Yamaha sbg 200

[voggin]

I came into possession of this thing years ago, and never really did anything with it other than move it 5 or 6 times.

Lately I've picked it up and realize it is a pretty well built guitar. I would guess it was made in the early 80's in Japan.

Anyone know about these? What kind of wood, etc? The pickups sound pretty cheap, and I'm thinking about changing them (I'm inspired from reading everyone's posts on this site about mods) but...

Is this guitar worth the trouble? I mean, should I bother with say a $200 mod budget, or keep the money for a different purchase down the road? I know that's a subjective thing, but would you mod it or sell it? And what would it be worth?

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Yamaha sbg 200

Your SBG200 was almost certainly built in Yamaha's factory on Taiwan. (So were several of my bass guitars.) The wood is Nato - an Asian relative of Mahogany. You are correct to assert that the build quality is very high for what is, obstensibly, a budget instrument. The weak points are the machineheads and the electronics.

You are also right to consider your SBG as a suitable platform for pickup modifications. The model has been discussed on this forum before. (Try the Search engine.) The short answer is, anything that sounds good on a Gibson SG should work pretty well for you also.

Without knowing what other guitars and pickup types you own, it is difficult to make any pickup model suggestions.

 

[voggin]

Re: Yamaha sbg 200

Thanks for the quick response. I have a really nice MIA 60's vintage (1993) strat and I recently got a PRS SE singlecut with hbs. Given what you say about the nato wood/SG comparison, I think maybe P90's or Prails would fill out the "tone gap" nicely.

Opinions/other suggestions?

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Yamaha sbg 200

No. None. P-Rails mounted in Triple Shot surrounds, wired via American electronics is my default suggestion.

Here is the schematic. http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/wiring-diagrams/schematics.php?schematic=2h_2ts_2v_2t_phsp

For P-Rails, think of the screw coils as the P90 coils and the stud coils as the rail coils.

 

[voggin]

Re: Yamaha sbg 200

Hey, thanks a million. I'll post when I get the mod done!