Rinkya Collector's Corner- Murray's MIJ Guitars!!

Thank you Murray for taking the time to share your love for Made in Japan Guitars!!

How and why did you start collecting Made In Japan guitars?

After around ten years away from guitars I had the urge to start playing again. So I bought an acoustic from my local music shop. But I soon felt the need for an Electric. I purchased one from a UK source and then discovered it was Made In Japan.

I scoured the Internet for information on it and found the Fernandes Guitar forum, which was in its last days before closing. Lucky for me there was a link to a new Forum (Japanaxe) that specialized in MIJ Guitars so I joined up. All of a sudden I found a whole new world of guitars that I had no idea existed, within a few weeks my knowledge on MIJ had grown in to an “I want some of this passion”

One of the guys posted a link to a site called Rinkya. So I took a look and saw some great prices and decided to try and win an auction

Before I knew it I had bought 4 or five and the collection had started...


What makes MIJ special?

MIJ guitars are so well made that the copies eclipsed the originals. In the early 80s the big brand names sat up and started to pay attention to these great copies before starting lawsuits against a couple of Japanese companies who quickly made some small changes to fend off the pending lawsuits.

The Big Brand names were still very impressed with the craftsmanship and quickly contracted the Japanese companies to make guitars for them.

On top of the great Craftsmanship, MIJ guitars were a bargain next to what were really inferior models. For now MIJ guitars are tops in both quality and price.


Is there a particular guitar name/brand that you collect?

How I wish there was but I am afraid it is a few brands. I do tend to stick to Burny Greco and Orville although there are a few other brands and a few more that I would love to add to the collection. It is very addictive you know!


How large is your collection?

At the moment it is 30. On occasion I let the odd one or two go to new homes so I can fund more collectible models as they come up for auction

What is your “dream” guitar?

Gosh that’s a hard one, as every time I think I have it the bar moves.
But most of them (my dreams) come from my teenage years.
Before MIJ it was a Gibson Les Paul, which of course is a U.S guitar.
I realized that dream through Rinkya and the dream became an Ibanez Destroyer that soon followed the Gibson. As dreams should never end I still have a big want list!!!




What is your favorite guitar that you found thru Rinkya?

Again a hard one to answer but if I had to choose I think It would have to be the Orville by Gibson LPC57B that has just arrived.


What advice would you give to new collectors?

First of all I would recommend spending a few days just reading the Japanese to English translations as the complexity of the Japanese language can throw up some strange spellings that are easy to work out when you have been around them for a while.

Next research the model you are interested in thru forums like Japanaxe, the Guitar Grounds and the Tokia forum where you can get loads of great Information.


Finally I would recommend you have a price in mind that you want to pay. So, if you don’t win this one you will win one in the end. Don't get impatient. I can go a couple of months chasing a guitar before I get what I want but it is worth the time.


What are the pitfalls of guitar collecting and what should be avoided?

I don’t think I would recommend Pitfalls and avoidances as Guitarists are all different and look for different things in their instrument.

Oh hold on I know a pitfall……. It's extremely addictive!!!!


LOL- Thank you Murray for the awesome interview and a glimpse at the wonderful world of guitar addictions!!

Visit Rinkya for all your Guitar needs and if you visit JapanAxe forums- check out elainerinkya, she can answer all your questions!


[Japan][MIJ guitar][gibson][les paul]