guitars but never seen a MA8130 I have never come across one with the tree of life on it but can say that its more likely one of their upper models

[edcmat-l1]

Morris are really nice "offshore" guitars. The earlier ones lumped into the "lawsuit era", the headstock logo looked nearly identical to the Martin logo. I believe they started in Japan and also pretty sure they've moved man. since.

They've changed up model numbers several times over the years. Pretty sure the older tree of life was a W-100 or WD-100 but I've seen them with different numbers.

Your model number doesn't sound familiar at all. Is there a date on it anywhere? I'd bet it's a more recent model.

[edcmat-l1]

Here ya go. I was close it's a W-100D

https://reverb.com/item/36081175-vin...-made-in-japan

And another with a completely different model number. This one is W65M

https://reverb.com/item/2977917-morr...coustic-guitar

[Osage]

Morris changed up model numbers quite a bit over the years so it's not terribly unusual to find a rare one. It will most likely either be identical or close to identical to a guitar with a different model number. I have no idea why they did this. Possibly because they were manufactured at three different factories and the changed model numbers helped them keep track of things..... but I'm just speculating.

Overall, they can be decent guitars. the cheaper ones are your basic "lawsuit" era knock offs and the more expensive ones are typically a bit nicer. The tree of life inlay would have been a more expensive model. I've never seen one that wasn't laminate back and sides but that doesn't mean they didn't make one. They're all typically a bit over built by todays standards but that isn't always a bad thing. The necks are usually epoxied in, which makes a traditional neck set impossible but the heavy build often means they don't need one or at least delays the need for one.

If it plays and sounds good, you're golden!

[Morrisma81]

Originally Posted by edcmat-l1

Here ya go. I was close it's a W-100D

https://reverb.com/item/36081175-vin...-made-in-japan

And another with a completely different model number. This one is W65M

https://reverb.com/item/2977917-morr...coustic-guitar

Ed mat-|1 : thank you for sharing these links. My guitar does not have the same “Morris” logo on the stockhead written vertically. It is written horizontally. Also, my guitar doesn’t have the two tone colored wood in the back. It is just dark brown matching the sides. I don’t know but the closest model I found was on “Reverb” and it is a Model W-619 “tree of life” listed as ultra rare from 1975 with a asking price of $3,857.00

[Morrisma81]

Originally Posted by ship of fools

http://www.oldguitar.jp/catalog/morris.htm
I have had several models of Morris guitars but never seen a MA8130 I have never come across one with the tree of life on it but can say that its more likely one of their upper models

Thank you ship of fools. I have written 2 emails to Morris Japan thru their website giving the information shared here. They have not answered yet.

[Morrisma81]

Hello everyone.
I got an email from Morris Japan and upon further inspection inside the guitar I found out that it is a Model W 616 (similar to the rare vintage 1975 W 619 posted in my comments). It is possibly from mid to late 1970’s and there is even a video on YouTube from 4 year’s ago - it is exactly the same guitar I have.
I just wanted to inform everyone who commented on my post. Thank you