Yamaha SA-15 Black 1969
Yamaha SA-15 hollow body. made in Japan 1969, black. It's awesome, right? Yamaha began making electric guitars in 1966, so this one is certainly an early example. The SA series of hollow and semi-hollow electrics still exists today, but these original 60s ones had some very fun styling and heaps of personality. The body shape is totally original, with nods to Rickenbacker and Mosrite designs without being a copy of anything. The long bottom horn, teardrop guard, quirky sickle shaped hole, asymmetrical headstock, double binding and inlaid tailpiece are all such cool touches, the thing looks wild. The hardware was all original designs, so the vibrato, spring loaded bridge and funky tuners all work nicely but are not without their quirks. The body is fully hollow, and attached to the neck via bolts, which is an unusual combo too. The pickups are technically a single coil, so you get a tone that is a long way from a Gibson style hollow. It's bright, snappy and lively with a short sustain, with heaps of breathy clarity on the high end and an assured, plonky fundamental note. It's perfect for surfy stuff, but would also translate well for clean singer/songwriter type playing or more adventurous shoegaze/psych skullduggery. We've had plenty of vintage Yam hollows through, but we've not scored an SA-15 for many years, so this is a cool little opportunity for the right player. Needless to say, I love it.
Model: Yamaha SA-15
Made: Japan, 1969
Serial: 15635
Finish: black, gloss poly
Body: laminate mahogany, fully hollow, thinline 45mm depth, 385mm across
Neck: mahogany, stained maple fretboard, 24.75" scale, 12" radius
Weight: 2.815kg
Mods: re-fretted with medium gauge nickel silver frets, rewired with CTS pots, HGC 'pio' capacitors and Switchcraft switch and jack, knobs replaced
Pickups: Yamaha single coil 'hum-free anisotrophic ferrite magnets pickup x2
Accessories: deluxe leather Sound Master gig bag
Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has dimples and surface scratches on the end and both edges and some scuffs on the front. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, there's some rub wear and plenty of dimples and small dents in the back, plus a few marks on the board from when the frets were replaced. The back has widespread minor scuffs and dimples around the whole body, there's plenty of minor marks but nothing nasty. The sides have scuffs, dents and dimples around the whole body, again plenty of minor marks but nothing really bad. The front has a bunch of dimples in the elbow area, around the tailpiece and on the horns, scuffs around the jack, back edge and elbow area and some play wear on the guard and horns.
Overall: good condition (7/10)
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 strings.
Fret life:10/10, frets are brand new