Yamaha think we've all won the lottery...

All things guitar, Les Pauls, Strats, Teles, Tokai, Ibanez etc. etc. etc.

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Tsuken
In the Name of Vai
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Post by Tsuken »

ash wrote:Yes, they still do the SG2000s, but they are still butt ugly so you'd need to cross any dealer's palm with plenty of silver before they'd get one in!

Yamaha have always had serious issues in their "styling department" (if such a thing exists). There are always hideous and unexplainable things in their catalogues and this extends to their motorcycle and other brances too.
Man, I absolutely adore the SG2000. I think it's a gorgeous guitar - one of the main objects of my guitar lust 8)
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Yoda
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Post by Yoda »

My first (and only) classical guitar was a Yamaha. It was a fine piece. Great tone, good looks, nice finish, quality case, etc. I have since lost quite a bit of respect for Yamaha musical products over the years. I've heard they make decent pianos. As guitar makers they seem confused to me. Like they don't know whether they are a premium builder or a cheapo builder. Their cheap stuff is total and complete shit and their high end stuff is way over priced for what you get. Also, they make Strat copies that don't feel or play or sound like Strats. What's the point? I haven't tried any Gibson knock-offs. Their P/A stuff is rather iffy as well. I've come to the point where I just tend to ingore Yamaha products and keep moving down the aisle to something else.


They make good bikes, though. The R1 is an awesome machine. First bike I've ridden in over 30 years that startled me with it's power. Cruising at 130 or 140 kph you snick it down a couple of gears and twist the grip and the front end comes way up. Not because you yanked on the bars or had your ass over the rear fender but just on power alone. Were I a younger man, I would probably own one but I just don't need to ride at 3 or 4 times the legal limit any more. My Beemer suits me just fine.
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B45-12
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Post by B45-12 »

Actually quite funny that in NZ folk clubs back in late 69 early 70's Yamaha were the guitars I saw most often - followed by Janssen/Diplomat electrics at rock events.

I suppose if you go back to the blues originators in the 20's and 30's they probably played the equivalent - an old guitar teacher told me in the 70's that, pre WW II, Martin were in the second position after Gibson so presumably back then Martin along with Stella, Prarie state, Euphonen, Lyon and Healy were the Yamaha's of the time???
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goldtop0
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Post by goldtop0 »

B45, and also those excellent Levin acoustics back then,too bad there weren't more of them around.
I noticed Tokai are taking a leaf from Yamahas book with their range of gats from $-$$, I haven't seen and am not aware of any sub-brand from them.
In the 1940s Epiphone made top line archtop Jazz guitars in the US,this was before the Gibson thing.Then they turned it into what we know now,a sub-brand. Les Pauls 'plank of wood' he put that together in the Epiphone factory in about 1948.
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B45-12
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Post by B45-12 »

Ah but don't forget the Epiphones made by Gibson up to about 1970 - they were actually made by Gibson in their USA factory. Then the bastards sold the Epiphone name to the Jap swine and all the NZ dealers suddenly had these nice looking guitars in they swore were from America! Look out for a blue rectangular label in the post 70's MIJ ones (tells you in small print at the bottom 'made in Japan') plus bolt necks etc - the pearl name inlay on the older Gibson Epiphones was whiter (saw a few examples before the changes).

Their main seller, while Gibson made, was an SJ 200 knockoff which had about 9/10ths sound and half to a quarter of the price. When the MIJ version came out and no one said anything, my God was the dummy spat by some very irate buyers!

Levin were super instruments but I never saw that many - about as many as the Gibson steel strings I saw back then.
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raz
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Levins

Post by raz »

Hi again

Levin was a Swedish marque as well as the Hagstroms we were discussing. The other big Swedish acoustic manufacturer was Bjarton, which hagstrom used to rebrand for their acoustic range. Never played one of either unfortunately.

Levin got bought out by Martin in 1973.

raz

goldtop0
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Post by goldtop0 »

And the fecking CF Martin & Co people didn't supply a free sweet naive Swedish milking maiden with each guitar sold thereafter!!
Well that just took all the fun out of buying a Levin now didn't it..........and the world was flooded with Martians........oops :o
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