I got an interesting Q in the acoustics section, linking Maya to a luthier called Tahara. Doing a search turned up some interesting info here:
http://www.ezfolk.com/forums/forum16/762-1.html
Maya was a brand name buying from various sources, with varying quality. It’s possible that CMI (Marshall) was dealing with Maya (or, more accurately, Rokkoman) rather than direct with factories given the similarities between their guitars. The high quality of the CMI 12-string may be a result of the work of Tahara-san.
Watching the auctions, SG Systems (Standel, CA) amps are not fetching money. Complete combos (6×10, 2×15 and 4×12) fail to attract bids with a $300 start and the chassis taken from a 610 sold for just under $115.
CMI Marshall amps, made in Bletchley, attract much more bidding but sellers put fantasy land start prices or reserves on them. A 50W Lead/Bass, similar to my 100W, started at $1800 and was pulled, possibly because the seller got an offer. I’m sure it’s the same one that had a $2000 BIN and failed to exceed $1200 a coupla times. A 2×12″ Bluesbreaker-style combo, sold by a Plexi Palace member I know of, went to $2750 without reaching its reserve:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=280191242189&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=018
Interestingly, a speaker and a chassis code dates the amp to 1974; that’s two years earlier than the CMI name is supposed to have been used by Marshall (note that PA head above that I said was more likely ’79 than ’74. Maybe I’m wrong).
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=280191242189&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=018
CMI (Marshall) guitars have come up, including setneck Gibson copies. A twinbucker Telecaster (’72 style) was an excellent copy and fetched a respectable 172 pounds sterling. Note that this (like all other quality CMIs I’ve seen) does not feature “Made in Japan” on the neckplate as the earlier, tackier CMI/Maya/Yamato types do. A change of factory, I reckon:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=160200104430&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=006