Yamaha SA1800 Super Axe, sunburst, made in Japan 1983. I'm a huge fan of these Super Axe guitars, they're such magnificent beasts. We've had plenty of SA700 examples through the shop, and a fair few SA1000s too, but this is the first SA1800 we've managed to score. The '1800' suffix denotes a higher selling price in JPY back in 1983, so this one listed for around twice the price of the regular SA700 back in the day. The extra coin gets you some deluxe appointments: push/push coil splits, a fancier take on the PAF style pickup, a high grade maple back and sides, an ebony board and a thick and juicy solid spruce top. The only difference between this and the highest SA2500 is less binding and pearl dots instead of block inlays: just bling, basically. The tone on deck is absolutely superb. The solid spruce top lends the tone extra bass response, so this has this superbly percussive, immediate and thick low end that adds a lot of heft and confidence to your chords. The midrange is dense and complex, rewarding a varied attack and lending warmth and space to lead lines and rhythm parts. That darker tonality really comes into it's own on the bridge pickup with some overdrive: for expansive rhythm parts, this sounds gloriously massive with a thick, singing fatness. The neck is a moderate vintage C style shape, similar to a Gibson slim 60s profile, and the ebony board feels lush under the fingers. We had our local pro luthier repair a crack in the top coming off the lower F-hole on arrival, so it's structurally sound and in great order now it's all sorted and is priced accordingly as a repaired example of the model. As noted above, these high end SA models are scarce and exceptionally good, so nab yourself a new family heirloom and get practicing those fancy minor-7-flat-5 chords you keep hearing about.

Model: Yamaha SA1800
Made: Japan, 1983 (serial 106723)
Finish: brown sunburst gloss over spruce/maple 
Body: solid spruce top, laminate maple back and sides, semi-hollow with centre block, thinline
Neck: maple, rosewood fretboard, moderately slim profile
Weight: 3.610kg
Mods: crack repaired, see notes below
Pickups: Yamaha PAF-style humbucker x2, coil-splittable via push/push tones
Case: basic non-original gig bag

Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has some marks on the end and edges, some fading and light scuffs on the front and a cap missing off one machine head on the back. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, minor dimples and dents on the back only. The back has some dimples long the back edge and on the bottom horn as well as widespread very light scuffs around the body. The sides have minor dimples around the whole body but no major marks. The front has a repaired crack coming off the bottom F-hole: we had our local pro luthier stabilise it with glue and then correct the finish. There's also widespread dimples around the body, mostly around the back edge, knobs and elbow area, as well as some dimples and play wear on the horns and scuffs on the guard. Overall: good condition (7/10).

Playing condition notes: Neck is straight, intonation is good, action is low, truss rod works. All electronics tested and working properly. The frets have some normal wear but are in reasonable shape with no major buzz issues, 6/10 for fret life left. Setup with fresh 11/49 Moonshiners strings