The Official Yamaha Players' Guild.

[Etienne Rambert]

My only nylon string currently is an APX6NA.

 

Excellent guitar. But it's in Lousiana. I'll probably get a nylon string

made for me over here.

 

But I swear by Yamaha synth gear. I have two MU sound modules,

an MU-100 that is my workhorse and an MU-90 that I use as an FX

box.

 

BTW, I've seen a couple of really good guitar players performing

live with the Yamaha silent guitar plugged in. It sounds amazing.

 

[OldGuitarPlayer]

this is a good site to save... http://www.yamaha.com/apps/guitararchives/guitarchive2.asp

 

I had seen that before but a cool site none the less. Thanks!

 

I did the model number check with my G50A and it came up with this:

 

Years Sold: 1969-72

 

Original MSRP: $69.50 USD

 

Top: Spruce (May be pine)

 

Back/Sides: Katsura

 

Neck: Nato

 

Fingerboard: Bubinga

 

Bridge: Bubinga

 

String Length: 658mm

 

Now I see that it has a 658mm string length which is a bit longer than my Takamine G128S. The Takamine is 650mm. I thought I could feel a difference between the two. The strings seem a bit more stiff on the Yamaha than on the Takamine. I wonder if that accounts for it's marvelous tone? I think I will experiment with lower tension strings.

 

I also notice that Yamaha also says the top may be spruce or pine. How would you be able to tell between spruce and pine? The body is very light in weight too...maybe this also help make the excellent tone?

[Chicken]

I just have a recent couple low-end ones (FG735s and FG750s) but the 750 sits by my desk and satisfies any immediate urges to muck around. The 735 sounds nearly identical, I just couldn't decide which I liked looks wise, so I ended up with both. I probably should have returned it, as I have a couple others as well.

[Jake7]

 

I`ve seen video of Lennon playing a black one to Sean when he was young...Yoko`s influence wasn`t all bad eh. Those are very high end models, selling for 250,ooo yen, look great but the bodies are so big ya gotta be a big guy to play em.

 

 

Yeah I love mine, the build is just eye popping, seriously not a flaw anywhere, and it sustains far more than any guitar I've ever played...and it's all maple, crazy!

 

But yeah, it is huge, about 18'' across the bottom bout, but I am 6'3'' and not so petite, so it's great for me!

[zenbu]

actually...they made a lot of solid wood maple guitars...most of the Dynamics I own are maple...their earliest classicals were solid maple...and they have great bassy tone. The ones pictured in my earlier post in this thread are two of the maples I have...can`t get enough of em...up to around 30 now. Most I paid was about $100.oo for a mint #20...least was under $10.oo for a #15...so you can see whay I have so many.

[Bitt81]

 

You better sit down and prepare yourself for a shock. I'll wait.......... .......................................................... You ready? That incredible sounding FG300 of yours is all laminate. Pretty amazing, huh?

 

 

I can't argue with you on the back and sides but the top is definitely solid...grain runs all the way through. I based the information on the back and sides by the multitude of reviews that used to be on this site. I went to look for them and could not find them anymore.

[Michael Martin]

Count me in! Where do I send the dues? As some of you may be weary of hearing me say, I love my big ol' Yammie jumbo CJ838s and its big ol' block inlays and its big ol' sound. Excellent plugged stage guitar, excellent living room guitar. Viva Yamaha...

[babablowfish]

 

I can't argue with you on the back and sides but the top is definitely solid...grain runs all the way through. I based the information on the back and sides by the multitude of reviews that used to be on this site. I went to look for them and could not find them anymore.

 

 

You aren't the first person to be fooled by the grain appearing to run all the way through at the sound hole. It sounds fantastic and naturally you assume it has to be a solid top. Go to Yamaha's archive page and input the numbers for the FG300 and the FG365S. You will see that for the FG300 it says the top is "spruce" for the FG365S it says the top is "solid spruce" Yamaha FGs had an "S" at the end of the model # for guitars with solid tops. A stood for Abalone Trim, CE + Cutaway electric and SB was Sunburst finish.

