1981 Yamaha SG-2000 DP, Deep Purple Limited Edition + OHSC (w/ Maxon Dry-Z, Ibanez Super 58, pickups)

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Amazing 1981 Yamaha SG-2000 DP, Limited Edition in Deep Purple finish.

Made in Japan. Serial number 045919

Short run of 600 guitars made only for 2 months, in July and August of 1981, in order to celebrate the 4th anniversary of the SG-2000 model.

Apart from its magnificent finish, it shares the same caracteristics as its SG-2000 siblings, ie:

- 3-piece mahogany/maple/mahogany laminated neck-through design conducive to greater sustain. 22-fret ebony fingerboard bound with mother-of-pearl split-wing inlays. The head features the now-standard double-dipped shape, with five-ply binding, a block lettering logo, and a fancy three-piece floral inlay

- contoured back mahogany body with a scoop out of the top waist to increase playing comfort. Maple top also featuring five-ply binding

- brass block under the bridge in order to further enhance sustain

- gold-plated hardware and engraved stop tail with a harp-and-scroll design.

This is what Yamaha explains about the SG-2000 model : "The SG2000 was the result of further modification of the SG based on the advice of Carlos Santana. With a single-piece construction that transmits the vibrations of the strings to the body more effectively, and a sustain plate embedded directly into the body below the saddle, the SG2000 offered superb sustain. It features a unique open humbucker supported at three points for easy adjustment of the pickup height and angle, and is characterized by a sweetly beguiling sound."

Here the humbucker pickups also offer the same 3 point support, but the original ones were replaced with the famously rare 1981 Maxon Dry-Z, Ibanez Super 58, version which are amazing sounding pickups ! These are hotter PAFs (measuring around 12K) removed from an Ibanez LR-10, and only available briefly in some Lee Ritenour models. Guitar and pickups are truly a perfect match ! (One ding on the bridge pickup cover)

The original tuners were once replaced with very good gold-plated Schaller ones, and 6 little screws were used in order to hide the previous holes. Some scratches around those.

The bridge and saddles are also good quality and matching golden-plated replacements.

Apart from those, the guitar is fully original as far as I know and plays very well indeed !

The front of the headstock shows some light ghosting effect and the guitar has the expected level of wear from a 40+ year old guitar but remains in excellent condition.

Weight is 4,39kg (9lbs 10.9oz) which is probably the lighest example I've seen for this model !

Here is what John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers) thinks about this model : "I’ve been playing Yamaha SG-2000s mostly, from the late Seventies and early Eighties. They’re my favorite kind of guitar. You can get a lot of tonal variety out of them, and in terms of the wood they’re very heavy guitars, so they have a very fat sound. Much fatter than Strats. The Yamaha SGs, the guitar is balanced harmonically the same way a piano or an organ is. Whether it’s the lowest note on the instrument or the highest one, it has an equal kind of breadth. And you don’t have as much roundness to the sound, where the note starts thinner and then gets thicker…all that kind of stuff. You get a straight, fat, consistent sound on every fret of every string.

My main guitars are Yamaha SG2000s. My favorite is a purple one from 1980.

I do like them, and I have six or seven. Besides forcing me to play differently, though, they also gave me a lot of insight into how many other guitarists play. With the Yamaha SG, I could play along with guitar players who were playing, say, Les Pauls, and feel like the sound matched what I was hearing on the record. There were all these guitarists whose playing had been a little mysterious to me, and I suddenly found it easier to incorporate aspects of their styles into my style through imitation. People like Robert Fripp, Mick Ronson, Tony Iommi, and particularly John McGeoch from Siouxsie and the Banshees, who played a Yamaha SG, which is why I bought one in the first place. It was an approach to the guitar that I’d been blind to my whole life because I had always played Strat-type instruments."

Comes with the original plush-lined Yamaha hardshell case in very good condition

---- Will ship fully insured and double-boxed ----