Odd Japan-Made Martin Copy:

CF Mountain - I love it!

Probably pretty well-made; word is that they were built by Habayashi Musical Instrument Co under the auspices of Yasuo Momose, who has produced high end guitars for the brand Headway and under his own name.

It's rumored that the early ones were made using actual Martin parts. Not one of the cheapo copy lines, anyway. Solid wood (at least in the old days).

Not all Mountain acoustics are lawsuit-era, though obviously that one is. They were still being made in the late 80s with inlay instead of logo on the headstock and the name Mountain in gold on the back of the headstock. There's a fairly clean example of these on eBay for $899. I think the seller is trying to imply that it's a 70s guitar by putting "lawsuit" in the heading but it looks to be an 80s model.

www.ebay.com

C.F. Mountain M- 40 Acoustic Guitar- Solid Spruce,Solid Rosewood Martin Lawsuit | eBay

<p>C.F. Mountain M 40 Acoustic Guitar- Spruce top Rosewood back and sides beautiful player and to look at, top of the line of its day, herringbone inlay, small ding around the binding , almost no play wear , including frets , includes a nice freedom molded plastic case, great action and warm...
www.ebay.com

I suspect the later Mountains may have actually used laminated sides like the Shenandoah line that Martin offered for a few years, whose components were sourced in Japan to be assembled in Nazareth.
 
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I have no patience for stuff like this.
There are so many excellent guitars for sale that are no more and no less
than they seem, and are offered for a fair price, not a "too good to be true"
kind of a deal... I can't see any reason to even consider a foreign made copy
of a genuine U.S. made instrument. It's nothing you'd be proud to own.
And it's something you'd always need to make excuses for.
And there is no excuse.

I don't like fake anything. I like the real thing. I don't like guys that wear wigs,
and I don't have any interest in women that have fake tits. Who are you tryin
to kid? *shrugs... I hate to sound snarky, but that's the way these things make
me feel.

Foreign made copies of U.S. made guitars always seem like a swindle to me.
If the makers are so great, why don't they make their own designs?.
Writing CF Mountain on the headstock seems like you are
trying to fool someone. Why?

Takamine actually has an excellent reputation, and they make fine instruments that
don't need to resemble Martin guitars. If they were guilty of making fake Martins then
they deserve to be forced to cease and desist, according to the law. And they seem
to have rehabilitated themselves and earned some respect, which is the only way to
get respect. You have to earn it.

I bought a "Crest" guitar when I was about 16, It was an ES-335 copy.
I bought it because I was working on the fuel dock of a marina, and my pay was
$1.25 an hour. A 1966 Gibson ES-335 would have cost about $350.00 then,
an impossible, out of reach price for a kid like me. I coulda bought a used Mustang
for that...

The Crest ES-335 copy cost me about $60 if I remember right.
I couldn't have saved or paid more. Credit cards didn't exist then.
...and I couldn't have qualified for one. The Crest LOOKED really lovely
on the pawn shop wall.

My parents had forbidden me to take a guitar to college, and I knew that
I was going to take a guitar to college. So I had to buy my own,
with my own money, and I had to keep it at my best friend's house,
so they wouldn't know. I have NO PICTURES of myself playing it. *shrugs
Anyway the Crest was a POS... but it was okay for
an entry level electric. It LOOKED a lot better than it sounded. And I had
to learn that the hard way. It was a good lesson, and it stuck with me.

With an acoustic guitar, it's all about tone. That's all there is.
so it's probably all about tone wood. With an acoustic guitar, tone wood is crucial.
Good wood, good strings, well designed bracing, well built top and
sides, strong bridge made of the best materials, a lively and resonant neck and nut...
These things are the only things that are important. Looks come way second,
unless you're a flipper.

A guitar doesn't have to look like
a Martin if it sounds good.
If it sounds good, then it is
good, unless the maker cut corners...
And I believe that when it comes to tone wood,
you get what you pay for.
 
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Col Mustard said:
I have no patience for stuff like this.
There are so many excellent guitars for sale that are no more and no less
than they seem, and are offered for a fair price, not a "too good to be true"
kind of a deal... I can't see any reason to even consider a foreign made copy
of a genuine U.S. made instrument. It's nothing you'd be proud to own.
And it's something you'd always need to make excuses for.
And there is no excuse.

I don't like fake anything. I like the real thing. I don't like guys that wear wigs,
and I don't have any interest in women that have fake tits. Who are you tryin
to kid? *shrugs... I hate to sound snarky, but that's the way these things make
me feel.

Foreign made copies of U.S. made guitars always seem like a swindle to me.
If the makers are so great, why don't they make their own designs?.
Writing CF Mountain on the headstock seems like you are
trying to fool someone. Why?

Takamine actually has an excellent reputation, and they make fine instruments that
don't need to resemble Martin guitars. If they were guilty of making fake Martins then
they deserve to be forced to cease and desist, according to the law. And they seem
to have rehabilitated themselves and earned some respect, which is the only way to
get respect. You have to earn it.

I bought a "Crest" guitar when I was about 16, It was an ES-335 copy.
I bought it because I was working on the fuel dock of a marina, and my pay was
$1.25 an hour. A 1966 Gibson ES-335 would have cost about $350.00 then,
an impossible, out of reach price for a kid like me. I coulda bought a used Mustang
for that...

The Crest ES-335 copy cost me about $60 if I remember right.
I couldn't have saved or paid more. Credit cards didn't exist then.
...and I couldn't have qualified for one. The Crest LOOKED really lovely
on the pawn shop wall.

My parents had forbidden me to take a guitar to college, and I knew that
I was going to take a guitar to college. So I had to buy my own,
with my own money, and I had to keep it at my best friend's house,
so they wouldn't know. I have NO PICTURES of myself playing it. *shrugs
Anyway the Crest was a POS... but it was okay for
an entry level electric. It LOOKED a lot better than it sounded. And I had
to learn that the hard way. It was a good lesson, and it stuck with me.

With an acoustic guitar, it's all about tone. That's all there is.
so it's probably all about tone wood. With an acoustic guitar, tone wood is crucial.
Good wood, good strings, well designed bracing, well built top and
sides, strong bridge made of the best materials, a lively and resonant neck and nut...
These things are the only things that are important. Looks come way second,
unless you're a flipper.

A guitar doesn't have to look like
a Martin if it sounds good.
If it sounds good, then it is
good, unless the maker cut corners...
And I believe that when it comes to tone wood,
you get what you pay for.
Click to expand...
Made in USA, made in China, made in Japan... They are all equally imported to me and judged only by they way they sound and feel. Country of origin and what's wtiten on the headstock is thus equally meaningless. I've never had to make excuses for anything I own.
 
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