Neck-Through Vintage Yamaha SC1200

guitarz.blogspot.com:

I love what Yamaha was doing in the 1970s. I doubt there is a guitar ( or motorcycle for that matter) that they built that decade that I wouldn't be happy to have.

This SC1200 is a more conventional offering but still a great looking neck through guitar. I, apparently,  love the hippy sandwich. I also love that they didn't top off the headstock with a veneer so you can see the "sammich" tip to tail.

Currently listed for $800 Canadian

R.W. Haller


© 2015, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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Awesome Hybrid guitar built with Yamaha and Parker parts. Cool paint job.

guitarz.blogspot.com:

I love the look of this Yamaha SVG with a Parker Neck.

It could be the fact that it's and awesome shade of green. It could be that there is a picture of a dog on a neon pickguard (even if a touch graphic). It could also be that the seller mentions that, along with planet waves tuners, other upgrades include "DiMaggio" pickups.

Joltin' Joe would be honoured.

R.W. Haller


© 2015, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

1984 Yamaha SG 1000 XU red & white striped and locking trem equipped

guitarz.blogspot.com:

The Yamaha SG1000 features the most familiar guitar body shape to have been produced by that company. The SG1000 was designed as a rockier sibling to the SG2000, a guitar built with sustain uppermost in mind and as used by Carlos Santana. These guitars used the tried and trusted Les Paul recipe of a set neck on a mahogany body with a carved maple top, but aficionados will claim they are Les Paul killers.

However, the Yamaha SG1000 XU shown here is a variation on a theme. Note that it dates to 1984 - that is probably very relevant given that it was the era of hair metal and that whole phase of rock music getting widdlier and widdlier. The SG100XU is fitted with a locking tremolo and locking nut - they look to be proprietary units - note that there is a spring cavity on the rear of the guitar, a la Strat, and the trem block is clearly visible.

The other main design departure here is the minimised almost Brian May-like headstock, which to my eyes looks a little out of place on this guitar. Of course the most in-your-face striking feature about the guitar is the red and white striped graphic finish. Note the triangular inlays on the fingerboard which echo the chevron shapes on the body, and also the alternate colours of the pickup bobbins.

Currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $2,995.

G L Wilson

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

1960s Yamaha SB5A Bass made in Japan

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Here we see a very nice example of one of Yamaha's very earliest solidbody bass guitars, namely the Yamaha SG5A bass. Of course, it wasn't the very first Yamaha bass guitar - that distinction goes to the Yamaha SB2 - however the SB5A is the one that most people remember mainly because of its very distinctive design (often dubbed the "Samurai"). Most people think that Yamaha were just being wacky with these body shapes, but actually they are very ergonomic and way ahead of their time for this design dates back to the days when no-one applied words like "ergonomic" to guitars.

Currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $845.

G L Wilson

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Two vintage 1966/67 Yamaha SG-3 solidbodies listed on eBay recently

guitarz.blogspot.com:

I make no apologies for the claim that some may make that Guitarz is the unofficial Yamaha SG2/SG3/SG12 Fan Blog. Regular readers will already know that I am the proud owner of a 1966 Yamaha SG3 and indeed it has become one of my favourite ever guitar designs.

The three-pickup SG-3, along with the two-pickup SG-2 and 12-string SG-12, were Yamaha's very first foray into the world of solid body electric guitars and it is rare that they turn up for sale. Imagine my surprise recently when TWO examples, both seemingly in excellent condition, were offered for sale on eBay.

The red example, pictured top, looking not unlike Link Wray's "Screamin' Red" (which was actually an SG-2) is currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $1,948. The listing for the arctic white version also pictured has now finished with the guitar being sold for $1,100.

G L Wilson

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

1966/67 vintage Yamaha SB-2 bass guitar in sunburst finish

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Here's a rare beastie currently being auctioned on eBay. It's a Yamaha SB-2 bass, and dating from 1966/67 this is a very nice example of the first ever bass guitar that Yamaha produced. Regular readers will know that I have a fondness for these early Yamaha solidbodies, and indeed this example in a very handsome sunburst finish looks like the long lost bass sibling of my own most highly prized possession, my Yamaha SG-3 guitar.

With a starting bid price of $650 it'll be interesting to see what this sells for.

G L Wilson

Relisted with a Buy It Now price of $595.

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Yamaha SB-2 bass circa 1966/67 very briefly spied on eBay

guitarz.blogspot.com:

This Yamaha SB-2 bass was listed on eBay very very briefly earlier in the month and then mysteriously the listing was pulled. I wonder if the seller had an offer outside of eBay that was just too good to refuse? I'm pretty sure these are pretty rare basses, seing as the SB-2 was Yamaha's very first solidbody bass guitar and bass sibling to the Yamaha SG-2, SG-3 and SG-12 guitars (about which I have written much on this blog already - check "You may also like..." below - the links are sure to come up there!). This particular example in sunburst would nicely match my own Yamaha SG-3 guitar. I was hoping no-one would notice it and it might sell for a nice low bid, but as I said already the auction was soon removed.

