Excellent 1969 Lyle Dove lawsuit Acoustic Guitar, Highly Collectable. Serial Number: NA. These 70's Made in Japan Guitars are really very cool, cool enough for Stevie Winwood to write a Song about them. This is a great one. Plays really nice, we just set it up and it is a very nice example of Japanese Craftmanship from the 1970's. Lyle Acoustic Guitar Japan. I just got this. I recently picked up an early 70s Pan Trini Lopez copy guitar serial number 2149886 any info on.
howdy,
My hubby just inherited his grandfather's guitar. I have tried to find out as much as i can about it, but there seems to be a serious lack of info regarding these guitars. And everything I have found thus far, does not resemble what we have in ANY Way! What I do know about Lyles if I'm not mistaken, is that they were made by Aria at the Matsumoto Guitar Factory until it got taken out in a fire in 1988. They were made for Gibson, they were cheap when made although very good quality and sound. and they are kinda rare. Here's what we have. Any info we can get on it would be great. I want to make sure it is properly protected both for sentimental value and for insurance purposes if needed. Here's what I got: It is rosewood fretboard on mahogany neck, solid brass bridge, stainless steel keys, mother of pearl inlay on the fret board. It also has black laquered pick gaurd with mother pearl floral design. Body has ivory (not sure if it's genuine) binding, Lyle logo on headpiece is gold leafing. The label on the inside of the guitar says its a model 710 but there is no serial number next to the serial space. What is the deal with these guitars? I cant even find anything on Lyle much less this particular model. Any info anyone can give would be awesome. Thanks
My hubby just inherited his grandfather's guitar. I have tried to find out as much as i can about it, but there seems to be a serious lack of info regarding these guitars. And everything I have found thus far, does not resemble what we have in ANY Way! What I do know about Lyles if I'm not mistaken, is that they were made by Aria at the Matsumoto Guitar Factory until it got taken out in a fire in 1988. They were made for Gibson, they were cheap when made although very good quality and sound. and they are kinda rare. Here's what we have. Any info we can get on it would be great. I want to make sure it is properly protected both for sentimental value and for insurance purposes if needed. Here's what I got: It is rosewood fretboard on mahogany neck, solid brass bridge, stainless steel keys, mother of pearl inlay on the fret board. It also has black laquered pick gaurd with mother pearl floral design. Body has ivory (not sure if it's genuine) binding, Lyle logo on headpiece is gold leafing. The label on the inside of the guitar says its a model 710 but there is no serial number next to the serial space. What is the deal with these guitars? I cant even find anything on Lyle much less this particular model. Any info anyone can give would be awesome. Thanks
Lyle guitars were made in Japan sometime between 1960 and the late 1970s in the Matsumoku guitar factory that produced Univox, Arai, Aria and other guitars.
- 1History
History[edit]
Lyle guitars were distributed in the US solely by the L. D. Heater Music Company of Beaverton, Oregon, USA. It has been suggested that the Matsumoku Company manufactured many Lyle branded guitars in Japan from (approximately) 1965 to 1972 until they were bought and shut down by Norlin, Gibson's parent company at the time. In fact, Norlin never purchased Matsumoku, nor did they shut them down. This rumor stems from a Gibson (Norlin) lawsuit against manufacturers (specifically Elger the parent company of Ibanez) copying their copyrighted 'Open Book' headstock design. The guitars distributed by the L. D. Heater Music Company were not part of the lawsuit. Matsumoku continued to manufacture instruments beyond 1972. L. D. Heater Music Company was owned by Norlin. Matsumoku, as a sub-contractor of Aria (Arai and Company) manufactured instruments including Gibson Epiphone, Skylark, Cutler, Aria, Aria Pro, Aria Diamond and Washburn from 1964 into the mid 80s.
About the 'Lawsuit'[edit]
It is a common misconception that the famous Gibson/Norlin lawsuit was filed against a number of Japanese companies. It is also commonly said it was over the exact copying of American designs. Neither is true. The lawsuit was filed by Norlin (Gibson's parent company) against Elger/Hoshino (Ibanez's American division) over the use of the 'open book' headstock design which Norlin claimed as a Gibson Trademark. It was not over the exact copying of body dimensions or construction. These guitars were metric and not an 'exact' copy. The lawsuit was not 'won' by Norlin, but settled out of court. Most of the Japanese companies, as a precautionary move, turned away from close copies but many still offered their 'version' of the classic American designs with at least minor departures in design and appearance. Often the term 'lawsuit' is used to raise the price of the copy, increase interest, or they have misunderstood what the 'lawsuit' was all about. Too often it really isn't a lawsuit model at all. There appears to be a lot of this in on-line auctions and on-line guitar advertisements. Guitars can have an inflated price and sell for more than they are actually worth. Caveat emptor: because the ad states it is a 'lawsuit' model, does not mean that it is.
