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chase wrote:From what I've read the SG7 was played and popularized by Yuzo Kayama (the "Japanese Elvis"), while the SG2 and SG3 did not sell well, which might explain why they were discontinued while the banana and samurai guitars were not. I guess they didn't have the same cultural weight on the Fender shapes that the West did. It's hard to find reliable information though.

Interesting. That definitely would give a reason for the continuance of those models. Since there are plenty of examples of other JM and Jag inspired guitars available in Japan during the sixties, I wonder if the unpopularity of the SG-2/3 might be less a marker of cultural differences in taste and more an indication of a trend that had largely run its course.

chase wrote:Yeah - and also insane that the single-digit SGs were part of their first stab at electric guitars, and they pretty much nailed it. These aren't cheap knockoffs, and they're practically begging for a proper re-issue. Talk about underrated gems.

BTW I've seen block-logo ('67) SGs with the trem arm removed... do you have pics of your trem, HorseyBoy?

No close-up pics of the trem arm. I'll try to take some when I get the guitar back from the re-fret. My luthier is taking his time because the old frets are being stubborn and he doesn't want to pull up any of the fingerboard (which is thin to begin with) with a fret. Slow and steady and very careful - just what I like in a luthier.

Re-fret update for my SG-2. Got the guitar back today and it feels great - really, really happy with the results. Went with Stew-Mac 152 wire, which measures .092 x .048 (came down to .045 after the fret dress). The original frets were tiny, measured around .080 x .023. Barely any height, which didn't exactly make it a joy to play. The new frets feel "right" and don't change the character of the guitar. As an added bonus, there was some sort of lacquer (or boiled linseed or something?) sealing the rosewood on the fretboard which always bugged me. Thanks to a very, very light plane of the fretboard once the old frets were removed, that lacquer is now gone. Looks and feels much nicer. (The bone nut replaced the original chrome-plated brass nut a while back - the slots were just too wide and there was too much 'slop' whenever I bent a string.)
Couple of close-ups of the new frets:





For anyone else thinking of a re-fret, I can't recommend it highly enough. Just make sure whoever does the work is careful. The old frets were apparently a bitch to get out, so a bit of heat will come in handy if you don't want to chip the fretboard. The tangs on the original frets are also very small, so the slots will need a little work - again, something you need to be very careful with.
Kept the old frets and the luthier pointed out that all of the barbs on the tangs (the little bits that hold the frets in) had been done by hand and were different on each fret. So it was somebody's job back at the Yamaha factory to hammer barbs into fret tangs. Here's a pic for the curious:



And I dug up some pics of the trem assembly from the first time I had it on the bench (for you, chase):

Happy to see the re-fret went well.

Fantastic thread!
Just a couple of things I can add to the pile:

This is the circuit from my SG-5a


It would be amazing if anyone can check the values of the SG-3 roller pots so we could get that circuit drawn up, too - I don't think they're stamped on the back, so they might need checking with a multimeter.

And this is the SG-5a's double-thickness neck and the support bolts, and the threaded inserts the pickups screw down into. Also shows the bound neck, which I've never seen on an SG-2 or 3, so I presume was only available on the 5.


A nice shot of the bridge springs and nylon rollers:


And I couldn't resist this - my replica with my 5a

^ I've said it before, but your replica is a work of art, man! Can never see enough of that guitar.
And yeah, as far as I know there were no bound necks on the SG-2 and SG-3 models.
One question: is the trem arm removable on your SG-5? I'm guessing it isn't…

Thanks! I've never tried to remove it with any conviction - a firm pull certainly does nothing. As far as I know it has the usual taper near the end and the split collet to hold it, similar to the offset trem, so it would probably come with enough force.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZd_5XUXMRU

Anyone know what the knob on the neck end of the lower bout on Link's SG2 was for ?

Visible at 0:40

It's something covering the switch - probably a round piece of foam or something like that. Presumably to stop him from flipping it while he plays.

windmill wrote:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZd_5XUXMRU

Anyone know what the knob on the neck end of the lower bout on Link's SG2 was for ?

Visible at 0:40

It could also be the built-in distortion/booster that was said to be built in to Link's SG-2, "Screaming Red". Apparently it also had Firebird tuning pegs.
There's a thread on Link's gear at TPG where some of this stuff is covered: http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showth ... p?t=242694" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The quote from Eric (who I think is Eric Geevers, who played bass with Link) is really interesting:

Links Screaming Red had some remareable features. Firstly, an onboard distortion/booster, just in case a JCM800 or Twin wouldn't distort when turned all the way up and his Boss Compression Sustainer would give up. (He never used the built-in distortion, mind you, but he had that Boss pedal switched on permanently during a song, with all three knobs turned firmly at 'max'.)
And did you know that 2 of the strings didn't even go over the bridge saddles? They were strung inbetween - and Link didn't mind, since it was miraculously tuneable and playable that way... "naah, just leave it, it's fine...

Link's string changes (around the 13-14 minute mark)

antisymmetric wrote:Link's string changes (around the 13-14 minute mark)

Hot damn! Really good view of the Firebird "banjo" tuning pegs on Screaming Red while the dude's restringing it, too

Holy fuck! Ben! Welcome back!

Missed you buddy.

...can we say for certain these old SG's have a 7.25 radius?

Mine's 7.25"

i just picked up another one of these (pretty beat to crap sg-3) with a - well i'd say - crappy neck. new fretboard (FLAT!) and missing tuners.
trying to put another neck on it now, but the spacing of the neck screws is very unique and nothing else will fit without modding...