#31
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GREAT post. Funny I should come across this right after seeing such a great performance on a Yammie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROcPF...eature=related |
#32
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2009 Bill Nash S-57 2007 Swart Space Tone 6V6SE 1981 Yamaha FG-335II 1979 Yamaha L-5A |
#33
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Goodall Jumbo Royal Hawaiian Merill & Co C-41 Merill & Co OM-18 |
#34
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Hi all!
my first post after finding this forum. Nice collection of guitars!! Thought I'd say hello and post my first message into this thread as I own an fg300 too. It's a great player. Got my hands on it about 10 years ago. It's from 1972 and looks identical to mr junkies except it doesn't have curved bridge pins, has tuning fork logo on the head and a dirty White label instead of a red one. It always gets comments when I play. Usually along the lines of "wow I've never heard such bad playing sound so nice"... It doesn't get much of a lookin these days as a few years ago I invested in a Santa cruz vintage artist, however I'm starting to feel the love again after this thread. I'm gonna polish her off. Hello and cheers ted |
#35
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I've dis-entombed this very excellent and interesting thread because I find myself on a quest for a FG-300 replica pickguard.
Yamaha Junkie, I've sent you a PM regarding it and hope to hear from you. Thanks. |
#36
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My first steel-string was a '68 Red Lable FG300 EIR bought in '68 when they first arrived that looked and sounded beautiful. But the 1 5/8 inch nut was a killer for me so after a year of cramps I sold it to get a Fender Precision Bass, and it got sold to buy an audiophile turntable. ..
Now all the nuts on my gits are at least 1 3/4" Ahhhh, relief Sweet guitar despite the complexity of the bridge.
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Chris Larrivee's '07 L-09 (40th Commemorative); '09 00-03 S.E; '08 P-09 Eastman '07 AC 650-12 Jumbo (NAMM) Martin '11 D Mahogany (FSC) Golden Era type Voyage-Air '10 VAOM-06 -the nylon string- Goya (Levin) '58 G-30 Yamaha '72 G-170A (Japanese solid top) Garcia '67 Model 3 -dulcimer- '11 McSpadden |
#37
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Advice, please
Hi guys. I stumbled upon your thread while trying to date my recently reclaimed FG-300. It is a minefield, isn't it... However, a far greater issue cropped up as I read further into your series of fascinating posts.
Please bear with me while I tell my story. I hope some of you might find it interesting but also that you might have some advice... I really only wanted to date it out of interest. I bought it, along with a Hofner President (later dated at 1963) from a junk shop owner (he'd already closed the shop and was trying to get rid of his final bits of stock) back in the middle '90s. It cost me GBP-30 (The president cost #35) and once the rusted strings and the thick layers of grime had been carefully removed I realised that I had a couple of gems because both were in totally original condition regarding hardware etc and in close to showroom condition regarding lack of chips, cracks, dings etc... I had a friend who had a music shop and collected Presidents so he dated and valued that one for me. I didn't bother with the FG-300 as I already had a high level Takamine electro/acoustic and this was an impulse buy as I just love pretty guitars. It got played very occasionally until the early 00s, when I stopped playing and gave my collection to my then 15-year old youngest son. He is now a professional musician and plays the President in jazz gigs, while the Takamine remains his main non-classical, non-electric stage tool for acoustic gigs. Fast-forward to the late 00s, I am retired, living in the Philippines and feeling in need of re-learning some guitar, so I bought a low-level (but very tactile) local small-bodied electro/acoustic, which suited my needs nicely. Fast-forward a bit more and I am hauled back into the workplace for a project in Singapore. Of course, I bring my little Fernando with me as I am now hooked on music again! But then I begin to spend time in a sound studio, where the owner has half a dozen guitars, including a Taylor 414ce, which I mess with during breaks in recording... Of course, it immediately shows my little Fernando up for the low-grade instrument it is - but I recall the rich tones of the FG-300 in the sound of the Taylor... so I ask offspring if he still needs it and, if not, may I have it back... Answer "Yes, please take it, I haven't touched it in five years!" - so now I have it back again and, now that transducers and control panels are far more readily available for retro-fitting than they were, I planned to do exactly that. But then, in a few idle moments I decided to try once again to date it - and here I am! So - finally, to the point... From reading a lot of your post I can tell how much you all love this instrument so I guess, as mine is in pristine condition, now fitted with a set of elixir 10s and re-set-up, that you would all throw up your hands in horror at the idea of retro-fitting electronics? I'd be very grateful for advice, especially from any of you who might go against what I expect to be the flow and agree with it! I think, thanks to reading of your love for the instrument, which has made me appreciate it in a whole different light, that the electrifying project is consigned to the recycle bin. I'm also having a custom electro/acoustic built by a wonderful luthier back home in the Philippines (my Christmas present to myself!) so I won't really need to amplify the Yamaha - can just sit and worship her long-necked, curvaceous loveliness! Also, any further advice on dating would be useful. She's a Red Label Nippon Gakki and the serial number is 1094459, which I cannot identify anywhere... the thing is that the finsl two digits, '59' are slightly offset higher than the 10944, so I wonder if that rings a bell with any of you? OK - that's the end of my ramble... I do hope that the personal story was not out of keeping for the forum and thank you in advance for any response about the guitar.... happy picking - Cassie |
