# New(old) Yamaha for me!



## fingers (Sep 4, 2007)

I have been babysitting a absolutly mint Yamaha FG336sb for 4 or 5 months now.Over that time I have used it as my #1 guitar and fell head over heals in love with it.
Fantastic massive sound,tone and sustain.Funny how a 30 year old yamaha is the #1 sounding accustic in my collection of 9 much more expensive guitars.And looks? well it looks like a million bucks with it's absolutly flawless sunburst finish.
So anyways,the lady I was "babysitting" it for was over last night and I played her a few tunes,she then gave it to me!
So any Yamaha pro's out there able to give me some info on this guitar?
I have googled it and found a little info on it,but mostly on the FG336 not the FG336sb.Conflicting reports on wether it is a lam or soild top.
Serial # is s1101007

Thanks 
Aaron:food-smiley-004:


----------



## bagpipe (Sep 19, 2006)

Cant give you any info on it but congrats on the new guitar. Especially one that you've been enjoying so much. I love a happy story. Oh ... and ...


Need Pics


----------



## fingers (Sep 4, 2007)




----------



## Ship of fools (Nov 17, 2007)

*The SB*

The SB actually was changed from SB meaning Sunburst to SB meaning soild top, so that means yours is a solid top guitar as for the back and sides is where it starts to get really tricky, because at this point cures woods were almost impossible to find and thats only if the label says it was built in Japan as the Yamaha company had switched over to Taiwan in the early 80's, however they also say they wherre discountinued in the late 1981.
Yours looks pristine, like it just came out of the box, except for the pickguard you'd never known she was that old.Enjoy the heck out of it now that its your baby.Ship


----------



## fingers (Sep 4, 2007)

Thanks for the reply's
So it was purchased in the fall of 1978 for $198(she gave me the orig receipt).Weird thing is that the label say's"made in taiwan".
All that aside,the playability of this guitar is a solid 8/10 and the sound is 9or10,absolutly opened my eyes to pre-80's yamaha's.
I will be keeping a eye open from now on for these awsome vintage underrated guitars.


----------



## xuthal (May 15, 2007)

Yuppers around that price range.A while a go someone sent me a link the the yamaha guitar archive page and i bookmarked it.Heres a link to your guitar.
http://www.yamaha.com/apps/guitararchives/guitarchive2.asp
And heres a link to the home page of the archive section if you want to search for more vintage yamis:smile:
http://www.yamaha.com/apps/guitararchives/guitarchive2.asp


----------



## xuthal (May 15, 2007)

I guess the links didnt work as they should have.Just click on the acoustic and type your model in(no capitals or spaces)
Congrats on your new guitar,A bone nut and saddle will do wonders if you feel the need.


----------



## sneakypete (Feb 2, 2006)

my understanding from the catalogs and numerous old Yamahas I own and have seen here is that the SB stands for sunburst, they still list them that way. The ones with solid tops just have an S in the model number. This one is listed on line as being a spruce top, mahogany sides, nato neck made from 1977 to 1981 think it was.
Not that tricky at all for FGs, the Japanese books I have with extensive articles on Yamaha state that the first two light green label FGs were introduced in 1966, FG-150 and FG-180, and were all laminates. Evidently Yamaha was trying to find a solution to the cracked tops they were getting complaints on for their export Dynamics #30, 50 and 70, the very first laminates were the S series Dynamics, S-50 and S-70, then the light green labels, then the red label FGs and after that a butt load of models and label colors and shapes. The light green labels spelled the end for the all solid wood Dynamics...not to be confused with the later S series Dynamics...and the only all solid wood FGs I know of...and I`ve been wrong before... are the FG-1500, 2000 and 2500, made from Brazilian and sell for thousands today, get one of those and you`ll really have something. I see old Yamaha red labels practically every day here and honestly none sound better than my Dynamics so I have only one FG, the 170. Still, old Yamahas get a lot of respect from owners and are getting more and more collectable, but for me I`ll stick to my Dynamics the earliest of mine goes back to the early 50s. No doubt Yamaha was making magic back then, and if theres any doubt about the tops, I use my watchmakers loupe to check em, the ones I see have a very thin top layer, a thicker center, and a very thin bottom layer so they can appear to be solid sometimes. All this applies only to the FGs, the L series are a different thing alltogether and in a different league and the tops ends are still made in Japan today.


----------



## Ship of fools (Nov 17, 2007)

*At one time*

Sneaky at one time it did mean Sunburst, but for some reason they switched it over to Solid during the Late 70's, It was during their time of having problem /pre Tiawan.
A lot of information as always when they start switching factories tends to get lost forgotten and most info on a lot of guitars is based on info coming from the likes of us.
as oyu can see from his sale slip was in 1978 and yet the label says made in Tiawan and yet their site says that move didn't happen till 1981, and I think that is the wrong label also for a 1978, but who really knows for sure about anything.Ship


----------



## sneakypete (Feb 2, 2006)

OK then... just get the Japan Vintage series of books, extremely useful.


----------



## Ship of fools (Nov 17, 2007)

*Hey Sneaky*

This is where I got the info from, Blue Book of Acoustic Guitars 11th Edition, the info regarding was on page 650, 6th line down where it says that they switched the suffix, mind you like all things these are just best guess from those of us who love our guitars, most of the information is often lost or misplaced by the makers and many times production is not the same as what they advertised initially, so you could be just as right, this is all a guessing game sometimes with the earlier model;s, enjoy.Ship


----------



## sneakypete (Feb 2, 2006)

...edited...


----------



## Rick31797 (Apr 20, 2007)

*Yamaha*

Here is one that just came up forsale. looks great..

http://kingston.kijiji.ca/c-ViewAd?AdId=87130052


----------

