Members CTGull Posted May 12, 2017 Members Share Posted May 12, 2017 I noticed a couple of days ago that the Yamaha Guitar Archive is GONE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CTGull Posted May 12, 2017 Author Members Share Posted May 12, 2017 I give up. I can't remove the wrong link without adding a VALID link. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted May 12, 2017 Members Share Posted May 12, 2017 Yeah - it appears to be down. Maybe they're doing maintenance to the site or something. This is a tiny niche for a gigantic company, so they won't care about this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kaspforeva Posted May 13, 2017 Members Share Posted May 13, 2017 I hope they are just doing maintenance. As a company they seem to be the last ones to provide their archives. All other companies I've tried don't. Martin doesn't. Takamine used to but stopped. The way I see it is, it is cold cold business. Don't have consumers buying secondhand past models - keep their eyes fixed on the present. God, it's the world all over! If they remove their archives it's going to be a massive blow for me as a Yamaha collector. I have sung them praise for providing their archives to the public. That song looks like it is about to die in the ass.But I'm being pre-mature. And over-anxious. They're probably doing maintenance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CTGull Posted May 13, 2017 Author Members Share Posted May 13, 2017 I emailed Yamaha customer service last night. We'll see if they reply. I don't think they care about the page. I doubt the data had been updated in 10 years or more. Only time (or Yamaha) will tell if it's ever coming back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted May 13, 2017 Members Share Posted May 13, 2017 I've tried about 4 times to contact Yamaha over the years and never gotten a whiff of a reply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CTGull Posted May 13, 2017 Author Members Share Posted May 13, 2017 I'm 2 for 2 in the past 5-10 years. We'll see if my luck continues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kaspforeva Posted May 14, 2017 Members Share Posted May 14, 2017 I've started up a Facebook Group called Yamaha Acoustic Guitar Archives on which everyone can post information on models. I think the Yamaha Guitar Archives has closed down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Idunno Posted May 14, 2017 Members Share Posted May 14, 2017 I only play Yamaha now. My son, still at home (18), plays a NTX1200R I gifted to him and I play one of their CGs. It's good you are a loyal customer. I can't understand why the company doesn't recognize the number of hits on their online presence as a clue to put two significant thoughts together about it. Different culture. I don't have a FB account, though. Something in the terms of use that mandated surrendering my man card so I had to graciously pony up my best curtsey and decline the offer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Nabisco Posted May 14, 2017 Members Share Posted May 14, 2017 Here is the link to what appears to be the new Guitar archives. Sadly, most of the classic FGs are not listed. Sic Transit Gloria Mundi. http://usa.yamaha.com/product_archive/guitars-basses/#1856 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CTGull Posted May 14, 2017 Author Members Share Posted May 14, 2017 I just noticed if you do a Google search for Yamaha Guitar Archive the old link doesn't show up, they've had it replaced with the "new" useless site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CTGull Posted May 14, 2017 Author Members Share Posted May 14, 2017 I've started up a Facebook Group called Yamaha Acoustic Guitar Archives on which everyone can post information on models. I think the Yamaha Guitar Archives has closed down. I've asked to join. The only problem with Facebook group is there is no organization, it's just a list of posts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CTGull Posted May 14, 2017 Author Members Share Posted May 14, 2017 Last year I laid out the framework for a Yamaha Vintage FG forum, complete with sub-forums and descriptions. I've been saving pictures of whole guitars (110 models), backs, bridges, fretboards, headstocks, interior markings, labels, serial numbers, truss rod covers and tuners. I was also thinking about making a matrix of all the characteristics and make a web page to be able to click on pictures and narrow down the possibilities to identify a model without a picture of a label. The idea of the forum was with the intention of sharing my information and gathering more. I've also successfully removed the necks of 4 Yamaha FG's (previously said to be impossible because of the Asian Mystery Glue) and written a 12 page procedure on how to do the full neck reset (no pictures yet), based on articles I've read and what little experience I've had actually doing neck resets on them. The initial intention was to document the procedure so I could do it again in the future. I've also written papers on the history of the FG-3XX series (my initial interest), a history of the Yamaha FG 1966-81, and how to decode the interior date markings (started by my current interest of the older 1XX models). Also, and this is the big one, in 2014 I emailed Yamaha USA and asked if they could send me the Yamaha Guitar Database. They replied they couldn't send me the database but he sent me a large Excel spreadsheet with all the data. I've refined, corrected and added more models that I've found. Everything is unpublished. I've probably got hundreds of hours into all of this. I intended on starting the forum but I've wondered about the legality of all the pictures I've taken from the internet. I'm sure it's fine to posses them, but to share them without the original owners permission may be illegal. I don't want to open that can of worms. Also, I don't want someone to steal my huge amount of data and modify it as their own, or Yamaha to sue me for distributing their data without permission. I hope you see my point. Now that the Yamaha Guitar Archive web page is gone, there's a huge void of information on them. I assume I posses more than anyone in the US (sane or insane), but the legality of distributing it worries me. For the people who want to comment that I've wasted hundreds of hours of my life to document crap plywood guitars, you can hold your breath. You're probably right. But for about 3 years, until late last year, I was pretty fanatical about them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Nabisco Posted May 14, 2017 Members Share Posted May 14, 2017 You didn't' waste your time; you spent it on something you are passionate about. Hopefully, the work you did will eventually make it to the web where other Yamaha-Lovers can avail themselves of all that hard work you put in. Those old Yammies may have been made of "plywood" as you put it, but they could really sing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted May 15, 2017 Members Share Posted May 15, 2017 I'm sorry if I pissed all over something you're passionate about. I played a LOT of parties and gigs with an FG180, so I know the appeal and nothing succeeds like success. Some of my best musical memories actually. I've just become a cork-sniffer over time. I didn't notice it happening, just woke up one day and BAM... