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Always wondered that..
I feel old & irrelevant..
a Wisdom for @guitargeek62 for the tech tip
a LOL for @usedtobe for mugging me off in a way that serves to highlight quite how blunt my pencil has become because I initially thought he was being nice about my age ! :-)
My first guitar was one of these back in 1987. Mine had 3 humbuckers rather than single coils though. Same colour as that too. An Aquarius AQ555 it was.
It was a pretty decent starter guitar but the body wood was a bit soft and eventually the trem claw screws stripped. At the time I didn't know how to fix that sort of thing and eventually sold it when I bought my Charvel.
I'd love to know what happened to it. The kid who bought it was nuts. I wouldn't be surprised if it got destroyed at some point.
You mean like this chap??
I was expecting algebra to be involved in the answer anyway...
You'll regret asking that question ...
Firstly, let's be honest, Kawai made a load of crap during the 60's and early 70's - as did most of the Japanese makers. So, there were lots of cheap guitars with lots of pickups and multiple switches. OK if you like that sort of thing (crap), but if you do, you've got a wide choice from lots of different brands of the era. They do nothing for me.
Kawai got properly good with the KS range in the late 70's. That's the same period as the original Yam SG1000/2000, the Ibanez Artists, et al. By this time, the Japanese had got build / production quality standards well sussed, and had started to develop their own model designs rather than just showing Gibbo how to build a proper LP.
The KS range were generally 3-piece mahog necks set into a mahog body, some with a carved maple cap. Twin HBs.
The outer ones are the carved top models, the one in the middle is the runt of the range. The brown one, second left, was my first "real" guitar, bought new c1979/80.
This is probably my favourite;
They're pretty uncommon, but you might find one popping up on eBay every year or so. No more than that. And not necessarily eBay UK!
They are total quality guitars. Rock solid build, quality materials and with the sort of sound you'd expect from that construction. The body/neck join is rather tasty too ...
The 80's brought the "F" range, and the Aquarius. Both ranges had bass models.
The F-range were thru neck, with more and more fancy electronics on them as go up the spec range. This shows the two extremes of the range;
The necks are quite slim - definitely thinner than the KS range. Ridiculously complex construction too - as well as the 5 piece thru neck, the body wings can be 3-piece. And the on-board electronics can get a bit OTT;
When I bought this one, the wiring had pretty much disintegrated - having spent the previous 10 years in a garden shed. I had to work out the wiring from first principles, and then re-wire it all. It was filthy too, but with a bit of TLC, it's now a great player.
The Aquarius were simpler, bolt-on designs, but with plenty of options again (single, twin or three p'up designs, either HBs or single coils). Nicely rounded, and quite light.
There are various other models. The Moonsault that you mention is a collectible rather than a real playing instrument. Quality instrument but you'll do well to find an original (they were re-issued a few years later) for <£2k. The Rock'n'Roll star was another real oddity ... (Ash has this one now);
Kawai had produced keyboards for years. I think they tried to diversify into the guitar market, and found it too hard. Tried with a few different designs to see if anything really "clicked", but after a decade or so, decided to stick with the pianos.
There you go.
Just remember, you did ask.