Yamaha FG 300 Pictures, long post

[Neil K Walk]

Originally Posted by Analogman

Allright, new guy here. This may be the wrong place to post this, so if someone could clue me in as to a better place, I would appreciate it. I have read dozens of web posts on FG 300s. And like many of them, mine has a warped (and now crumbled) pick guard. All that remains is a sticky spot where the pick guard used to be. I love this guitar and have been playing it for 25+ years. It has 2 pickups in it and sounds wonderful when used as a stereo output, one straight and one slightly chorused. I recorded with it for many years without a PG, but intend to use it to play out live beginning this spring/summer...but it is soooo ugly without the pick guard. Can anyone give me a clue as to how to acquire a substitute that will cover the ugly spot? Also, someone tried to glue it back on (probably just before I bought it). Does anyone know what would be the best way to remove the sticky glue to properly prepare it for a new PG. ANY suggestions are greatly appreciated.

bump for YJ with a comment/question: isn't this the one that you eventually created your own pickguard for out of EIR?

[Analogman]

Thanks Neil.

[Kitchen Guitars]

Originally Posted by Analogman

Allright, new guy here. This may be the wrong place to post this, so if someone could clue me in as to a better place, I would appreciate it. I have read dozens of web posts on FG 300s. And like many of them, mine has a warped (and now crumbled) pick guard. All that remains is a sticky spot where the pick guard used to be. I love this guitar and have been playing it for 25+ years. It has 2 pickups in it and sounds wonderful when used as a stereo output, one straight and one slightly chorused. I recorded with it for many years without a PG, but intend to use it to play out live beginning this spring/summer...but it is soooo ugly without the pick guard. Can anyone give me a clue as to how to acquire a substitute that will cover the ugly spot? Also, someone tried to glue it back on (probably just before I bought it). Does anyone know what would be the best way to remove the sticky glue to properly prepare it for a new PG. ANY suggestions are greatly appreciated.

First - as far as I know, and I have put many many hours of effort into looking, there are no origonal replacements available. If you look in the Q&A in Vintage Guitar Magazine last month my "were can I find originals" question was answered by George Gruhn. He was aware of no scource. Not even 1
Now, there are plain black pickguards on eBay that are made for the 300 size
from what I understand it is a #1 seller
I asked Yamaha USA and Europe if they have any, will they make any.? No.
I have contacted various custom pickguard companies, I asked for 100+ guards I was going to set myself up in the FG300 pickguard business. None have an interest in re-creating the pickguard.
I had my pick guard "Pro" removed the first time. He scraped, flattened and REGLUED it. The celuloid the guard is made out of HATES Glue. Within weeks it was all knarled up again (no crumbling, that seems to happen to FG300 pickguards that are in ocean coast states (salt water?) ). I lived with it for a year then figured what the heck, I will try it myself.
I took my pickguard (knarled but in 1 peice) I flattened it at low heat in a heat press, traced the outline, I then stenciled and redrew the pattern. I sraped off the old glue and used lghter fluid on a rag to wipe up the exrta glue. To put it back on I used 3M sticky sheets (stew mac sells them). The stuff is a pain in the butt to work with but it works. So far (6 months) my pickguard s flat and holding.
While off, in case it failed, I made a Indian Rosewood pickguard and I have a guy lined up for about $50 he will laser engrave the orig. pattern into the wood. He will not do it to plastic I haven't pursued it because my origonal is holding.
As a little specialty side biz I was going to "manufacture" these but frankly for the effort the dough isn't there to be bothered.
If you want to send to Stew Mac for the pickguard material you like I can cut it out to the proper shape and bevel the edge for you. No fee. Just fun, drop me a PM if interested. If you want to follow through with the Rosewood and engraving we can work $$$ that one out.
There are "pro" pickguard makers. If you find one willing and the only thing stopping them is needing a pattern, let me know I can provide it for the good of all FG300 owners.
I hope I was helpful. The FG300 is the greatest overall acoustic made

[rgwest]

Wow! Thanks for sharing...that guitar takes me back to a simpler time (at least simpler for me)!

