Sonichris
Joined: Mar 06, 2006
Posts: 1907
Wear gloves - I'm in the Rockies
|
Posted on May 05 2009 08:58 PM
Here's kind of a fun story and project I figured my SG101 friends would enjoy.
last Saturday, I answered an ad on Craiglist here in Denver for a "Vintage Yamaha guitar, sounds great!" It had a small, blury picture, and I went and checked it out.
Here's the guitar as I got it - No strings, missing tremolo bar and collet, and no strings for what was probably a long time. he was asking $200, I gave him $175
image
I brought it home, and did a little googling - It's a yamaha SG-2. Link Wray played one for a while. It's probably a 1966. The tremolo had been "tampered" with, and was assembled wrong. Zak was kind enough to send me a picture of the correct assembly. I had a tremolo and a collet from a Japanese Jazzmaster, and with a little metal work, it looks pretty good. I also had to fabricate some screws for the saddles. I pulled it apart and gave it a good cleaning, and replaced the worn out foam under the pickups. The pickups are pretty hot, about 10k.
image
image
image
image
After I re-assembled and strung it, I noticed it has quite a back-bow in the neck, although it seems to be coming back to flat as time passes. It was quite a bit better this evening after just about 10 hours. it needs some more tweaking - like intonation set ( please no comments on the setup right now)! But it is playable - and it sounds pretty darn cool - Very warm.
image
image
image
Here it is with my Jag's - which it was obviously patterned after.
image
And finally, with my late 60's Pearl Drum kit - "Vintage" Japanese rock n roll instruments - although a guy told me "those drums aren't vintage, just old."
image
— "You can't tell where you're going if you don't know where you've been"
|
RecRoomSurfer
Joined: Sep 19, 2008
Posts: 206
Canada, eh?
|
Posted on May 05 2009 09:12 PM
Sonichris
he was asking $200, I gave him $175
Good deal. There's one on MyRareGuitars.com, asking price $1149.
It's near the bottom of the page labelled (incorrectly?) "RARE 1960's Yamaha SG3".
this page-> http://www.myrareguitars.com/affordableGUITAR.html
|
zak
Joined: Sep 24, 2007
Posts: 2728
|
Posted on May 05 2009 09:48 PM
This post has been removed by the author.
Last edited: Sep 27, 2009 19:51:57
|
Sonichris
Joined: Mar 06, 2006
Posts: 1907
Wear gloves - I'm in the Rockies
|
Posted on May 05 2009 10:00 PM
RecRoomSurfer
Good deal. There's one on MyRareGuitars.com, asking price $1149.
It's near the bottom of the page labelled (incorrectly?) "RARE 1960's Yamaha SG3".
well, I feel even better now! It is mis-labeled I think - The SG-3 is a 3 pickup guitar - like the one in the pic above. the japanese are nothing if not efficient with numbers -
I did read that the SG-2 was the first electric guitar Yamaha made, and none were brought into the US. Service men in the 60's brought them over after their time in Japan. I also read that around 1000 were made, but thats probably just internet foolishness.
I learned a lot here -
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.yamaha.co.jp/product/guitar/eg/database/sg/01/img/sg2a.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.yamaha.co.jp/product/guitar/eg/database/sg/01/sg-2a.html&usg=__1-gbXrJHnznAM16PHvXFrNuke6k=&h=340&w=120&sz=7&hl=en&start=2&um=1&tbnid=TQ2aXmm5HruhUM:&tbnh=119&tbnw=42&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dyamaha%2Bsg-2a%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26hs%3DxwC%26sa%3DG%26um%3D1
— "You can't tell where you're going if you don't know where you've been"
|
P2gee
Joined: Jul 05, 2006
Posts: 264
Waco Texas
|
Posted on May 05 2009 10:01 PM
The first electric guitar my parents bought me was a Yammer very similar to this one in 1966. Mine was a little different....had 3 pickups, one more roller pot and a 2 way switch on the upper bout....same sunburst finish as yours though. I may be wrong, but if I remember correctly, my Dad said these guitars were part of a lawsuit brought by Fender for patent infringement of some of the parts. As a result you could get them for a song and dance at the time....I seem to remember $150 including HSC paid for mine. It served me well as a student guitar, but IMO it looked the part but didn't play the part. Pickups were pretty anemic and the neck to body fit was horrendous, mine had about 1/8 in play. The Japanese were at about the same point in guitar construction with this guitar as the Chinese are today......well maybe not quite that bad. I traded mine off in 79 for a ES-347. Kind of wish I still had for sentimental reasons.
