hey guys, there was a thread on favorite surf guitars and there were a few guys who had a yamaha that really liked it...
I suppose i could search for it, but i'd like to revisit the subject on favorite surf guitars, had an early 90's Talman with buckers and that thing was a twang and tremolo machine...
anybody have a Hallmark or DiPinto?
My son plays my first year Talman with the min hums and it's a screamer. Never used it for anything but punk after I saw the Offspring play them on their first national tour.
Love those guitars though.
I think Tartan Phantom has one of those "Hockey Stick" Headstock Yamahas, or at least, I thought he had pictures of it.
Is that the Surf Guitar you are thinking of?
yeah, that's it..i found it...SGV 800, I hate when they name guitars by numbers and random letters...cars too...
but check this out...
http://www.toystoreinc.com/servlet/the-496/Yamaha-EGV103BCF-Electric-Surf/Detail
It could be The SGV 300 as well.
I guess it's good if you want one, you can get it at toy prices!
I have the DiPinto Galaxie and the Yamaha SGV (got it from bonedaddy), couple other surfytars.
Questions?
This is the coolest of the Yamaha SGV's - the "Terry and Blue Jeans" model. 
Shetland,
The EGV103 is the "super-budget" model. Made in China, it is quite different from the SGV series (which were made in Japan and Taiwan), sharing only the body style (which is cool!). The SGV series is quite a bit more expensive than the EGV series, and although the SGV's are discontinued,they still pop up on Ebay for $400-600 every now and then.
Other than that, the EGV103 is pretty much a straight-up Strat clone in every other aspect. Still a head-turner though!
Here's a link to the product info page at the Yamaha website:
One owner claimed that the real SGV's can't handle strings heavier than the 9.5's that they ship with unless you cut or replace the trem springs. That kind of puts me off. Shigeo Naka from the surf Coasters played one, though, and he sounded amazing. These days he plays a Strat with a Jam/JM tremolo.
That EVG103 is a different guitar entirely (besides the shape) than the earlier SVG models.
Seadevil- I've not heard of any trem issues with the SGV and know a couple of guys that use them. Could you elaborate?
Maybe Proteus could chime in on this one since he has one (I don't, but have played one with 10's and it seemed fine for the hour or so I played it). I thought the arm seemed a bit "springy" (granted thats compared to a Bigsby) but it seemed to stay in tune just fine (and I beat the hell out of it:).
I have a Hallmark Sweptwing and love it. I want to order the 60 Custom this season. Hallmarks are solidly built. The Dipintos are Rad also.
You may have a hard time finding a Yamaha SGV 300, they get gobbled up quick. Check www.surfguitar101.com and it is full of gear for surf.
seadevil said: One owner claimed that the real SGV's can't handle strings heavier than the 9.5's that they ship with unless you cut or replace the trem springs.
Whoever said that needs to learn how to string and set-up properly. I've used nothing but Ernie Ball .11's on my SGV800 since the day I got it (4 years ago), and the tremolo action is extremely stable and smooth. Keep in mind that this is a true floating vibrato, like a Bigsby. It's got stock Sperzel locking tuners also. There is no "dead stop" position. It's not designed to be used like a Floyd Rose!
I'm sure I have at least .0105s, and probably 11s, on my SGV. No trouble at all.
I think the tremolo is considerably overdesigned and overengineered - just too much STUFF there - but it works beautifully.
I've got 10's on my SGV800. The trem works just fine. The pickups on the 800 really are superb.
