Killer Acoustic... Great Price!!!

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Buck62

Buck62

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Believe me when I tell you....

The Yamaha FG-150 is an AWESOME sweet-sounding guitar!
The tone and feel is actually better than any new Martin guitar in the $500 to $2,500 range.
I've compared them side-by-side... it really is BETTER!

Here's one on ebay that's in great shape for a guitar that was made around 1969 (give or take a year).

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=909640865

The reserve is super-low for this guitar.
I don't think the seller knows that it's easily worth more than double (probably triple!) what he's asking for.

Damn! If I didn't just buy a new guitar and Marshall amp I'd be ALL OVER this guitar! Anyone who know's about old Yamaha acoustics knows exactly what I'm talking about. ;)

He says the action is a bit high, but if you remove a shim from under the bridge and file the nut just a bit, the action would be perfect!
(Been there, done that)

Get your bid in fast... this one's a steal!
 
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It's worth about $75 in that condition if the set up is good. I agree, the early Yamahas do sound pretty good.
 
$75???

Pffft.... I'm not talking about "blue book" or collector's value... it ain't worth much in that respect. I'm talking about what it's worth in "sound" value.

Any guitar store would charge somewhere between $150 to $250 for that FG-150, and they'd easily get it once someone heard how great the tone is on an old Yamaha.

This guitar wouldn't be priced less than $200 at Music-Go-Round, I'm sure of it. And like I said, "tone-wise" it SMOKES the Martins.
 
I'm a Yairi fan myself, but that does seem like a good deal.
 
Yes, $75. Especially on ebay. There's no assurance the neck is straight. You could be lucky and just have lower the saddle.

I bought a new FG-150 for my then girl friend in 1973. By 1978 both the guitar and our relationship had warped some. My guess is that that one on ebay has a warped neck.

How to fix it? Well you can crank down on the truss rod if it's not already tight, if it is then it needs a heatlamp treatment.

Smokes Martins? Hmmm.......I've got a 1952 00-18 which you'd have to say is a similar model, and I don't believe that guitar is going to get smoked by anything.
 
Buck62 said:
Believe me when I tell you....

The Yamaha FG-150 is an AWESOME sweet-sounding guitar!
The tone and feel is actually better than any new Martin guitar in the $500 to $2,500 range.
I've compared them side-by-side... it really is BETTER!
Click to expand...

The reserve is under $100 and your trying to tell me it is a better guitar than a $2,500 Martin? That's the biggest BS comment I think I have ever heard. I wouldn't even think that the highest end Yamaha would even start to compare with the lowest end Martins. In fact, my brother owns a Yamaha and quite frankly, they are pretty mediocre guitars. Washburn and Takamini make much better mid to low range guits than Yamaha. Now, in all fairness, I'm sure this guitar sounds fine and is decent, but let's not try to fool people here into thinking that they are getting a steal compared to any old used guitar. You can gift wrap a turd, but at the end of the day, it's still a turd.
 
I tend to go with Buck on this one. I've got a similar vintage FG-200 that really does sound awfully nice for a cheap guitar. A buddy of mine has an older 350 that sounds even sweeter. Both of them have seen better days but there is something about old Yamahas...They just age well I guess.

lou
 
I'm confused?!?!?!?!?!?!?

I do think that was an OVER statement that its as nice as a 500 - 2k Martin. I think it was a way of saying that for $100 you are getting something better than anything in a store know for up to $500.

With acoustics-anything more than a bit below that is cheap an don't fight me-you know it too.

If that was a serious statement then there is know way you have acually played a real martin. I will admit that a cheap guitar from the 60's was probably better built than a cheap one today. I would have to say you just have a spare guitar you need to get off your hands ;-)
 
Lou, I'm not denying that a cheap guitar can age well......I have cheap guitars that sound great for the price.......but there really is no comparison that can realisticly be made between an aged cheap guitar and say an aged Martin (or any other high end guit).....of course, this is my own opinion, and I respect yours, but I tend to disagree even more strongly when the comparison is made trying to get people to buy a site unseen guitar for $100-150 that is "better" than a Martin.
 
Re: Re: Killer Acoustic... Great Price!!!

powderfinger said:


The reserve is under $100 and your trying to tell me it is a better guitar than a $2,500 Martin? That's the biggest BS comment I think I have ever heard. I wouldn't even think that the highest end Yamaha would even start to compare with the lowest end Martins.
You can gift wrap a turd, but at the end of the day, it's still a turd.
Click to expand...

It amazes me how you guys don't read EXACTLY what I'm saying.

I said that "old" Yamaha acoustics sound better than any "new" Martin in the $500 to $2,500 range. I never compared it to any vintage Martin guitars or anything else... and I stand by my statement!!!

It's all about the aging of the wood and the build-quality of Yamaha guitars of that era. Those old Yamaha's are simply incredible for such a low-priced guitar. You can speculate all you want about how the neck might be warped, but that's all it is... speculation.
Of course, that '52 Martin 00-18 has always had a "perfect" neck and everything else, just because it's a Martin, right? :rolleyes:

I actually OWN some vintage Yamaha's and have done the comparisons.

