TPD's Yamaha Build Thread

[ThePearDream]

I think it's been a few years since there has been a Yamaha SG-2/3 build around here. I am watching ludobag1's Yamaha SG-5/7 build with great interest though.

Also, I haven't done a standalone build thread in a while, but this is going to be a pretty epic build. And by epic I mean, it may go on for a long time, but also, hopefully be pretty spectacular in the end.

I'm about to be putting these Yamaha SG-2 templates from SonicChris to good use. I've had them about two years now. I had put these aside until I had been able to successfully build a few Fender style necks. So right now I have 5 necks I've built, strung up. Three more almost ready for strings, and I've made numerous failures and mistakes, and learned a ton .



And, it just so happens that joining me very soon will be almost every part I'll need. A contact in Japan had a 1967? SG-5 with severe body and pickguard damage from a diy install of some kind of active pickup and 9V battery holder. He knew I was looking for Yamaha parts and offered to sell me any parts I needed, so I said I'd take all the original pieces of hardware and electronics.



I have a pickup from an SGV already, so I have two too many pickups actually, but have two single covers.
I have the vibrato.
I have the bridge (not sure how it attaches yet).
I have an original toggle and pot.
I have a complete, intact set of tuners. Are these worth using on a new build? Is it better to piece these out and keep them on real Yamahas?
I have a neck plate/cover (which is different from SG2 type, but may work?)
I have a string retainer. This looks like something easy to copy.
There are a few more parts that I don't have: vibrato arm, knobs, strap buttons, most electrical bits, etc.

I have a few alder body blanks stashed away. I'll take a look at them, but am also considering roasted alder. The last time I placed an order at LMII, I ordered a custom slotted rosewood fretboard, since my 25.5" fret slotting template is Fender style and this will have a zero fret. I have plenty of maple neck blanks, but again, am considering roasted maple. I like the idea of roasted woods here, since it's kind of just speed aged wood, and might have more nebulous qualities of "tone" and "mojo" like 55 year old wood. I have no clue on finish yet. Should I stick with a traditional Yamaha color or do something else? I am considering going for a burst. The only burst in my collection is a Squier, so I could get this one professionally finished in a proper burst. But then the gold one that workoffire built was awesome and I'm sure this shape could be great with all sorts of metallic colors or other pearl colors even... There were also lots of other colors on other Yamaha SG models...

I really like the bound necks on the SG-5s and workoffire's. I haven't bound a neck yet, but I have had a new binding router bit & bearing set collecting dust for too long. Bound neck on sunburst? I will have to re-read theworkoffire build thread and the big Yamaha SG thread this weekend for inspiration and knowledge.

Nothing wrong with this

[MattK]

Looks like you need to do a SG-3 with that double pickup!

[SuperAxe]

Very cool and looking forward to your progress.

[noisepunk]

always here for a good Yamaha SG build.



personally, i think this would be a great opportunity for a custom color...and pickups, but i'll keep the unsolicited suggestions to myself...

[ludobag1]

Cool
but in fact i hate you cause the SG5 dismantled is the result ,you have the parts who are missing (from the picks i have seen on reverb ,there is only a 9 v cover routed in the body and some other routing in the body hidden under the guard ,no big trouble to redo some patch and a paint for the the body (maybe i am wrong but i haven't see too much atrocity (if i was you and have the money i will buy the body and neck and reput all together )
for your Sg2 there is another source for made it happen (when i made my XII i find it unappropried to dismantle a squier venus ,more simpler ok but where is the challenge )

only my 2 cents

i will follow but at first i am little angry

[Embenny]

I don't feel qualified to answer any of your questions, but I love your builds and can't wait to see this come together.

[ThePearDream]

If you hate me now, you won't want to know what I paid for everything...

I do feel a bit bad, the neck is in nice shape, but IMO the fault is with whoever did the mods. My friend was going to part it out whether I bought any pieces or not. I'm also open to not using some of the parts and getting them back on vintage Yamahas where it makes sense.