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CTGull Posted May 15, 2017 Author Members Share Posted May 15, 2017 Grant Harding - I understand where you're coming from. I don't have the money (wife, 3 kids, bills, medical problems, etc.) to be a cork sniffer. Well, maybe a little... So I got passionate about searching for cheap FG's to fix. It's been my only hobby for 3 years. I've backed off on the searching a bit, I've got way too many guitars and not much time to work on or play them. I've also found and fixed 27 guitars for the local middle schools in the past 3 years. It all got started by finding 2 cheap Seagull beaters and doing major repairs to them (that's another long interesting story). Then the schools and Yamaha's followed quickly as I got the bug to find more guitars to fix. And I enjoy the stories behind some of the guitars. Some of them came from the original owners or a relative. Being a nut for documentation, I have a spreadsheet with all the guitars I've bought, with the stories and everything I do to them. I guess I enjoy the history of them more than playing them. Yea, if I only had 1 or 2 guitars I'd probably be able to play much more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CTGull Posted May 15, 2017 Author Members Share Posted May 15, 2017 I forgot to mention. I replied to the email from Yamaha 2.5 years ago when they sent me the Excel file of the Guitar Archive data, asking if it would be OK if I distributed it in a modified form. I also asked why the web page was taken down. That'll be two emails to them asking that question. We'll see if I get any replies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CTGull Posted May 15, 2017 Author Members Share Posted May 15, 2017 I GOT A RESPONSE FROM YAMAHA!!!!!!! Hi Dave, Thank you for contacting Yamaha Support. Regarding your question, I would hold off a little, we are making a lot of changes to the website and the archive should come back. I hope you've found this helpful. If you have additional questions, please don't hesitate to let me know. Best regards, EdYamaha Customer Support Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted May 15, 2017 Members Share Posted May 15, 2017 That's fantastic! Great work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CTGull Posted May 16, 2017 Author Members Share Posted May 16, 2017 I got a reply from Yamaha: "Please feel free to share your guitar data." I have the framework up for the Yamaha forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted May 16, 2017 Members Share Posted May 16, 2017 Yamaha still has the FAQ explaining the different serial number schemes but I seem to remember that they had some sort of wizard that you could enter your S/N and if would give you the year it was made. That was handy, I guess, people seem obsessed with knowing when their guitar was made, but frankly most manufacturers do not provide it (Martin of course has used sequential numbers and its very easy to date a guitar from that). http://faq.yamaha.com/us/en/article/musical-instruments/guitars-basses/ac-guitars/796/4094 A well done web page on old Yamies would be nice - there is a lot of lore about them but no real good authority. I would suggest a web page like the one on vintage harmonies or the vintage guitar guy http://guitarhq.com/ For those of us who started playing guitar during the folk boom Yamaha was really the only viable option to the US makers, who, ironically were going thru some of their worst years. There seems to be a lot of nostalgia among those of us who once owned one - that probably explains the inflated prices that they seem to bring, particularly when you look at the extremely high action and bad neck angles that many have. Inspired by CTGull's report, the next one I run across I may go ahead and try to reset it, especially if its a piece of junk otherwise. I did play mine last night, its a great old guitar and being my first, is pretty special. Here are four of my toys from the '70's, with the FG-150 on the right Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CTGull Posted May 17, 2017 Author Members Share Posted May 17, 2017 A well done web page on old Yamies would be nice - there is a lot of lore about them but no real good authority. I would suggest a web page like the one on vintage harmonies or the vintage guitar guy http://guitarhq.com/ I don't know that I'm an authority, but I've done plenty of research and saved everything I could find. It's about time I put it all in one place for other people to use. I thought about making a web page but I'd also like to gather data from other people. And a forum is easier at the moment. A web page may come later. If I ever have time to get the forum fully loaded. It may take a few weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted May 17, 2017 Members Share Posted May 17, 2017 You already know what I think of single marque discussion forums but I applaud your efforts anyway. If you create it I will certainly sign up and make whatever small contributions I can. I actually have far more questions than answers - that might be a starting point, eh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted May 17, 2017 Members Share Posted May 17, 2017 You probably are already aware of these https://theguitarmedic.sharepoint.com/Pages/VintageGuitarParts.aspx If you click the Yamaha emblem you'll get a speadsheet with a lot of information about FG models (I would link the spreadsheet but have the same issues as you with yours). The Street Prices tab seems to download some sort of document but I can't open it (frankly I didn't try very hard) http://www.yamahaguitars.nl/ https://openlibrary.org/books/OL3420144M/The_history_of_Yamaha_guitars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CTGull Posted May 17, 2017 Author Members Share Posted May 17, 2017 Questions are good. Answers are hard to find when it comes to 40+ year old guitars made in Japan. But it's those questions that fueled my searches and I found some answers. A little luck hasn't hurt either. Yes, I've talked to The Guitar Medic by email a few times and I have a copy of his Yamaha file and everything else he has accumulated. Mine has much more. I see he's already mentioned, at the top of his page, that I'm working on the Yamaha site. Today I setup a new email, DropBox and Photobucket to host my files. Now all I need is time. Work and home have been nuts lately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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