The specialized design was predicated on the use of our independently developed pickups, while the guitars featured 22 frets and a thin body with an emphasis on ease of performance. At the top of the range are the CG Concert Series of classical guitars which have a fine reputation amongst more advanced guitarists. It was not until the 1940s that Yamaha began producing the first of their innovative guitars. In 1921, Yamaha acquired the Nishikawa & Sons in Yokohama after a death of its founder, and continued to manufacture the Nishikawa organs and pianos until 1936. It has been assumed the first digit is the year, but the remaining 5 digits do not fit any other dating systems. This does not include products made by Bösendorfer, which has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Yamaha Corporation since February 1, 2008. Artist Voices. The best classical guitars will have a flat fingerboard and a wider neck, measuring around a full 2” across the nut. A series developed around the concept of an acoustic-electric guitar, delivering pure, natural acoustic sound and inspired by the design aesthetic of a mariner’s compass. The MB-I model showcased plenty of originality in its headstock design, pickups, and bridge. I’ll concentrate on models imported into the US, there were many other models not imported but have made their way over here, initially brought back by US military stationed in Japan, and more currently eBay. A model with the characteristic bright tone of the SF series, plus 24 frets, a smooth top cut that forms to the player’s body, and a back cut for a left-right asymmetrical design. FG-500, FG-550, FG-580 have solid spruce tops, FG-630 is spruce plywood. Of course, from time to time, the company would take special request from some individuals. The RBX series, with its 3D headstock design, debuted in 1986 along with the new RGX series electric guitar. Quality and tone at an affodable price. The history of Yamaha begins many years prior to the initial production of their innovative, affordable, high quality guitars. They featured original designs for the tremolo unit, neck joint system, and pickups, demonstrating Yamaha's penchant for individuality and innovation from our very first models. You will notice 2 serial numbers inside most of the Taiwan models (8 digit number on the brace under the end of the fretboard, and a 7 digit number starting with a “T” on the neck block), except for the first few months of the Taiwan Red label guitars, they only have the 7 digit number beginning with “T”. This further increased their sales, despite some struggles with a few models, as the products spoke to an ever-greater number of individuals. At other times, the company adjusted their product to customer request. This combined with the excellent performance qualities, the hybrid pickup system switchable between passive and active, and advanced specs such as built-in LEDs for side position markers. Yamaha’s very first folk guitar with pickups. In 1887 Torakusu Yamaha was asked to repair a reed organ for a local school. But this article is focused on their guitars, of course ? C / CX . SG1000: This guitar served as the longest reigning standard SG model, evolved from the set-in neck and humbucker concepts established in the SG175. In 1968 the Yamaha FG line came to America, consisting of the FG-75, FG-110, FG-140, FG-150, FG-180, FG-300 and the 12 string FG-230. However, despite this huge stride forward in the company’s history, these guitars would continue to be available for a Japanese audience only throughout the 1950s and much of the 1960s. The flagship model of the SG series bearing the “custom” guitar title. All the layers of the top are tone wood, not a cheap wood filler. We also simultaneously launched a dedicated speaker cabinet. The digital amps kept their simple controls and offered a design for intuitive soundscaping by guitarists. Yamaha FG Serial Numbers, Interior Markings, and Labels – 1966 to 1981. Specially designed for rock music, the BB2024X features a spline joint construction combining with A.R.E. Its modern design included a deeply scooped out cutaway body, a neck joint conducive to great playability, and a bridge featuring fine tuners. The 1212 was a top-of-the-line model with advanced features including a five-piece maple and mahogany through-neck, an ebony fingerboard with