— 2012-2013: FILTHY POLAROIDS
|
zak
Joined: Sep 24, 2007
Posts: 2728
|
Posted on May 05 2009 10:10 PM
This post has been removed by the author.
Last edited: Sep 27, 2009 19:52:00
|
Brian
Joined: Feb 25, 2006
Posts: 19342
Des Moines, Iowa, USA
|
Posted on May 05 2009 10:14 PM
Nice work and find Chris!
— Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me
"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea
|
P2gee
Joined: Jul 05, 2006
Posts: 264
Waco Texas
|
Posted on May 06 2009 09:22 AM
zak
P2gee
Sounds like you're describing the SG-3.
http://www.yamaha.co.jp/product/guitar/eg/database/sg/01/sg-3.html
Odd...every 60s Yamaha I've seen was head and shoulders above anything coming from FujiGen's millions of budget labels. Every single one I've had the opportunity to play and examine up close has been on par with MIJ/CIJ Fenders of today, quality-wise, probably even better when it came to finish and slightly worse when it came to fretwork.
The neck pocket thing was indeed an issue but was addressed in the SG-2A/SG-5A with a Mosrite-style neck pocket where the neck actually extends way beneath the neck pickup and sits extremely deep in the body.
Did you know enough about guitars to adjust your pickup height at the time?
Yep....SG-3 thats it!! Maybe I was a little harsh about the pickups....guess because they wouldn't do the Sabbath/Deep Purple stuff I was screwing with at the time. I will agree, it was one of the better finished guitars I've ever owned. The white one on myrareguitars even shows the case mine came in complete with genuine imitation vinyl pouch. Sigh.....kinda get that homesick feeling looking at them.
— 2012-2013: FILTHY POLAROIDS
|
CrispyGoodness
Joined: Apr 06, 2009
Posts: 565
North Cackalacky
|
Posted on May 06 2009 05:38 PM
Oh, you've got a fine guitar, my friend. I've got two of 'em myself, and I also bought 'em for peanuts. They're my main axes, and I wouldn't trade 'em for anything.
here's a picture:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12169575@N06/1247691101/
Fabulous quality guitars, like an old Fender of the same era, but maybe with slightly nicer hardware.
One tip I'll give: put some nail polish or loctite on the remaining bridge saddles you have left. Hard strumming causes them to vibrate out of their holes, and when they're gone, they're gone.
And as for P2gees thoughts that they sucked for Black Sabbath, he may have a point. Like Jaguar pickups, SG-2 pickups tend to squeal like a pig in high gain situations. Can't figure out how ol' Link managed to avoid that problem when he blasted away through his 100 watt Marshall.
--Crispy
PS--I've also blathered on about my Yamaha on my bands website:
http://killerfillermusic.com/Site/Gear.html
|
Woodsurfer
Joined: Feb 07, 2009
Posts: 310
Bel Air, MD USA
|
Posted on May 06 2009 06:42 PM
This would be one of your SG2's in the hands of the master:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya8vpzmppFM
-- Woody
— It takes a lot of mussel memory to avoid clams.
|
tommyalvarado
Joined: Jan 03, 2008
Posts: 512
Delaware, USA
|
Posted on May 06 2009 07:41 PM
I am JEALOUS! I've wanted one of these things for a long time. Great score- congratulations. I love the old unusual European and Japanese guitars of the mid-to-late 60's, and I have quite as few of them, from Airlines to Zim-Gars, and just about everything in between, but none of them are as playable or sound quite as cool (in my hands and to my ears, anyway) as the old Yamaha guitars.