 

http://www.yamaha.com/apps/guitararchives/guitarchive2.asp

[Jake7]

Count me in! Where do I send the dues? As some of you may be weary of hearing me say, I love my big ol' Yammie jumbo CJ838s and its big ol' block inlays and its big ol' sound. Excellent plugged stage guitar, excellent living room guitar. Viva Yamaha...

 

Those are great guitars....I bought mine after searching for an 838, and I'd still buy one if one came up.

Got any pics to share?

 

Zenbu, whoa, you have 30? You should be president of this club!

[Michael Martin]

 

Those are great guitars....I bought mine after searching for an 838, and I'd still buy one if one came up. Got any pics to share?

 

You know, I just replaced my digital camera that died in August. Plus I finally figured out the picture-hosting thing. So I was thinking I would take a "family portrait" soon and post it in the pictures-of-your-gear thread.

[Hudman]

 

You know, I just replaced my digital camera that died in August. Plus I finally figured out the picture-hosting thing. So I was thinking I would take a "family portrait" soon and post it in the pictures-of-your-gear thread.

 

 

Post the pictures here.

[Michael Martin]

 

Post the pictures here.

 

Okey-dokey.

[Bitt81]

You aren't the first person to be fooled by the grain appearing to run all the way through at the sound hole. It sounds fantastic and naturally you assume it has to be a solid top. Go to Yamaha's archive page and input the numbers for the FG300 and the FG365S. You will see that for the FG300 it says the top is "spruce" for the FG365S it says the top is "solid spruce" Yamaha FGs had an "S" at the end of the model # for guitars with solid tops. A stood for Abalone Trim, CE + Cutaway electric and SB was Sunburst finish. http://www.yamaha.com/apps/guitararchives/guitarchive2.asp

 

I bow to your knowledge on the subject. In my world, solid wood vs. laminates doesn't matter as long as it sounds great. I don't think there are a whole lot of us who play these older Yammys hang on to them for their investment value. We play them cause they are good sounding, solidly built, and fun to play.

[0rbitz9]

I've had ny Yamaha FN-575E for almost 20 years now. I bought it from

another guitarist across town for $200. I'll probably take this guitar to my

grave, because I've never found another guitar with such an easy playing

neck.

[pmc100]

Count me in the Yamaha club.

 

Just recently bought a CPX900 (see my sig). Wasn't 100% about the sound at first though it playes and looks great. But even after just a couple of months the sound is coming together nicely. It's got a really nice ringing tone. Great for folk type sounds. I've never been much into playing folk but this guitar is turning me onto it. Been playing a lot in the DADGAD tuning on it.

 

I also have a brilliant Yamaha AV amplifier. Superb sound for the price (

[zenbu]

Those are great guitars....I bought mine after searching for an 838, and I'd still buy one if one came up. Got any pics to share? Zenbu, whoa, you have 30? You should be president of this club!

 

yeah 30 odd Dynamics...doesn`t include the early classicals, or my Yamaha electrics...

 

two early 60s classicals...No.85 on the left and No.45 on the right...the 85 has two nasty cracks on the top that I hope I`ve stopped, but still, compared to Trigger it`s almost mint...the 85s are very rare even over here...didn`t know of the cracks...seller didn`t really mention them but it sounds fabulous...got a bunch of their earliest classicals too...they are ridiculously cheap...and only a coupls of low end models are not all solid...the Nos.25 and 60.

 

 

[OldGuitarPlayer]

I just posted a seperate thread about this but I thought I'd post one here at the Yamaha Guild.

 

In case anyone is looking for a pretty nice sounding cheap classical, here is an old Yamaha Classical just like my old G-50A that I dearly love the tone of http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Yamaha-G-50a-Acoustic-6-String-Guitar-NR_W0QQitemZ200180103636QQihZ010QQcategoryZ33033QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

I know Stackabones was GASing for one after he herad my MP3 of it.

[denvertrakker]

 

I did the model number check with my G50A and it came up with this: Years Sold : 1969-72 Original MSRP : $69.50 USD Top : Spruce (May be pine) Back/Sides : Katsura Neck : Nato Fingerboard : Bubinga Bridge : Bubinga String Length : 658mm I also notice that Yamaha also says the top may be spruce or pine. How would you be able to tell between spruce and pine? The body is very light in weight too...maybe this also help make the excellent tone?

