Post by CTGull on Sept 4, 2017 17:42:57 GMT -5
Yesterday I picked up a red label FG-150 on CraigsList. I've been looking for that model for a long time. There haven't been many on CraigsList less than 2 hours away, and only a couple on Shopgoodwill, all of them being in poor condition or I was too slow and lost it.
I saw the ad Friday when I got into work. The pictures looked minty. What really caught my eye was the old style "Reinforced Neck" truss rod cover. They were used on the Japan only 1966 & 1967 models, and it seems some of them made it onto the early US models. So I figured this had to be a 1968 model, the first year the FG models were imported into the US.
Even though the post was made 16 hours before (about 1pm the previous day) I replied, not having much hope for getting this semi-rare guitar. I was surprised when he got back to me 2 hours later. Due to scheduling conflicts we couldn't meet until Sunday morning. I hoped he wouldn't sell it out from under me.
My son and I drove 1.5 hours into NY state, just a few miles from the NJ border, meeting at the local Police Station. It rained most of the trip, the remnants of hurricane Harvey. After we crossed the Hudson river, on the newly opened Tappan Zee bridge, the rain suddenly stopped.
I had warned him I wanted to know the history of the guitar. It turns out there wasn't much. His wife bought it 45 years ago from the original owner, and she never played it. It's sat in the case for the last 45 years!! In the case was a Peter Paul & Mary songbook and a bunch of copied music sheets with the original owners guitar teachers contact information. The name Marty and a phone number was written on the back of one of the sheets.
I tuned it up and it produced its first musical tones in 45 years! It sounded OK, not quite the same as my revered FG-110. So I gave him the money and drove 1.5 hours back home to check the guitar out.
The first thing I did when I got back home was to use my cheap USB endoscope to check out the inside of the guitar. There is a 6 digit number stamped on the neck block. And then I found the date code farther inside. 42.3.17, confirming it was made in 1967!!! This has to be one of the first red label FG-150's imported into the US!!
This got me started checking for other FG's with 6 digit "serial numbers". I found a Youtube page with many sound samples of old FG's, listing the model, year, label color, and a partial serial number. A great wealth of information! He's obviously aware of the internal date codes and what the numbers mean, since he's Japanese. I will have to try to contact him and hope the language barrier doesn't block my request for further information.
The guitar is in excellent condition, with not much signs of playing. There are a handful of very small dings here and there, and minimal fret wear. The action is typical vintage Yamaha, barely playable. I'll probably replace the nut for one with a wider string spacing, and lower the saddle. Then put it away where it can't get damaged.
Oddly, the guitar weighs 3.93 lbs, 0.30 to 0.56 lbs more than my 3 FG-110's, which are the same body size. The back and sides are made from a different wood and the tuners are different than the FG-110, possibly explaining the weigh difference.
These are the pictures from the ad.
I saw the ad Friday when I got into work. The pictures looked minty. What really caught my eye was the old style "Reinforced Neck" truss rod cover. They were used on the Japan only 1966 & 1967 models, and it seems some of them made it onto the early US models. So I figured this had to be a 1968 model, the first year the FG models were imported into the US.
Even though the post was made 16 hours before (about 1pm the previous day) I replied, not having much hope for getting this semi-rare guitar. I was surprised when he got back to me 2 hours later. Due to scheduling conflicts we couldn't meet until Sunday morning. I hoped he wouldn't sell it out from under me.
My son and I drove 1.5 hours into NY state, just a few miles from the NJ border, meeting at the local Police Station. It rained most of the trip, the remnants of hurricane Harvey. After we crossed the Hudson river, on the newly opened Tappan Zee bridge, the rain suddenly stopped.
I had warned him I wanted to know the history of the guitar. It turns out there wasn't much. His wife bought it 45 years ago from the original owner, and she never played it. It's sat in the case for the last 45 years!! In the case was a Peter Paul & Mary songbook and a bunch of copied music sheets with the original owners guitar teachers contact information. The name Marty and a phone number was written on the back of one of the sheets.
I tuned it up and it produced its first musical tones in 45 years! It sounded OK, not quite the same as my revered FG-110. So I gave him the money and drove 1.5 hours back home to check the guitar out.
The first thing I did when I got back home was to use my cheap USB endoscope to check out the inside of the guitar. There is a 6 digit number stamped on the neck block. And then I found the date code farther inside. 42.3.17, confirming it was made in 1967!!! This has to be one of the first red label FG-150's imported into the US!!
This got me started checking for other FG's with 6 digit "serial numbers". I found a Youtube page with many sound samples of old FG's, listing the model, year, label color, and a partial serial number. A great wealth of information! He's obviously aware of the internal date codes and what the numbers mean, since he's Japanese. I will have to try to contact him and hope the language barrier doesn't block my request for further information.
The guitar is in excellent condition, with not much signs of playing. There are a handful of very small dings here and there, and minimal fret wear. The action is typical vintage Yamaha, barely playable. I'll probably replace the nut for one with a wider string spacing, and lower the saddle. Then put it away where it can't get damaged.
Oddly, the guitar weighs 3.93 lbs, 0.30 to 0.56 lbs more than my 3 FG-110's, which are the same body size. The back and sides are made from a different wood and the tuners are different than the FG-110, possibly explaining the weigh difference.
These are the pictures from the ad.
