Post by CTGull on Jul 21, 2019 19:45:21 GMT -5
The FG-360 is a bit of a mystery model (even by Yamaha standards). Yamaha’s guitar archive says it was made between 1972 and 1974, with a spruce top, coral rosewood back & sides, African mahogany neck, and Indian rosewood fingerboard and bridge. And that it was never exported to the US. They also list a FG-360N model, made between 1973 and 1975, with a spruce top, Jacaranda back & sides, mahogany neck, and ebony fingerboard & bridge, with full body and neck binding. It’s probable the FG-360N was exported to the US, although the “N” isn’t on the label. To add to the confusion, they have either 5 digit or 8 digit serial numbers. Based on the thousands of serial numbers I’ve collected normally the 5 digit numbers were for Japan, and the 8 digit numbers were for export. But in the case of the FG-360’s it seems that was reversed, the 5 digit numbers were exported and the 8 digit number were not. The FG-360 was also made in Japan AND Taiwan. FG-360’s with 5 AND 8 digit serial numbers were made in Japan until July/August 1974, then changed to 8 digit numbers (with the 7 digit serial number on the neck block) and made in Taiwan.
I bought my 1973 FG-360 from Shopgoodwill.com in June 2018, for probably more than it was worth. I knew from the label and serial number that it was made in Japan and not for export. That makes it a bit rare. But the risk of buying a guitar from Shopgoodwill.com is high. You can’t truly tell the condition by the pictures. I could see there was a volume pot mounted on the left side of the upper bout. That’s about it. The pictures were too far away to see any detail. What I couldn’t tell was the first 3 frets are heavily divoted, and there are many scratches and dings all over. And the biggest problem, common to most vintage Yamaha FG’s, is the neck angle is bad (the neck projects 3/32” below the bridge with no strings) AND the bridge had been sanded to .23” thick with only .09” depth of saddle slot at the ends.
I decided this would be my next project, even though I still have a couple of projects unfinished. I wish I had thought of this earlier. I’d really like to be able to compare this guitar to the customers all solid wood FG-500, but it’ll be gone before this guitar is finished.
So I’ve started a plan on how to fix this guitar.
Since the bridge is so low I decided it needs to be replaced. Ironically, the 1974 FG-110 I took apart for a “demo” model has the exact same bridge, except the wood is different, AND it’s the full untouched .31” height. This bridge is actually used on many models made in the 70’s. So I removed the bridge from the FG-110, 3D modelled it, and ordered (4) Indian rosewood bridge blanks (rectangular blocks of wood). www.lmii.com/indian-rosewood-bridge-blanks/975-indian-rosewood-bridge-blank-1st-grade-12-string.html I need the 12 string blank because the finished bridge is 1.64” wide, the 6 string blank is only 1.56” wide. This has to fit in the existing footprint. I’ll write a step by step procedure on how to make them.
I verified the fretboard and frets are very flat (no hump or bow), but the tops of the frets are also very flat, no crown. And they’re also a little on the low side, .035” to .040” high, but other than the 3 with big divots I should be able to crown them and not have to do a full refret. The fretboard has binding, making replacing frets a bit harder. In this case, the frets have to be cut to length and the ends finished before installation to fit within the binding. Many times the fret tangs need to be notched so the frets can overhang the binding.
I’ll remove the neck first, then replace and level the 3 new frets. The bridges will be made concurrently. I need to have the new bridge installed for the neck reset, but I can get started without it. The chances of the holes in the new bridge lining up with the holes in the top are slim, I’ll have to add a 1/16” thick maple bridge plate patch (inside), plug the existing bridge pin holes with epoxy, and drill the holes thru the top after the bridge is glued on.
It’ll also need to make a new bone nut & saddle. The nut will have a wider string spacing, increasing the standard tight 1.37” to a more playable 1.44”. I will also increase the saddle string spacing from 2.00” to 2.12” when making the new bridge, but it can’t be any wider due to the width of the fretboard. I’ve found the maximum saddle string spacing is the same as the width of the end of the fretboard, in this case 2.12”.
I removed the volume pot, which plugged into the endpin jack. Not sure how I’m going to plug the volume pot hole, it would be nice if it was wood, but I could also use metal or plastic hole plugs. The endpin jack may need to stay, I wasn’t able to unscrew it.
Once again, this project starts with stuff I’ve already done, and adds a few new things to make it interesting. And I should be learning to play the guitars and basses I already have! All I need is time!!
I bought my 1973 FG-360 from Shopgoodwill.com in June 2018, for probably more than it was worth. I knew from the label and serial number that it was made in Japan and not for export. That makes it a bit rare. But the risk of buying a guitar from Shopgoodwill.com is high. You can’t truly tell the condition by the pictures. I could see there was a volume pot mounted on the left side of the upper bout. That’s about it. The pictures were too far away to see any detail. What I couldn’t tell was the first 3 frets are heavily divoted, and there are many scratches and dings all over. And the biggest problem, common to most vintage Yamaha FG’s, is the neck angle is bad (the neck projects 3/32” below the bridge with no strings) AND the bridge had been sanded to .23” thick with only .09” depth of saddle slot at the ends.
I decided this would be my next project, even though I still have a couple of projects unfinished. I wish I had thought of this earlier. I’d really like to be able to compare this guitar to the customers all solid wood FG-500, but it’ll be gone before this guitar is finished.
So I’ve started a plan on how to fix this guitar.
Since the bridge is so low I decided it needs to be replaced. Ironically, the 1974 FG-110 I took apart for a “demo” model has the exact same bridge, except the wood is different, AND it’s the full untouched .31” height. This bridge is actually used on many models made in the 70’s. So I removed the bridge from the FG-110, 3D modelled it, and ordered (4) Indian rosewood bridge blanks (rectangular blocks of wood). www.lmii.com/indian-rosewood-bridge-blanks/975-indian-rosewood-bridge-blank-1st-grade-12-string.html I need the 12 string blank because the finished bridge is 1.64” wide, the 6 string blank is only 1.56” wide. This has to fit in the existing footprint. I’ll write a step by step procedure on how to make them.
I verified the fretboard and frets are very flat (no hump or bow), but the tops of the frets are also very flat, no crown. And they’re also a little on the low side, .035” to .040” high, but other than the 3 with big divots I should be able to crown them and not have to do a full refret. The fretboard has binding, making replacing frets a bit harder. In this case, the frets have to be cut to length and the ends finished before installation to fit within the binding. Many times the fret tangs need to be notched so the frets can overhang the binding.
I’ll remove the neck first, then replace and level the 3 new frets. The bridges will be made concurrently. I need to have the new bridge installed for the neck reset, but I can get started without it. The chances of the holes in the new bridge lining up with the holes in the top are slim, I’ll have to add a 1/16” thick maple bridge plate patch (inside), plug the existing bridge pin holes with epoxy, and drill the holes thru the top after the bridge is glued on.
It’ll also need to make a new bone nut & saddle. The nut will have a wider string spacing, increasing the standard tight 1.37” to a more playable 1.44”. I will also increase the saddle string spacing from 2.00” to 2.12” when making the new bridge, but it can’t be any wider due to the width of the fretboard. I’ve found the maximum saddle string spacing is the same as the width of the end of the fretboard, in this case 2.12”.
I removed the volume pot, which plugged into the endpin jack. Not sure how I’m going to plug the volume pot hole, it would be nice if it was wood, but I could also use metal or plastic hole plugs. The endpin jack may need to stay, I wasn’t able to unscrew it.
Once again, this project starts with stuff I’ve already done, and adds a few new things to make it interesting. And I should be learning to play the guitars and basses I already have! All I need is time!!