There's not a lot to say about this bass really, other than its rarity. Built circa 1966/67, 32" medium scale length, no complicated circuits as on the SG-2 and SG-3, and this example has cruelly had its frets extracted. Really, if you want a fretless bass, nothing but long scale will do. OK, so that's peronal opinion, but they could've done a neater job. On the upside, it shouldn't be too difficult to re-fret again.

G L Wilson

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Yamaha AES 820's cool headstock

guitarz.blogspot.com

I have to admit that so far I've overlooked the Yamaha AES series to which this early 2000s Yamaha AES 820 belongs. OK, it has some typically Yamaha cool features, like a very special beveled German carve, a quite interesting stoptail, a certain elegance in the disposition of the knobs, but still it has something of a fat LP that made me look away each time I saw it - just not my type...

It's only today that I noticed its headstock and realized that it uses a tuner configuration that feels so obvious that I've been wondering for ever why it's not a standard feature, since it allows to keep the strings straights while connecting to 3x3 tuners. The headstock has a classic roughly rectangular shape, while the tuners form a triangle like on a Flying V headstock - and some tuners have longer stems to fit the shape: simple and I guess efficient. I will have to try this guitar one day - especially as I've learnt that there is a baritone version of it.  

Bertram D

PS. I always wonder why Yamaha has such a poor website, no online archives and so little exciting current models after their great history of electric guitar making...  

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - 10 years and counting!

Motorik Guitar Works SD-40 - Yamaha SG-2 replica

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Long-term followers of Guitarz will know by now that I am great fan of early Yamaha electric guitars, especially the SG-2, SG-3 and SG-12 models. (If you'd like more info on these guitars, please read my article on the Vintage & Rare blog).

The above pictured SG-2 looks like it must have been preserved in a time capsule for the last 44 years. However, Yamaha enthusiasts might have spotted that shoreline gold was not a colour option, these guitars only being produced in pearl white, sunburst, and coral red.

But neither is this an original SG-2 that has been refinished. It is actually a brand new guitar, a replica of the SG-2 painstakingly and lovingly built by Ben of Motorik Guitar Works, a regular contributor to the OffsetGuitars.com forums. The attention to detail on this build is quite outstanding, even down to the hardware used, much of which had to be custom-made by specialist suppliers. The guitar, which Ben has named the Motorik Guitar Works SD-40, was commisioned by the wife of a very good friend of Ben's for his 40th Birthday. (And where can I meet a woman like that?)

Ben also has a second Yamaha replica in the works, this time it's an SG-3 replica and this one he's going to be keeping for himself. When it is finished, it'd be very interesting to compare it side by side against my own Yamaha SG-3 original (and why do I get the sneaking feeling that it might possibly sound better?).

For more photos of Ben's SG-2 replica and to follow the complete build, see the Yamaha SG-3 & SG-2 replica project builds thread on OffsetGuitars.com. Take some time out, read it from the beginning and marvel.

G L Wilson

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - 10 years and counting!

Screamin' Red! Link Wray plays "Rumble" on the Conan O'Brian Show in 1998

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Just because it's a fantastic clip (which I've not seen before) and you know how I love those early Yamahas!

Via Marky Rocknroll.

G L Wilson

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Yamaha SA-20 semi-hollowbody 12-string electric guitar from 1968

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Regular readers of Guitarz will know of my enthusiasm for certain early Yamaha solidbody electrics, but being a recent semi-hollowbody convertee I am wishing I had the chance to sample Yamaha's early semis. In May 2011 we looked at this particularly nice example of a Yamaha SA-30 semi and now Derek has sent us photos and a few words about his Yamaha SA-20 which is the 12-string version. I'll let him tell you about it:

Having shown the Yamaha SA-30, I thought you might be interested in this 1968 SA-20; it's the same guitar (minus vibrato) as a twelve string. The price in 1968 was $315 according to a catalog you can view here, making it the most expensive of the SA (semi acoustic) line at the time, about $2000 in today's dollars.

When I first got the guitar, I noticed that there's black plastic inside the F-holes; this, I learned from the catalog, is a baffle intended to suppress feedback (patent pending!). If you've both pickups selected the "mic balancer" lets you blend between the two; the pickups are the size of humbuckers but I think they are single coils. Either way, they're attractively fitted. The neck is very narrow, and the nut (which I don't believe to be original) makes it challenging to play; but overall the workmanship is superb.

In that same catalog is a very interesting amplifier, the TA-60; I'm including a picture of that as well. I'd really like to find one to compliment the guitar.

