Yamaha SG-2000S

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Whilst Yamaha has produced many models over the years, most have gone unheralded. Only one has really achieved legendary status, the Yamaha SG-2000. Whilst a fair proportion of this status is due to the use in its early days by Carlos Santana, the design and features of this guitar rise well above the celebrity link.

Although the SG-2000 itself debuted in 1976, it came as a result of years of work by Yamaha designer ...
...Yamaha SG-2000 represented the pinnacle of Japanese guitar building.

~~~~The Guitar~~~~

The Yamaha SGs had a number of features in common with the Gibson SGs around at that time, namely the double cutaway body style resulting in the horns still so prominent today. SG incidentally stands for solid guitar, and means basically that, a guitar with a solid wooden body.

In the 70's, copying of designs was commonplace ... more

~~~~Background~~~~

When you think of classic guitars, no names shine brighter than Fender and Gibson. However, over the years many other companies have designed and developed guitars equally worthy of the classic status.

One such company is Yamaha, perhaps better known in most circles as manufacturers of motorbikes and keyboards, but in guitar circles recognised as a truly innovative and groundbreaking manufacturer of quality instruments.

Whilst Yamaha has produced many models over the years, most have gone unheralded. Only one has really achieved legendary status, the Yamaha SG-2000. Whilst a fair proportion of this status is due to the use in its early days by Carlos Santana, the design and features of this guitar rise well above the celebrity link.

Although the SG-2000 itself debuted in 1976, it came as a result of years of work by Yamaha designer Yojirou Takabayashi, starting with the SG-175. In it's time, the Yamaha SG-2000 represented the pinnacle of Japanese guitar building.

~~~~The Guitar~~~~

The Yamaha SGs had a number of features in common with the Gibson SGs around at that time, namely the double cutaway body style resulting in the horns still so prominent today. SG incidentally stands for solid guitar, and means basically that, a guitar with a solid wooden body.

In the 70's, copying of designs was commonplace and the original SG-175 owed more than a little to the design of the Gibson SG. However, whilst the SG-2000 employed the basic look of the SG-175, subtle refinements and innovative new ideas were added to the package.

Instead of carved solid mahogany, the SG-2000 had a carved, lightly figured three-piece maple top, with the grain of the centre section set perpendicular to the sides. Instead of a set neck, it featured a three-piece mahogany and maple laminated neck-through design which produced greater sustain (the ability of the guitar to hold a note). The body wings consisted of a sandwich of laminated mahogany. Sustain was further advanced by the addition of a brass block under the bridge.

Instead of the flat back seen on the SG-175, a newly styled contoured back was added, complete with a scoop out of the top waist to increase playing comfort.

The head of the SG-2000 featured the now-standard double-dipped shape, with five-ply binding and a stunning floral inlay. The 22-fret ebony fingerboard was bound with mother-of-pearl split-wing inlays. The top also featured five-ply binding.

The power behind the looks was supplied by twin-shielded Alnico V humbuckers, which were covered in black plastic with a cover that surrounded the bobbins, but left them and the poles exposed. Electronics were typical for the two-humbucker style guitars of the time, such as the Gibson SG and the Gibson Les Paul. The guitar also featured a slightly elevated, laminated pickguard in common with the Les Paul. In addition to the fine-tune bridge incorporating metal saddles, the image of the guitar was completed by the addition of a stop tail, beautifully engraved with a harp-and-scroll design, gold-plated in keeping with the rest of the hardware.

Late 1970s was the 'lawsuit era' in guitar manufacture, when the big boys exerted their considerable muscle in challenging the designs of a number of companies. Gibson were, unsurprisingly, unhappy at the use by Yamaha of the SG name, and so from 1980 Yamaha changed the name of the guitar to the SBG-2000 in the U.S. In the U.K. it became the SG-2000S. The name, however, was not changed in Japan.

Further improvements were made during this time, particularly the addition of push/push coil taps on the volume pots, allowing for more tonal flexibility.

The SG-2000 was produced in Japan until regular production was stopped in '88. However, reissues have carried on being produced and are available, if difficult to get hold of.

~~~~My guitar~~~~

I was extremely fortunate to get hold of an early SG-2000S, without the push/push coil taps for a very reasonable price. There were two reasons I'd been looking for one, firstly because I knew of their phenomenal reputation, and secondly because I saw Jake Burns playing one at a Stiff Little Fingers gig and fell in love with it (the guitar, not Jake).

I have to say that the hype about this guitar is totally justified. It plays and sounds just incredible. The ebony fretboard is beautiful and seems so much better for bending strings than a standard rosewood or maple board. Sustain really is incredible, you could play a note, go for a coffee, and it would still be playing when you got back. Ok, so I exaggerate a little, but you get the idea.

Although the guitar started off looking like a Gibson SG, tonally it is far closer to the Gibson Les Paul due to the large mahogany body. This is often described as the guitar that eats Gibsons for breakfast, and I can see why. It offers the same build quality, tone and weight as a Les Paul, but there is just that little something extra there that sets it apart from all but a handful of the custom shop Gibson Les Pauls. The later additions also offered a more tonal range due to the electronic modifications allowing the pickup coils to be split, creating Fender Stratocaster like tones.

The only downside is the weight of this beast. Les Pauls are known to be to bit on the heavy side, and this is no different. The huge slab of mahogany together with the brass block under the bridge, make this one big lump of a guitar. But that's the price you have to pay for incredible tone and sustain I guess.

~~~~Would I recommend it?~~~~

Nope, because then I couldn't be smug and think I was one of the small minority of people lucky enough to get their hands on one!

However, if you're looking for a seriously good professional guitar you really ought to try and find one of these. Reissue models are available, but the cost £1000-£1500 new, and I'm told the quality isn't quite as good. My advice, and the reason I'm reviewing a guitar which went out of production almost 20 years ago, is look on eBay, where you can pick up an original for £550-£750. You will never need another guitar.

 

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