I bought a T. Haruo model T-80 6 string from a local music store in south Orange county, Ca. back in 1976. I was learning to play the guitar and this was my first. It hurt my fingers, so I bought a Yamaha acoustic with nylon strings so I wouldn't give up. I ended up discontinuing lessons and sold the Yamaha and Fender Strat copy, but couldn't bring myself to sell the T. Haruo. I always loved it's sound. Fast forward to 2007. I gave it to my son, who likes music and wanted to learn to play. He has sung in a band and most his friends play guitar, so I thought they could use it. It now has a split in it's top, I guess from moving to the desert and it dried out. My son took it to a local guitar dealer in Las Vegas, Ed Roman, to inquire about getting it repaired. They had it for a while and it didn't seem to be getting any attention, so my son called them to get some progress. The luthier there asked him to stop by after work and talk about it. My son said when he dropped it of, the luthier said, "oh, it's a Japanese Martin copy....ok", and seemed a little disdainful about it. When my son stopped back in after work the luthier retreived the guitar, got it reverently out of the case, and told him he didn't recommend repairing the top until it was really necessary. He said it could change it's beautiful sound, and that it sounded better than any other guitar in their store. It now gets lots of play time between all the musicians that stop in and visit or want to jam together. It has had a few songs written on it and is enjoyed every day. It is making up for all that lost time that it quitely sat in the dark. Hope you liked the little story. I just wanted to add to the list of T. Haruo information. dc.