Here are some 1968 marketing brochures for the Yamaha FG300 Deluxe Jumbo. The text is hard to read so I've transcribed below (sounds like translation from source Japanese doesn't it?):

Enjoy!





YAMAHA FOLK GUITARS

Never before has folk music sounded so good. The tunes may be
old but the guitars are better than ever - and Yamaha is the best of them all.
With years of specialized guitar making experience,
Yamaha's skilled craftsmen carefully make each and every guitar
to exacting standards to assure the finest, richest,
deepest bass and the clearest ringing treble.
These fine folk guitars, the choice of folk singers around the world,
are made in a wide range of models to meet individual needs.
All beautifully finished and designed to be not only the best sounding folk guitars,
but also the most attractive - from Yamaha the leading folk guitar maker.


YAMAHA DELUXE JUMBO GUITAR MODEL FG-300

This new Yamaha Jumbo Guitar is a truely superb
instrument manufactured by Yamaha's proud
craftsmen working in a ? ?.
Indeed, this is almost a work of art
in harmonious combination of old craftsmanship
and modern scientific engineering.
Any fastidious professional play must be struck
with wonder at it's full, well-balanced and powerful
resonent tone, and with it's stiking beauty.

Rosewood laminated back and sides
Select natural spruce top

Curved rosewood fingerboard has twenty frets
and 9 inlaid mother-of-pearl position markers.

The slim neck has an adjustible steel
reinforcing rod to enable the player
to temporarily adjust the action.

Rosewood bridge is adjustable in height,
forward and backward positions.

Sound hole is inlaid with a decorative
design with a matching top edge binding.

Beautifully engraved celuloid pickguard
Individual chrome plated machine heads are used.

Length 41 1/8" Width 16 5/16 "

[Analogman]

Thanks YJ and fgwest. I appreciate it much.

YJ, I contacted a guy on eBay. I think I'm just going to put a tortoise shell PG on it. I would love to replace it with something that looks more original, but my budget these days is a bit lacking. I'd bet that very few people outside of this forum will know the difference. Thanks for the info and your generous offer to help.

I'm starting to acquire equipment for playing out live. I buy a lot of stuff that needs refurbishing to help keep my costs low, but I still need a full PA setup and a few other things. I have the ability to fix just about anything, so why not put it to use.

fgwest, that was quite amusing indeed. I've had to fix quite a lot of Japanese gear over the years, so I'm used to the "lost in translation" concept. I was especially amused by the "stiking beauty". Thanks for the pix and the info.

All the best and thanks again,

Danny Burns
Analogman

[Kitchen Guitars]

Originally Posted by rgwest

Wow! Thanks for sharing...that guitar takes me back to a simpler time (at least simpler for me)!

Here are some 1968 marketing brochures for the Yamaha FG300 Deluxe Jumbo. The text is hard to read so I've transcribed below (sounds like translation from source Japanese doesn't it?):

Enjoy!





YAMAHA FOLK GUITARS

Never before has folk music sounded so good. The tunes may be
old but the guitars are better than ever - and Yamaha is the best of them all.
With years of specialized guitar making experience,
Yamaha's skilled craftsmen carefully make each and every guitar
to exacting standards to assure the finest, richest,
deepest bass and the clearest ringing treble.
These fine folk guitars, the choice of folk singers around the world,
are made in a wide range of models to meet individual needs.
All beautifully finished and designed to be not only the best sounding folk guitars,
but also the most attractive - from Yamaha the leading folk guitar maker.


YAMAHA DELUXE JUMBO GUITAR MODEL FG-300

This new Yamaha Jumbo Guitar is a truely superb
instrument manufactured by Yamaha's proud
craftsmen working in a ? ?.
Indeed, this is almost a work of art
in harmonious combination of old craftsmanship
and modern scientific engineering.
Any fastidious professional play must be struck
with wonder at it's full, well-balanced and powerful
resonent tone, and with it's stiking beauty.

