Yamaha FG-110 red label nippon gakki ?????

[mississippijohn]

Hi to all,

this is my first time on Harmony Central so I'm not 100% on what to do, so hear goes.

 

I recently took delivery of a old Yamaha FG-110 red label nippon gakki,

( that's what it says on the label )

 

the only numbers that I can see on the guitar are 1029631 viewed through the sound hole printed on a block underneath the fret board as it it joins the body.

I purchased the guitar on the understanding that it was a true nippon gakki 1971, but since reading different forums I'm not to sure.

I have read that most serial numbers have eight digits not seven like mine.

so my questions are.

 

1 - does the serial number correspond with the red label sticker.

2 - does the serial number 1029631 correspond with the manufacture year of 1971.

3 - is the body solid woods or laminate, and of what type of woods

4 - all six machine pegs are worn and do not keep in tune ( I have tighten them but has made no difference, ( 2 x strips - triple pegs per strip ) any advice of replacement pegs

5 - any history at all with these guitars would be great.

6 - it has a star in a circle front top of the head-stock, and the cover plate over the

truss rod has a star in a circle with Yamaha printed beneath the circle.

7 - any idea of today's prices - I think I may have paid a bit over for the top for this one.

 

I have put new strings on the guitar 12 - 53 D'Addario phosphor bronze EJ16-3D

( are these the best strings for this guitar )?

it has a low action and does have a good tonal sound and is loud.

 

any feed back at all would be appreciated.

 

regards

 

m/j

[Freeman Keller]

John, first let me welcome you to HCAG. While I don't have experience with that particular model, I might be able to help with some of your questions. I own a FG-150 that I bought new in 1969 and still play today.

 

First, at one time Yamaha had a serial numbe wizard on their web page - it was kind of hard to find but should answer your questions. A call to their customer service department might help too.

 

I can't tell you the woods on a 110 but it is certainly all laminated. Its kind of hard to tell - for years I thought mine had a solid top. I believe the solid ones had a "S" in the model number. It shouldn't matter - old Yamies were often held as examples that a plywood guitar can sound good.

 

I replaced my tuners with open back single Gotohs which fit the bushings perfectly. StewMac makes 3 on a plate tuners for restorations - pull one of yours, measure the shaft diameter and spacing with a micrometer or calipers and go to StewMac's website - they give the specs for all of their tuners.

 

Can't give you any history other than the fact that they were popular guitars with the folkie crowd back in the 60's and 70's. Some cautions - most old Yamies need a neck reset and they used a glue that does not come apart with steam. That makes it very difficult to fix (there are ways and I've done it to mine - if you need information I can give it to you). Look for loose or split bridges, or possibly bridges that have been shaved to lower the action. Yamie bridges are a different footprint from others and it would be tricky to replace one. They used pretty small fretwire and most of then seem to need fret jobs. Otherwise, just the normal stuff that comes with an old guitar.

 

Truss rod and head stock logo are correct for this era guitar.

 

Value is very hard to determine. I paid a hundred bucks for mine new in 1969 and sort of figured that is what it is worth today. I've heard of them selling for 500 or more on evil-bay - I think that's silly. Combine the difficulty of resetting necks I would say that if it needed a reset it is pretty much worthless (I repair guitars and might buy one for 50 bucks or so to fix up and give to a local school). I once bought a 12 string FG-230 for $200 and when I realized how bad the neck was I considered myself lucky to unload it for the same amount, So value could be nothing for one needing a reset to maybe a couple hundred dollars for a good one. Hope that helps.

 

Hope all of this helps. I'd love to see some pictures and I hope you become a regular part of the forum