Yamaha SG200

my yamaha sg200 is made in taiwan 1983.mahogany body and neck.white.looks the dogs bollox.

best all round sounding guitar ive owned.clean sounds nice but add gain distortion or overdrive and it comes alive.it dont sound like a les paul or sg its inbetween the two. great tones and no feedback to worry about.

mine was made in taiwan but all the hardware say,s yamaha made in japan.tunners are smooth and hold tune well.the bridge and stop bar are great.the action is the lowest ive had from any guitar including a gordon smith.built to last a life time.

done loads of gigs with it never lets me down.solid as a rock.if you take it apart and have a look at the workmanship you'll see how well its made.you can pick one up for under ??300 and you'll keep it forever.

ive been playing for 25 years now and ive owned a lot of guitars from hondo's to gibsons but this has allways been my keeper.im looking to buy another one at the moment.

1981 JAPAN
22 FRETS
FLAMINGO BLUE (WHITE
ONE PIECE SOLID
MAHOGANY
2 TONE CONTROLS
2 VOLUME CONTROLS
3 WAY SWITCH

Play blues to killer metal
Use line 6 75 spider 3 amp
loads of good tone

pickups are great do not replace!!

I have some minor knocks but it is a survivor.
I used it in conjunction with ibanez destroyer and washburn falcon

Never required.

Started playing when i was 12 now 47.
You cannot get new versions of this guitar!!shame
I am annoyed that Yamaha have no information on their site with regard to this amazing instrument.

22 frets, 2 passive humbuckers, 3-way switch, 2 volume controls, 2 tone controls, double cutaway, SG style body, tune-o-matic bridge, Mahogany body.
It has everything I need in a guitar.

According to the serial number, mine was built in Taiwan, 1984.
A very basic, but beautiful looking guitar. Finish: tobacco sunburst. Its pickups have aged nicely to a creamy, yellowish color.
I got a gigbag with it. Hardware has very slight traces of corrosion, but nothing really bad - that's normal after so many years.

Right now I'm in two bands.
One plays dreamy indierock with influences of 80's new wave and occasionally loud sonic outbursts; think The Cardigans meets The Pixies meets The Cure.
My other band plays slow, droning darkwave with strong gothic & industrial influences, a bit in the vein of Sisters Of Mercy.
This guitar suits them both. I also have a Gibson Les Paul and a Fender USA Telecaster.

I am a real stompbox freak, but generally I restrict myself to the following setup when playing live or at rehearsals: guitar --> Marshall Guv'Nor distortion --> EHX Small Clone chorus --> Boss BF2B bass flanger --> Boss DD5 digital delay --> amp.
My amp is a Laney VC30 (class A tube amp), driven through a Marshall 2x12 cab.
My Yamaha guitar sounds great with this setup.

This guitar was relatively cheap, and most people will tell you that those 70s-80s Asian guitars are a great bang for the buck. Fantastic price/quality ratio! Yamaha makes great instruments.

It sounds fantastic, but - as already mentioned in previous posts - much depends on your pickup settings. Sit down, have a critical ear and take your time to adjust the pickup height to reach your sound. It really makes a clearly noticeable difference, especially for clean sounds (don't set them too high!). Has a fairly high output too.

I like its clean sound. A tad more percussive and brighter than a Les Paul, but still sonically round and fullbodied. Clear definition.
However, it really SHINES with distorted sounds. From the warmest crunch tot the most ear-melting brutal metal distortion, it sounds GREAT!
The pickups are - for stock pickups! - really good imho. The neck pickup sounds wonderfully mellow and bassy, while the bridge pickup has a biting, aggressive edge. The combination of both pickups is best suited for nice clean sounds.

The previous owner used .009 strings on it, now that's pretty lame for a guitar like this one. An SG "SCREAMS" for heavy strings!!

Immediately when i got it, I switched to .011's, which improved the sound, feel and playing pleasure DRAMATICALLY. But of course everyone knows that thicker strings equals bigger tone, right?
A bit harder to play, but it's SO rewarding for your overall sound and its definition!!

The tuning pegs seem to get a bit loose, but hey: this guitar is 22 years old... In time I might replace them with Schaller's. (I did that with my LP too, and it made a huge difference)

Finish is still beautiful, pickups have aged nicely.

