PRODUCT REVIEW
pickup, single notes pop but stay warm and
articulate. No dark, boomy, fuzziness was
heard anywhere. There’s a smooth sophistication that permeates the overall sound of
this axe. In the bridge position, I got bite,
but I could immediately adjust how sharp it
got with my right hand. I could lighten up
to get what I wanted. Sensitive to picking
dynamics, I could go from full-bodied to
sharp to plinky. The middle position gives
that classic nasal honk that’s great for chick-in’ pickin’, but using the push/push pots is
where it gets fun.
With the push/push pots engaged there’s a
volume drop, but now I was getting all these
cool faux Tele variations by changing the
pickup positions. I could split the coils for
either pickup, move the toggle switch to the
middle position and get the sound of two
split single-coils, or add a full humbucker
along with one split-coil. I found this feature
very useful when I wanted to instantly knock
down the volume and get a thinner, more
cutting tone. A quick tap on the tone control,
and I had an entirely different sound and volume level. From out of nowhere I’m playing
the intro to “Love Rollercoaster” by The Ohio
Players, and it sounds like the record.
The Fury
So now it’s time plug into some bodacious
overdriven guitar rigs in search of fire-breathing overdrive and flesh-melting distortion. Standing in a rehearsal room, alternating between a Peavey JSX and a Marshall
JCM2000, I get why the choice was made
to keep the pickups clean. Clarity! The neck
pickup grabs a hold of the distorted gain of
the Marshall and bends it to its sonic will. It
repels any and all muddiness and manipulates
the dirt, shaping it into smooth, rich and elongated tonal color. These are the kind of tones
that make you want to hold a note longer than
you normally would.
Blues-rock-shred-wanking ensued as I discovered the sonic middle ground between Gary
Moore, Al Di Meola and Neal Schon. It really
mirrors that Al Di Meola early solo career
vibe, especially when you add mutola, but it
also beckons to be man-handled à la Gary
Moore. This guitar has a lot of refined clarity.
Switching to the bridge pickup really allows
you to pop out of the mix with muscular but
soft treble tones. It never gets brittle or peaky,
but still pops. It loves distortion. Though this
guitar tends to lean toward the cleaner side,
cranking up your amp a bit more could grant
you all the nasty-ass metal you could want.
It’s perfect for blues, rock, jazz and funk. The
push/push pots aren’t as useful with nosebleed
distortion levels, because much of the subtlety
in the tonal change is lost. With light overdrive
you can get all kinds of interesting sounds.
I got an excellent variety of tones playing
through a mystery backline at the local blues
jam. Effortlessly switching from a distorted
neck humbucker sound to a pristine double-coil split is a great feature on this axe.
The Final Mojo
The Yamaha SBG3000 is a substantial piece of
wire and wood. It lacks the gritty earthiness of
my old SG2000, but the SBG3000 is cleaner,
clearer and much more upscale and refined
in the tonal department. It’s pretty much all
right there for those who like the sound of
a smoother Les Paul Custom vibe with more
tonal options. Those spoiled by lightweight
solidbody electrics will more than likely pass
on this guitar. For those who really like to feel
it, you’ll really feel it with this guitar. The price
will cause internal bleeding, but hey, it comes
with a free display case!
You like cool-looking guitars with
hip tonal options.
Buy If...
Skip If...
You have back problems and are
unemployed.
Rating...
4.0
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Yamaha
MSRP $4799
yamaha.com/guitars
