Yamaha SG-2000 (or SG-1500) in Deep-/Jade-Green - price point & availabilty?

rockbandguy

Hi all,

I am looking for a Yamaha SG-2000 (or SG-1500)  in Deep-/Jade-Green like Stuart Adamson played in the first years of BIG COUNTRY (https://tinyurl.com/s7egukb).

What is a realistic price point and where might I find one?
It seems very rare - very few on eBay or Reverb. And the ones I've found have a very steep price of 2500 £ or more (up to 4000 £!!).

Best regards,
-Adrian
 

BloodEagle

A realistic price for one of these should be about £1k. However...... a problem you may find when trying to get one is that, in the UK at least, a particular collector/dealer has basically been on a buying spree with this model for years and tried to pretty much corner the market and at the same time push prices up to completely unrealistic levels. If you do see a nice one for sale around the 1k mark you would have to act fast otherwise the collector/dealer mentioned above will almost certainly swoop and put it back up for double what he paid. 

Funkfingers

Supply and demand, I’m afraid. Original models become available very infrequently. Hence, the optimistic prices.

My own fantasy Yamaha SG belonged to John McGeoch (Magazine, the Banshees, The Armoury Show). 

boogieman

Does it have to be an original finish? You could buy a less collectible version and get it refinished by one of the guys on here. From personal experience @lamf68 does fantastic work and could get the colour period correct (and even relic it, if that’s your thing). 

Kittyfrisk

rockbandguy said:

Hi all,

I am looking for a Yamaha SG-2000 (or SG-1500)  in Deep-/Jade-Green like Stuart Adamson played in the first years of BIG COUNTRY (https://tinyurl.com/s7egukb).

What is a realistic price point and where might I find one?
It seems very rare - very few on eBay or Reverb. And the ones I've found have a very steep price of 2500 £ or more (up to 4000 £!!).

Best regards,
-Adrian
 

Lower your aim a tad & this lovely thing could be yours 
https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/170729/fs-yamaha-sg700s-2002/p1

KevS

Love McGeoch,why I have an M117 Flanger.,although it is the R Version..I don't tape mine to a mic stand though.Secondhand Daylight is a particular favourite,Real Life too..

Got all the original Magazine albums on vinyl.Most of the McGeoch Banshees albums,only Ju Ju isn't original,plus the Armoury show too..The 2 Pre McGeoch Banshees albums also..The Scream is a really cool Album I think...I spoke to Stuart Adamson a few times..We used the same music shop in Dunfermline..Really nice down to earth guy..I've played his Les Paul too..I owned one of Bruce's old guitars,but so has half of Scotland..lol.I weirdly have a Boss LS 2 Line selector that belonged to Stuart..I just bought it because it was useful,then found out later..RIP,,a really nice guy..

A classic story connected to Stuart is,he had this Surf Green Strat he traded in and someone bought..

The buyer was in a covers band..He appeared for his gig with his new guitar and his mate said FFS why did you have to take a Green guitar and pointed out that they were playing at an Orange Lodge.For non Scottish people,the Sectarian thing up here is a real problem and often leads to fisticuffs.The guy was crapping himself that something would kick off the whole gig apparently..I own a surf green Strat too,why I got told the story..lol

guitars4you

I know any seller can ask what he wishes to but IMO £4.5K is beyond stupid

I also think £1K is seriously under-priced, especially when you consider build quality and the new price over the last few years, as and when replicas have been re-issued - These were the premium grade MIJ model back in the day and few, if any, guitars of that style have surpassed it from Japan

Yet equally prices will come down if the market place is poor or doesn't exist

I would say that anything between £1500/2000 is par for the course and far more sensible, for a good clean example with no issues

As a comparison :- In 1978 a new SG2000 was not to far away from the price of a new Gibson LP Custom - A good used LP Custom of that era may well fetch £2500 ish today 

rockbandguy

boogieman said:

Does it have to be an original finish? You could buy a less collectible version and get it refinished by one of the guys on here. From personal experience @lamf68 does fantastic work and could get the colour period correct (and even relic it, if that’s your thing). 

