Is it me, or are these Yamaha SG prices getting a bit silly?

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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16541
    edited July 2017
    A close mate of mine had an SG2000 which truly was amazing and weighed no less than 11lb.  He loved it.  

    When i I made him a guitar he insisted it should weigh a similar amount.  I made him a lovely solid mahogany PRS/ les paul custom hybrid @ 10 1/2lb

    his other guitar was a 96 studio at 10lb.  He had that since I met him shortly after it was new.

    heavy guitars, and that direct sound, really suited him.

    sadly he passed away before we really perfected the guitar I made for him.  It became his wedding gig guitar because it looked nicest,  but I don't think I ever got it to match the SG2000 for him whilst he was still alive.  Even though the set-up was identical and I felt it was a much better guitar,  I just didn't capture that yam SG solid and pure tone he clearly loved.

    i know 9 out of 10 would prefer the guitar I made for its additional resonance



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  • EpsilonEpsilon Frets: 600
    I think this guy is basically buying up all the old Yamaha SGs he can find and trying to create something approaching a monopoly on them in order to hike up the prices. He has nearly 40 of them for sale.
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71951
    Epsilon said:
    I think this guy is basically buying up all the old Yamaha SGs he can find and trying to create something approaching a monopoly on them in order to hike up the prices. He has nearly 40 of them for sale.
    He'll have a long way to go - they're not exactly rare guitars really.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • hotpickupshotpickups Frets: 1813
    All I know is I really really lusted after one in the 80s. The gassing went though and never returned. A lot like my ex girlfriends
    Link to my trading feedback:  http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/59452/
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  • EpsilonEpsilon Frets: 600
    ICBM said:
    Epsilon said:
    I think this guy is basically buying up all the old Yamaha SGs he can find and trying to create something approaching a monopoly on them in order to hike up the prices. He has nearly 40 of them for sale.
    He'll have a long way to go - they're not exactly rare guitars really.
    True, but at some point if enough guitars sell a certain price point that will become the new benchmark for others looking to sell them - driving the price up over time.
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  • polotskapolotska Frets: 116
    edited July 2017
    The SG-175 is indeed uncommon (rare might be too strong a word); nonetheless, that price is absurd.

    I’ve owned several Yamaha SGs—both original ones as well as the recent reissues—and they’re  my favorite solidbody guitars; I’ve kept them over various Gibsons and PRSs over the years. That being said, I think what @impmann says about them lacking dynamics is true to some extent—particularly the SG2000. I’ve always assumed that part of that was the sustain plate, which I think only the SG2000 and SG2100 had—certainly the SG3000, SG1000, and the models further down the line don’t have it. I think the SG’s sustain comes at the expense of dynamics to some extent, and which you prefer is a matter of taste.

    Personally I prefer the set-neck SG1000 to the neck-through SG2000—partly for somewhat better dynamics, but also for its brighter, richer sound. But I prefer my Yamaha SA2100 (first series, Spinex humbuckers, made in Japan) for all but very heavy rock/metal sounds (which I don’t really play, anyway!).
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  • polotskapolotska Frets: 116
    The other former Breadwinner player that comes to mind is Colin Newman of Wire—though his claim that it “looks fantastic, sounds like a heap of shit” somehow never made it into Ovation’s advertising copy…
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  • BasherBasher Frets: 1198
    WezV said:
    A close mate of mine had an SG2000 which truly was amazing and weighed no less than 11lb.  He loved it.  

    When i I made him a guitar he insisted it should weigh a similar amount.  I made him a lovely solid mahogany PRS/ les paul custom hybrid @ 10 1/2lb

    his other guitar was a 96 studio at 10lb.  He had that since I met him shortly after it was new.

    heavy guitars, and that direct sound, really suited him.

    sadly he passed away before we really perfected the guitar I made for him.  It became his wedding gig guitar because it looked nicest,  but I don't think I ever got it to match the SG2000 for him whilst he was still alive.  Even though the set-up was identical and I felt it was a much better guitar,  I just didn't capture that yam SG solid and pure tone he clearly loved.

    i know 9 out of 10 would prefer the guitar I made for its additional resonance




    As one who has been caught up in the whole "heavy guitars are bad" thing, it sometimes does me good to remember that, in the 1980s, Jerry Garcia was playing "Tiger", Doug Irwin's custom "hippy sandwich" guitar.

