Yamaha Revstar 502/t conundrum - soon to be NGD 502t

rlw

I'm really tempted by these but can't make up my mind which model to go for.   The stoptail model appeals most but I wonder what the instrinsic differences in sound will be between that and the tailpiece model.  More or less sustain on the 502? slightly twangier on the 502t?

Any thoughts?  Needless to say, I can't find one in the shops anywhere....

Maynehead

I would have thought the aesthetics overrides any small differences in tone.

The tailpiece version would probably feel slinkier due to the extra string length, but more comfortable if you're used to TOM bridges. The stoptail looks like it might be slightly uncomfortable on your muting hand due to the large height adjustment screw, but it might not be an issue.

I'd say just go for the one you like the look of.

Jalapeno

I think you have the difference nailed already.

Trip to London to A/B them .....

https://www.yamahamusiclondon.com/Revstar-RS502T-Electric-Guitar/pidGRS502TBGR

https://www.yamahamusiclondon.com/Revstar-RS502-Electric-Guitar/pidGRS502BLG

HAL9000

Jalapeno said:

I think you have the difference nailed already.

Trip to London to A/B them .....

https://www.yamahamusiclondon.com/Revstar-RS502T-Electric-Guitar/pidGRS502TBGR

https://www.yamahamusiclondon.com/Revstar-RS502-Electric-Guitar/pidGRS502BLG

Was going to say just this. Nice shop with helpful staff. Also, my experience is that they will give you a better deal than the sticker price. I think (but don't quote me on this) that they will price match.

rlw

Jalapeno said:

I think you have the difference nailed already.

Trip to London to A/B them .....

https://www.yamahamusiclondon.com/Revstar-RS502T-Electric-Guitar/pidGRS502TBGR

https://www.yamahamusiclondon.com/Revstar-RS502-Electric-Guitar/pidGRS502BLG

That would have been a doddle a month ago - a minute from one of my clients - but a 6 hour £80+ trip these days.....

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

Maynehead said:

I'd say just go for the one you like the look of.

This man speaketh the truth!

barnstorm

One of each on Fleabay at the moment, in case you'd not seen them. £350 for the stoptail, £390 for the tailpiece – both described as like new.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Yamaha-Revstar-502-Billet-Green-electric-guitar/132884421490

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Yamaha-Revstar-502t-Bowden-Green/223308053070

Realise I'm not helping you make up your mind there… Some people have commented that the Revstars (throughout the range) can be heavy. If I was buying, the difference in weight between a random 502 and a random 502T in a shop might well make the decision between stoptail and tailpiece for me. But I am a bit of a girl about heavy guitars.

Let us know what you end up with and what you reckon to it. I like Yamaha and wish they would offer more electrics. Only guitar I've sold that I really miss was an SGV 800.

fandango

barnstorm said:

One of each on Fleabay at the moment, in case you'd not seen them. £350 for the stoptail, £390 for the tailpiece – both described as like new.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Yamaha-Revstar-502-Billet-Green-electric-guitar/132884421490

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Yamaha-Revstar-502t-Bowden-Green/223308053070

Realise I'm not helping you make up your mind there… Some people have commented that the Revstars (throughout the range) can be heavy. If I was buying, the difference in weight between a random 502 and a random 502T in a shop might well make the decision between stoptail and tailpiece for me. But I am a bit of a girl about heavy guitars.

Let us know what you end up with and what you reckon to it. I like Yamaha and wish they would offer more electrics. Only guitar I've sold that I really miss was an SGV 800.

Ha! Had a red example up for sale for all last year. Interest was zilch but for one chap in France who claimed hardship. Told him to work harder.

Finally took a hit and traded it in on Christmas Eve. Never gelled with it, so no regrets seeing it gone. 

horsehead

do not go for the tailpiece one...I've got my beady eye on that!

Whitecat

Although it's gonna depend on the guitar design, conventional wisdom (mainly derived from people who are 335 owners, as that's the easiest like-for-like) has it that trapeze tailpieces sound "woodier" (and have a little less sustain) and make bends more difficult. That said, you can mess with the strings behind the bridge for cool effects too and you can't do that on the traditional stoptail. 

barnstorm

fandango said:

barnstorm said:

Only guitar I've sold that I really miss was an SGV 800.

Ha! Had a red example up for sale for all last year. Interest was zilch but for one chap in France who claimed hardship. Told him to work harder.

Finally took a hit and traded it in on Christmas Eve. Never gelled with it, so no regrets seeing it gone. 

Bah! I might well have had that off you if I'd known!

Generally I'm very happy playing my Strat and it has been my only guitar for fairly long periods, but I do like having something else around as long as it's vaguely Strat-shaped, too.

I find that if I'm getting frustrated trying to learn something, switching to another guitar briefly keeps me interested, and in retrospect the SGV was a great change-of-pace guitar for me. Inexpensive but nicely made, interesting, different enough sound from my Strat, lovely trem and a diddy-but-not-shreddy neck profile. Haven't found anything since that ticks all those boxes, and when the 800s do occasionally appear on eBay, Reverb etc these days they're in poor shape or, more often, overpriced.

Have always liked the look of the stoptail 500, too, but not enough to import one from Japan.

rlw

I did actually bid on the tailpiece model and the offer was accepted, only to appear as £30 more when I went to pay............

barnstorm

Is that a postage charge automatically added on? I assume the seller will take that off if you’re offering to collect.

Hope you enjoy it when you get your hands on it.

rlw

It was and the seller is sorting it out as we speak.  Funny that I hadn't thought of looking on eBay before now though

horsehead

Glad you managed to procure one @rlw ;

TheMarlin

I played the green one with P90’s.  Loved it. If it had a Bigsby instead of the hardtail, I would have bought it.