#38
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Fg300
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As to your search for the dates and matching the serial number, here's what I think I know on that. According to yamaha's serial number PDF files, your serial number doesn't match any of their systems. But, analyzing it, I think the breakdown is this, 1971, September, 4th day, unit number 459. Why did they leave off the 0 in the date? No idea. Following my logic the correct number would be 10904459, which by the way does work in the Yamaha serial number wizard at http://www.yamaha.com/apps/guitararc...mberWizard.asp amnd gives the correct date. In 1971 Yamaha started building guitars at Kaosiung, Taiwan, and went to the system A9 serial numbers which was 8 numerical digits. The A9 system was used through 2001 at Kaosiung. You can see the PDF here: http://www.yamaha.com/yamahaguitars/...berSystems.pdf I'm thinking this guitar was built during the transition time from System A7 to A9. (the systems were not numbered as such until later). That's my opinion. Open to correction if someone has a better idea.
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TOO Stinkin' MANY GITS! Buncha Les Pauls Buncha Strats Martin HD-28, 2012-000CNylon Taylor 310K Taylor 214CE Taylor 110 Larrivee D-05 FG-375S FG-180 (5) FG-300 (5) FG-360 FG-350W APX-10 FG160E Woodsong K100,SW400 Paul Beard GRE Many other Yamahas (25 others- Garrison, Seagull, PRS, Squier 51, Dynamic) BigMike sez: I tried to be good, but there were just too many options. |
#39
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Thanks
Many thanks for that, Fg300. Super detective work... Understood that it may be flawed but it seems pretty plausible to me...
Does anyone have a view on whether I should cut it to fit modern electronics or leave it pristine, as is? OK - just being a Devil's Advocate - I couldn't possibly cut it now - especially as it doesn't have any of the PG, neck or bridge issues that I have noted... it is just a super instrument that deserves to be preserved... |
#40
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Thanks for the Post
Interesting, and at times, amusing post. Thanks.
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#41
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The earlier 300's bridge pins were arranged in a curve (like OP's), and on the later ones they are in a row. It's a quick way of telling if you're looking at a red label or a white (tan, whatever) version at a distance. My 300 sounds almost identical to my 360. And when you take a close look at them, in so many ways they're actually the same model, the differences being the bridge, the scratchplate and the neck inlays. Re the shape of the 300 - and obviously, the 360 - I reckon Yamaha actually improved on Martin's de facto dreadnought shape. It's a touch 'fatter' in the lower bout, and it doesn't look so 'stretched' as well somehow, the shoulders don't droop a tad as do the Martin's. It's a very balanced, aesthetically pleasing take on the dreadnought shape. These guitars sound full and have a gorgeous, chorusy chime. You can buy them for around £250 - £450, you just wouldn't be able to buy anything new that sounded as good. That's my humble opinion anyway.
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Experienced guitar tech and singer/guitarist based in the midlands, England. McIlroy AJ50 Yamaha CPX-1200 Yamaha CPX-700/12 Yamaha LS16 Yamaha FG-300 Yamaha FG-580 Vox V2000-DR + electric guitars.. Last edited by steveyam; 10-13-2012 at 04:47 PM. |
#42
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FG 300 pickguard
Hi all... it's a really long time since I was last on the forum as I moved to a tropical mountainous area with zero internet - til now!!
I have a 1971 FG-300 on which the pickguard first came loose and defied all my attempts to re-glue it. I do hope my efforts with various different adhesives didn't damage the wood! Anyway, I unboxed it to give it a periodical clean and discovered that the guard has now broken... I have no idea how as it has been boxed in a tight-fitting padded case, where it has lived for most of the time I've been in Asia. I'm wondering if anyone knows where I can get a replacement. I do recall someone saying, when I was more active here a few years ago, that nobody made them - just hoping that somebody, somewhere has started to! Any advice will be very welcome as I want to start playing again soon... I broke my left wrist in January and am only just getting enough movement back in it to even consider some 'fretboard therapy'. I do have other acoustics that I could use but I really would like to start using the FG again if I find I can still play a bit... Thanks in advance for any replies.... |