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Yamaha Vintage Guitarsby Dawn Vogel
The numbering system for the different models of Yamaha vintage guitars is confusing at best, and even those with extensive knowledge of guitar models cannot discern any real pattern to the numbers. The letters, however, are more understandable. The FG series are acoustic guitars, and the SG series are electric guitars. The latter series, then, is the one that most people think of when they hear vintage Yamaha guitars. The Yamaha SG-175, which was introduced in 1974, is hailed as one of the first solid body Yamaha vintage guitars that is easily identifiable as a Yamaha (the other is the SG-90, which is fairly plain, but similar to the SG-175). The SG-175 had particularly beautiful detailing, using some of the best materials available in terms of guitar quality as well as appearance—mahogany, abalone, and gold, among other materials. The SG-175 was available in a natural finish, or painted black or red. The design of the headstock changed slightly in 1975, but the guitar itself remained essentially the same. The best known of the SG series of vintage Yamaha guitars is the SG-2000, brought to the height of its prominence by Carlos Santana. This model debuted in 1976, along with several other SG models. The SG-2000 is distinguished from the SG-175 by two key features. The first was that the top of the body of the guitar was made from maple rather than mahogany, and in three pieces rather than a single piece. The second was that while the SG-175 had a set neck, the SG-2000 had a neck-through design and a brass block under the bridge, both of which allowed for greater sustain of notes. All in all, the design of SG-2000 took all of the features that made the SG-175 an excellent guitar, improved upon those features that could be improved, and made the SG-2000 a simply amazing guitar. The SG-2000 is not always designated as such, due to the threat of legal action from Gibson, who also had a guitar model with the SG prefix (SG stands for "solid guitar" in both cases). By 1979, in the United States, these guitars were sold as SBG-2000, and in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, they became SG-2000S. In succeeding years, there were some minor changes made to the design of the SBG-2000, including additional color options, changes to the volume controls, and switching from the three piece top to a single piece top. Production on the SBG-2000 continued into the early 1980s, eventually being replaced by the SBG-2001 in 1984. Regardless of the exact model number on a Yamaha vintage guitar, the guitars of the SG (and SBG) series are widely recognized as superior musical instruments, both in terms of their sound quality and their attention to beautiful detailing. These guitars were mass produced in Japan throughout the later half of the 1970s and into the majority of the 1980s, making them vintage guitars that are often available for purchase, particularly when compared to guitars that were not produced in as great a quantity. ------------------------------------------------ |
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