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#1
02-02-2019, 07:37 PM
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Don't ya just hate it when....
...when you buy an old beater and it ends up sounding better than your "good" guitars? My recent GAS has been focused on old guitars from the '60s and '70s. I picked up a '72 Guild D-35 a few months ago, and a '68 Gibson LG-0 a couple weeks ago. A couple of days ago I picked up a '73 Yamaha FG-160 for $80... all laminate, made in Taiwan. It is a bit rough... needed a neck reset, a few frets replaced, new tuners, and some TLC. I did all the work and finished it this morning.
These old Yamahas have a strong cult following, and now I know why. After playing it for a bit, I put it down and picked up my Martin OMCPA4. What!?! You've got to be kidding! The Martin sounded small and boxy by comparison. Now granted, it is a smaller OM-sized guitar, and it the strings are a few months old, so not an apples-apples comparison. So I tried my Guild. Now I think the Guild still sounds a bit better, but this little old Yamaha hangs right in there. ...could be the best $80 I ever spent on a guitar. 
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#2
02-02-2019, 07:49 PM
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Wow! You did a neck reset on an old Yamaha? I have always read that they used some kind of epoxy glue that made it impossible to steam the neck joint apart. That's awesome you were able to save such a sweet old guitar and get it sounding great!
Congrats! 
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#3
02-02-2019, 08:26 PM
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Those old Yamahas are amazing. One of the best guitars, I've ever heard in my life was an old Red Label Yamaha FG-150.
It sounded like liquid caramel...like an autumn sunset....it was insane.
__________________
2016 Taylor 324 Mahogany/Tasmanian Blackwood 2017 Gibson J-45 Standard 1985 Gibson J-45 G7th Capos
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#4
02-02-2019, 08:32 PM
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The body shape reminds me a little of the old Harmony Sovereign ... like this guy's holding up.
__________________
Brucebubs 1972 - Takamine D-70 2014 - Alvarez ABT60 Baritone 2015 - Kittis RBJ-195 Jumbo 2012 - Dan Dubowski#61 2018 - Rickenbacker 4003 Fireglo 2020 - Gibson Custom Shop Historic 1957 SJ-200 2021 - Epiphone 'IBG' Hummingbird
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#5
02-02-2019, 08:47 PM
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Quote:
My bolt conversions are better than a lot of the "New York resets" or what I call hillbilly resets where they just run a big screw in through the heel into the block and hide it with a strap button...sometimes not even removing and resetting the fingerboard for the correct angle. I put threaded inserts in the heel and run bolts from the inside... kind of what Godin does with their bolt-ons. Quote:
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#6
02-02-2019, 08:51 PM
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Quote:
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#8
02-03-2019, 08:59 AM
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Id agree - those old Guilds are stellar , picked up a '78 D-25 a couple of years back -its a great guitar , think they sold new for like 200 bucks.
__________________
--------------------------------- Wood things with Strings ! 
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#9
02-03-2019, 09:18 AM
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Long before a Martin was ever dreamed of, some of the best guitars we played were Yamaha’s. They were serious acoustic guitars and yours proves it.
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McCollum Grand Auditorum Euro Spruce/Brazilian PRS Hollowbody Spruce PRS SC58 Giffin Vikta Gibson Custom Shop ES 335 '59 Historic RI ‘91 Les Paul Standard ‘52 AVRI Tele - Richie Baxt build Fender American Deluxe Tele Fender Fat Strat
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#10
02-03-2019, 09:39 AM
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Quote:
__________________
Something something, beer is good, and people are crazy.
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#11
02-03-2019, 09:50 AM
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#12
02-03-2019, 10:01 AM
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I would rather ascribe it to the player's finely tuned senses picking out a really nice sounding guitar no matter what the price.
Conversely, if an experienced player is testing a 'heard' of guitars, there is a tendency to judge many of them rather quickly and eliminate the unqualified from purchase consideration. That is, why waste time with an instrument that doesn't 'click'? Maybe I should submit "A Heard of Guitars" to the guy who irregularly updates "An Exaltation of Larks"?  You know, like "A Pride of Lions". Don .
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*The Heard: 85 Gibson J-200 sitka/rosewood Jumbo 99 Taylor 355 sitka/sapele 12 string Jmbo 06 Alvarez AJ60S englmn/mpl lam med Jmbo 14 Taylor 818e sitka/rosewood Grand Orchestra 05 Taylor 512ce L10 all mahogany Grand Concert 09 Taylor all walnut Jmbo 16 Taylor 412e-R sitka/rw GC 16 Taylor 458e-R s/rw 12 string GO 21 Epiphone IBG J-200 sitka/maple Jmbo 22 Guild F-1512 s/rw 12 string Jmbo
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#13
02-03-2019, 10:51 AM
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Quote:
p.s. exaltation is happiness or raising one up. hmmm..... play music!
__________________
2014 Martin 00015M 2009 Martin 0015M 2008 Martin HD28 2007 Martin 000-18GE 2006 Taylor 712 2006 Fender Parlor GDP100 1978 Fender F65 1968 Gibson B25-12N Various Electrics
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#14
02-03-2019, 11:27 AM
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Quote:
__________________
Eastman E1SS-CLA-LTD Eastman E1OOSS-LTD Cordoba Fusion Orchestra CE Cordoba SM-CE Mini Classical Acoustic Ibanez Blazer 21 MIJ Stratocaster 2 Yamaha PSR-SX900 keyboards I play professionally Roland FP-90 digital piano I play for pleasure with piano VSTs.
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#15
02-03-2019, 12:46 PM
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There is a whole category of guitars out there that while not doing anything terribly well sound so good trying. I tend to gravitate towards Harmonys because I like not only the sound but the 1 3/4" nut width and 1950s Gibson-esque neck carves. I am still toting around a block letter logo Sovereign 1260 I bought used in the 1960s. In the past couple of decades I have added two more Sovereigns as well as a 1942 H165 Stella and 1956 H40. My favorite though is the H40. A fairly hard to find guitar only having been available for a couple of years and at the time the highest priced flattop in the Harmony catalog . And yeah, I am underwater on this one having had to not only have the neck reset but compression frets added to deal with a severely cupped neck. Never regretted it.
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"You start off playing guitars to get girls & end up talking with middle-aged men about your fingernails" - Ed Gerhard
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