    That's two hours or so with a guitar weighing 13.5lbs (and, despite the sweatpants, Jerry wasn't exactly famed for his athletic physique or healthy lifestyle*).

    I guess that as players age we're unlikely to see a return to people actively choosing heavy instruments but it's interesting that many people seemed to get by and even actively preferred them. I suppose they're not the classic guitar forum types but I daresay loads of cherished 1970s LP Customs, Yamaha SGs and suchlike are still being gigged (and keeping chiropractors in business) across the country.

    * Although certain ...err... stimulants probably helped dull the shoulder aches.


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  • NeilNeil Frets: 3594
    Epsilon said:
    I think this guy is basically buying up all the old Yamaha SGs he can find and trying to create something approaching a monopoly on them in order to hike up the prices. He has nearly 40 of them for sale.
    He is the Nelson Bunker Hunt of Yamaha SG's.
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71951
    Epsilon said:

    True, but at some point if enough guitars sell a certain price point that will become the new benchmark for others looking to sell them - driving the price up over time.
    That assumes that any of his actually sell. Given that with a few exceptions they are not rare models, most buyers will just get another one from a seller who isn't trying to rip them off, and the price will stay where it is.

    From what I've seen it's difficult to get over a grand for any Yamaha SG except the 2000, and even that would have to be in very good condition.

    He's also got some 70s Gibson Marauders up for approaching £2K…

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • guitars4youguitars4you Frets: 14029
    tFB Trader
    ICBM said:

    He's also got some 70s Gibson Marauders up for approaching £2K…
    and that is getting seriously beyond any form of reality -
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  • guitars4youguitars4you Frets: 14029
    tFB Trader
    ICBM said:

    He's also got some 70s Gibson Marauders up for approaching £2K…
    and that is getting seriously beyond any form of reality -
    and £79 postage - I could get it to Munich next day for less than that
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  • SassafrasSassafras Frets: 30273
    His low feedback number would suggest that he sells fuck all.
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  • SteveRobinsonSteveRobinson Frets: 6913
    tFB Trader
    ICBM said: 
    That assumes that any of his actually sell. Given that with a few exceptions they are not rare models, most buyers will just get another one from a seller who isn't trying to rip them off, and the price will stay where it is.
    I had a customer bring in for setup an SG2000 he'd bought from this guy. I think he paid nearly £3K, told me he bought it from "a collector" 
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  • BridgehouseBridgehouse Frets: 24578
    ICBM said:

    He's also got some 70s Gibson Marauders up for approaching £2K…
    and that is getting seriously beyond any form of reality -
    and £79 postage - I could get it to Munich next day for less than that
    Is there a big collector of Gibson Marauders in Munich then? ;)
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  • Philly_QPhilly_Q Frets: 22515
    Sassafras said:
    His low feedback number would suggest that he sells fuck all.

    He was sitting at feedback of, I think, 29 for a good year or so, despite constantly having dozens of guitars listed for sale. 

    He's now up to the low 70s, but only because he's been buying stuff.

    I've always wanted a Yamaha SG so I do follow his listings with interest, but I think I've now resigned myself to the fact that they are all too heavy so I don't have to contemplate those correspondingly hefty prices.

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  • BridgehouseBridgehouse Frets: 24578
    I wonder if there's money to be made in buying up cheap Yamaha SGs when possible and selling them on to him for his "stock" at an inflated price?
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  • guitars4youguitars4you Frets: 14029
    tFB Trader
    I wonder if there's money to be made in buying up cheap Yamaha SGs when possible and selling them on to him for his "stock" at an inflated price?
    I had a similar thought - but I bet he is not buying today - something will be wrong with the one you have for sale I bet or some other bull
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  • SassafrasSassafras Frets: 30273
    I wonder if there's money to be made in buying up cheap Yamaha SGs when possible and selling them on to him for his "stock" at an inflated price?
    Sounds like he pounces on them as soon as they become available. He's obviously trying to corner the market in SGs and Marauders, strange as that market might be.
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  • guitars4youguitars4you Frets: 14029
    tFB Trader
    Sassafras said:
    I wonder if there's money to be made in buying up cheap Yamaha SGs when possible and selling them on to him for his "stock" at an inflated price?
    Sounds like he pounces on them as soon as they become available. He's obviously trying to corner the market in SGs and Marauders, strange as that market might be.
    is he actively buying today ? - or are these part of an older acquisition and he is now dangling a carrot regarding pricing and hope customers bite ?
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