This guitar is built greatly, you simply don't find this high quality level on most newly-built cheap guitars from the "big" budget manufacterers like Epiphone, Squier and the cheaper Ibanez'es.

The strap buttons were solid and big enough, but as I didn't like to take any risk (ESPECIALLY NOT WITH AN SG MODEL!!) I immediately installed a pair of straplocks on this guitar (as on my other guitars).
Of course I wouldn't use it on a gig without a backup. Who does?? Always have a backup in case a string breaks.

Their site sucks, and I can't find any information about discontinued models...

I've been playing since I was 15 and right now I'm getting old :-) Nah...

If it would be stolen or drastically damaged, I would be very sad. I'd have to try to find a new one. I really fell in love with this guitar.

What I like most about it is its playing comfort, its sober but nice look and of course that great sound.
I don't hate anything about it, but I don't like the placement of the neck-sided strap button, as with every other SG.

Some years ago, I owned an Epiphone SG and I eventually got rid about it due to increasing frustration (--> weak pickups, horrible tuning instability, toy-like tuning pegs, badly frased nut, low quality lightweight woods).
Now I own this This Yamaha SG and i can tell you it is on ALL levels much better than the Epiphone (despite that last one being more expensive)!!
If you're looking for a decent, good quality, but still cheap workhorse: try finding a 70s/80s guitar from asian brands such as Yamaha, Ibanez, Tokai, etc... You will have MUCH more value for your money in comparison.

Original:
Dual humbuckers, 2x tone, 2x volume, 3-way switch on down-left corner of body (when looking from player's view).
22 medium frets, cool wavey inlays on very solid rosewood fretboard.
Die-cast tuners, stays in tune long enough to do a gig withour re-tuning.
Mahogany body, mahogany 1-piece bolt-on neck.

Customised:
Replaced the original bridge 'bucker with DiMarzio Norton.
Carved the body hollow from between humbuckers.
Added a Fender Stratocaster single coil to between humbuckers.
Added an on/off switch for the sincle coil next to the original 3-way switch.

I also tried to replace the original tune-o-matic-style bridge to a better one, but couldn't find one that fits to the original place. (the bridge width is too narrow).

All in all - it has all the features I need for a guitar.

I've been playing for 10 years and done almost every style of music from fifties swing to modern metal, all with this instrument. It wasn't until last year that I got myself a Fender Tele to cover even more areas of music and sounds.

I've used a lot of different amps, pedals and multieffects. Last 5-6 years my main gear has been a Boss GT-3 and a Morley Bad Horsie wah. I got the GT-3 originally because I needed to have something I can play ANYTHING with. I recently bought myself a Laney TT20 combo and a bunch of pedals, including a custom, handmade OKKO Diablo overdrive.

To the guitar:
The original pickups (SG-200) have tons of power. Very strong low-end, crunchy middles and soft treble. In the original fit the bridge pickup was too weak for the one by neck (or the other way; neck pickup was too hot) and therefore I bought the Norton there. DiMarzio Norton does wonderfull things to the sound. It gives even more midrange and output to the guitar and it adds some clarity to the sound as well. Now it sounds much like Satriani. That can't be bad, right? ;)
With both humbuckers on and the neck pickup volume at 7, the SG sings beautifully and rich with clean amp. You might want to press the "bright" -switch on if you've got one.
Adding the single coil to this sound, the guitar is at it's best. The single coil reduces the overall output a bit but damn boy, the sound is more CLEAN and articulative but still full and all-mighty, than any instrument I've played with. And I've played everything.
The neck humbucker is dark, powerfull and sweeter than a strawberry.
I like fuzzy, hi-gain Gary Moore leads and that's where the neck pickup is at best. It's also good for a nice punchy clean-lead.

The guitar is best at blues and rock. 9/10 for being perfect for me, but not for all. I know many who don't like it's power and lack of brightness.

Factory-setups I have no idea. I bought the SG used '99, and since it's a late-70's piece, It's been worn and used much.

I keep the guitar in low-action but still there's no fret-buzzing like many budget-class guitars have.

My SG 200 has a classic red finish. I think has been originally quite glowing, but since no-one (including me) has seen fit to polish the deck, it's gotten to be more of a matte-finish nowadays.

