How to Determine the Value of a Guitar

[Kindness]

Hey everyone,

I was over a friends house, and she had a Yamaha guitar kicking around. Of course, I could not resist, and picked it up and played it for quite a while. Even my partner agreed with me that the darn thing sounded great.

I emailed Yamaha, and here is what I got for info:

Here is the info on the FG336SB guitar. Year(s) Sold: 1977-81 Original MSRP(US$): $193.00 Top: Spruce Back / Sides: Mahogany Neck: Nato Fingerboard: Indian Rosewood Color(s): Sunburst

He said he could not tell me of the current value. Anyone know how to determine this? What is interesting is that the fingerboard is indian rosewood!
The only thing I did not like about it was the extremely narrow bridge spacing, otherwise, it was really great.

I thought that Yamaha could give me a guestimate of the current value, but that referred me to a dealer or to ebay. Let me know if you folks have any ideas.

Lisa

[brian a.]

Lisa,

I went to my copy of Blue Book of Acoustic Guitars and to make a long story short the FG336SB wasn't listed. Nor were any of the FG3XX series guitars made from 1977 -81. They were replaced by the FG340 and FG350 line until in 1985 when the entire FG line was overhauled and became the FG400 line, which lasted into the mid 1990s.

Bottom line: the FG400 line shows values for excellent condition between 100 to 200 and for average condition between 50 to 120. The solid tops have a higher value by 50 to 100, but the FG336SB is all laminate.

You could possibly go to the Blue Book website and pay their fee for an exact estimate. Or check eBay for current auctions and SOLD comparables. There is one currently on eBay with a "But It Now" price and it was listed before and expired with no bids.

Good luck,
Brian

[Kitchen Guitars]

You can't get Martin to tell you what a old Martin is worth, nor Gibson an old Gibson. Theres no money in it for them and it opens them up to responsabilities.
The Blue Book and the Vintage Guitar book both are so wrong on the Yamaha stuff they should have it listed under made up fiction. It's that lacking and wrong.
The FG336's come up on eBay quite often. Go into advanced search and search finished auctions. Also type it into google. Harmony Central allows a "How much paid" in thier review column.
While not a "valuable" guitar. It is probably a great player
The Nato Necked Yamaha's are usually entry level and not as valuable as the Mahogany necked Yamaha's. Indian Rosewood is the standard for Yamaha fingerboards. Upper line stuff is Ebony. There are very few solid wood Yamaha's. They do do laminated wood the best. Most Solid topped Yamaha's are designated with a "S" after the number Like "FG460s12a.