The Guitar

The SG2000 is the guitar that proved Japan could build better than the Americans were building at the time, and the people who played them are the argument. Carlos Santana used one as his main instrument from 1977 until he moved to PRS after 1982. Al Di Meola played them. John Frusciante played them. Yamaha built this thing specifically to go after the Les Paul, and by most accounts it won.

Santana was a major contributor to getting this guitar into the hands of players across the world. He had moved off SGs to Les Pauls and told Yamaha their earlier SG-175 lacked sustain, so they set a solid brass sustain plate into a channel in the top of the body directly under the bridge. The strings terminate over mass rather than wood. That plus neck-through construction is why these guitars ring the way they do, and it is something no Les Paul of the era was doing.

The construction underneath is the T-Cross system, which is Yamaha's own: mahogany and maple laminated in opposing grain orientations, vertical against horizontal, topped with a carved and bound maple cap. The neck is three-piece laminated rock maple and mahogany running straight through the body. It is a seriously over-engineered guitar, and it is heavy in the way a guitar built this way has to be.

The appointments are at the level the construction deserves. A bound ebony fingerboard with pearl split-triangle inlays, gold hardware throughout, and the contoured body that makes an SG2000 noticeably more comfortable than the Les Paul it was aimed at.

Two Alnico V humbuckers with split metal covers, and this is the part people miss: the tone controls are push-push coil splits. Push them and you get single coil voices out of both pickups, which gives this guitar a range most of its competition does not have. Two volumes, two tones, three-way toggle, and genuinely usable sounds across the whole set.

Condition: Honest & Detailed

We'd grade this fair, and we want to be specific about why, because this guitar was played hard by somebody who clearly used it for what it was built for.

The main thing to understand is the finish haziness. It is present across the entirety of the guitar. This is a known and well documented trait of Yamaha finishes from this period and it is not the result of damage or neglect, it is the finish itself hazing with age. If you want a glossy showpiece, this is not that guitar.

Beyond that: there are a lot of dings and dents throughout. The back has severe buckle rash and scratches. There is a cigarette burn on the headstock. There is a small spot of binding separation, which is visible in the photos.

What is not wrong with it: the guitar is structurally sound and plays. The neck-through construction and the brass plate are untouched, which is where the SG2000's voice actually comes from.

Additional photos are always available on request, and we're happy to answer any question before you buy.

The Case

Comes with the original Yamaha hardshell case, in good shape for its age.

Who Is This For?

This is for the player who wants a real SG2000 to play rather than to display, and who would rather put the money into the guitar than into its finish. Neck-through T-Cross construction, the brass sustain plate, coil splitting, gold hardware, an ebony board, and the original case. Clean SG2000s cost real money now that people have figured out what they are. This one has the same bones at a price that reflects its scars.

If you want a workhorse that will outlast you and you do not care that it looks like it has already outlasted somebody, this is it.

Additional photos available on request, just send a message.

Specifications

∙ Year: 1980

∙ Model: Yamaha SG2000

∙ Country of Origin: Japan

∙ Finish: Triburst

∙ Body: Solid mahogany with carved bound maple top; T-Cross laminated maple and mahogany structure; contoured

∙ Neck: Three-piece laminated rock maple and mahogany, neck-through-body

∙ Neck Profile: Rounded C

∙ Fingerboard: Bound ebony, pearl split-triangle inlays, 13" radius

∙ Frets: 22

∙ Nut Width: 1 11/16"

∙ Scale Length: 24.75"

∙ Pickups: Two Yamaha Alnico V humbuckers with split metal covers

∙ Electronics: Two volume, two push-push tone with coil split, three-way toggle

∙ Bridge: Yamaha Tune-o-matic style mounted over a brass sustain plate set into the body

∙ Tuners: Yamaha, gold

∙ Hardware Finish: Gold

∙ Cosmetic Notes: Finish haziness throughout, a known trait of Yamaha finishes from this era; numerous dings and dents; severe buckle rash and scratching on the back; cigarette burn on the headstock; small spot of binding separation

∙ Case: Original Yamaha hardshell case, good shape for its age

Shipping

Local pickup in Snohomish, Washington is always welcome. All instruments shipped by KanaLei Guitars are shipped using Reverb's Safe Shipping option, so your purchase is protected from the moment it leaves our hands to the moment it arrives at yours.