How about you nay-sayers and speculators?
Have you done a side-by-side comparison?

Yep, that's what I thought.

Just because you didn't know how to properly care for some chick's acoustic guitar back in the 70's is no basis to judge ALL Yamaha acoustics.

Besides, I know what I'm talking about because I've got over 7 million posts! :D:D:D
 
Buck62,

At least your guitar collection won't set you back very much.
 
I gotta fg335 from about 1980...it was my first guitar. I dunno if it qualifies as an "old" yamaha or not..it's old to me lol...it is all laminate BTW. tough as a brick...with some bright strings this thing sings...very even tone across all the strings

I love the way my yamaha sounds and plays personally....other's can't play it really due to the high action (the truss rod is stuck and the saddle is about 1mm higher than the bridge)...

it did beat out my friend's taylor 410 and martin dm dread in a jam not long ago....volumn and tone wise..and that was not my opinion....of course he got the nod for playability with the taylor:eek::D
 
philboyd studge said:
Buck62,

At least your guitar collection won't set you back very much.
Click to expand...

You are seriously mis-informed if you think that the amount of money you spend on a guitar dictates how good it will sound and play.

I have cheaper-priced guitars and I also have more expensive ones in my collection. I've owned some expensive guitars over the years, but found too often that I couldn't justify $1,500 for a guitar when I could get two excellent axes for the same amount of money. I also realized that more-expensive guitars are trophies to brag on and to get others to "oooh" and "ahhhh" over.

I'm over that now.
To me, it's all about "practicality" and what plays and sounds good for a reasonable price. I think it's great that guys like to have their "trophies"... goody-goody for you!
But I much more enjoy finding lower and mid-priced guitars that I can actually PLAY and gig with, without worrying about getting a micro-scopic scratch or nick on it.

And just to clear up a seriously misguided notion by most guitar players, all the old Fenders, Martins, Gibsons, etc. from the 60's and 70's are NOT always the best quality guitars. Any knowledgeable guitar-tech or luthier will tell you that quality control was severely lacking back then. It was hit or miss on whether you'd get a good guitar or one that had problems.

Granted, quality-control is MUCH better these days on the high-end guitars. 95% of PRS guitars are top-notch, but I've still seen some lemons that have managed to sneak through final inspection and hang on the wall at Guitar Center.

I see alot of broad opinions on certain guitars around here that dismiss guitars onder $600 as cheap, crappy, and lacking in tone. But I assure you that if you play ten of the exact same model of Epiphone Les Pauls or ten cheap Takamine acoustics (all the same model), you're going to find that most are pretty good guitars and that one or two in each bunch that is exceptionally well-crafted, plays like a dream, and sounds pretty damned good.

Enjoy your "trophy".

I'll take the reasonbly-priced guitar that I can throw in the case, go to the show, and actually "play".
 
I recently bought a Taylor NS62-CE for $1895 and it couldn't do anything well except look good. I took it back.

For acoustic guitars I really prefer the used market over new, and you don't have to spend a lot, I don't like spending money needlessly. With a used guitar you know what it's going to do cause it's already done it. You just have to keep your ear to the ground and the deals will come, even after ebay.

That '52 Martin? I paid $200 for it in '87.
A Montana J-200 for $800.
A few months ago, a Guild DV52 for $600.

The deals are out there.
 
I've never played a nice vintage guitar. The only vintage guitars I've played are some old Kay and Sears shit at my grandma's. those things are old and the strings sit about 5 inches high. well.. not that high.. but holy shit...

anywho, how do vintage guitars compare to newer guitars in playability? I"ve played just about every newer guitar from $950 on up.. Martins, Takamines, gibsons, taylors, blah blah blah... not to mention the hand made boutiques like breedlove, collings, larivee, bourgousie, olson, blah blah blah... Is there a difference in playability?

for me, the perfect guitar is my washburn sw68. $1500 brand new. fits my fingerstyle and technique perfect. I didn't have to adjust my style and technique to make it sound good like I did with a lot of other guitars. Maybe it was overpriced, but to me it was worth it.
 
I gotta side with buck on this one. Sound is a very subjective thing and price doesnt always dictate sound!!! Who is to say that when you put it down on tape a $75 axe isnt gonna sound as good as a $2500 axe. Boston recorded all of their acoustic guitar sounds on a $50-$75 import axe and as far as I can see their sound is considered Classic!!
 
Many collectable vintage guitars aren't all that great to play, some are, but I don't think any of us are dealing in that marketplace.

People tell me from time to time they're taking up guitar and what acoustic guitar should they get. I'll always say to get a used Japanese guitar from the '70's or '80's, preferrably Yamaha, Takamine, or Alvarez. In this area it means a trip online to recycler.com.
 
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