Funky Yamaha guitars, past and present

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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Gear »

Funky Yamaha guitars, past and present

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GuitarBob Joined: Jul 31, 2009 Posts: 139 Monterey, CA	Posted on Aug 11 2009 03:24 PM Yes, the Yamaha speakers had foam cones. The voice coils are EZ to overheat. Mine rubbed until I pressed out a deformed spot. The fix probably won't last. Hey, the tremelo sounds good though! Top
zak Joined: Sep 24, 2007 Posts: 2728	Posted on Aug 11 2009 09:59 PM This post has been removed by the author. Last edited: Sep 27, 2009 18:22:43 Top
mad_dog Joined: Sep 23, 2008 Posts: 349 Montclair, NJ	Posted on Aug 12 2009 09:04 AM SGV-800 update: I just grabbed on of these last month. Almost perfect stock condition. The trem felt a bit stiff, not a whole lot of travel on the down side, easier to pull up. this is strung with .10s. Still the coolest trems sounds, but it got me thinking. Took it to my favorite tech, had him dress the frets and put in a graphite nut. Asked him to see what he could do to improve the trem action. It came back a rather different thing. He put in a third spring. This cants the trem assembly up and back compared to stock. Enough that the trem arm is a little too high down near the body. Not ideal. But the good news is the dramatic improvement in trem action. It's no longer stiff. Equal travel down and up. I carefully bent the trem arm bend (not quite right angle stock) a little further. Now it's perfect, falls just right under my hand. It's restrung with .10s. I might try .11s, which could bring the trem unit a bit forward again. The trem does creak a bit under heavier use. Kinda worried me, 'til I plugged it in. You can't hear the creak amplified. But it seems to enhance the tendency of the trem to trigger a subtle edge of controllable feedback, assuming high enough volume. How cool is that?? This Yamaha is really growing on me. Dramatic improvements in playability now, to go with the most beautiful pickup and trem tones. MD Top
surfin_bird Joined: Jun 09, 2009 Posts: 267 Amstelveen [The Netherlands]	Posted on Aug 21 2009 11:23 AM I just came back from a second hand guitarshop, and guess what they had a yamaha sgv-800 !!! mint condition only a bit dusty ! I also tried a jazzmaster but i didn't like it that much, so i picked up the yamaha for 500 euro's. and it looks good — Member of the league of banana yamaha's ! Top
synchro Joined: Feb 02, 2008 Posts: 4457 Not One-Sawn, but Two-Sawn . . . AZ.	Posted on Aug 21 2009 05:43 PM surfin_bird I just came back from a second hand guitarshop, and guess what they had a yamaha sgv-800 !!! mint condition only a bit dusty ! I also tried a jazzmaster but i didn't like it that much, so i picked up the yamaha for 500 euro's. and it looks good Congrats! — The artist formerly known as: Synchro When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar. Top
mad_dog Joined: Sep 23, 2008 Posts: 349 Montclair, NJ	Posted on Aug 22 2009 09:12 AM Surfin: It not only looks good ... it IS good. Have a great time with it! MD Top
zak Joined: Sep 24, 2007 Posts: 2728	Posted on Sep 18 2009 12:39 PM This post has been removed by the author. Last edited: Sep 27, 2009 17:28:18 Top
Muddslide Joined: Mar 25, 2009 Posts: 76 Gypsy Caravan	Posted on Sep 19 2009 02:09 AM image Top
HallmarkSweptWinger Joined: Jul 27, 2006 Posts: 1284 Berlinesia, Germanifornia	Posted on Sep 19 2009 03:17 AM zak Look what I found: image image image image image image image Wow!!! Great! Really rare stuff!!! Thanks for posting those pics Zak! I played the Yamaha TA60 on my last gig. Great clean sound. Best solid state amp you can find (for surf music). The built in reverb is shit and the tremolo sucks, but the natural sound speakers are alll fine!!! The TA60 is a LOUD and absolute clean amp. It`s not a Fender sound! It`s an own nice 60`s sounding character you find here. Very bassy if you like to. Well balanced brillant tone! So check those TA60 amps out if you find one somewhere. You won`t be dissapointed! This amp is a cheap alternative to Fenders! Very spacey funny design. Looks great with the Yamaha guitars! BUT: You need the Reverb tank for reverb!!! (Of course. As always.) The little TA30 with one natural sound speaker is also very fine. But only for at home practicing! Twaaaanggggg!!!! Ralf Kilauea http://www.myspace.com/thekilaueas — Twang cheers! Ralf Kilauea www.kilaueas.de https://kilaueas.bandcamp.com/album/touch-my-alien Top
