Yamaha FG-160 1972 - Natural Gloss

1972 Yamaha FG-160 — Vintage Yamaha — Natural Gloss

This is a real early-’70s Yamaha FG-160, built at the Kaohsiung, Taiwan factory and dated October 24, 1972. It’s a traditional 6-string acoustic with the classic large FG dreadnought body and a natural gloss finish that’s mellowed into a warm amber/honey color over the last 50+ years.

What makes this one particularly interesting is the clear factory documentation inside. There are two numbers:

2102463 - Yamaha’s date code that breaks down as 1972, October, 24th day, unit 635

T0220849 - the T prefix confirms Taiwan factory production

Together they lock the guitar to a specific day: October 24, 1972. Not many of these early Taiwan FGs turn up with that level of date precision.

Construction & Specs

Solid spruce top, mahogany back, sides and neck, rosewood fingerboard and bridge, tortoise-style pickguard, classic Yamaha headstock with vintage-style tuners. Traditional X-bracing under the top, roughly 25" scale. Straightforward early FG-160 construction — nothing fancy, just the solid, reliable build these Taiwan-era Yamahas are known for.

Condition

Very clean for a 50-plus-year-old guitar. The finish has aged into that warm golden tone people look for on these, and overall it presents really well. I’ve taken a lot of photos from every angle so you can see exactly what you’re getting. No case included.

This is an original 1972 instrument, not a reissue or modern copy. Early Taiwan-made FG guitars have a solid following, and ones with a documented production date like this don’t come around every day. A nice chance to own a genuine early-’70s Yamaha FG-160.