Post by CTGull on Jul 12, 2016 13:23:56 GMT -5
I've been wanting to find a FG-180 at a reasonable price but they're always $300 and up. Insane money for a midrange guitar at the time. And most of them need neck resets to be playable.
June 2013 I was lucky enough to find a 1977 FG-350W for $200 on CraigsList. I watch CraigsList a lot and I know the guy bought that guitar on there for $500 6 months earlier. He needed to raise some cash fast and I saw the ad 10 minutes after it went up. I had a grin ear to ear when I strummed it for the first time. That model listed for $600 back then, it was the top of the line of the commercially produced FG's. In 4 years of watching CraigsList I've only seen 2 FG-350W's for sale within 100 miles of me (central Connecticut).
August 2014 I was lucky enough to trade a 1998 Seagull Grand Parlor for an all solid wood 1978 FG-770S. This was the first commercially made all solid wood FG guitar (excluding the high end hand made FG's). This is confirmed by Yamaha, not the assumed all solid wood FG's just because they sound that way.
November 2014 I found a FG-160-1BK SPECIAL EDITION for $151 on Shopgoodwill.com. It's all black with a white pick guard. That model isn't listed in Yamaha's guitar archive. I've only been able to find 3 other references to that model, including I guy I talked to by email. This guitar was well loved with some fret and finish wear on the neck. It came with a weird old thin strap.
May 2015 I found a 1982 FG-340II for $150 on CraigsList. She had originally listed it for $75, but just before I was about to drive up to look at it (about an hour drive) she found out what it was worth and raised the price. I wasn’t thrilled, but it looked like it was in really great shape and didn’t want to lose the opportunity to see it. Pretty good sound but it's the loudest guitar I have. I don’t consider this model vintage because the models that started being made in 1981 had the truss rod adjustment moved to inside the sound hole. Just about all acoustic guitar manufacturers made this change at this time. There are some 80’s models I wouldn’t mind having (like a model with the “dove” logo on the headstock, made 1985-86) but I’ve heard the construction methods changed in the 80’s and the guitars don’t sound as good as the earlier models.
June 2015 I found a 1977 FG-412SB for $120 on CraigsList. A beautiful cherry sunburst slot head 12 string. Great to look at, tough to play, the strings pairs are spaced so far apart at the saddle it's like having 12 different strings. Very tough to finger pick. And sound is kind of thin.
August 2015 I found a 1982 SJ-180 for $40 from the original owner. Nothing spectacular but it is different looking. It's not as big as a traditional jumbo but the proportions are about the same. I don’t consider this vintage for reasons above.
October 2015 I found a beat up 1973 FG-200 for $35 on CraigsList. The action was too high so I did some research, built a steam setup and a neck removal jig, and removed the neck. It's hanging around for a neck reset. I'm hoping this becomes a real "sleeper". Most say the FG-200 is a slightly better version of the sought after FG-180, and they are fairly unknown and can be found for more reasonable prices.
But my absolute favorite (and the "Holy Grail" of the affordable older FG's) is the 1970 FG-300 (the model was replaced by the FG-350W in 1977) I found November 2015 on ShopGoodwill.com. WITH the original Yamaha hard case and truss rod wrench. It's in nearly new condition with only 3 little marks on the top and no buckle rash on the back and very little fret wear. The pick guard was about to fall off, but it was still there. Many of these are missing them or the pick guard has cracked or crumbled. Heat causes the celluloid pick guard to break down. You can tell the ones that were stored in an attic. This one must have been in a closet for the past 45 years. All I had to do was properly reattach the pick guard (a lot harder than I thought it would be) and clean it up. The neck is nice and straight, no need to even consider a neck reset. I used to think the FG-350W was my favorite sounding older FG acoustic, but this one blows it away. It's just dripping with tone.
January 2016 I found a near mint 1970 FG-75 on CraigsList for $50. His Mother bought it new and it doesn’t look like it was played much. I was able to adjust the truss rod and make it playable. The unique thing about this model is it is ladder (parallel) braced, not X braced like modern guitars. Since it has a smaller body, maybe it was patterned after the classical guitar but with steel strings.
Also in January 2016 I found a 1973 FG-160 for $40 on CraigsList. His wife bought it new. It’s not in perfect condition; it has a few dings on the top a little drop damage on the lower bout. And it needs a neck reset. It was less than 10 minutes away and the price was right.
February 2016 I found a near mint 1973 FG-200 on OfferUp for $75. He bought it used and didn’t play it, but it must have been a few years, the strings were very oxidized. And it needs a neck reset.
