Yamaha SA-60 Sunburst 1974
Yamaha SA-60, sunburst, made in Japan 1974. Yamaha's SA series were among their first ever electric guitars, kicking off in 1966. By the early 70s, the series had a foot in two camps: part ES-style smooth lines and hollow bodies, and partly surf-inspired bold styling akin to a Mosrite or Jazzmaster. The SA-60 model specifically is interesting because it got a proper centre block, like an ES-335, whereas the 30 and 50 models were fully hollow. Combined with some humbucking pickups, that lends this gorgeous guitar a singing sustain and a warm, woody voice; it's a little more jazz/blues inclined than it's fully hollow, single-coil equipped cousins. The neck is comfy, the frets are in good shape, the hardware all works nicely: it's a sturdy player and smooth in the hands, never making you work too hard. The sunburst finish looks amazing after all these decades, it was beautifully executed in the first place and has aged very gracefully. This is every bit as good as it looks, and that's saying something: dang.
Model: Yamaha SA-60
Made: Japan, 1974, Nippon Gakki factory
Serial:
Finish: sunburst, gloss poly
Body: laminate maple, semi-hollow with centre block, thinline depth
Neck: maple, rosewood fretboard, 24.75" scale, 15" radius, slim C shape
Weight: 4.115kg
Mods: none
Pickups: Yamaha 'New Powerful' humbucker x2
Accessories: basic non-original hard case
Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has dimples on the end and bass edge, scuffs around the posts and logo and some hazing on the front and some dimples on the back near the end. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, minor scuffs on the back only. The back has scuffs on the horns and middle of the body, and some dimples and a pair of small chips in the elbow area and bottom corner of the back edge. The sides have dimples on the top horn, rub wear in the elbow area, scuffs and dimples along the back edge and near the jack and some rub wear and dimples on the bottom edge and bottom horn. The front has dimples on the horns, scuffs around the bridge where it's moved around, dimples in the elbow area, around the tailpiece and near the knobs, minor hazing on the whole body and some play wear on the guard and horns.
Overall: very good condition (8/10)
Playing condition notes: Action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good, truss rod works. All electronics tested and working properly. Wearing fresh 11/49 Moonshiners strings.
Fret life: 7/10, minor wear but playing smoothly with no major buzz issues