Post by CTGull on May 27, 2021 11:38:25 GMT -5
The Green label models (FG-150 & FG-180) are the first guitars made by Yamaha in the new FG series. They were sold in Japan only between September 1966 and February 1967. They don't come up for sale in the US too often.
I saw the ad about 3 hours after it was put up. $595 plus $65 for shipping + tax. That’s a bit more than I wanted to spend on this, even though I’ve been wanting to find a Green label FG. I don’t “need” it! The ad says the truss rod is “non-functional”, that could mean it’s stuck or it’s broken. I can fix both, so that isn’t much of a big deal. And it probably needs a neck reset. I was waiting to be paid for a guitar I had recently fixed for a customer (to be delivered in 1.5 days), I figured I’d wait until I got the money from him (PayPal). That will pay for a decent portion for the guitar, less on my credit card. If I’m meant to have this guitar it’ll still be available. The next morning the price dropped to $395! I send the customer an email, asking if he could send the money earlier so I could buy a guitar. He sent it about 4 hours later and I quickly pulled the trigger. It shipped that evening and took UPS 5 LONG days to get it to me.
It came in a Martin box, not too conspicuous. It was housed in a Roadrunner Polyfoam case. Sweet! The first observation is the action doesn’t look bad, but the strings are slacked. There are some divots in the first 3 frets and most of them are low (.030”.025”) so I’m probably replace them all. The saddle is wrong, a newish compensated one, only sticking out of the bridge .08”. Sadly, the bridge has been sanded to .22” thick (typically they are .31”), and the saddle slots are only .06” deep at the ends & .09” in the middle, that won’t support a higher saddle, I’ll have to deepen it at least .06”. Tuning the strings to pitch showed a different side of the guitar, the action raised to 5/32”!! UH OH!! It is extremely hard to play, even in the first position. I took the truss rod cover off to find the end broken off and the nut missing. Not surprising!! I had hoped to find it just stuck, but either way I can fix it. I have a few scrap necks (including a 1967 FG-110) and I’ll replace the truss rod when the neck is off for the neck reset. The pickguard was a little cupped so I removed it to find some silicone holding most of it down. I’ll restick it after the neck is done. All I need is time!
So, I guess this constitutes a major overhaul. Neck reset, replace truss rod, replace frets, deepen saddle slot, restick pickguard.
The top isn't too bad, but there are dings all over the body.
Short saddle & bridge.
High action!
Some divots in the frets.
And they're low.
Truss rod nut??
I saw the ad about 3 hours after it was put up. $595 plus $65 for shipping + tax. That’s a bit more than I wanted to spend on this, even though I’ve been wanting to find a Green label FG. I don’t “need” it! The ad says the truss rod is “non-functional”, that could mean it’s stuck or it’s broken. I can fix both, so that isn’t much of a big deal. And it probably needs a neck reset. I was waiting to be paid for a guitar I had recently fixed for a customer (to be delivered in 1.5 days), I figured I’d wait until I got the money from him (PayPal). That will pay for a decent portion for the guitar, less on my credit card. If I’m meant to have this guitar it’ll still be available. The next morning the price dropped to $395! I send the customer an email, asking if he could send the money earlier so I could buy a guitar. He sent it about 4 hours later and I quickly pulled the trigger. It shipped that evening and took UPS 5 LONG days to get it to me.
It came in a Martin box, not too conspicuous. It was housed in a Roadrunner Polyfoam case. Sweet! The first observation is the action doesn’t look bad, but the strings are slacked. There are some divots in the first 3 frets and most of them are low (.030”.025”) so I’m probably replace them all. The saddle is wrong, a newish compensated one, only sticking out of the bridge .08”. Sadly, the bridge has been sanded to .22” thick (typically they are .31”), and the saddle slots are only .06” deep at the ends & .09” in the middle, that won’t support a higher saddle, I’ll have to deepen it at least .06”. Tuning the strings to pitch showed a different side of the guitar, the action raised to 5/32”!! UH OH!! It is extremely hard to play, even in the first position. I took the truss rod cover off to find the end broken off and the nut missing. Not surprising!! I had hoped to find it just stuck, but either way I can fix it. I have a few scrap necks (including a 1967 FG-110) and I’ll replace the truss rod when the neck is off for the neck reset. The pickguard was a little cupped so I removed it to find some silicone holding most of it down. I’ll restick it after the neck is done. All I need is time!
So, I guess this constitutes a major overhaul. Neck reset, replace truss rod, replace frets, deepen saddle slot, restick pickguard.
The top isn't too bad, but there are dings all over the body.
Short saddle & bridge.
High action!
Some divots in the frets.
And they're low.
Truss rod nut??