andreuthegiant Joined: May 27, 2007 Posts: 254 Madrid, Spain	Posted on Sep 19 2009 05:43 AM The aesthetics of these amps is absolutely fantastic. I cannot understand why it has not been plagiarized yet. Top
andreuthegiant Joined: May 27, 2007 Posts: 254 Madrid, Spain	Posted on Sep 19 2009 07:39 AM any lucky man near Denver? A TA-20 one for $75!! http://denver.craigslist.org/msg/1377912361.html Top
Sonichris Joined: Mar 06, 2006 Posts: 1898 Wear gloves - I'm in the Rockies	Posted on Sep 19 2009 11:33 AM andreuthegiant any lucky man near Denver? A TA-20 one for $75!! http://denver.craigslist.org/msg/1377912361.html I'm in Denver, and I'm on it. I missed the original posting for it a few days ago. — "You can't tell where you're going if you don't know where you've been" Top
Frelonvert Joined: Sep 21, 2009 Posts: 275 Toulouse	Posted on Sep 21 2009 03:21 PM Someone from Pitfsburg ? a yamaha ta-60 for 50$ !! damned ! http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/msg/1384702231.html — http://noskons.bandcamp.com/ Top
RecRoomSurfer Joined: Sep 19, 2008 Posts: 206 Canada, eh?	Posted on Sep 21 2009 04:43 PM There's a TA60 at a store in Ottawa, Ontario: http://www.spacemanmusic.com/Amps/Transistor+Amps/Yamaha+TA60+Pyramid+Amp image Top
Sonichris Joined: Mar 06, 2006 Posts: 1898 Wear gloves - I'm in the Rockies	Posted on Sep 21 2009 07:06 PM The guy in Denver with the TA-20 raised the price to $150..... http://denver.craigslist.org/msg/1377912361.html He never got back to me either - what a turkey. — "You can't tell where you're going if you don't know where you've been" Top
andreuthegiant Joined: May 27, 2007 Posts: 254 Madrid, Spain	Posted on Sep 22 2009 03:09 PM I wish I could find one in Spain... Top
zak Joined: Sep 24, 2007 Posts: 2728	Posted on Sep 22 2009 03:10 PM This post has been removed by the author. Last edited: Sep 27, 2009 17:23:20 Top
andreuthegiant Joined: May 27, 2007 Posts: 254 Madrid, Spain	Posted on Sep 22 2009 04:23 PM zak andreuthegiant I wish I could find one in Spain... You really want a mediocre sounding solid-state amp? These things look cool but...yeah...that's about it. Yeah, that's about it. Of course I'd like to get one for 50. Top
elreydlp Joined: Sep 04, 2009 Posts: 1800 Temecula, CA	Posted on Sep 22 2009 08:40 PM At one time, I think every pawnshop in Southern California had those funky Yamaha amps. Definitely cool looking, but you're right-mediocre sounding at best. My "prize" Yamaha is a MINT '69 SA-30. Kind of a cross between a Mosrite & a Gibson ES-330. Mines a cool "Seven-up" bottle green and came with the original case & some case candy. Pickups look like mini-humbuckers, but are single coils. Once I got it set up and sorted out, I found out it sounds VERY good. A unique, but usable sound. Top
synchro Joined: Feb 02, 2008 Posts: 4457 Not One-Sawn, but Two-Sawn . . . AZ.	Posted on Sep 23 2009 12:04 AM elreydlp At one time, I think every pawnshop in Southern California had those funky Yamaha amps. Definitely cool looking, but you're right-mediocre sounding at best. My "prize" Yamaha is a MINT '69 SA-30. Kind of a cross between a Mosrite & a Gibson ES-330. Mines a cool "Seven-up" bottle green and came with the original case & some case candy. Pickups look like mini-humbuckers, but are single coils. Once I got it set up and sorted out, I found out it sounds VERY good. A unique, but usable sound. I wonder if one could adapt the design to a better amp. Basically a nice tube amp in the bottom with the controls extended to the top. shielding would be a challenge but who knows? It sure looks different. — The artist formerly known as: Synchro When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar. Top

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