Yamaha Logo Query!

robwright

Spotted this on Gumtree locally and thought it was worth a look but I’ve never seen a Yamaha logo like this and never heard of a Yamaha ‘Jazz’!

is it fake and should I stay clear???

https://i.imgur.com/w3jHj4C.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/FpTjmpw.jpg

therealting

Looks pretty fake to me… although I’m not sure why anyone would fake a Yamaha! Not that I’m dissing Yamaha - I have many and they are fantastic instruments, but they aren’t exactly generally known as expensive instruments (other than their high end stuff like my Mk I TRBs or my custom shop acoustic, but people who know what those are know exactly what they’re looking at).

guitargeek62

^ as above, that doesn’t look like any of the SA series that I’ve seen, the headstock and cutaways are all wrong too. It may well be MIJ, but the headstock’s been sanded and re-badged.

robwright

Thanks guys - as I suspected! Just found out it’s a bolt on as well - never works on a semi in my opinion! 

But as you say, who would fake a Yamaha with such a shit logo?!?!? Not even trying! 

mark123

I'm 99.9% thats a cheap bolt on Columbus 335 worth around £125.

LastMantra

Strange 

BillDL

mark123 said:

I'm 99.9% thats a cheap bolt on Columbus 335 worth around £125.

I agree.  Either that or a Satellite, Hondo, or one of a few other similar budget brands from the early 80s.  The grain on what looks like birch ply is very much what was used on them.  The "logo" isn't central on the headstock, looks as though it has been hand written with a felt-tip pen, and doesn't match any "font" I've ever seen on a Yamaha headstock. The horns on all the Yamaha semi-acoustics I've seen were either pointier (tail end of 60s through 70s) or shorter and narrower (SA late 70s onwards).  The truss rod cover definitely looks like the wide early 80s Columbus ones, as does the shape of the headstock end.

simonhpieman

That's definitely a Columbus.

Definitely not a Hondo.

roberty

Chamaha?

mark123

simonhpieman said:

That's definitely a Columbus.

Definitely not a Hondo.

Yup i think hondo and satellite didn't have the block inlays just dots and the double black open coils were only in the Columbus , I owned a identical one many years ago it was cr@p sold it after 3weeks , was glad to get my money back.
In fact the maple pattern behind the stopbar on the top looks identical to the one i owned.

Jonathangus

roberty said:

Chamaha?

Yamahaven't?

Sporky

Was it Columbus who did single coils in humbucker covers for some guitars? 

BillDL

No, I think he was the one that first sailed to the Americas, or was that Vasco da Gama?

Dominic

Actually ,the Vikings beat them both
that guitar is nothing like a Yamaha SA series

simonhpieman

Sporky said:

Was it Columbus who did single coils in humbucker covers for some guitars? 

They came in a lot of Japanese guitars, I think. "Unbuckers" as I like to call them. I'm pretty sure those generic Black Les Paul custom copies from the mid 70s all had those.

GoFish

Some great knowledge on this thread.

Hondo were definitely one of the makers using "unbuckers".

I bought a cheap fake yamaha in early Ebay days. Thought I'd be getting an old SE strat type from the blurry pics - Logo was just  written in felt pen in the end. So actually was a Chamaha!

Vikings do seem to have gone to Canada / Vinland in the 11th century, briefly. Leif Ericson (?).

Unless trying to pass the guitar as an SA series or whatever, the bullshitter could just have talked up the merits of the old Columbus - looks nice and the grain is eyecatching. Crying out for "Lawsuit" in teh description.

GoFish

The embroidered owl deserves better tbh.

robwright

To be fair, the seller isn’t suggesting it’s an SA and he might well believe it is a Yamaha! Glad I resisted the urge and thanks once again for the wealth of info on here! 

robinbowes

It's a Yamahahahahahaha