Since the guitar has been kept more like a tool than a piece of art, it has worn and taken some bumbs. The finish has worn off from a hand-sized area from the back. There are also couple of serious signs of the guitar taking hit in the past. I know I've dropped it many times....

Durability!
That's the keyword!
This instrument is -like said- no piece of art but a rock'n'roll tool. I can go on stage night after night with it and be SURE it's going to withstand everything there. Night after night.

Of course there has been a few incidents, but those have been a result of me modding the guitar. Now I have a problem with neck pickup not rising up from it's mount. But that's because I replaced the original pickup mounting to a poor one. 10€ more at the time and I would've been happy for 20 more years. I didn't know then.

Rock solid - solid rock.

Never dealt with Yamaha.

Bang for the buck? Absolutely!
Rock'n'roll? Fuck yeah!
Will I ever sell it? Hell no!
If it'd be stolen, I'd dismember the thief.

This guitar has been part of me since I started playing professional. There's absolutely no way I'm going to get rid of it.

I'm addicted to this guitar.

I don't know what the year it was made (70s), Made in taiwan serial no MX06179.
22 Frets
Solid Top
Controls: 3 Way switch
H/H
Pickups: fully adjustible (double)Humbuckers
Electronics: N/A
Woods: N/A
Colour: Black
Body style: SG
Bridge style: Tune-o-matic
Tuners: N/A
Neck: Fat

This guitar sounds realy great compared to my epiphone les paul,
a true sounding rock guitar (well impressed)

Effects used: Jim dunlop Wah pedal
This guitar as a great tone for destortion.

I have owened the guitar for about six months and I have had a recent refret job and the internation reset.

Very well made and robust, a true gig axe!

N/A

- I dunno when my guitar was made, I only now it's from Korea.
- 22 frets
- Laminated top
- 2 volume, 2 tone (both push pull for Hum-Single switching), 3 way switch
- Hum/single (neck) and Hum/single (bridge) With one push on the button you have the fat sound of a humbucker, and when you pull it out... you've got the sweet sound of a single.
- Both pickups are Schaller 2in1 (not original, they were broken)
- Maple body and neck unknown.
- Finish: Black with gold hardwear, cream binding.
- Gibson SG
- Tuno-O-Matic
- Non-locking yamaha tuners
- I have jumbo-frets... i don't know the scales and wood.
- Case, strap and straplocks (schaller)

- The guitar fits perfectly in my music-style... I listen to/play everything... from blues to jazz, to death metal... in my band I play some kind of rock,hardcore,punk,stoner-metal...
- I use a Line6 Flextone2 (1x12' speakers not much, but it makes a lot of noise)
- it's very silent because of the noise gate built in in my amp.
- The sound is very warm en full... you can define the tones very well.
- every sound you want, from real wooly clean jazzguitar to screaming metalsolo sound.
- The guitar is short on much bass.. the sound is very muddy... that's why I replaced the old Yamaha pickup for the new Schaller... it's way better now!!

- It was perfect for my playstyle.
- They were good... till my bridgepickup broke... with the new elements it's very good again.. perfect adjustment.

- It already does that... played a lot of gigs with it already.. a lot more to come.
- yes... except the painting is going of.. but that looks cool.
- the finish at the back of the guitar is getting of... but that's my own fault... I wear belts when playing.
- I have straplocks (schaller)... so I think they are.
- Yes I always do... I have only backup strings and cables... my backup guitar sucks.

- Never dealt with the company.
- I have let it repaired.. it's lifetime warranty.

- I play for 10 years now... I have also an 35 year old Gumika (strat model) it sounds very well... very warm as well...
- I would try to buy the exact same guitar... but it isn't there... my guitar is unique... so that's why I would try to find a relativly cheap PRS.
- I compared it with a fender USA strat, this one played so much heavier that my guitar does... the Yamaha was way better... sorry friends who play fender...

Yamaha SG 200.
Made in Japan. No. on back of head stock: KNHH 006.
22 Frets.
Style: Gibson SG.
Don't know wood types.
Finish: Highly polished Black finish tends to show finger marks very easily.
Pickups 2 x Humbuckers. Yamaha as far as I know.
Bridge: Tune-O-Matic.
Tuners: Yamaha, non locking. Not the best.
Neck style: Scale Length 25.75" Quite thin, Flat and quite broard.
Case, originally for an Aria Pro II but fits very well.

