Post by CTGull on Oct 28, 2022 9:02:08 GMT -5
HIS STORY: The story of this Yamaha FG-200 acoustic, at least in the era where I am caring for her, starts at an extremely low point in my life where I couldn’t seem to catch a break. On a rather mundane afternoon, my dad asked me if I’d like to ride with him to the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store. If you’re not familiar, it’s a donation and resale center where you can give your still-usable construction supplies removed during renovations but also has a thrift section full of various home goods. I tagged along and, to our surprise, saw a cardboard guitar case standing amongst a collection of large power tools. The attendant says, “We moved it out here from the other room because it wasn’t selling!”. Pretty easy to guess why once I saw the $350 price tag. Maybe it’s something that’s actually worth that price? Doubtful.
I placed the case upon a table nearby and remarked it was in great condition. Must be fairly new, I thought. When it opened, we’re absolutely floored. I had been reading about the high quality of this era of Yamaha acoustics and knew exactly what I saw. The guitar is sitting snugly in bright orange velvet and looks nearly brand new save for a couple marks on the neck from an old Hamilton capo. The action is high, the saddle is low, but it sounds beautiful and plays well enough in the home position. I pegged it for early-70's, later finding out that I was correct. Customers and employees laughed and enjoyed themselves as I played my clawhammer "blues-grass" riffs in A, E and B7. I had made up my mind to buy it, but I was certainly not planning to spend $350.
The manager is in the back unloading a truck. I planned my intense negotiation on the walk there. We discussed the work that it would take and the going rate for such services. He asked, “Will you play it?” to which I responded, “Absolutely!”. He said, “Alright...$175?” and I eagerly agreed. I paid as quickly as I could and ran out of there with the *legally* stolen guitar of my dreams.
I am in love! The tone is fantastic but thin possibly due to the low saddle and poor breakover angle. I humidified the case and loosened the truss rod to let it settle into its natural position for the next few weeks. The adjustment helped but she definitely needed more movement than this well-cured mahogany neck was going to afford. I began researching online and found this wonderful forum full of information and references. The short answer...neck resets on FG's aren't for the faint of heart! Time to send her to Dave for the attention she deserves.
She just turned 50 years old on September 22nd, 2022. Currently debating calling her “Keiko” which is a feminine Japanese name meaning “Lucky”. What do y’all think?
OBSERVATIONS: This is the most exceptional packing job ever!! And a cool hand drawn graphic on the side!
It’s pretty clean!! Only a few small dings here and there. No strings, the saddle and pins in the case. It has played mostly in the first position, with shallow fretboard divots, and decent divots in the first 3 frets at the B & E strings. The first 3 frets will need to be replaced and possibly level all the frets, I’ll know more after the neck is off. The bridge has been sanded to .23” thick (.31” normal), the saddle slot is only .08”/.10”/.07” (bass/middle/treble) deep. The slot will need to be routed deeper to support a taller saddle. Inside everything looks normal, except I found a picture of him and his kids. The bridge plate is a little chewed up, patching it is optional.
The case has a thicker lid than normal.
And a unique handle made from chain and rubber hose!
Packed well inside the case.
Blocked in!
Stuff in the storage box.
The first 3 frets have some pretty good divots.
The bridge has been sanded about .08" lower, which reduces the depth of the saddle slot, so it won't be able to support a taller saddle.
The corner of the heel.
The other side.
The end of the heel.
The top bracing and bridge plate.
A close up of the bridge plate. It's a bit chewed up, but not terrible. I'll leave it up to him if he'd like me to add a bridge plate patch. They used soft spruce, I add 1/16" hard maple.
Part of the date code.
The best I could do with the serial number.
I installed some old strings and tuned to “D”. The nut action is good to low. The bridge is .23” thick with .10” of saddle sticking out. The neck relief is good. The action is 7/64” both E’s.
The nut will have 1.44” string spacing. He tunes to standard E and Drop D. The action will be 5/64” low E & 1/16” high E. The strings will be D’Addario Medium EJ17.
I placed the case upon a table nearby and remarked it was in great condition. Must be fairly new, I thought. When it opened, we’re absolutely floored. I had been reading about the high quality of this era of Yamaha acoustics and knew exactly what I saw. The guitar is sitting snugly in bright orange velvet and looks nearly brand new save for a couple marks on the neck from an old Hamilton capo. The action is high, the saddle is low, but it sounds beautiful and plays well enough in the home position. I pegged it for early-70's, later finding out that I was correct. Customers and employees laughed and enjoyed themselves as I played my clawhammer "blues-grass" riffs in A, E and B7. I had made up my mind to buy it, but I was certainly not planning to spend $350.
The manager is in the back unloading a truck. I planned my intense negotiation on the walk there. We discussed the work that it would take and the going rate for such services. He asked, “Will you play it?” to which I responded, “Absolutely!”. He said, “Alright...$175?” and I eagerly agreed. I paid as quickly as I could and ran out of there with the *legally* stolen guitar of my dreams.
I am in love! The tone is fantastic but thin possibly due to the low saddle and poor breakover angle. I humidified the case and loosened the truss rod to let it settle into its natural position for the next few weeks. The adjustment helped but she definitely needed more movement than this well-cured mahogany neck was going to afford. I began researching online and found this wonderful forum full of information and references. The short answer...neck resets on FG's aren't for the faint of heart! Time to send her to Dave for the attention she deserves.
She just turned 50 years old on September 22nd, 2022. Currently debating calling her “Keiko” which is a feminine Japanese name meaning “Lucky”. What do y’all think?
OBSERVATIONS: This is the most exceptional packing job ever!! And a cool hand drawn graphic on the side!
It’s pretty clean!! Only a few small dings here and there. No strings, the saddle and pins in the case. It has played mostly in the first position, with shallow fretboard divots, and decent divots in the first 3 frets at the B & E strings. The first 3 frets will need to be replaced and possibly level all the frets, I’ll know more after the neck is off. The bridge has been sanded to .23” thick (.31” normal), the saddle slot is only .08”/.10”/.07” (bass/middle/treble) deep. The slot will need to be routed deeper to support a taller saddle. Inside everything looks normal, except I found a picture of him and his kids. The bridge plate is a little chewed up, patching it is optional.
The case has a thicker lid than normal.
And a unique handle made from chain and rubber hose!
Packed well inside the case.
Blocked in!
Stuff in the storage box.
The first 3 frets have some pretty good divots.
The bridge has been sanded about .08" lower, which reduces the depth of the saddle slot, so it won't be able to support a taller saddle.
The corner of the heel.
The other side.
The end of the heel.
The top bracing and bridge plate.
A close up of the bridge plate. It's a bit chewed up, but not terrible. I'll leave it up to him if he'd like me to add a bridge plate patch. They used soft spruce, I add 1/16" hard maple.
Part of the date code.
The best I could do with the serial number.
I installed some old strings and tuned to “D”. The nut action is good to low. The bridge is .23” thick with .10” of saddle sticking out. The neck relief is good. The action is 7/64” both E’s.
The nut will have 1.44” string spacing. He tunes to standard E and Drop D. The action will be 5/64” low E & 1/16” high E. The strings will be D’Addario Medium EJ17.