binding, a state-of-the-art tremolo, plus pickups with Spinex magnets on a 628-mm scale length guitar. Yamaha CG180SA.JPG. The flagship model of Yamaha's classical guitars, with carefully select wood and meticulous craftsmanship that embodies the specialized techniques of both traditional Spanish guitar design and Yamaha’s team of professionals. The History of Yamaha Guitars; The History of Yamaha Guitars. Comes with a fine tuner. SA50: A hollow body model with left-right symmetry. In late 1971 most of the FG production moved from Japan to Taiwan. Chips replaced the unique operations of tubes to reproduce an array of sounds. A custom-spec model was later produced upon request from Carlos Santana. The FG-140 is a “budget” version of the FG-180. Its scale length was 850 mm (33-1/2"). With myriad sound variations thanks to a five-position lever switch and USA-made pickups, this guitar used a new style of set-in neck joint allowing smooth performance even in the upper frets. It really is, but they were made with saw cut plies, and not today’s rotary peeled log plies. Yamaha’s first series of effects pedals launched with the addition of the SB200 system board for combining 12 types of pedals. The FG-110 and FG-150 are Folk size guitars, similar to Martin’s 000 size. This is because in addition to the company’s reputation for innovative and high-quality guitars, Yamaha acoustic guitars are well known for being relatively affordable in comparison to other guitar producing companies. The J series were customized for the Japan market with features considered revolutionary at the time, including a model with a headphone jack, and a bass guitar amp model. However, the classical guitar has played a big part in building the company's reputation as a stringed instrument maker. An acoustic-electric series with a simple, powerful design and a smooth neck feel, as well as SRT pickups and other features to please purists who desire a real performance guitar. In 1887 Torakusu Yamaha was asked to repair a reed organ for a local school. The back and sides are also 3 plies, with the inner ply being a different wood (filler). A contact pickup system developed with the goal of producing “real acoustic sound” that is a faithful reproduction of an acoustic guitar’s body resonance. 00 £163. ), YM-40 (3 1/2 octave Standard Padauk marimba), YM-1430 (4 1/3 octave Standard Padauk Marimba), YM-2400 (4 1/3 octave intermediate Acoustalon™ marimba), YMRD-2400 (4 1/3 octave Acoustalon™ Multi-Frame II marimba), YMT-2400 (4 1/3 octave Acoustalon™ Tough-Terrain™ Frame marimba), YMRD-2900A (4 1/2 octave intermediate Acoustalon™ Multi-Frame™ II Marimba), YM-4600A (4 1/3 octave Professional rosewood Marimba), YM-4900A (4 1/2 octave Professional rosewood Marimba), YM-5100A (5 Octave Professional rosewood Marimba), YM-5104A (5 1/2 octave Custom rosewood Marimba), EPS-1 (1986) PMC1 "Percussion Midi Converter", Pads: PTT1 (toms, snare), and PTB1 (kick). Actually, they pick up where the previous “Dynamic” series left off. This best-in-class model pushed the evolution of the BB-2000 further, featuring a narrow neck and a deep cutaway body shape offering easy access to the higher frets. Consecutive numbers with the first Green label starting with 52XXXX, then they incremented to 600000 at the start of 1967. The company was established in 1887 in the island country of Japan but despite the company’s current reputation for high quality guitars, in the early years of its history they did not specialize in the production of guitars. These are the years where the truss rod adjustment is in the headstock. F-5 / F-15 / F-25 / F-35 / F-45 / F-55 (1984, FE-30 / FE-40 / FE-50 / FE-50M / FE-50MB / FE-60 / FE-70 (1984–1986/1987), FS-20 / FS-30 / FS-30M / FS-50 / FS-70 (1983–1986...1988(FS-30M)), FX-1 / FX-3 / FX-10 / FX-20 (1983–1987/1988), HS-4 / HS-5 / HS-6 / HS-7 / HS-8 (1987–1992), ME-15 / ME-35 / ME-55 (1986–1989, portable keyboard style), CE20 / CE25 (1982) — cost down preset version of FM synth, SY20 (1982, ensemble synthesizer for classroom), SK50D (1980, 2 manuals organ/poly-synth/solo-synth/bass), SY-1 (1974, solo part of GX-1, monophonic synth with initial/after touch), CS-01 (1982, shoulder keyboard, with breath controller), CS-70M (1981, 6-voice dual channel, patch memory, polyphonic seq. NX Series New. They changed to the Red label at the start of 1967.