[ludobag1]

no offence ,but you are true it is not your fault (like smelly cats in friend)
somebody must buy this parts ,and hoppefully someone who is in yamaha guitar and not for only resale value (it could be the case) i am flat broke right now but if time have been better i will have buy the all thing )
for using it to save an another yamaha it is a good cause !(there is a red sg2 in america on revern too who miss pickups , one tuner and have the guard attacked by humbucker invasion ,but with a savant cut it could be transformed in sg3 (he have original guard and hardness too!(just a little care needed concerning the neck the saler said back bow ? (little heat only can make it good to another 50 years ) (in aussie another sg3 with scalloped fretboard but part missing )
then what do you do? ,you must buy the neck and body !!!!!(is cheap for a 67 yamaha and moreover your friend in japan could find you the missing part more easely than in an another country )
after do what you want with the spares parts

then i am not jalous (a little maybe )and wait for lot of pics of original part ! and also thing like kohms of sixteen bobin

for the arm of the trem you could make your ,it is a single rod ,no thread ect.... just need to find the tip(same as ural guitar for 40 euros a new one with tip,i have look to buy a trem complete in russia but it is rotten and need to be rechromed at all for 70 € plus the rechrome it is expensive ,if it have been pristine ok but no for a really ugly part) ,and for the rest nothing undoable ,you could adapt some jazzmaster roller of the rythm circuit to fit ,,strap button is doable with a turn or can be near (the more than 100 € for original is ridiculous !)
the pot and wiring can be redone with better new part than old scratchy one

[ThePearDream]

no offence ,but you are true it is not your fault (like smelly cats in friend)
somebody must buy this parts ,and hoppefully someone who is in yamaha guitar and not for only resale value (it could be the case) i am flat broke right now but if time have been better i will have buy the all thing )
for using it to save an another yamaha it is a good cause !(there is a red sg2 in america on revern too who miss pickups , one tuner and have the guard attacked by humbucker invasion ,but with a savant cut it could be transformed in sg3 (he have original guard and hardness too!(just a little care needed concerning the neck the saler said back bow ? (little heat only can make it good to another 50 years ) (in aussie another sg3 with scalloped fretboard but part missing )
then what do you do? ,you must buy the neck and body !!!!!(is cheap for a 67 yamaha and moreover your friend in japan could find you the missing part more easely than in an another country )
after do what you want with the spares parts

then i am not jalous (a little maybe )and wait for lot of pics of original part ! and also thing like kohms of sixteen bobin

for the arm of the trem you could make your ,it is a single rod ,no thread ect.... just need to find the tip(same as ural guitar for 40 euros a new one with tip,i have look to buy a trem complete in russia but it is rotten and need to be rechromed at all for 70 € plus the rechrome it is expensive ,if it have been pristine ok but no for a really ugly part) ,and for the rest nothing undoable ,you could adapt some jazzmaster roller of the rythm circuit to fit ,,strap button is doable with a turn or can be near (the more than 100 € for original is ridiculous !)
the pot and wiring can be redone with better new part than old scratchy one

In the end I hope to have a Yamaha SG2/3 shaped guitar with proper pickups and vibrato. I am totally open to many of the possible ways to get there though. I've definitely seen those guitars you mention and have considered them all and haven't ruled any of them out. I'm not a greedy person, so any parts I don't use will be available to the OSG community first, for a fair price. I'm not rich either though, so I'm going to wait at least a month or two before I seriously consider "rescuing" anything in the $1K+ range

always here for a good Yamaha SG build.



personally, i think this would be a great opportunity for a custom color...and pickups, but i'll keep the unsolicited suggestions to myself...

Whether I build or restore my way to a vintage/vintage-ish Yamaha, I'll probably also build a second non-trad version with different pickups, off the shelf hardware, and who knows what for color. So, while I wait on my parts to cross the Pacific I am soliciting suggestions from the audience.

How would you build out a brand new SG2/3? Colors? Pickups? Special features?

My first thought is to keep the pickups Japanese. Gold foils, or square alnico poles or something else funky. Then paint it in an old Datsun (or other Japanese auto maker) color from around that time.