May 2016 I found what looked to be a near mint 1973 FG-170 on Shopgoodwill.com. A neighbor brought a FG-170 over 3 weeks before and I was blown away by the tone, like many of the old Yamaha’s. I have many dread size Yamaha’s, but this one is a folk/classical size. It’s biggest problem is a few big dings on the back of the neck, something they didn’t show in the pictures. I can fill that. The other problem is the high action and high neck relief. On these old Yamaha’s I don’t crank on the truss rod nuts to adjust the neck relief, the wood is old and hard and doesn’t want to move much. I Loosen the truss rod nut, then I use a custom back bowing block I made from a 2x4 and a screw clamp to back bow the neck 3/16”, then tighten the truss rod nut. When the clamp is released the neck should stay just slightly back bowed and will require a slight release of the truss rod nut to get a little neck relief. Before making this block (on a different guitar) I tried cranking on the truss rod nut and buried it into the neck without the neck moving. I had to make a spacer to move the nut back because the nut had reached the end of the threads on the truss rod.
Also in May 2016 I found a near mint 1975 FG-160 for $75 on Letgo. She bought it new and must not have used it much. It has the usual high action and will require a neck reset. It came with an unmarked medium “tortoise shell” that is my absolute favorite pick. It makes every guitar sound better. I never gave much thought to picks before, but they do sound different.
I also have a non-vintage left hand 1998 FG-412L I bought in August 2013 for $60, another CraigsList find. I messed around with playing chords left hand a little. I should do it more, just for fun.
I still check CraigsList, Letgo, OfferUp and Shopgoodwill.com often. Twice weekly I search CraigsList for the whole country with searchtempest.com. I occasionally search Reverb.com. Rare and models not imported into the US do occasionally pop up, just never in my area. I’ll keep searching!
Interesting guitars that are affordable (cheap, on my budget) are rare. My budget for guitars is essentially zero, whatever pocket change I can save up each week and stash away. Sure, I could just save my money for a few years and buy one good guitar, but then I’d miss the thrill of the chase and fixing the “rescued” guitars.
With all of my searching, I’ve been saving pictures of vintage Yamaha FG’s, using them to indentify unknown FG’s. I also intend on writing a document on when and what feature changes were made for vintage FG’s. Labels, tuners, truss rod covers, bridges, etc. Once you recognize these features it’s easy to identify the year range it was made and possibly the model. I’m also considering starting a dedicated vintage Yamaha FG forum to share and gather info. All I need is to add 6 to 8 hours to my day. Maybe just never sleep or work. But I don’t think I’d last long if I did that.
I’m amazed what I’ve found so far. Both informational and guitars. But I’ve got too many guitars already. I have to be very selective on what I get next. I really should sell a few. Dave has 13 Yamaha guitars and he gets 1 one more. What does Dave have now? Happiness. Dave has happiness. :?)
June 2013 I was lucky enough to find a 1977 FG-350W for $200 on CraigsList. I watch CraigsList a lot and I know the guy bought that guitar on there for $500 6 months earlier. He needed to raise some cash fast and I saw the ad 10 minutes after it went up. I had a grin ear to ear when I strummed it for the first time. That model listed for $600 back then, it was the top of the line of the commercially produced FG's. In 4 years of watching CraigsList I've only seen 2 FG-350W's for sale within 100 miles of me (central Connecticut).
August 2014 I was lucky enough to trade a 1998 Seagull Grand Parlor for an all solid wood 1978 FG-770S. This was the first commercially made all solid wood FG guitar (excluding the high end hand made FG's). This is confirmed by Yamaha, not the assumed all solid wood FG's just because they sound that way.
November 2014 I found a FG-160-1BK SPECIAL EDITION for $151 on Shopgoodwill.com. It's all black with a white pick guard. That model isn't listed in Yamaha's guitar archive. I've only been able to find 3 other references to that model, including I guy I talked to by email. This guitar was well loved with some fret and finish wear on the neck. It came with a weird old thin strap.
May 2015 I found a 1982 FG-340II for $150 on CraigsList. She had originally listed it for $75, but just before I was about to drive up to look at it (about an hour drive) she found out what it was worth and raised the price. I wasn’t thrilled, but it looked like it was in really great shape and didn’t want to lose the opportunity to see it. Pretty good sound but it's the loudest guitar I have. I don’t consider this model vintage because the models that started being made in 1981 had the truss rod adjustment moved to inside the sound hole. Just about all acoustic guitar manufacturers made this change at this time. There are some 80’s models I wouldn’t mind having (like a model with the “dove” logo on the headstock, made 1985-86) but I’ve heard the construction methods changed in the 80’s and the guitars don’t sound as good as the earlier models.
June 2015 I found a 1977 FG-412SB for $120 on CraigsList. A beautiful cherry sunburst slot head 12 string. Great to look at, tough to play, the strings pairs are spaced so far apart at the saddle it's like having 12 different strings. Very tough to finger pick. And sound is kind of thin.
August 2015 I found a 1982 SJ-180 for $40 from the original owner. Nothing spectacular but it is different looking. It's not as big as a traditional jumbo but the proportions are about the same. I don’t consider this vintage for reasons above.
