1980s Atlas D-469 Dreadnought Guitar




While I've got no proof, I'm pretty sure that this guitar was made by Yamaki (makers of Daion) for whoever was selling under the Atlas name at the time. It's not an upper-crust import guitar like the Daions and has an entirely-ply body, but there are many similarities in the construction, finish, and build style of this guitar to Daions and other Yamaki products I've held and played. It also sounds and feels like one. Notice that the high-end in the video clip doesn't have that pingy/zippy quality a lot of ply-top guitars have? It sounds like a solid D-18 clone of some sort to my ears. It's clean-sounding.

Anyhow, a customer of mine traded this in to counterbalance some repair work, so I gave it a going-over which included a fret level/dress, compensation and adjustment to the adjustable saddle, a bridge sanding and polishing/stain to give it a more pro look (it's rosewood but was stained black like ebony which was fading and looking gross), general cleaning, and a setup. The neck is straight with a functioning truss rod, the frets have plenty of life, and it handles roughly like a Martin D-18 from the late '60s in the way the neck is cut and feels.

Specs are: 25 9/16" scale length, 1 11/16" nut width, 1 7/16" string spacing at the nut, 2 3/16" spacing at the bridge, 15 3/4" lower bout, 11 5/8" upper bout, and 4 11/16" depth at the endblock. The neck has a ~12" radius to its rosewood board and a mild-to-medium soft, C/V hybrid shape to the rear -- a lot like an older Martin. Action is 3/32" EA and 1/16" DGBE at the 12th fret and the strings are 54w-12 lights.

The saddle is adjustable in height and I like the way these ones work because they make good contact with the bridge and tend to give a bit of extra punch. Modding it to a drop-in bone or wood saddle would probably warm it up just slightly, however, though that crunchy sound would perhaps be more subdued.

Woods are: ply spruce top (with a creamy-white look), ply rosewood back and sides, solid mahogany-like wood for the neck with a 2 or 3-piece heel section, and rosewood fretboard and bridge. The nut and saddle insert are plastic. It's all-original except for the strings, too, and has a presumably-original chip case as well. The "pearl" trim around the top edge is plastic but still catches the eye nicely.












These black, plastic-housing sealed tuners are very much a thing of the early '80s Japanese-import guitars (I think this one probably dates from '83 or earlier because of them). I mostly see them on Daions. You have to be careful not to tighten-up the threaded shaft/ferrules on these too much or you'll split the housing. These are all good to go, however.


The heel cap's plastic shrunk and cracked but I glued the bits back on and stabilized them.







Here's that chip case I was talking about -- it's serviceable but deadly-plain.

Comments

ctsanjoures said…
I stumbled across one of these in a pawn shop in Webster, MA. Bought it for $60. I love it so much that I sold my Taylor 414 and made out like a bandit.

It blows my mind these guitars aren’t worth real money. Everyone that has heard it loves it and it’s my go to recording acoustic. I have never had another guitar player play it and not fall in love with it.
randy said…
same! got mine at a pawn shop in Sioux Falls SD for $100 and tax. someone put some nice old gibson tuners on it and i installed a LR Baggs on it for live. sounds amazing in the studio! plays like a dream! one of my luckiest finds!
Unknown said…
I got mine as a college graduation present in May, 1979 from my future wife. Every one that plays it likes it. I have been playing it for her ever since.
Atlas said…
I have an atlas model b-212 that I bought new in the early 70s at Sam ash in Long Island n.y. It is an excellent instrument with great deep tone that has only gotten better over the years. I have had the frets leveled and made a new bridge. In many ways it is surperior to my seagull dread naught. Everyone who has played it marvels at the tone and playability.