Rosewood laminated back and sides
Select natural spruce top

Curved rosewood fingerboard has twenty frets
and 9 inlaid mother-of-pearl position markers.

The slim neck has an adjustible steel
reinforcing rod to enable the player
to temporarily adjust the action.

Rosewood bridge is adjustable in height,
forward and backward positions.

Sound hole is inlaid with a decorative
design with a matching top edge binding.

Beautifully engraved celuloid pickguard
Individual chrome plated machine heads are used.

Length 41 1/8" Width 16 5/16 "

Great stuff! Thanks for sharing. I'd love to score one of those brochures!

[jpbat]

ah! memories...
The FG300 was the first "real" guitar I owned.
I remember that in the store (in Paris, France, I was living at 100 miles, it was a trip..) I had to choose between two guitars at 1000 francs (at the time, I was my budget, and pretty tight). I didn't know about guitars, but finally took the Yammie. Never looked back. I replaced one day the pickguard (looked ugly in my eyes) and made one in a very nice piece of rosewood veneer. I sold it one day and began to buy Martins and Gibsons and Guild...
After that, I had a great deal on a FG 2000, a fabulous guitar, top of the line and exceptional workmanship, but nobody would put that kind of money on anything with the Yamaha name on it. Played it a lot, then traded it for a Tele Thinline I was mad about (original model, we are talking seventies, here...)

Thanks for the remembrance. I was young...

Jean-Paul Bataille
www.fingerstyle-guitar.com/jean-paul_bataille/

[Analogman]

jpbat

I actually have several acoustics. My favorite is a Yamaha L-15A. I bought it in 1985 when I was looking for a D series Martin. I had a 1968 D 35 that I sold in '76 and always regretted it. I was in Westwood Music in Los Angeles when the owner of the store put the Yamaha in my lap. I played it, a D-35, and a D-28. For one third of the cost of the Martins I thought, how can I lose? It is still in mint condition, sounds great, and plays wonderfully.

I bought the FG 300 from a friend in trouble for $200 in 1980. It is a decent sounding guitar and I'm not afraid to take it out of my studio. I'm going to use it for live gigs this summer. If it gets another ding in it, it won't hurt so much. I use a homemade Jensen DI box, a 10 band MXR EQ, and a Symetrix limiter/compressor into my Soundcraft console and it sounds rich and bright, but not "honky". It has another pickup that I run through another Jenson DI with a light chorus. It is a surprise to most people who hear it live...very big sounding in stereo.

I'm mostly an electric guitar player, though. I have a 1971 Les Paul gold top that I've changed quite a bit. I didn't like the P90 ceramic pickups that were in it originally so I put a couple of Dimarzio humbuckers, a phase reverse switch, a different (fine tunable) bridge, and gold Grover tuners on it. It has served me well for 37 years now. I also have a Yamaha SE203 that I use when I need that particular Strat sound, but my LP fits like a glove and I'm so used to it I never need to look where I'm "driving".

I used to have a cream colored Tele in 1970, but hard times didn't allow me to keep it and the LP at the same time...another regrettable sale. I swore about 15 years ago I would never sell another guitar, only buy them. It hurts too much to look back at all of those gems in my life and wish I could still be playing them. Oh well, c'est la vie.

I listened to some of you're material. Nice finger picking! Congratulations on your win in Montreal last August.

Au revoir mon ami,
Danny Burns
http://www.myspace.com/dannyburnssongs

[Analogman]

Originally Posted by Yamaha Junkie

Crumbling, that seems to happen to FG300 pickguards that are in ocean coast states (salt water?) ).

You may be right. It lived in Santa Barbara, CA for 10 years, Los Angeles for 12 years, Nashville for 9 years, and by the beach in Florida for the last 8 years of it's life. 30 of it's 39 years next to salt water.

