Aside from being among the first Takamine models to feature the new Palathetic Pickup system, the circa 1969 PT-05E also gained attention for its creative combination of classical body shape and steel strings. This breakthrough model also triggered the initial widespread distribution of Takamine guitars in Japan. Both the “THE 60TH” and “LTD2022” models bring a graceful cutaway to the silhouette and distinctive concept of Takamine’s ground-breaking PT-05E. "THE 60TH" is made entirely of solid Hawaiian Koa – top back and sides. The high-grade figured grain of solid Hawaiian Koa, a beautiful natural wood, has a different direction of rigidity from that of ordinary spruce tops due to its repeated coarse and dense grain, which while sonically desirable, can be less adapted to withstand typical string tension. In order to improve the rigidity without compromising the resonance, a three-piece bracing made of ebony sandwiched by spruce was adopted. Precise hand-shaping is also applied to reduce weight. The bottom of the bracing is shaved to match the curve of the body top, then glued to the solid Hawaiian Koa top and again finished by hand-shaping with a chisel. The unique three-layered bracing not only increases rigidity, but also decrease typical brace mass that would otherwise interfere with top vibration. The ebony core of the tone bar allows proper height at the center while allowing much thinner shaping from both sides creating a triangular prism to further reduce weight while maintaining rigidity. In fact, if you compare this ebony-centered tone bar to typical top bracing, its weight is reduced by more than 20% promoting significantly more top vibration sensitivity. This exquisite hand processing is done one-by-one by the highly skilled factory manager, Noriharu Sakurai, and the master builder, Toru Hirokawa who, from Takamine’s craft shop, have participated in the production of many high-end and custom guitars for some of our biggest artists