October 2015 I found a beat up 1973 FG-200 for $35 on CraigsList. The action was too high so I did some research, built a steam setup and a neck removal jig, and removed the neck. It's hanging around for a neck reset. I'm hoping this becomes a real "sleeper". Most say the FG-200 is a slightly better version of the sought after FG-180, and they are fairly unknown and can be found for more reasonable prices.
But my absolute favorite (and the "Holy Grail" of the affordable older FG's) is the 1970 FG-300 (the model was replaced by the FG-350W in 1977) I found November 2015 on ShopGoodwill.com. WITH the original Yamaha hard case and truss rod wrench. It's in nearly new condition with only 3 little marks on the top and no buckle rash on the back and very little fret wear. The pick guard was about to fall off, but it was still there. Many of these are missing them or the pick guard has cracked or crumbled. Heat causes the celluloid pick guard to break down. You can tell the ones that were stored in an attic. This one must have been in a closet for the past 45 years. All I had to do was properly reattach the pick guard (a lot harder than I thought it would be) and clean it up. The neck is nice and straight, no need to even consider a neck reset. I used to think the FG-350W was my favorite sounding older FG acoustic, but this one blows it away. It's just dripping with tone.
January 2016 I found a near mint 1970 FG-75 on CraigsList for $50. His Mother bought it new and it doesn’t look like it was played much. I was able to adjust the truss rod and make it playable. The unique thing about this model is it is ladder (parallel) braced, not X braced like modern guitars. Since it has a smaller body, maybe it was patterned after the classical guitar but with steel strings.
Also in January 2016 I found a 1973 FG-160 for $40 on CraigsList. His wife bought it new. It’s not in perfect condition; it has a few dings on the top a little drop damage on the lower bout. And it needs a neck reset. It was less than 10 minutes away and the price was right.
February 2016 I found a near mint 1973 FG-200 on OfferUp for $75. He bought it used and didn’t play it, but it must have been a few years, the strings were very oxidized. And it needs a neck reset.
May 2016 I found what looked to be a near mint 1973 FG-170 on Shopgoodwill.com. A neighbor brought a FG-170 over 3 weeks before and I was blown away by the tone, like many of the old Yamaha’s. I have many dread size Yamaha’s, but this one is a folk/classical size. It’s biggest problem is a few big dings on the back of the neck, something they didn’t show in the pictures. I can fill that. The other problem is the high action and high neck relief. On these old Yamaha’s I don’t crank on the truss rod nuts to adjust the neck relief, the wood is old and hard and doesn’t want to move much. I Loosen the truss rod nut, then I use a custom back bowing block I made from a 2x4 and a screw clamp to back bow the neck 3/16”, then tighten the truss rod nut. When the clamp is released the neck should stay just slightly back bowed and will require a slight release of the truss rod nut to get a little neck relief. Before making this block (on a different guitar) I tried cranking on the truss rod nut and buried it into the neck without the neck moving. I had to make a spacer to move the nut back because the nut had reached the end of the threads on the truss rod.
Also in May 2016 I found a near mint 1975 FG-160 for $75 on Letgo. She bought it new and must not have used it much. It has the usual high action and will require a neck reset. It came with an unmarked medium “tortoise shell” that is my absolute favorite pick. It makes every guitar sound better. I never gave much thought to picks before, but they do sound different.
I also have a non-vintage left hand 1998 FG-412L I bought in August 2013 for $60, another CraigsList find. I messed around with playing chords left hand a little. I should do it more, just for fun.
I still check CraigsList, Letgo, OfferUp and Shopgoodwill.com often. Twice weekly I search CraigsList for the whole country with searchtempest.com. I occasionally search Reverb.com. Rare and models not imported into the US do occasionally pop up, just never in my area. I’ll keep searching!
Interesting guitars that are affordable (cheap, on my budget) are rare. My budget for guitars is essentially zero, whatever pocket change I can save up each week and stash away. Sure, I could just save my money for a few years and buy one good guitar, but then I’d miss the thrill of the chase and fixing the “rescued” guitars.
With all of my searching, I’ve been saving pictures of vintage Yamaha FG’s, using them to indentify unknown FG’s. I also intend on writing a document on when and what feature changes were made for vintage FG’s. Labels, tuners, truss rod covers, bridges, etc. Once you recognize these features it’s easy to identify the year range it was made and possibly the model. I’m also considering starting a dedicated vintage Yamaha FG forum to share and gather info. All I need is to add 6 to 8 hours to my day. Maybe just never sleep or work. But I don’t think I’d last long if I did that.
I’m amazed what I’ve found so far. Both informational and guitars. But I’ve got too many guitars already. I have to be very selective on what I get next. I really should sell a few. Dave has 13 Yamaha guitars and he gets 1 one more. What does Dave have now? Happiness. Dave has happiness. :?)