I already thought about re-finishing my black SC-1000. But the guy I asked wanted 1500 £ for that. So I said to me - no way. Get an original and then sell the SC-1000.

fastonebaz

You could always buy my SG700s in stead.   Pretty awesome guitar.

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/170729/fs-yamaha-sg700s-2002

Schnozz

I wouldn't flinch at paying £1250 for an SG1000.

I'd ideally pay £1600 for an SG2000 - Best guitar I've owned, but would probably go £1750.

I've had x4 Yamaha SGs to date. 

When compared with the £3000 PRS SC58 I owned, the SGs fucked it into the dirt. Long dick style.

boogieman

rockbandguy said:

boogieman said:

Does it have to be an original finish? You could buy a less collectible version and get it refinished by one of the guys on here. From personal experience @lamf68 does fantastic work and could get the colour period correct (and even relic it, if that’s your thing). 

I already thought about re-finishing my black SC-1000. But the guy I asked wanted 1500 £ for that. So I said to me - no way. Get an original and then sell the SC-1000.

Get in touch with Rich, the member name I highlighted. Shouldn’t be anything like the price you’ve been quoted. He’s a lovely guy to deal with too. 

rockbandguy

Kittyfrisk said:

rockbandguy said:

Hi all,

I am looking for a Yamaha SG-2000 (or SG-1500)  in Deep-/Jade-Green like Stuart Adamson played in the first years of BIG COUNTRY (https://tinyurl.com/s7egukb).

What is a realistic price point and where might I find one?
It seems very rare - very few on eBay or Reverb. And the ones I've found have a very steep price of 2500 £ or more (up to 4000 £!!).

Best regards,
-Adrian
 

Lower your aim a tad & this lovely thing could be yours 
https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/170729/fs-yamaha-sg700s-2002/p1

That is a very lovely instrument indeed. But I won a very lovely black SC-1000, too.
So my aim is the green Stuart Adamson-like SG or stick with what I already got. 
https://fachliteratur-my.sharepoint.com/:i:/g/personal/adrian_vogler_fachliteratur_onmicrosoft_com/EQMviDX-PRlAkDwsGVGG-GoBY5qEmZelDmNfAwpwEMgo-g?e=b3V4qF

rockbandguy

Kittyfrisk said:

rockbandguy said:

Hi all,

I am looking for a Yamaha SG-2000 (or SG-1500)  in Deep-/Jade-Green like Stuart Adamson played in the first years of BIG COUNTRY (https://tinyurl.com/s7egukb).

What is a realistic price point and where might I find one?
It seems very rare - very few on eBay or Reverb. And the ones I've found have a very steep price of 2500 £ or more (up to 4000 £!!).

Best regards,
-Adrian
 

Lower your aim a tad & this lovely thing could be yours 
https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/170729/fs-yamaha-sg700s-2002/p1

I already own a black SC-1000 which is a lovely instrument. So I stick with that, as long as I don't get a green one. 

aroof

Schnozz said:

I'd ideally pay £1600 for an SG2000 - Best guitar I've owned, but would probably go £1750.

This is exactly (£1600) what I would value the model and spec (colour) Adrian, the OP, is after. Perhaps a morsel more if it is especially clean. The green SG 2000 is very uncommon, maybe even rare, at least in the West.

The jade green 1500 (early 80s edition) is much easier to obtain and a fabulous guitar. They are often for sale on Yahoo auctions Japan and Digimart. But it does not have a maple cap and, like many SG models from the early 1980s, often ages very badly with finish clouding and hardware that looks like it's been recovered from the Titanic.

You could buy a mechanically sound same period 2000 and refin and/or restore it. There are some real dogs out there, but a refin would solved the clouding and replating the hardware would be an option worth looking at if, it is not pitted to hell. These are everywhere, especially in Japan.

I think your options really are:

get lucky, find an example for a fair price - obviously the best but least likely
live with a 1500 etc, looks similar but not really the same - personal taste
restore/refin a 2000 - Cheapest yet most effort, will essentially be the guitar you really want at the end though
get scalped by a cynical flipper -  i have nothing positive to write about this choice. To me, this isn't even an option and I can afford it.