Incidentally, I think I recall reading an interview with Link Wray from the 1980's or 90's where he referred to his SG2 as "Screaming Red". If I recall correctly (and maybe some of our fellow members can help here), he said he bought his at a pawn shop in Texas, and for some reason, claimed not to know what brand or model the guitar was. One thing's for sure- he knew it was one cool guitar!
|
tommyalvarado
Joined: Jan 03, 2008
Posts: 512
Delaware, USA
|
Posted on May 06 2009 09:57 PM
By the way, I'm watching the bass version of your guitar on ebay. Check it out:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=260402816408
I'm not gonna bid on it, so it won't break my heart if somebody here does! The thing that bothers me is the feedback rating of the seller- even some of his positives are negative...
|
zak
Joined: Sep 24, 2007
Posts: 2728
|
Posted on May 06 2009 10:25 PM
This post has been removed by the author.
Last edited: Sep 23, 2009 23:08:18
|
tommyalvarado
Joined: Jan 03, 2008
Posts: 512
Delaware, USA
|
Posted on May 07 2009 06:20 AM
zak
tommyalvarado
claimed not to know what brand or model the guitar was.
Odd, considering he played a YAMAHA SA-15D in the late 60s...right before his early 70s Telecaster phase...
Yeah, I know, there was a picture of Mr. Wray playing that SA-15D in a thread here several months ago. I think it might have been in the "for sale" section. Anyway, I read the article quite some time ago, and I might have my facts wrong, which is why I asked for help from fellow members- I thought you'd probably have some insightful information.
|
zak
Joined: Sep 24, 2007
Posts: 2728
|
Posted on May 09 2009 11:53 PM
This post has been removed by the author.
Last edited: Sep 23, 2009 23:11:27
|
Sonichris
Joined: Mar 06, 2006
Posts: 1907
Wear gloves - I'm in the Rockies
|
Posted on May 10 2009 11:20 AM
CrispyGoodness
Oh, you've got a fine guitar, my friend. I've got two of 'em myself, and I also bought 'em for peanuts. They're my main axes, and I wouldn't trade 'em for anything.
here's a picture:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12169575@N06/1247691101/
Fabulous quality guitars, like an old Fender of the same era, but maybe with slightly nicer hardware.
One tip I'll give: put some nail polish or loctite on the remaining bridge saddles you have left. Hard strumming causes them to vibrate out of their holes, and when they're gone, they're gone.
--Crispy
Those were the first pics I ran into when I started Googling this guitar model - got me even more excited to get it playable again!
I fabricated some new screws for the missing ones by cutting the heads off some new screws, and slotting them with a dremel, and I will get some locktight on the screws once I get it set up better -
— "You can't tell where you're going if you don't know where you've been"
|
Sonichris
Joined: Mar 06, 2006
Posts: 1907
Wear gloves - I'm in the Rockies
|
Posted on May 10 2009 11:21 AM
Great catalog pics Zak!
— "You can't tell where you're going if you don't know where you've been"
|
CrispyGoodness
Joined: Apr 06, 2009
Posts: 565
North Cackalacky
|
Posted on May 10 2009 12:04 PM
Zak--where the heck didja' find the English pages? Everything I've found was just in Japanese.
The picture of the Red SG-2 is interesting in that it looks more like a Cherry-style finish than the usual Fire Engine Red paint jobs these rascals got. Likely a prototype, methinks.
I wonder how you pronounce "Anisotrophy"?
--Crispy
|
zak
Joined: Sep 24, 2007
Posts: 2728
|
Posted on May 10 2009 01:04 PM
This post has been removed by the author.
Last edited: Sep 23, 2009 23:11:34
|
tommyalvarado
Joined: Jan 03, 2008
Posts: 512
Delaware, USA
|
Posted on May 13 2009 10:54 PM
|
May Birthdays 
