1980s Yamaha FG-335 II Jumbo Guitar

A customer of mine found this at a yard sale locally and took it in like the lost little (big?) kitten it was. After a neck reset, fret level/dress, new bone saddle, and setup work, it's now the roaring lion that it was intended to be when it was built.

Old, all-ply Yamahas (whether built in Japan or Taiwan -- as in this case) are very consistent instruments and have a very consistent sound, too. They have pretty dang-light bracing and that, combined with the thin ply tops, gives them a warm and full sound that's stupidly-impressive until you decide to lean into them hard on the treble strings -- at that point they give a bit more of a compressed, zippier sound on the high-end.

Still, they're well-designed, rugged guitars. Wanna hear a different FG-335? Check this one out (click here for link).

But, yes, the FG-335 and this FG-335 II variant are all-ply instruments and have spruce veneer on the front and rosewood veneer on the back and sides. These are a little "dolled-up" over a normal-style, mahogany-faced instrument like an FG-180, but internally they're built in an identical manner. This one dates from around the early '80s or very late '70s.











Comments