![]() ![]() Today, the labels on these early Yamaha guitars have become factors in how they are valued. The history is muddy.Įlliott Smith plays “Between the Bars” on his FG-180 (Taiwan). It’s also possible the Taiwan guitars had red labels slapped on them because they were meant for export. The “T” designated the guitars Taiwan origins and it would make sense that Yamaha used up their stock of red labels, and excluded the Nippon Gakki print. The early Taiwan built guitars have red labels and a “T” fronted serial code. Yamaha went offshore in ’71 or ’72, moving production of many of their FG guitars to Taiwan. Regardless of their origins, both “versions” are wonderful acoustics. Although, some Elliott Smith fans seek out the Taiwan built FG-180 guitar he played. One sought after FG is the FG-180, an all-laminate guitar and most notably those with green or red labels that cite “Nippon Gakki” (Japan Instrument). Still, today FG series guitars have fans around the world, with a few attaining some level of cult following. It was a Yamaha FG-150 handed to Country Joe McDonald in 1969 at Woodstock that grabbed the attention of many music enthusiasts around the world.Īnd for today’s Yamaha aficionados, the rest is history.ĭuring the ’70s Yamaha guitars could be seen on stage in the talented hands of such guitar masters as John Denver, Bert Jansch, Paul Brady, John Martyn, and decades later in videos of the remarkable singer-songwriter, Elliott Smith. The FG line was developed to emulate the sounds of more expensive world class guitars, replicating or improving upon them, with many of their guitars wrapped in laminates of rosewood, mahogany and other tone woods.ġ973 FG-2 FG-312 – photo credit: Rick Landers Financial losses by breakage became intolerable and Yamaha began to focus on improving the company’s bottom line, yet in a way to not degrade the sonic quality of its product.Īround 1966, the Dynamic name would give way to a new Folk Guitar (FG) series of guitars. 100 and more, some with solid wood bodies, others were laminated with veneers.ĭuring the 1960s, it’s said Yamaha’s guitar exports experienced trauma in shipment, with wood guitars warping, cracking and breaking. Several different styles and construction types were offered and the Dynamic era featured models named numerically that included: No. Prior to 1966, the Yamaha International Corporation sold many guitars under the “Dynamic” name. And it’s often a frustrating journey trying to get authoritative specifics about any particular FG model. There’s a lot of information and misinformation to be found on-line about Yamaha FG guitars when seeking out their history. 1971 Yamaha FG-300 – Photo courtesy of Vintage Guitars (Stockholm, Sweden) ![]()
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