Its ivory finish is probably the most desirable color for this model, but the guitar was also available in a natural finish that highlighted the maple or rosewood carved top. Other features include the bound 22-fret ebony fretboard with brass circle inlays, a matched-finish headstock with abalone border, 3-per-side tuners, two exposed humbuckers, and controls for each pickup. Specs for your guitar include an ash body and carved maple top (rosewood was an option) bound with an abalone border, and a 5-piece maple/rosewood through-body neck.
Further proof is the silver serial-number sticker on the back of the headstock that appears to be unique to Morris models of that era. (Morris was a house brand of Moridaira.) And the VX-45R is also the same as, alas, the Washburn Eagle. Since the Washburn Eagle was produced circa 1979 to 1984, it’s more than likely your Lotus was made during this time period as well.įrom my research, your guitar was built at the Moridaira factory and is based on the Morris VX-45R. However, some of the higher-end Lotus instruments were built by the Cort factory in Korea or by one of three factories in Japan: Yamaki, Matsumoku, and Moridaira. Most lower-end Lotus-branded guitars were produced by either Samick or other factories in Korea or Indonesia. That said, information regarding Asian-guitar production from the 1970s and early 1980s is cloudy at best. While the majority of imported Asian-built copies from the era aren’t considered to be of very good quality, the Lotus brand was an exception, mainly because of the factories they were built in. And all were offered at a bargain price or were at least inexpensive enough to compete with the American manufacturers.
The standard practice for many distributors was to offer a line of guitars based on popular American designs like Les Pauls and Strats, for example, along with a few original designs. This isn’t much different from what Harmony, Kay, and other house-brand jobbers from the Chicago area were doing in the 1940s through the 1960s. However, many of these factories in Asia received requests to build guitars for multiple manufacturers/distributors, meaning the same guitar could essentially end up under multiple trademarks. Like many other distributors, Midco commissioned a manufacturer in Asia to build guitars under a unique brand name. Midco International, a former musical distributor, sold the Lotus brand as an exclusive trademark of guitars during the 1970s and 1980s. This circa late 1970s/early 1980s Lotus bears a striking similarity to the Washburn Eagle from the same era, and for good reason. If this connection seems odd, the occurrence of very similar guitars with different brand names is more common that many of us would think. In fact, aside from different fretboard inlays and brand names on the headstocks, when you compare the two they’re nearly identical. You are correct that it’s similar to the Washburn Wing series, specifically the Washburn Eagle from the late ’70s and early ’80s. I think it’s pretty cool and I get lots of comments about it.Ĭool guitar! You really don’t see many of these anymore. It is very well built and plays like a dream.
#Lotus acoustic guitar series#
It seems similar to the Wing series guitars that Washburn was selling at that time. What can you tell me about my late 1970s/early 1980s Lotus guitar? It has a set neck, pearl binding, a brass nut, and brass fret inlays.
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