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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Gear »

Permalink Must...buy...Yamaha SGV

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Zak, Big Papu, and anyone else who has bought a Yamaha SGV -- how's it working out? I've found a red one in a local shop for $400. Haven't played or minutely inspected it yet, but it looks really clean. If I get my paws on this thing and it feels right, it's going to be very hard to walk away. But first, any input from those who know would be much appreciated!

This post has been removed by the author.

Last edited: Sep 23, 2009 19:25:38

Sorry, should have mentioned the type. It's a 300, although I'd happily grab an 800. The price has actually gone down since it first appeared. A couple of months ago it was $450, and I decided to poke around on eBay first. Went back today to buy a cord, and it's down to $400.

This post has been removed by the author.

Last edited: Sep 23, 2009 19:25:26

I find mny 800 for 400 bucks in ebay.............its a rally nice guitar and I´m working on it because I hate the foating tremolo, and I´m addapting a jazzmaster style one. The neck in the 800 it´s really nice and works really good with low action. the pick ups are really close to jazzmaster, i love ´em. the guitar comes in a stunnig red sparkle with MOTO pickguard, things that I love.

If you can deal with the tuning in the floating tremolo, its a great guitar !!

El Papu & los Fantasticos Reverberantes

I have a black sparkly 800; I'm actually not crazy about the pickups. The tone is a bit muddy, and they sound more like humbuckers to me than the single coils that they actually are. I wish mine sounded more like a JM. Otherwise, it plays great. It's one of my current "unplugged" favorites. The fit and finish is great. Maybe with a bit of tweaking, I'll get mine to sound more to my liking...

I'd actually like to find a reasonably priced 300 to try. Zak, maybe you can confirm or dispel this for me; I was told the 300 pickups make the guitar sound a bit more like a Strat- maybe a little "quacky", if you know what I mean. Any truth to that?

Regarding the price- if it were for sale in the region that I live in, it would be reasonably priced; it's on the high side of reasonable, but still in the ballpark. I'd try to negotiate a bit with the seller, especially if it has been around long enough to have been marked dow once already. What color is it?

Hmm, good information, especially about the string gauge. Thanks, Zak. I probably would have put 11's on it if I didn't know (now) about the trem. If it sounds okay with 10's then I'll leave it alone. But if I did want to mess with it, how would you fix the trem -- washers?

This post has been removed by the author.

Last edited: Sep 23, 2009 19:26:21

This post has been removed by the author.

Last edited: Sep 23, 2009 19:28:16

Didn't mean to double post, but just found the other replies. Big Papu, what exactly is it that you dislike about the floating trem? I've only played with Bigsby-style tailpieces.

Tommyalvarado: It's a knockout red, and a beautiful finish. I've read that the 300 and 800 have different pickups, in addition to the 300 having three of them. I'm definitely after more of a bright, single coil sound, so apparently I'm lucky to have found the 300. Thanks again, all, for your comments.

MissingLink
Didn't mean to double post, but just found the other replies. Big Papu, what exactly is it that you dislike about the floating trem? I've only played with Bigsby-style tailpieces.

Tommyalvarado: It's a knockout red, and a beautiful finish. I've read that the 300 and 800 have different pickups, in addition to the 300 having three of them. I'm definitely after more of a bright, single coil sound, so apparently I'm lucky to have found the 300. Thanks again, all, for your comments.

I find that it´s difficult to keep it in tune with heavy strings (I use 11 flats) and really don´t like the way that the springs block it´s designed.

El Papu & los Fantasticos Reverberantes

I bought an 800 this week off Craigslist, excellent condition for $300. Haven't even removed the rusty strings yet but one thing I noticed right away is that it has a very narrow neck compared to my Fenders, maybe too small for me. Ralf of the Kilaueas has several SGVs and also has put foam under the pickups to raise them, and he replaced the Trem springs with heavier ones from the guitar shop, I hope he means Strat springs, and screw those screws all the way in. I'll be tinkering with it this weekend, can't wait to hear it. The more I read about these guitars the better they sound. I haven't seen a bad review yet, on the contrary, all raves.

This post has been removed by the author.

Last edited: Sep 23, 2009 19:28:23

MissingLink
Didn't mean to double post, but just found the other replies. Big Papu, what exactly is it that you dislike about the floating trem? I've only played with Bigsby-style tailpieces.

Tommyalvarado: It's a knockout red, and a beautiful finish. I've read that the 300 and 800 have different pickups, in addition to the 300 having three of them. I'm definitely after more of a bright, single coil sound, so apparently I'm lucky to have found the 300. Thanks again, all, for your comments.

The 300 has Ferrite pickups, the 800 Alnico. The 800 also has Sperzel locking tuners, and they have the sparkle finish, otherwise I believe the are the same guitar with Alder body, Rosewood neck and best of all, matching headstock!

This post has been removed by the author.

Last edited: Sep 23, 2009 19:28:26

zak

tommyalvarado
Zak, maybe you can confirm or dispel this for me; I was told the 300 pickups make the guitar sound a bit more like a Strat- maybe a little "quacky", if you know what I mean. Any truth to that?

When I first got the guitar, the pickups were quite low and couldn't be adjusted higher (same princiuple as a Jazz/Jag - foam pushing up from underneath). It sounded a little dull and somewhat weak until I raised them.

Zak, what kind of foam did you use, something that won't turn to jelly with time? Also, did you just tighten the screws in the trem cavity...no new springs for .10s? I don't want to do anything you wouldn't approve of in case you buy it from me.

This post has been removed by the author.

Last edited: Sep 23, 2009 19:28:32

I posted a photo of my SGV-300 along with my rig under the "POST your Main Rig Pics" topic. Bonus points to Zak for noticing the term arm.
image
Before I got the SGV I was using a MIJ Jazzmaster so I found the stock term arm on the SGV too close to the body so I swapped it for Stratocaster arm. You need to find one with a metric thread. It works great.

If you like the 1st generation surf sound, e.g. Mr Moto by The Belairs, then you might be happy with the SVG-300.

Very nice-looking guitar and rig. Those SGVs look dangerous in black! Interesting about the trem, especially since it's missing from the guitar I'm considering. If I'm going to be looking for a replacement anyway...

This post has been removed by the author.

Last edited: Sep 23, 2009 19:28:52

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