 

 

I'm in the same position with my G-120 (no "A" - MIJ grey label). The "wizard" says the top on mine is pine - no alternative. It certainly looks like it could be pine - the grain is more open and wide-spaced than spruce usually is...and it certainly is softer than spruce - it's got lots of strumming or pick marks on the treble side of the sound hole. (No danger of looking like Trigger just yet, though) I was thinking it might actually be cedar, since I never heard of pine as a tonewood. I guess if anyone could do it Yamaha could.

 

Regardless, a lovely guitar and I enjoy it more every day.

[babablowfish]

I bow to your knowledge on the subject. In my world, solid wood vs. laminates doesn't matter as long as it sounds great. I don't think there are a whole lot of us who play these older Yammys hang on to them for their investment value. We play them cause they are good sounding, solidly built, and fun to play.

 

I agree with you completely. IMHO your guitar is now even cooler than it was before because it is a laminate that just sounds too good to be a laminate. My FG-340 is another one of these wonders.

 

By the way, if you want to look at the reviews on HC they are here:

http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar/brand/Yamaha

[OldGuitarPlayer]

I'm in the same position with my G-120 (no "A" - MIJ grey label). The "wizard" says the top on mine is pine - no alternative. It certainly looks like it could be pine - the grain is more open and wide-spaced than spruce usually is...and it certainly is softer than spruce - it's got lots of strumming or pick marks on the treble side of the sound hole. (No danger of looking like Trigger just yet, though) I was thinking it might actually be cedar, since I never heard of pine as a tonewood. I guess if anyone could do it Yamaha could. Regardless, a lovely guitar and I enjoy it more every day.

 

Although I bought it used and it was made in Taiwan you just about described my guitar to a tee what with the "strumming or pick marks" on the treble side of the top. The back is very badly marked up and so is the bottom but there are no cracks anywhere. I am surprised she survived this long....I wonder what stories she could tell.

The grain on the top of mine doesn't seem as tight either...like cedar. It sounds to me very much like the cedar topped LaPatrie classicals I've tried. Very warm and balanced tone. My guess is that pine laminate is a cheap replacement for cedar?

 

Like you said they make a lovely old guitar and I play mine every day too.

[Bitt81]

 

I agree with you completely. IMHO your guitar is now even cooler than it was before because it is a laminate that just sounds too good to be a laminate. My FG-340 is another one of these wonders. By the way, if you want to look at the reviews on HC they are here: http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar/brand/Yamaha

 

 

Thanks Baba, for some reason I couldn't find that page. I guess I'm not the only one who thought the top was solid. My #1 acoustic for the last several years has been a Carvin Cobalt c780 and the Yammy was for alternate tunings (an area where I am severly limited). This thread has me playing the the FG300 a lot more with a renewed appreciation of the instrument.

 

Glad to be a member of the Yamaha Players Guild.

[ceenare]

Sign Me up. I have my father's FG-140 that he purchased new. Still have theoriginal cardboard box and the card that was tied to the tuning peg. RecentlyI upgraded the tuners with a set of Klusons, up graded to bone nut and saddle. Still working on finding a suitable set of bridge pins to fit. Will go with bone or brass.

Cheers

[OldGuitarPlayer]

 

Sign Me up. I have my father's FG-140 that he purchased new. Still have theoriginal cardboard box and the card that was tied to the tuning peg. RecentlyI upgraded the tuners with a set of Klusons, up graded to bone nut and saddle. Still working on finding a suitable set of bridge pins to fit. Will go with bone or brass. Cheers

 

 

Wow! Awesome guitar!! Freeman is the man around here when it comes to bridge pins. Check the HCAG Annex technical section for more info on bridge pins. There is even a link to a bridge pin test and one of the testing instruments used is a Yamaha.

 

Good luck!

[OldGuitarPlayer]

I'm strumming an FG-331 (late seventies) this morning.

 

 

A most beautiful guitar. I owned one for 2 years and just sold it to fund the purchase of my Taylor.

 

Here's my "ex" :

 

[daklander]

A Yamaha gone for a Taylor?

Not in my world. I'm not that fond of Taylors, and have only played one that I would consider. IMO, there are lots of makes I'd prefer to have in my stable.