Good luck, don't rush into anything.

Moleman

Big Yamaha fan here! I must have searched on EvilBay pretty much every day since 2008 or so to date for high end Yamaha SG’s and SA’s. In all that time I’ve only ever seen one jade green SG2000 (on, I think Gumtree) and maybe a tiny handful of the SG1500’s in the same colour. I certainly wouldn’t hesitate to spend £1500 - £2000 on the right guitar if it came up...

fastonebaz

Buy my sg700s it's a bargain and quality. 

jeztone2

If you want a Yamaha SG go to a Japanese Dealer and Grey import it. They are cheaper and more plentiful there. Same as if you wanted a pretty petite girlfriend. There’s more of them in Tokyo than Skegness. Go to the source. 

My own black SG1000 cost £585 on Ishibashi U Box, after currency conversion, delivery cost, VAT & duty it cost me £760 in total legally landed.

Watch the exchange rates before you buy. When I bought my Kotzen Tele, it was on the exact day in March 2005 that the Yen really dropped against the GBP. So I got lucky. 

Then as the gigbag was awful I bought a Hiscox case for £95

Then a refret & new bone nut for £250

Thats £1100 ish for a classic guitar with modern playability. I also changed the pickups on mine. But the originals are fine. Mine easily holds its own against a Les Paul. The sad truth is the sly racism of American guitar magazines has held these back. So they are the best bang per buck out there. But use google translator. Ishibashi have English speaking staff now. Which wasn’t the case 15 years ago. But the customer service is excellent. 

The two blokes trying to corner the market are a pair of duplicitous bastards. One tried to make out I’d threatened him over a Facebook ad listing. After I explained he’d just libelled me. He deleted it. But avoid the knobheads at all costs. 

mikeyrob73

boogieman said:

rockbandguy said:

boogieman said:

Does it have to be an original finish? You could buy a less collectible version and get it refinished by one of the guys on here. From personal experience @lamf68 does fantastic work and could get the colour period correct (and even relic it, if that’s your thing). 

I already thought about re-finishing my black SC-1000. But the guy I asked wanted 1500 £ for that. So I said to me - no way. Get an original and then sell the SC-1000.

Get in touch with Rich, the member name I highlighted. Shouldn’t be anything like the price you’ve been quoted. He’s a lovely guy to deal with too. 

This. Rich’s work is brilliant 

rockbandguy

I found a green SG2000 on eBay Australia, here's the link:
What do You say about the first impression (in relation to the price):
https://www.ebay.de/itm/electric-guitar-Yamaha-top-SG2000-Translucent-Green/303290896055?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20180105095853%26meid%3D7bcf0a93eada4801a8693385dd2a8533%26pid%3D100903%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D17%26mehot%3Dnone%26sd%3D303290896055%26itm%3D303290896055%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2510209&_trksid=p2510209.c100903.m5276

rockbandguy

Here are some more pictures of the guitar (which seems not in best shape):
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AokUGJ8bMSJDm_NNmzxBO_fMxbUvbQ?e=1TuUOB

artiebear

I would say that £1500 to £1800 would be realistic for a decent condition SG2000. £1K is either wishful thinking or for an example that is to all intents and purposes a well knackered project guitar.  I picked up this sunburst "83 in decent all original condition a couple of years back for around £1600-£1700 ( It is exactly like the new one I gigged back in the day). The other is my 3000 for which I paid peanuts compared with the current optimistic prices out there. I also have an SC1200 which I love.

As others have said, avoid at all costs, the guy with multiple users names and locations (usually North East England or multiple regions in Scotland. The giveaway is that all the photos are of the same guitars and all his customer endorsements have FB accounts with no guitar content ( some with no content whatsoever. He is the kind of bedroom dealer wannabe that give decent folks a bad name.

Japan would be a good shout bearing in mind the proliferation of SG's on dealer websites.

Here's my two. Got my first SG2000 in the late seventies and still love them.

Hope you get the one !

<a href="https://imgur.com/8oKp9PN"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/8oKp9PN.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>