[noisepunk]

i've always thought it would be interesting to mimick the contruction of a WRHB for the bridge pickup, but keep the SG3 form-factor and make it split able, and then do a similar thing for the neck–same size, same shape, but make it like a jaguar pickup and stick claws on it.

...large G&L MFDs would also look and sound quite nice, i'd think.

for colors... it's always tough to come up with anything, and yamaha has done some of my favorites on their stock models, but i just feel like it's always an opportunity to do something that wouldn't have. charcoal frost is a favorite fender color that i think would suit and SG2/3 quite well–i'm quite partial to that with a black anodized guard, which i also think would look fantastic with this body shape.

metalic KO is another favorite... dunno. just seems a good opportunity to have some fun with things.

[ThePearDream]

i've always thought it would be interesting to mimick the contruction of a WRHB for the bridge pickup, but keep the SG3 form-factor and make it split able, and then do a similar thing for the neck–same size, same shape, but make it like a jaguar pickup and stick claws on it.

...large G&L MFDs would also look and sound quite nice, i'd think.

for colors... it's always tough to come up with anything, and yamaha has done some of my favorites on their stock models, but i just feel like it's always an opportunity to do something that wouldn't have. charcoal frost is a favorite fender color that i think would suit and SG2/3 quite well–i'm quite partial to that with a black anodized guard, which i also think would look fantastic with this body shape.

metalic KO is another favorite... dunno. just seems a good opportunity to have some fun with things.

I think those are all really great suggestions. But, I happen to have an SG-3 inspired Jag-Stang in Orange Firemist. It has custom 3D printed pickup covers. The bridge coils are independently selectable, or can be combined in series or parallel. I feel like this was a pretty fun build and meets of lot of the criteria you're looking for.



I also agree that some G&L MFDs would be cool. I actually have a build in the pipeline for an offset with Jumbo MFDs. I also agree on Charcoal Frost, that's one of my favorites too. I currently have a CFM baritone Jazzmaster with a black Eames Decoboom guard. Here it is with my only sunburst guitar (which would look much better in another color).



So, yeah, I totally agree with you. I just don't like to have colors that are too similar in my collection.

I don't know where I spotted this, but I have a pic of a daphne blue-ish SG3 body, that looks pretty cool.


I think some of these Datsun colors would look great too. Really digging the Safari Gold, since my only yellow guitar is a $120 Epiphone.

[noisepunk]

I think those are all really great suggestions. But, I happen to have an SG-3 inspired Jag-Stang in Orange Firemist. It has custom 3D printed pickup covers. The bridge coils are independently selectable, or can be combined in series or parallel. I feel like this was a pretty fun build and meets of lot of the criteria you're looking for.

ah, yep, that's pretty close to all of that (even the jag-stang style you went with is rather SG2/3-ish...and of course, the switch arangement probably isn't coincidental at all)

lovely guitar.

the CFM baritone is nice too–not as green as i'd like, but it's a lovely color in all shades, and the decoboom guard looks great...i've actually though about having them make a guard for my wife's SGV as a gift...but i'd have to figure out how to covertly remove it first

...ramble ramble... back to waiting for updates.

[Sonichris]

I'm watching this new build with interest!

Here's a re-paint I did last year to a '67. The body was in rough shape - big crack running the length of the body.
Replaced a few pieces, and used some of PearDream's pick up covers.

[ThePearDream]

Wow! That looks so good. This (and your black SG-3) has me really thinking about the mint pickguards on these and how really any classic 50s to early 60s Fender (or similar) color would work fantastic on this shape. The lefty Duo-Sonic I'm just wrapping up has a cool Aqua color in-between Daphne and Seafoam that would look fantastic. Stuff in that vein.
At the same time it has me rethinking metallics, since I tend not to like mint on metallics.

My traditional build will probably have mint, but the optional non-traditional build, could get parchment or black or something else entirely different.

[Jaguar018]

This guitar is now my #1 build/project desire.

So cool.