HOW DID YOU FIND THIS FORUM??

Could you send a good picture of the serial number? It should be 8 digits.

I only have (2) FG-500's in my list and they're both from 1972, as yours is. The only question is clarifying the rest of the numbers.

Personally, I think you should keep it. It's a fairly rare model, solid spruce top, jacaranda back & sides (beautiful!), mahogany neck, ebony fretboard and bridge. It's said to be hand built, although I'd guess all the guitars had to have been hand built, but the higher models probably where built by one person vs. an assembly line. The FG-500 is the lowest of the hand built models, but still very desirable.

I'm guessing this is your guitar?? reverb.com/item/17225667-yamaha-fg-500-jumbo-dreadnought-natural That's a crazy high price. You might get $1000. While it's a desirable model, there aren't many people willing to pay that much for an old Yamaha. I see it's had a JLD bridge doctor installed? That could reduce the value. That won't help the action much if it needs a neck reset. And high action makes a guitar worth less. I learned how to do neck resets to be able to save more of these old guitars.

I'm in the middle of CT, about 5 hours from you. I was in Rochester a couple of months ago to get a 1967 FG-110, which ended up being a bit of a disappointment, as it doesn't sound as good as my other FG-110's. The lowly FG-110 is my favorite FG model. My favorite FG-110 only cost me $40, and it's one of the rare FG's I've found that didn't need a neck reset.

I had heard about big difficulties to make a neck reset on old Yamaha guitars so I asked Mr.Google for help and information and landed in this helpful forum.
I´m glad I found it and the lot of kindly shared instructions and informations. One of the best maintained forums!

I have an old Yamaha FG 6-string that sounds astonishingly nice. I dont know the exact number because it isn´t here in my home in Germany.
I will have to look at it when I´m again in Andaluzia by the end of July.
I always put a capo at the first fret because it has too high action...it is more than 40 years old. I bought
it when I was a student. The nut is not the culprit for the string hight, its the bridge. Long ago it had been shaved down a little by a professional
luthier but that is no aid anymore. I´m thinking to make a neck reset when I have it here in my craft room.

In the last 3 years I have built 2 acoustic guitars, one 8-string baritone in sunburst and the last one as a 12-string with open peghead.
When I saw the ad of my "new" acquired Yamaha FG 512 I was fond of the admirable grain and got it inspite of the necessary neck reset I´m working on by now.
Price was decent - about 165 $ - I guess not too much for such a beauty...

i literally typed Yamaha vintage guitar forum into yahoo. Thank you sooo much. I love yamaha guitars.I must have had 10. I think as a kid i thought all guitars sound this good. Thank you for doing this I am looking uo my guitar today because i just got it out of pawn after a mixup. They tried to give me the wrong guitar! I did get it. Thanks again m

Welcome!

The sounds like the lower serial number of a FG-165S-1.  What's the upper serial number?  I'd expect 609??.

The upper number is on the brace just inside the sound hole, under the fretboard.


The date code is the small numbers next to the big 3.  I'd expect 65.8.??.

No problem!  I doubt anyone else is interested in the serial numbers but me.

Thanks!!  It was made 9/1/1976.