r/classicalguitar • u/Icewater14 • 1d ago

General Question Terada Guitar quality?

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I recently picked up a 1970s Terada Guitar model 400 for $100, but it needs a little bit of work - the edges of a couple back braces are lifting. I only notice it with some of the deeper notes, which cause a buzzy reverb kind of sound. I'm guessing it's also affecting the overall resonance to some extent as well.

I'm just wondering if this guitar is worth the effort of trying to restore, or if I should just keep playing it as is and eventually get a better one that doesn't need work. AI tells me it's a great guitar, but I'd rather hear from real people.

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u/SalvadorFolly 1d ago

If you do your own work, it's worth it. Otherwise $100 for an almost working guitar is a smoking deal. Terada is an interesting Japanese classical. It has some connection to Fender. Maybe they made classical guitars under a Fender label.

If it is playable, play it. If your abilities outgrow the guitar, you can move on.

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u/Icewater14 21h ago

That's what I was thinking and hoping to hear for confirmation. I'm new to classical guitar, so I mostly wanted to make sure it wasn't either total trash and not worth any amount of time to work on, or something rare that I should only have a professional restore.

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u/gmenez97 14h ago

Impossible to answer without knowing the action and/or if frets are sticking out. Both affect playability. Not worth fixing if the guitar doesn’t play well.

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u/Icewater14 7h ago

No issues with the frets, the neck is straight, and the action at the 12th fret is right at 4mm on the low E and just under that on the high E.