TRASH OR TREASURE
BLUE BOOK PUBLICATIONS
Yamaha SG2000
Hey Zach,
I’ve got a Yamaha SG2000 in my collection,
and I’m wondering if you can give me a little
information on why this guitar is so sweet
to play! I’ve owned it for several years and
I find myself always coming back to play it.
Also, what is the value of this guitar today?
Daniel in San Francisco, CA
Hey Daniel,
Since guitar virtuoso Carlos Santana played
the SG2000 for several years, you know that
there is something special about this guitar.
In fact, the SG2000 is one of the most collectible and valuable Yamaha guitars in the
used market today, and there is plenty of
good reason for that.
Yamaha was founded in Japan in 1897 by
Torakusu Yamaha as a piano and reed organ
manufacturer. Yamaha entered the guitar
market in 1941 when they announced that
they were going to start building classical
guitars, but full production didn’t start until
after World War II in 1946. After the guitar
boom of the mid-sixties, Yamaha introduced
electric and acoustic steel-string guitars in
1966. Yamaha has been producing a variety
of guitars ever since, including several high-end, hand-crafted instruments. However, the
bulk of their production is targeted for entry-level and intermediate guitar players, with
price points between $200 and $500.
The SG2000 is certainly not one of Yamaha’s
entry-level models. It was introduced in
1976, and Yamaha contacted Carlos Santana
shortly thereafter to see if he was interested
in endorsing the instrument. He actually
appeared on the cover of Guitar Player magazine in June of 1978 holding the SG2000,
but the article explained that Santana actually
redesigned and introduced many of the features on the original SG2000. According to
Santana, the guitar was too light and didn’t
resonate like he wanted. He recommended
making the guitar heavier with thicker woods
and installing a brass plate underneath, connected to the tailpiece (later patented as
the Sustain Plate). Yamaha also used a three-piece laminated neck with two pieces of
mahogany surrounding the main maple part
that was patented as the T-Cross System. All
these features, and the fact that the guitar
was built very well, led to a great playing
guitar. Santana absolutely loved the sustain
this guitar could create, and it was the best
guitar Yamaha had produced thus far.
Yamaha SG2000
Aside from the endorsement of Carlos
Santana and the unique features that the
SG2000 utilized, there were other factors
that have made this guitar valuable today.
The late seventies and early eighties was
a turbulent time for many American guitar
manufacturers and the big three of Gibson,
Fender, and Martin were all in danger of failing. Yamaha was willing to experiment and
get away from the traditional side of building
guitars, which made them innovative. Also,
Yamaha was one of the first Japanese manufacturers to actually set up their guitars in
the US after shipping them from Japan. Long
story short, the SG2000 was one of the best
guitars available in the late seventies and
early eighties, and it could possibly be the
best Japanese guitar of the time.
For around a thousand dollars today, a
buyer can pick from a basic selection of new,
US-built guitars. A used late-seventies to ear-ly-eighties SG2000 typically sells for between
$900 and $1200 in the used market, which is
very comparable to a new US guitar. Thirty
years ago, Japan was considered by the guitar industry the way China is today. However,
this view has changed over the years and
very few guitars actually come out of Japan
anymore. While spending around $1000 on
a late-seventies Japanese guitar may seem
ludicrous, the market has shown that the
demand is certainly there.
You also may notice that the SG prefix is
very similar to a certain brand from one of
the most popular U.S. builders today. When
the SG Series from Yamaha became widespread in the early eighties, Gibson put a
stop to it, and all Yamaha SG models were
changed to SBG in the US. Carlos Santana
hasn’t endorsed Yamaha for years; he was
one of Paul Reed Smith’s first customers
in the early eighties. Santana has several
signature models with PRS and continues
to play them exclusively today. I’m sure
Santana along with you will continue to
treasure this guitar for years to come!
Source: The History of Yamaha Guitars—
Over 60 Years of Innovation by Mark Kasulen
and Matt Blackett
Zachary R. Fjestad
Zachary is the author of the Blue Book of Acoustic
Guitars, Blue Book of Electric Guitars, and the Blue
Book of Guitar Amplifiers.
Questions can be submitted to:
Blue Book Publications
Attn: Guitar Trash or Treasure
8009 34th Ave. S. Ste #175
Minneapolis, MN 55425
800-877-4867
bluebookinc.com
guitars@bluebookinc.com