I use several styles, ranging from Blues/Rock/Finger Pick Dylan type and a few others.
Roland Cube 20 AMP.
With this combination it is capable of putting out a variety of sounds.
Suited more for Rock/Blues (Metal, I suppose if that is your sort of thing) with loads of distortion and sustain when required.
Likes: action can be fully adjusted from light(which is my preference) to heavy, depending on string types.
Easy to set intonation.
Disliks: Difficult to get a good "Hammer on sound".

Did a swap with a mate against an Aria. I prefered the Yamaha, he prefered the Aria. I also received #100 with the swap! I was brought up with classical type guitar, so prefer a wider neck. Pickups were setup reasonably but intonation needed adjustment. Guitar was in V.good codition and still is. This deal was done some 15-20 yrs. ago!

I have used it at gigs, in the pub and all sorts of parties and it is still going strong hardly a mark on it of any significance.
Seems almost indistructable. It is not too heavy either.

Never needed to contact them.

I have been playing on and off for 35 yrs. I am not all that good. Have also a Classical Tanglewood with bug pickup which I like.
This guitar has a lot of potential but needs setting up for your own particular style. I have set mine up to try and suit all my various styles and have got very close with all the possible variations available with this guitar and my Amp. The Roland Cube 20 I can get almost all the sounds I need, trouble is trying to remember each setting for one style or another.
I found lowering the neck pickups to be flush with the pickup surround and the bridge pickups to be very close to the strings, is the best set up for me.
I don't love or hate this guitar, those words are better suited to women ! I like it very much and I think it is very underated.
The only gripe I have with it is that it does not respond very well to hammered on notes with my finger pick style (could be the strings that are on it at present) but then it was not really designed for this type of playing. (Incidently, I very rarely use a pick for any type of playing. All thumb and fingers!
I could go on for ages but the following may be of interest.
About a year and a half ago I bought a hand crafted Les Paul from a local Luthier in N.Yorkshire. England. It was beautiful and played very well. However, it was just too heavy for me so I sold it.(Far superior to the Yamaha and I think Les Paul's made buy Gibson or Epiphone) I had sold My Yamaha SG to another friend and when I saw him the the other day I aked him if I could borrow it from him with the option to buy. I have only been using it again for two or three days. It is still in the good condition that it was when I sold it. However, I don't think I will buy it back, not because I don't like it but I think I have been spoiled by having had such an excellent hand crafted guitar at least as good as a Gibson infact I think perhaps, better, as so much individual craftmanship went into it.
I don't think Brand names necessarily mean a good guitar but then you are not likely to get a bad one either. Buy what feels right for you. If it has plenty of adjustment you should be able to get it set up for your own style.
All in all the SG is a very good guitar and perhaps, better than a lot of newer stuff that is on the market. You don't see many about these days.
It is perhaps beter suited to the Rock/Metal style with plenty of sustain and distortion. You only have to tap the body to get a sound out of it, always a good sign.
Have fun you folks, you won't go far wrong with this one !
Roger Murray.

Construida en 1983 o 84 en Japon. 21 trastes, con dos pastillas dobles, selector de tres posiciones y mastil encolado. El puente es del tipo tune-o-matic. La estructura de la guitarra es del tipo Gibson SG. Algunos detalles dignos de categorias mas altas sorprenden en una guitarra de este rango, como por ejemplo, el conexionado de los potenciometros sobre un circuito impreso.
No se que madera es; siempre he tenido la sensacion de que es una madera muy blanda (??), el mastil se comba haciendo muy poca fuerza.

Toco todo tipo de estilos desde folk a heavy metal. Con cuerdas de calibre fino, 09-42 el sonido es bastante apagado en todas las posiciones tanto en limpio como con distor. Probablemente las pastillas sean las causantes del problema, aunque la madera del cuerpo tampoco me parece especialmente resonante. Siempre he pensado que unas buenas pastillas obrarian milagros en esta guitarra, pero me da pena alterar el estado original, ya es casi una guitarra clasica.