[Kitchen Guitars]

I have watched over 100 FG300 auctions on eBay there is a market for pickguards. Man, a clean one with a flat pick guard and orig case causes quite a bidding hurricaine. Me? I was happy to find a scratched up one at a great price.


Here is a pickguard I made from the FG350w, assuming it was the same size as the FG300. It's not. Actually, other then the look of the pickguard the FG350w and the FG300 are 2 completely different guitars

JPbat Nice playing. DON"T get me into Resonators! Geeze
The FG2000 is the king of collectable Japanese guitars. The L53 and all the one time L use number stuff can hit 10K. But the FG1500 and FG2000's oh when they pop up...... Blue book is wrong. For the cost of a good Martin you get a handcrafted guitar by some of the best Luthiers ever. Mmmmmmmm
Here is the little Sister FG1500

[Fliss]

Great photos and info, Yamaha Junkie. I remember way back in the late 70s / early 80s when I was a student, I wanted a Yamaha because that was what everyone I knew played, but I couldn't afford one

I never realised how much variety and depth there was to their range, though. You are an amazing and great source of knowledge

Fliss

[jpbat]

Originally Posted by Analogman

I listened to some of you're material. Nice finger picking! Congratulations on your win in Montreal last August.

Au revoir mon ami,
Danny Burns
http://www.myspace.com/dannyburnssongs

Danny, thanks for listening.
I visited your myspace. Man this is classic american rock at its best ! You know the stuff ! Reminds me lots of music I was listening to when... err.. I was younger...
This brings some smile on my face. Thanks.

Jean-Paul Bataille
www.fingerstyle-guitar.com/jean-paul_bataille/

[jpbat]

Originally Posted by Yamaha Junkie

JPbat Nice playing. DON"T get me into Resonators! Geeze
The FG2000 is the king of collectable Japanese guitars. The L53 and all the one time L use number stuff can hit 10K. But the FG1500 and FG2000's oh when they pop up...... Blue book is wrong. For the cost of a good Martin you get a handcrafted guitar by some of the best Luthiers ever.

Yamaha Junkie :
you're a gold mine !
The FG2000 I got 30 years ago had actually a magnetic PU and two pots.
Probably a one shot model. How it ended up to the french distributor (Couesnon if I remember well), I don't know, but I was in the store one day and saw this beauty... wow. Exquisite woodwork indeed. And a sound to match. I suppose they didn't know what to do with it, maybe it was staying there after a show or something. It was 1975 I think. I had it for a ridiculous price, even at the time, and enjoyed it a lot. At the time, I was playing also a Mossman Flint Hills, a D 18 Martin, a D 25 Guild (the all mahog), and a Folklore Ovation. I kept them all, except the Guild, but don't play them today. Shame, I know, but what to do ? Sell them ?
(what I'm playing are all chinese copies, Macaferri's and resos. And I'm happy with them. Who could have tell ?)

No I will not get you into resos. Specially chinese ones...
Thanks for listening the music.

Jean-Paul Bataille
www.fingerstyle-guitar.com/jean-paul_bataille/

[Analogman]

Originally Posted by jpbat

Danny, thanks for listening.
I visited your myspace. Man this is classic american rock at its best ! You know the stuff ! Reminds me lots of music I was listening to when... err.. I was younger...
This brings some smile on my face. Thanks.

Jean-Paul Bataille
www.fingerstyle-guitar.com/jean-paul_bataille/

Thanks, I am a child of the '60s so I come by the style honestly.

The MySpace mp3 player (or mp3s in general!) doesn't really do the songs sonic justice, but it is a way for friends and family to hear what I'm up to.

I used the FG 300 to record the acoustic parts. FG 300 with Martin SP PB strings to a Neumann KM 84i to a Telefunken V676a Mic pre to a Telefunken U373a limiter/compressor (light compression) to the track input of my HD24 with the good filters. I use this setup when I use a pick and strum.

When I use my fingers I use the same chain but record with my L-15A slightly more compressed.

[eolmack]

Beautiful instruments...I love the pick guards!