One of the most iconic guitars ever produced by Yamaha and in the spirit of the Buddha and Devadip Yamaha SG guitars made for Santana, we find the Yamaha SG25s. This guitar was made in 250 pieces in 1991 to commemorate Yamaha Corp 25-year production of Electric guitars since 1966, when the 1st Yamaha SG-2 etc was produced. The specification is like a SG-3000, with a great amount of abalone decoration.
Latest DC to collection of 3 DC guitars, 1998 Gibson Les Paul DC Standard in Ocean Blue. Great looking gloss Flame Burst blue finish on nicely figured maple top, capping off a double-cut Mahogany body. Slim profile set Mahogany neck, topped with a bound 24-fret Rosewood board. Tone supplied by a pair of humbuckers with 3-way switch and master volume and tone. Gold hardware, including Standard factory supplied Grover tuners. Fully original with no mods, breaks, or repairs.
Here a WAL Mark II 5-string bass guitar. Handcrafted in the Electric Wood Co, hand-made, custom, bass numbered WAL.The bass body and neck are composed from a mixture of high quality materials. Woods used are Brazilian mahogy core, American walnut/ Wenge facing and Indian rose fretboard. The backplate has a Serial number W-3392 engraved
According to the History of Wal Basses website, the bass has “twin pickups with a powerful active circuit offering volume, pickup pan and separate tone controls for each pickup. The volume included a push/pull knob which also activated the ‘pick-attack’ adding a band of high frequency tones ideal for cutting through a muddy live mix. The tones are low-pass controls governing each pickup. They also each have a push/pull switch which activates a boost giving a more ‘active’ tone. An XLR output is fitted as standard on all ‘Custom series’ basses”. This bass is quite heavy, but balances well.
The Yamaha SG-300 like this Burgundy Red was introduced in 1982 to succeed the Yamaha SG-500 and Yamaha SG-600 that were issued in 1976-1981 as a more budget addition to the initial Yamaha SG line up. The SG-300 came in either burgundy red or black. It is a light-weight guitar and combined with its simple but effective design makes it a superb instrument and easy to play. The power comes from 2 high output double open hum-buckers possibly Ceramic. Hardware is chrome with an engraved tailpiece and simple tune-o-matic bridge and diecast tuners. The SG-300 appears to be quite uncommon and was not issued in Japan.
Pride of place in my collection, the flagship of Gibson’s Guitar development, the 1978 Gibson RD Artist – Rare Gibson guitar and top of the range 1970s guitar with factory fitted Moog electronics circuit. This is the 1978 version of one of the most ambitious Gibson electric guitars, designed by Gibsons R& D team, hence the prefix RD Artist. The guitar is a pandora s box with all the sound goodies everyone wants. In a way you could see, it’s a fusion between Gibson Recording and Firebird. Simply stunning sound. In addition to simple tone volume, it has a ” Bright” switch and “Expander / compression” circuits. Guitar plays like a dream and is set up lovely and low. Body and neck are in superb condition and the hardware has acquired some cool patina. Frets are in excellent shape and the ebony fretboard plays nice and smooth. Lives in rectangular hard case.
Here another example of a rare Yamaha SG-1600 in translucent tobacco burst finish, in near good overall condition. The only flaw is some aesthetic clouding of the finish which is a reaction of the paint with the moisture in the wood, a process which is accelerated with UV light such as string sunlight and very common to the 1980s SG range. The SG-1600 is an upgrade from the SG-1000 and early SG-1500 model and built from maple and mahogany with a mahogany set neck. The fretboard is bound rosewood with mother of pearl/abalone split-wing style inlays. Typical weight of these models was around the 4.2 kgs. The sound of these vintage gems is outstanding, produced by a straight 2 tone/2 vol arrangement with a coil tapping option and a 3-way pick up selector switch. Hardware was gold plated with a gold stop bar. The sound of this model is full, produced from 2 Spinex covered humbuckers, which have a strong presence, ideal for rock and rhythm. Guitar is all original and lives in its original lined hard case. Weight is about 4.5 Kgs
Rare Yamaha SX-800B – “The Devils Head” , 1976, in translucent red finish, 1st issue. The SX models were in the day also known as the “Devilhead Guitars” and along with the SG were developed after the earlier SG-90/175 that were made 1974-75. The SX was short lived and last models were issued in 1976/8. The A models were kitted out with hum-buckers and the B models had 3 single coils pickups. The construction materials varied between the A and B versions. The B version was made out of Japanese Ash for the body and neck, with an ebony finger board. Notable players were Tommy Bolin and Rory Gallagher. The Yamaha SX-800B sports 3 independent single coil, high output pick ups that can be selected with a 5 way slider switch and its tonal variety and range is immense, varying from soulful and clear, to a powerful growl.