Models[edit]
Lyle Explorer Copy
Lyle 585
Lyle 588
Lyle 630L
Lyle 680
Lyle 690-DL
Lyle 692
Lyle 7535
Lyle 1100-L
Lyle C-600
Lyle C-601
Lyle C-605
Lyle C-610
Lyle C-620
Lyle C-630
Lyle C-640
Lyle C-650Lyle F-500
Lyle F-520
Lyle F-525
Lyle F-540
Lyle G-640
Lyle HR-2 (335 copy)
Lyle A-745 (335 copy-NB)
Lyle J-6500
Lyle L-2O
Lyle L-22
Lyle L-24 12 string acoustic 80405
Lyle L-5 Copy
Lyle L-50S
Lyle L-15
Lyle 585
Lyle 588
Lyle 630L
Lyle 680
Lyle 690-DL
Lyle 692
Lyle 7535
Lyle 1100-L
Lyle C-600
Lyle C-601
Lyle C-605
Lyle C-610
Lyle C-620
Lyle C-630
Lyle C-640
Lyle C-650Lyle F-500
Lyle F-520
Lyle F-525
Lyle F-540
Lyle G-640
Lyle HR-2 (335 copy)
Lyle A-745 (335 copy-NB)
Lyle J-6500
Lyle L-2O
Lyle L-22
Lyle L-24 12 string acoustic 80405
Lyle L-5 Copy
Lyle L-50S
Lyle L-15
Lyle L-80
![Lyle Acoustic Guitar Serial Numbers Lyle Acoustic Guitar Serial Numbers](http://www.vintageclassicals.com/gpage/gimages/lyleC620_14.jpg)
Lyle LEA40
Lyle Les Paul Copy
Lyle S-726
Lyle SG Copy
Lyle Strat
Lyle W-200-12
Lyle W-300
Lyle W-400
Lyle W-410-12
Lyle W-415 Dove
Lyle W-420-12
Lyle W-430
Lyle W-440
Lyle W-460 Hummingbird
Lyle W-465 Hummingbird
Lyle W-470 12-String
Lyle W-475 12-String
Lyle W-41
Lyle W-50
Lyle W-500
Lyle W-710
Lyle Z-535
Lyle l-260
Lyle 1203T
Lyle 1223T
Lyle 5112
Lyle 5120 EB-2 Copy
Lyle 5102T
Lyle Les Paul Copy
Lyle S-726
Lyle SG Copy
Lyle Strat
Lyle W-200-12
Lyle W-300
Lyle W-400
Lyle W-410-12
Lyle W-415 Dove
Lyle W-420-12
Lyle W-430
Lyle W-440
Lyle W-460 Hummingbird
Lyle W-465 Hummingbird
Lyle W-470 12-String
Lyle W-475 12-String
Lyle W-41
Lyle W-50
Lyle W-500
Lyle W-710
Lyle Z-535
Lyle l-260
Lyle 1203T
Lyle 1223T
Lyle 5112
Lyle 5120 EB-2 Copy
Lyle 5102T
![Acoustic Acoustic](http://www.jvguitars.com/images/82CimarAcousticFF1200.jpg)
L. D. Heater Music Company[edit]
The history of Alembic instruments of Santa Rosa, California, shines some insight into the history and business model of the L. D. Heater Music Company.[1]
'1973 A small music distribution company in Beaverton, Oregon, L. D. Heater Music Company, read the article (about Pro Audio Gear) in Rolling Stone and it interested them enough to take a little trip to San Francisco. They wanted to discuss the possibility of Alembic making a more standardized form of instrument that they could distribute to their dealers. L. D. Heater Music was owned by Norlin Inc.. Norlin was based in Illinois and owned Gibson, Maestro, Epiphone and other music related companies. We negotiated an exclusive distribution agreement for a limited time. They gave me the purchase order I required, and this was the beginning of the manufacturing of a standard high end instrument for Alembic and the entire music industry.'
References[edit]
Please note, information about Lyle guitars and their history is limited to personal recollection and copy/paste jobs from brochures. Information presented here has been gathered from multiple sources and anthologized here.
https://web.archive.org/web/20080329222524/http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar/brand/Lyle
http://www.matsumoku.org/arai_matsumoku.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20110711145456/http://acapella.harmony-central.com/archive/index.php/t-1854954.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20080222062933/http://www.portlandground.com/archives/2005/10/ld_heater_and_o_1.php
https://web.archive.org/web/20080329222524/http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar/brand/Lyle
http://www.matsumoku.org/arai_matsumoku.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20110711145456/http://acapella.harmony-central.com/archive/index.php/t-1854954.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20080222062933/http://www.portlandground.com/archives/2005/10/ld_heater_and_o_1.php
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