Best Regards,

Derek

Thank you, Derek, for sharing this with us. Perhaps one day I'll get my mitts on a similar guitar!

G L Wilson

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Rare 1967 Yamaha SG3C "Blue Banana" on eBay Australia

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Our friend Greg Cadman (who sent us these photos of his Kapa guitar collection a while back) is interested in the Yamaha SG3C guitar as pictured above and asks:

"Does anyone out there have one of these they would be willing to make a full size tracing of the body for me?"

Which seems a fair enough request. Please respond via the comments below and I'll see to it that Greg gets your message.

The Yamaha SG3C is indeed a cool guitar, and was introduced a year after my own beloved Yamaha SG3 (similar model number, very different design), about which I have written plenty already. Both guitars have the same three singlecoil pickups arranged with one coil at the neck and two in the bridge position. However, the SG3C adopts a much simpler switching system than its slightly older sibling's Jazzmaster-like setup and functions only as a two pickup guitar with the two coils at the bridge being wired together in series. For those who are interested this video gives quite a nice little tour around the insides of the guitar.

This guitar is currently listed on eBay Australia, with five days left to run on the auction and bidding currently at just under AU$300 (Australian dollars) at the time of writing.

G L Wilson

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

A tale of two Yamaha SG-12 solidbody 12-stringers

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Regular Guitarz readers may remember that back in September I posted about a vintage Yamaha SG-12 offered for sale on eBay which had been rather disturbingly and tastelessly customised. I ended that particular blog post by saying:

There was recently another SG-12 on eBay which, alas, was incomplete - there were parts missing such as bridge saddles. That particular guitar sold quite cheaply. It'd be nice to think that whoever bought that one, could buy this example too and assemble a single Yamaha SG-12 as it should be and keep the rest as spares.

Well, imagine my surprise when reading in an email from Chris Fesker that this was indeed what happened and the above pictured Yamaha SG-12 is the resulting restored guitar put together from parts from the two donor instruments. But what happened to the left over parts which obviously included perfectly serviceable body and neck? It'd be a shame to let those lie around unused. I'll let Chris tell you the whole story:

Hi Gavin - my name is Chris Fesker, and I was looking for pictures of Yamaha SG12 guitars, when I ran into your blog...

http://guitarz.blogspot.com/2011/09/vintage-yamaha-sg-12-twelve-string.html

I am the one that bought that guitar, along with the other incomplete SG12 you mentioned that sold around that same time. I did combine the two, using all the good parts from the 'TRoth' guitar to repair the sunburst. Rather than sell the parted out TRoth guitar, and having noticed that the original red finish was still below the new paint, I stripped the black and gold repaint to the original red, and re-built it to the best of my abilities.

Here's some links to some pictures of both in their newly repaired state.
Red SG12 - http://s178.photobucket.com/albums/w263/sonichris_photos/Red%201967%20Yamaha%20SG12/
Sunburst SG12 - http://s178.photobucket.com/albums/w263/sonichris_photos/1967%20Yamaha%20SG-12/

I thought you might get a kick out of seeing them.

Thanks
Chris

I did indeed get a kick out of seeing the photos of Chris's restored SG-12s; it's so good to see something like that having seen so many bad bodge jobs, half-arsed relics, and crappy "customisations" carried out on otherwise beautiful vintage instruments.

Whilst the red (formerly "TRoth") SG12 pictured above isn't an accurate restoration, it has been finished with respect and reverence to the original design. I like the use of two Jaguar pickups - surely these are in keeping with this style of guitar, and where would you find the original Yamaha pickups outside of buying a re-issue SGV-300 and cannibalising it (which would be a shame in itself)? It certainly has an authentic vintage vibe and I would like to congratulate Chris on a job well done!

Happy New Year to all our readers!

G L Wilson

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

1981 Yamaha SC-600 with glossy transparent finish

guitarz.blogspot.com

So far I didn't like Yamaha's SC series that felt no more than a downgrade version of the great SGV, but the glossy transparent lack on a subtly figured mahogany body and maple/manhogany neck-through is sumptuous and makes it a completely different guitar.

Contrarily to many Japanese guitars of the time mostly influenced by Gibson, Yamaha keeps here the 3 single coils strat configuration of its earlier models.

For some bizarre reasons, this guitar was short lived and produced only in 1981-1982.

Bertram

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

What guitar is Zaniboni playing in this video clip?

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Check out the guitar in this video.

Zaniboni is a French singer. I love her guitar - so small and well-designed. A cute little acoustic. Plus she's a great singer and guitarist. I have no idea what she's singing! Thanks for the help!

Tone Deaf Radio!

Hey Tone! I reckon that's a Yamaha APX-T1, the travel-friendly model in Yamaha's acclaimed APX electro-acoustic series. Thanks for recommending the video; I enjoyed that! Maybe Bertram will be able to enlighten us as to what she's singing about.

