Yamaha SA-50, sunburst, made in Japan 1974. We love vintage Yamaha guitars with a fiery passion around here. This model in particular is a Topshelf favourite, owing to it's effortless elegance and distinctive tone. The body is fully hollow laminate maple, so it's lightweight and sprightly to the touch; as an added bonus, there's some beautiful grain on show underneath the tasty burst finish. The pickups are lightly wound and offer a spanky, rhythmic attack not dissimilar from a Strat, but with a huge amount of body, warmth and richness owing to the bigger construction. This is a magical sounding guitar, it's like honey to the ears. The sensibly-slim neck makes for a charismatic acquaintance; it instantly feels like an old friend. Stocks are rising steadily on these first and second generation SA models, so make friends with this classy aristocrat before word gets too far around.

Model: Yamaha SA-50
Made: Japan, 1974 (serial 24087)
Finish: sunburst, gloss poly
Body: laminate maple, fully hollow, thinline
Neck: maple, rosewood fretboard, moderately slim profile
Weight: 3.4kg
Mods: none
Pickups: original Yamaha humbuckers, 'hum-free anisotrophic ferrite magnets with individually adjustable pole pieces'
Case: none
Note: no trem arm or pickguard included

Overall: minor finish wear.  There's a couple of dings on the end of the headstock. The neck is fairly clean, just a couple of minor dimples. The back has a few 'buckle rash' scratches and scuffs, nothing nasty or especially visible. The sides have a few marks and dimples, mostly around from the knobs and opposite that in the shoulder area. The front is pretty clean, just a few dimples near the jack and knobs, a couple of light scratches near the pickup selector and some play scratches on the top horn. Overall: very good condition (8/10)

Playing condition notes: Neck is straight, intonation is good, action is low, truss rod works. All electronics tested and working properly. Frets have some normal wear but look pretty good, 6.5/10. Setup with fresh 11/49s.