Es, probablemente, la guitarra mas comoda que he tocado en toda mi vida. Supongo que la escala corta ayuda. Pero ademas, el grosor del mastil y la curvatura del radio son simplemente inmejorables. Casi siempre la he encordado con 09-42, y con este calibre la guitarra es blanda como el chicle. Seguramente el sonido mejorara muchisimo con calibres mas gruesos; pero no me gusta sufrir cuando toco.
El acabado en cuanto a pintura esta bastante bien. La mia es color blanco perla y en todo este tiempo ha amarilleado, pero aun asi no esta mal. Se nota la separacion de la pintura entre la parte posterior del mastil y el diapason.
Por lo demas, el cromado del puente y de las clavijas no es de muy buena calidad; yo sudo mucho de las manos y tanto el puente como las clavijas estan totalmente oxidados. Esto me ha pasado con todas las guitarras que he tenido excepto con una Strato American Standard del 92 que tuve cuyo puente era de acero inoxidable.

perfecta, nada ha fallado, ni siquiera un ruidito en el selector o los potenciometros.

nunca ha hecho falta.

Toco la guitarra desde hace mas de 25 a?os. He tocado profesionalmente durante mas de 12. Fue mi primera electrica y nunca me deshare de ella. Ademas es bonita y una buena guitarra basica. Probablemente, gastando poco dinero, pastillas y hardware, se podria conseguir un buen sonido y una afinacion mas estable.

Mine is a late 70s one. Sunburst cherry going a bit brown now but looks nice. You can see body joins now.Taiwan clearly on yhe headstock.usual humbuckers and tone/vol controls. Strange electrics ahich I haven't fathomed out yet.All hardware is great apart from that G string problem (seems common enough) Use a wound even on 9s Came with no case but then I didn't pay a lot for it.

Suits well. Had one a long time ago when they were new and have looked for one intermittantly since. I use it with a Fender Concert 60 amp and crybaby/dig delay/compressor(low volume playing).
Very lttile noise but the setting of the pickups is crtical to get a clean sound (which you can then dirty to your hearts content) Sounds very gibbo like. Its a nice match to my old strat

No idea about factory setting but the previous owner only played chords on it and the bottom 5 frets don't exist for the top four strings anymore. Got some fat wire to sort that out which is my fav fret wire and what I used on the strat too. Pickups were badly adjusted. They need to be about half an inch from the strings to get a nice fat/clean sound. Finish good and old/worn a few dings and it adds to the character. Considering getting the back recessed though as the shape is a bit 'plankish'.Brillant action apart from those worn frets much lower than I can get with the strat and still get a good sound.

This is a working instrument. For its price its a go anaywhere don't worry guitar. You can throw it in the back of the van and not worry about it. Doesn't seem to warp when very warm (the strat does) and you can't desrtoy it during a single gig (it takes at least two but the strat is dead after a gig)I always gig with a back up but its a bit of a debate which one is the back up!You could play cricket using this as abat then gig with it at night (only joking)

Never used Yamaha...its too old anyway but its easy enough to work on.

been playing 37 years. I got a 67 Framus acoustic/George Bowden spanish/unknown acoustic I use for slide/Stratocaster/various other instruments as well. I am happy I didn't ask about this guitar as I didn't intend to buy it really I just thought the price was too low for such a nice instrument. Favourite feature is the action worst feature is that G string problem tuner. Compared to a lot of guitars four times the price this is one excellent axe.I wish it came with jumbo frets. I want to turn the bridge pick up round but its going to look odd...I'll probably do it anyway to smooth off the sound a bit from that pick up. I've always doen that with humbuckers.

not sure of the year, but made in Japan
totally stock set-up knobs, switch, pick-ups, bridge & tuners

I play HarDCore, Metal & Rock
I play thru a VooDoo Valve, QSC power amps and 4 Marshall cabs
Clean crisp sound, Les Paul sound or better at a fraction of the cost
Very flexable sounds thru the dual humbuckers.
Great for Metal, Rock & Blues
Dislikes....the previous owner could of taken better care it...SAD!
Lkes...double cutaway, action, action, action, you get much better

Action is awsome

Very solid guitar. You don't see this kind of quality work these days for under $1000

n/a

I 've been playing guitar since 1976.
When purchasing a guitar on eBay ASK Questions!
Like cracks, dings, scratches & if the electronics work.
I haven't but friends have gotten burned, so ask.