ZZ Custom

[Crusty]

This probably won't go cheap.

https://shopgoodwill.com/item/215361145

[Jorg]

Nope, it won't...

[Barry]

Not my style but a nice guitar nonetheless.
What I'm reacting to is the strap with the Japanese lettering and symbols on it.

I have the black version of this which I bought at the same time I bought my Westone Spectrum ST "back in the day":

[Jorg]

I think it says "Made in China"...

[Barry]

Actually, the plastic adjuster buckle on it broke after 40 years and I posted a cheap fix on the Westone Forum years ago:
https://westone.forumotion.com/t6187-st ... pair#56640



When someone commented about the meaning of the Japanese characters I did a quick bit of research for the first time and came up with a rough translation:

I never had a translation, and back in the day there was no Internet to do research on such things so I never bothered.

Just now I had a quick look at some Kanji characters and I "think" it all has something to do with the elements. Assuming the bottom is the strap end, the last character I'm 99% sure is Wind, the top character I think is Fire.

I haven't matched the centre one but it is likely something to do with rain or water. No idea what the red suns do to the meaning, but my guess is that it's a reference to Japan's precarious balance with the elements surrounding it (hurricanes, tsunamis, volcano, etc).

Either that, or it's something very, very naughty and I should be ashamed of having worn it in public all those years!

[numbfingers]

I have a strap like that around here somewhere. I think it came with an Aria AR-55 that's late 80s or early 90s. I wonder if Google could translate the characters?

I had an Aria XX(?) flying V that was like this ZZ. It was basically an HH Strat with MMK 45s and the V body. I loaned it to a "friend", a local dealer who loaded everything in his small store into a UHaul and skipped town one night.

-Steve W.

[Barry]

I loaned it to a "friend", a local dealer who loaded everything in his small store into a UHaul and skipped town one night.

Ouch!

[numbfingers]

I didn't miss the guitar that much, didn't play it, got it for only $125. But it was in great shape with a special V OHSC. Just the idea of losing it that way...

[numbfingers]

Here is my first try at Google Translate. I don't think I've got it right yet:

stroke.jpg (8.99 KiB) Viewed 59 times

[numbfingers]

I noticed that the Google translate feature was set to English to English- I reset to Japanese to English. I'm beginning to think there's a pattern here, not sure if I like it:

middle aged.jpg (9.02 KiB) Viewed 59 times