The Steel Guitar Forum

Mr George Lake
Where can a guy get a new Canopus D-8 guitar these days?
Norm McDaniel
Waco Tx
nmcdaniel001@hot.rr.com

Hi Norm...You have to order the guitar direct from the maker in Japan, YASUHIRO KAMIYA. Contact him at: canopus@din.or.jp Yasu makes them one at a time per order insuring top quality.

Contact Scotty's Music in St. Louis or Charlie in Honolulu.

Here is the info: US & Canada: Scotty's Music
phone : (314) 427-7794
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Hawai'i: Charles Fukuba
phone/fax : (808) 626-0691

Thanks guys for the instant replys
Norm McDaniel
Waco Tx

Yasu told me that he worked for Sho Bud for 12 years here in the States before building the Canopus guitars in Japan. I have never played one yet.

Yes, that's true. Yasu has put that experience into producing a superb guitar.

Hi Again Guys
Can anyone post a picture of one of these guitars?
Thanks in Advance
Norm McDaniel
Waco Tx
nmcdaniel001@hot.rr.com

I had bought one on ebay some years ago.....it's a high quality guitar similar to a Stringmaster, not quite as trebly......it has a piano like finish......

I had removed photos from an old thread to save web space....if I can find them, I post a photo here....

As great of a steel guitar as it is.....it will be expensive in itself in addition to shipping....

I would look to domestic builders to work with if I were in the market.....but that's just me.....if you're set on it...it's a great steel....go for it...

HOWARD...When I made a comparison of the Canopus vs the Stringmaster, I too noticed the Canopus had a mellower sound...very nice for Hawaiian music. Others may disagree, however I prefer the softer sound. As mentioned, BOTH are great instruments...Like comparing a Cadillac to a Lincoln.

Thanks george for the pictures. It is a great looking guitar. But Ill bet it is expensive with shipping and all. It is something to bear in mind.
Norm McDaniel

It's expensive without the shipping.....I remember Jody looked into one 3 or 4 years ago.....and it was very expensive....I may be wrong, and of course you should check it out for yourself.....but I think I recall a D8 being close to $2800.00.....before shipping....again, I do not claim this as a bona fide fact.....

At that price, I wonder who (besides Keoki!) he's managed to sell to.
Most, maybe all, of the Hawaiian players I've seen with a Canopus were given the guitar/s, and he then EXPECTS those to play them exclusively.

But they do look nice, and sound fine in the hands of all these players, but that's a lot of $.

I ran across this site sometime back which includes all the Canopus and Japan Fender??? lap and console steels....

http://www.guitarjapan.com/steelguitar/index.html

Well, I certainly was not one of those fortunate ones who received a 'free' guitar. However the delivered price was well under $2800.00 US . Yes, it's an expensive guitar. The finish is superb and as mentioned, Canopus is a neat sounding guitar.

Just curious, what did the shipping cost?

I have no idea. Yasu shipped it prepaid. He gave me EXCELLENT service. (Probably included in the cost price). It arrived within 3 weeks of ordering from Japan.

Yup, Howard nailed it. I had played on Howard's Canopus and thought it was excellent and then some. If I were not a Fender booster, I would order a triple
neck from Yasu. He is very easy going and does fantastic work......However, I found the Canopus a sweet sounding instrument, but falls short so far as the style I play, Stringmasters and Customs can Growl when needed, the blend control on the stringmaster should be set at the desired tone of the player along with the amp settings and it will give a sweet Hawaiian sound. The Canopus is soft and sweet but does not have the scope of a Fender
Custom which is the best of both worlds.
My opinion. I have Stringmasters and Customs and wouldn't think of parting with any of them.

Ok I'm confused....This site shows both Canupus AND Fender steel guitars.....So what's the deal, does Fender still make steels and sell them in the Japan market? Here's the link.....

http://www.guitarjapan.com/steelguitar/index.html

Matt, Fender does not manufacture any steel guitars coming out of Japan. The Japanese did have left over parts that were purchased from Fender a few years back, but those have long been sold. If there are any steel guitars coming from Japan, it it the Japanese who are manufacturing them. Hope this helps. Matt, Fender is part of a group of Japanese Investors and they can do whatever and whichever they want so far as manufacturing steel guitars. I beleive the name of the CEO of the Japanese investors is Khanda Shokai. I know it is confusing very much so. Sorry I can't be of much help.

Thanx

I'm sure that a Stringmaster D8, built for todays market, and with all the parts required to make it and labor etc , would cost around the same as a new Canopus. Like buying two medium priced Tele's or Strats etc. Any quality D8 is gonna be quite a few bucks, which it should be.

Ok, That all sounds ok.....BUT, did you look at the link I posted and see the FENDER steel guitars? There is a S6 model that is sold out, then a S8, then a Fender Buckie model. I blew up the pictures and looked real close and it says Fender ??????? There is even a Fender steel guitar link on the website.

Well, the FS-52 says "Fender" on it too...

Funny, I clicked on those links to the S6 and S8 last night, and they didn't work. I emailed the site asking about this, as well as a couple of other Japanese-market-only instruments. They didn't email me back yet, but they fixed the links (and updated the S6 to sold-out status).