Prior to the famous Yamaha SG-175 and Yamaha SG-2000, Yamaha Music Corporation produced a series of early Yamaha SG double cutaway prototypes. These were the Yamaha SG-30, 35, 50, 70. In 1974 the phenomenal and relatively successful SG-90 and SG-175 were released. Here is a rare example of the SG-90, it is a simplified version of SG-175 with great playability. The guitar has a solid Honduran mahogany body with a set neck, rosewood fret board with mother of pearl dot position markers and embossed serial number, Chrome Hardware and Tuning pegs. The sound is through 2 high output Yamaha pick ups. The guitar has aged nicely with its binding nicely faded to a clotted creamy colour. Yamaha SG-90 guitars were made from 1974 till 1975 in translucent Black, Natural Wood, Walnut and Red. Notable players of this axe included Barney Kessel and Andy Taylor of Duran Duran.
Yamaha SG-2000 in Flame Tobacco Sunburst finish, in excellent condition. Without doubt one of the most wanted versions of the Yamaha SG-2000. The guitar plays light and fluid, and is set up with nice low action. The guitar is quite heavy, with a thru body neck, brass sustain plate under the bridge and an ebony fret-board. It is a very pretty guitar with the flame coming out under certain lighting. This model has factory fitted coil taps, giving it an enormous range in tone.
Here we have a Yamaha SX-800A – “The Devils Head” , 1976, in Black finish. The SX models were in the day also known as the “Devilhead Guitars” and along with the SG were developed after the earlier SG-90/175 that were made 1974-75. The SX was short lived and last models were issued in 1976/8. The A models were kitted out with hum-buckers and the B models had 3 single coils pickups. The construction materials varied between the A and B versions. The A version was made out of Maple and Mahogany for the body and the set neck was built from mahogany with an ebony board. Notable players were Tommy Bolin and Rory Gallagher.
The Yamaha SG-1996 is a special 30th Anniversary Issue SG Model. Yamaha Music Corporation commemorated three decades of electric guitar production by releasing this model. It is part of a limited edition run of only 300 pieces. The guitar is a hybrid of the SG-1000 and SG-3000 models, featuring a stunning maple flame top on a mahogany body. The truss rod cover is embossed with ‘SG-1996’, and the 30th anniversary decal is marked on the fretboard. This particular instrument is serial number 109 out of 300. It boasts an impressive appearance and, with its Spinex pickups, delivers a versatile array of sound. It is housed in its original Yamaha anniversary case.
Here probably one of the rarest of my Yamaha SGs, along with the Yamaha SG-25s and SG-175. The story goes that an iconic Yamaha Custom Shop, in Shibuya Tokyo Japan celebrated its 20 years anniversary and a commissioned Yamaha Music Corp to issue a selected 20-lot Yamaha SG guitar production run. These SGs were made celebrating both Yamaha Electric Guitar production since 1966, an anniversary coinciding with the existence of the Shibuya music shop. This is one of them, a Custom Shop made guitar with elements of the legendary Yamaha SG-175, SG-3000 and SG-1000. The truss-rod cover is embossed with the wording SG-1966 and Shibuya. The guitar itself is quite light compared to the SG-2000/3000 models and plays exceedingly easy. A great looker and with its Spinex pick ups it sounds like killer guitar too.
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My Pile of Guitars & Basses 