I wish Yamaha made more guitars in the £500-1000 bracket

Tenebrous

I'm not an affiliate in any way, but I am a bit of Yamaha fan, as pretty much every product I've owned/played by them seems to be one of the best in its class, and in my experience, their things just work.

There's a reason why, when returning to electric guitar after playing acoustic only for a few years, the only guitar I thought of getting was a 611, despite being a huge Tele-nut. Don't get me wrong, there's some absolutely killer guitars out there in that £400-600 bracket, and it's hard to beat something like a CV50s tele for value, but just over £500 gets you so much with a 611 that it pretty much became my #1 overnight when I got my first one, even over guitars costing 2-3 times the price.

But... It's a strat. Strats are cool, sure, but I want alternatives. Between £500-1000, you have a few the 611VFM/HFM (which can often be had for south of £500), the Revstar models, and that's it. After that, you're in £1500+ territory for some of their hollowbody offerings, and like £2500 for their SG, which is an absolutely killer guitar, sure, but still.

If they announced a £500~ T-type with comparable specs/quality to the 611, I'd be over that pretty damn fast. Same with any guitar model, really... SG (moreso than the Revstar), LP, anything. I believe they made some t-types in the 90s, but not anymore? Ah well.

Anyone else think the same? Or perhaps not even about Yamaha, but about another company/series that you feel offers incredible value for money that you'd like to see more guitars in.

Cheers.

horse

I'm guessing they believe that most people who want a Tele in that price bracket would go for a fender instead. Not sure what a Yamaha Tele would offer to differentiate itself?

If you're looking for a fender alternative in that price range I think I'd be looking at a used g&l US model.

Sporky

They did a Tele style Pacific about 25 years ago, I think. 

spark240

Tricky one...I guess they have to be careful about doing affordable great guitars, I mean I have 3 80’s SG guitars, which are all great , and probably have a decent £££ value, but are they worth 1K more than say a Revstar to the average player?....probably not....I think people tend to value stuff more on its vintage kudos more than it’s actuall quality, 

That Said, I, sure you can pick up a decent 80’s SG for Well under 1K ,,,@HarrySeven ?

TA22GT

I'm a big Yamaha fan too. Every one I have owned has been a well built and functional instrument. Some didn't translate in to a great instrument but were still good to play.

As spark240 says you can pick up some older higher end stuff if you shop around and wait for the right one.

I paid £525 for this all original 83 SG1000 I found in Japan including shipping about 2 years ago. It's beat up but plays as if it was new.

EricTheWeary

Sporky said:

They did a Tele style Pacific about 25 years ago, I think. 

They’ve done a few tele types ( especially the Mike Stern one although I think that’s over £1k) over the years. I guess if they’d sold more they would still do them. 

HarrySeven

Right...trying to steer away from the "Are Yamaha SG's overvalued?" question, which we've covered numerous times before...*cough* Joey Morewood *cough*

http://thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/107516/is-it-me-or-are-these-yamaha-sg-prices-getting-a-bit-silly

http://thefretboard.co.uk/post/quote/107516/Comment_1787697



To answer @spark240 and @TA22GT's posts - yes, you can - WELL under £1K.

JMP220478

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Yamaha-Pacifica-1611-Mike-Stern-Signature-Electric-Guitar-Natural-Wood-Finish/113174837144?epid=11013333032&hash=item1a59bef798:g:jecAAOSwFZtbSiAz&_sacat=0&_nkw=yamaha+mike+stern+&_from=R40&rt=nc

mike stern tele under a grand ; I seem to recall warmoth had some input with these ?

ChuckManual

Another vote for the Mike Stern here. Absolutely cracking guitars - and occasionally found underpriced on eBay.

Tenebrous

horse said:

I'm guessing they believe that most people who want a Tele in that price bracket would go for a fender instead. Not sure what a Yamaha Tele would offer to differentiate itself?

If you're looking for a fender alternative in that price range I think I'd be looking at a used g&l US model.

You're right, but that's probably the same with the Pacifica's mostly, no? I guess I'm just being cheap & wanting Yamaha to release a whole range of guitars with that level of equipment/quality for that price Would save a whole lot of money, haha.

(Even myself, I'll probably find myself guilty of this. I know you've plenty of boutique builders like Suhr who can put together a simply dreamworthy guitar, but when the time comes for me to fulfill my 15 year old fantasy to own that high end blonde telecaster, it's going to say Fender on the headstock).

Still, I do plan, when I can, to go into a store & shoot out the Revstar double P90 guitar with a Reverend of a similar pickup choice. Both seem to sit in that sweet spot for me & offer something unique, so lord knows which one I'd end up wanting the most.

I had a G&L Strat before. Trem system on that guitar was absolutely great. Thing I noticed with G&L's though is their resale value seems much lower in the US than it does over here.

TA22GT said:

I'm a big Yamaha fan too. Every one I have owned has been a well built and functional instrument. Some didn't translate in to a great instrument but were still good to play.

As spark240 says you can pick up some older higher end stuff if you shop around and wait for the right one.

I paid £525 for this all original 83 SG1000 I found in Japan including shipping about 2 years ago. It's beat up but plays as if it was new.

Uhh, would you take £525 for it now? God damn that's one pretty guitar. I don't think I'd ever stop jamming to Muffin Man on that thing.

Cheers to everyone who suggested the Mike Stern model & the second hand market in general. I had know idea that you could get the SGs so comparatively cheap to what the new ones are going for today (which is only just poor on my behalf, as I could've easily researched them).

The thing about the Mike Stern model, though... And I don't know if you folks get this too, but when you play a signature model, there's this expectation that you can play & do what they do - At least, in my head there is. A better example would be the Malmsteen strat - I love his tone for metal, and I do wanna try out a scalloped fretboard, but can I play his music properly? Not even close  

jeztone2

I think they've lost their way in terms of marketing the electric guitars. They've always treated their most iconic models with contempt. Where's the Floyd equipped Pacifica? Where's the stripped down SG? The Superflighter is a far classier design than the Revstar. If they brought back a modern Gotoh 510 equipped SG1300T with a 5 way switch, they could compete with PRS sales. The SG-V's have a huge cult following with the offset people. 

Aside from Marshall, I've never seen a major brand squander its heritage so much. The quality is there at every price point. 

Regarding used SG's. If you're going down the grey import route. Be prepared to add 25% of the retail plus shipping for Duty/VAT & currency charges. 

TA22GT

ChuckManual said:

Another vote for the Mike Stern here. Absolutely cracking guitars - and occasionally found underpriced on eBay.

I agree and the best thing is that Mike still uses them after all this time! That IS an endorsement.

SteveRobinson

JMP220478 said:
; I seem to recall warmoth had some input with these ?

Yes they made the necks for the high end Yamaha guitars