G L Wilson

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Yamaha SG-40 Japanese-made singlecut solidbody electric guitar from 1972

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Here's a Yamaha SG-40, another of their earlier solidbody guitars, this one dating from 1972. It's a relation of the Les Paul-like Yamaha SG-45 that we already looked at back in March of this year, but is has a bolt-on neck rather than a set neck, and a generous and attractive German carve to the top, with body and headstock face finished in a vibrant solid red. Together with the angled neck pickup, this guitar has something of a Mosrite vibe.

Specs include: bolt-on mahogany neck with bound rosewood fretboard, pearloid dot inlays, 22 frets, 2 humbucking pickups, adjustable terminator type hard-tail bridge, original Yamaha tear-drop tuners, 24 3/4" scale length with a nut width of 1-3/4"

Currently listd on eBay with a Buy It now price of $795.

G L Wilson

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Yamaha SG-3 guest blog article over at Vintage & Rare

guitarz.blogspot.com:

I've written a guest blog article for our friends at Vintage & Rare. It's all about what regular readers will recognize as a favourite hobby horse of mine, the Yamaha SG-3 guitar.

You can read all about it (plus siblings, the SG-2, SG-12 and SB-2) here.

G L Wilson

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Vintage Yamaha SG-12 twelve-string solidbody which has been rather disturbingly "customised"

guitarz.blogspot.com:

As a particular fan of these early Yamaha solidbody guitars, I do find the "customisation" carried out on this particular Yamaha SG-12 rather distressing. Not only has it been inexpertly painted gold (and with some meaningless name applied to the headstock for who knows what reason), but it is missing the original pickguard, pickups and electrics. The current pickguard is an ugly handcut affair, not helped in being a hefty quarter of an inch thick.

I only hope that whoever did this to such a fantastic old guitar, perhaps didn't have the guitar in a state of completeness to begin with (in which case, someone before must have messed it up).

This guitar is currently listed on eBay, and with one day left to go before the auction finishes the bidding is currently at £399. If this guitar was in original condition, I'd expect it to sell for at least $1000. There was recently another SG-12 on eBay which, alas, was incomplete - there were parts missing such as bridge saddles. That particular guitar sold quite cheaply. It'd be nice to think that whoever bought that one, could buy this example too and assemble a single Yamaha SG-12 as it should be and keep the rest as spares.

Anyway, here's what it SHOULD look like.

G L Wilson

[EDIT: The story of this guitar does not end here. Click here to see what happened next!]

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Yamaha SG-12 - the holy grail of offset waist guitars, perhaps?

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Here's another guitar photo plucked from the comments on this blog. The Yamaha SG-2 and SG-3 guitars from 1966-67 are known to be extremely hard to find - not many having made it outside of Japan in this first place - but they are nothing to this, the virtually unknown Yamaha SG-12, the 12-string version of the SG-3.

This example was owned by Guitarz reader "Peer", who said:

I had a 12 string version of the SG-3 once... waaay ubercool! I miss it... it even made me forget how much I hate 12s.

I've only seen one of these before pictured in the hands of Eduardo "Gato" Alquinta, singer/guitarist of Chilean folk/rock band Los Jaivas, who actually had his strung as a 6-string.

G L Wilson

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Rare Yamaha SG-2 circa 1966-67 on eBay now!

guitarz.blogspot.com:

From the eBay listing:

Yamaha SG-2 SG 2 their first electric guitar 60's MOJO

One of the coolest sexist guitars you will ever see.  From the 60's when guitars were COOL.  Yamahas first eclectic guitar.   Cooler looking than a Strat. 

Check out Link Ray playing his on youtube playing midnight lover   http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=US&feature=related&hl=iw&v=-zBhViJYO9M  

And this site loves them http://guitarz.blogspot.com/2010/04/yamaha-sg-3-like-link-wrays-guitar-but.html  

High quality guitar, check out Harmony Central for the user reviews. 

Guitar looks great with just a small chip on the bottom, see pic.

Plays well and electronics work, sounds great, could probably use some contact cleaner, 

Output jack may need to be tightened or cleaned or looked at as it crackles if you move the cord.

Comes with the whammy bar. 

Comes with a guitar case that is not the greatest but works well.

(sic throughout)

It sure is a nice one. Don't you think it'd be a good companion for my SG-3? Anyway, Guitarz has linked through to hundreds - possibly thousands - of eBay auctions over the years. It's nice to see an eBay auction linking to us for a change!

This guitar was listed with a starting bid of $25.01 and bidding has already been enthusiastic with over 5 days left to go on this auction. I'd love to bid myself, but it would be incredibly hard to justify buying another guitar right now especially one so similar to a guitar I already own.

G L Wilson

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!