Antoria acoustic guitar

vmaximus

 Can anybody give me any information about an acoustic guitar that i have just purchased, its a Antoria SF 29 HS acording to the label inside and  produced for JL music Ltd with Antoria solid top on the headstock and made in Korea on the back. There is no other identification that i can see other than (use medium or light gauge strings) printed on a part of the internal back bracing. The truss rod adjuster is is located through the sound hole and not on the headstock. This guitar is in very good condition and after a neck oil and new set of strings it plays and sounds amazing to my ears. I have seen old adverts where they have been for sale but having scoured the internet i am unable to find any info about this model or approx year of manufacture. The person that i bought it from told me he purchased it sometime in the mid 90's for approx £220.00. Any infomation would be greatly appreciated.  Pud.

Kittyfrisk

Lot's of photo's would be very helpful 
https://jedistar.com/antoria/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoria

vmaximus

Tried and failed to leave photos before with no luck, havnt tried since

Cig35

I think I have read somewhere that Antorias were made by Samick in Korea in the eighties and into the nineties, but my memory is not always reliable…
Does it look like the guitar on the left in this link?
https://www.guitar-auctions.co.uk/sale/175/189/Antoria-SF29HS-acoustic-guitar-made-in-Korea-gig-bag

vmaximus

@ Cig35, i have seen the page from guitar auctions a few days ago and my guitar looks more like the one on the left, same fret inlays but with darker front which could be age related or photo lighting, but it does'nt mention any manufacturing dates. I have read the Antoria Wiki regarding countries where they where made and suppliers and distributers. I know my guitar was made in Korea and supplied to JL music Ltd but approx which years and construction materials etc i cannot seem to find any info. JL (John Lawson) traded the company from sometime in the 80's untill 2006 but info regarding this model seems to be non existant.

ICBM

From the pic it will be from the 1990s, although pinning down an exact date could be more difficult, unless it’s in the serial number… there were a huge number of guitars made under dozens of brands by only a handful of companies in Korea, and at least some (eg Samick) used a fairly consistent code across many of their products, even under different brands. The fingerboard inlays do look quite Samick, so there’s a reasonable chance they made it.

https://serialnumberdecoder.com/samick-serial-number/

vmaximus

@ ICBM, yes that seems to tie in date wise, the person i bought it from purchased it from Dougs Cabin a music shop in Sutton in Ashfield the same place i bought my Carlsbro amp from in 1994. I think he bought it around that time perhaps a little later so i am going to assume that its a mid 90's but he didnt say whether it was a used or new guitar, also there are no serial numbers. I would like to find out the construction, ( top, back and sides) although it does say Antoria solid top on the headstock, not that it makes any difference, the build quality is very good sounds and plays very well.

Just a note, the last Carlsbro factory was approx 1 mile from Dougs Cabin in Kirkby in Ashfield before it closed, similar distance from my house in Kirkby.

ICBM

vmaximus said:

I would like to find out the construction, ( top, back and sides) although it does say Antoria solid top on the headstock, not that it makes any difference, the build quality is very good sounds and plays very well.

From the look of it it will be a solid spruce top and laminate back and sides, especially at the price it was whether new or used - there were some all-solid models but they were more expensive. You can usually tell if you look carefully at the wood grain inside and outside the back - if it’s laminate, it won’t exactly match. Or if you can get the endpin out you should be able to see the edges of the sides in the hole - if either the back or sides are laminate, the other will be.

The build quality of most of these 90s Korean guitars is excellent - they can be a bit over-finished, although that does mean they hold their appearance very well unless really bashed around.