'66 Yamaha SG-3 - the project I shouldn't have taken on!

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Sonichris
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'66 Yamaha SG-3 - the project I shouldn't have taken on!

Post by Sonichris » Thu Jul 30, 2020 5:16 pm

I bought this '66 Yamaha SG-3 last year, because, frankly, it had the coolest flame neck I'd seen! I disregarded the poor previous refinish, and lack of pickups, and hardtail Leo Quan Badass bridge, and wrong tuners, and missing pickups, and bought it.
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Once I received it, I was shocked at just how bad it was - the body had been totally overhanded in every way, and it had huge dips in the top, and the back. The headstock had been oversanded, and was less than 1/2" thick. It had been routed and chiseled (to fit what I later learned were D'Marzio Super Distortion HB's.) The tremolo had a piece of felt jammed in it so it wouldn't rattle. The guitar was a mess.

I'm no good a taking pictures during the process, but the rundown of stuff I did -
1. Make a really good set of templates - 1 to 1 using our pin router.
2. flatten the top and back, and put on new top/back and then used my cool new templates to re-rout the body.
3. veneer the headstock to a proper thickness
4. new frets -
5 new pickguard - using the original pickguard as a template.
6. new pickups - Jaguar pickups with The Pear Dreams cool Yamaha inspired covers
7. Paint - Tahitian Coral
8. Decal from Rothko and Frost - I sent them detailed pics and measurements and they recreated it perfectly. they have them available now if you need them.
9. new tuners (hipshot, because I like them) new wiring, some new tremolo parts, a Mustang bridge,
10. new metal string guide- these are a huge pain in the butt to make.
11. lots of little parts for the trem, and other misc stuff.

I spent WAY too much time on this guitar - they aren't all that expensive to start with. and this one was a total mess - but I'm really happy with the finished product. I even like the color - which was risk.

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(Yamaha SG-2 I made at the same time - another story for another day, but the same basic process.

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Fiddy
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Re: '66 Yamaha SG-3 - the project I shouldn't have taken on!

Post by Fiddy » Thu Jul 30, 2020 6:25 pm

That looks great. Congrats.

Did the Mustang bridge just drop right in?

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antisymmetric
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Re: '66 Yamaha SG-3 - the project I shouldn't have taken on!

Post by antisymmetric » Fri Jul 31, 2020 12:32 am

That looks fantastic! "Too much" work, but no regrets, yes? I'd have gone down the slippery slope for that neck too. The non-standard bits you've used look like they belong there. Nice colour choice too. Awesome all round. :-*
Watching the corners turn corners

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Re: '66 Yamaha SG-3 - the project I shouldn't have taken on!

Post by Steadyriot. » Fri Jul 31, 2020 1:12 am

That's really rad! Totally worth the investment.
If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing! ;)
"If someone duetted with a Bald Eagle, they could rule the Country charts from here to eternity." ~shadowplay

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joeSG100
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Re: '66 Yamaha SG-3 - the project I shouldn't have taken on!

Post by joeSG100 » Fri Jul 31, 2020 6:02 am

looks amazing, great work

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Re: '66 Yamaha SG-3 - the project I shouldn't have taken on!

Post by joeSG100 » Fri Jul 31, 2020 11:46 am

By the way, what are those tuners like?

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Re: '66 Yamaha SG-3 - the project I shouldn't have taken on!

Post by OffYourFace » Sat Aug 01, 2020 12:46 am

Wow holy shit. Incredible.

I love those hipshot tuners, they're so smooth.

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Re: '66 Yamaha SG-3 - the project I shouldn't have taken on!

Post by ThePearDream » Sat Aug 01, 2020 8:11 am

Wow! Gorgeous all around. That neck makes me feel "funny" and the coral color is super cool. Those pickup covers are pretty neat too :D.
Doug
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BoringPostcards
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Re: '66 Yamaha SG-3 - the project I shouldn't have taken on!

Post by BoringPostcards » Sat Aug 01, 2020 11:54 am

Phenomenal!!!
Det er mig der holder traeerne sammen.

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Amon 7.L
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Re: '66 Yamaha SG-3 - the project I shouldn't have taken on!

Post by Amon 7.L » Sun Aug 02, 2020 5:17 am

This is nothing short of magnificent.
Fucking hell, I'm in love with the colour.

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sam
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Re: '66 Yamaha SG-3 - the project I shouldn't have taken on!

Post by sam » Mon Aug 03, 2020 5:29 pm

That colour + flame = perfection.

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Re: '66 Yamaha SG-3 - the project I shouldn't have taken on!

Post by Scout » Tue Aug 04, 2020 10:58 am

Had to be worth the finished product, looks amazing.

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Re: '66 Yamaha SG-3 - the project I shouldn't have taken on!

Post by CorporateDisguise » Thu Aug 06, 2020 2:43 am

Respect!

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Re: '66 Yamaha SG-3 - the project I shouldn't have taken on!

Post by Jaguar018 » Thu Aug 06, 2020 8:00 am

Man, I want a build of one of those so bad. Looks great!

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Re: '66 Yamaha SG-3 - the project I shouldn't have taken on!

Post by Fiddy » Thu Aug 06, 2020 8:05 am

tribi9 wrote:
Thu Jul 30, 2020 6:25 pm


Did the Mustang bridge just drop right in?
Anybody else know the answer since sonichris won't answer? Thx
:mellow:

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