1968 Yamaha SA-70 Vintage Hollowbody Short Scale Bass Dark Green w/ Case

Up for sale, a 1968 Yamaha SA-70 hollowbody bass in perfect working order, complete with the original hardshell case and 100% original save for a replacement trio of knobs. This vintage Japanese-made short scale Yamaha features a hollow maple body and a maple neck capped by a bound rosewood fretboard. Acoustically warm and resonant, the SA-70 has a certain airy quality and treble articulation faithfully captured by the stock pair of humbuckers.

The pickups are full and round-sounding, with plenty of breadth in the low end and good detail in the upper midrange. The neck pickup is wooly and thick, while the bridge pickup has more nasally cut and focused attack. The center detent Balancer knob ensures a smooth gradient between the two pickups. This SA-70 weighs 7lbs 12oz, benefitting from a professional setup here at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar with 45-100 roundwound strings, easy-playing action, and accurate intonation.

The maple neck has a medium C-shaped profile carve with round shoulders in every register, gaining additional meat in the upper registers, measuring .845” deep at the 1st fret and 1.020” at the 12th. The bound rosewood fretboard is a notably dark cut, featuring rounded split parallelogram pearloid inlay and original frets which have been leveled and crowned, only exhibiting a touch of wear on the first couple of frets. This bass plays cleanly up the 30” scale with a straight neck and a responsive, optimally-adjusted truss rod, and the fretboard measures 1.650” (42mm) in width at the zero fret, just forward of the nut. On the headstock, the original  tuning machines turn smoothly and hold accurate pitch, with oversized black plastic buttons.

The pickups are governed by Master Volume and Tone controls plus the center detent Balancer. The chrome-plated bridge cover and trapeze tailpiece have plenty of shine with just a light dusting of patina, and the bridge cover has an adjustable foam mute with two thumbscrews (the foam is somewhat worn), as well as a rosewood base. The F-holes have thin plastic membranes mounted inside, designed to reduce feedback at high volumes.

The gloss Dark Green finish highlights tight flame figuring across the maple top, framed by multi-ply cream binding. Cosmetic wear includes a number of minor dings on the body as a whole, as well as extensive buckle rash across the back. The neck profile retains its smooth gloss, with several shallow nicks along the profile length that don't distract the palm while fretting.

The original Yamaha-branded hardshell case is included with functional latches and a missing handle.