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Ray reviews the new SG700S from Yamaha and compares it to the guitar that's become a personal favourite...

In 1977, whilst touring Japan as part of the Ian Gillan Band, I was given two superb guitars by Yamaha - a SG1000 and 2000. These guitars were developed from the SG175 of which only 600 were made, the best known being the custom-version owned by Carlos Santana. Of the two guitars, the 1000 has become my firm favourite.

Ray in the seventiesThe 1000 came onto the market at a time when Gibson ruled the waves with the double humbucker patented guitar. The build quality was outstanding plus it had the added bonus of coil, tappable pickups, initiated by Yamaha's patented push-push pots. The marked difference between the single coil and full humbucker options was remarkable. Having used the single coil sound on country recordings and the humbucker sound for Heavy Rock, both sounds are the business.

The SGs were made from 1977 to 1988. Yamaha have now reintroduced the SG to its range. Darren Power from Yamaha's pro-music division has kindly loaned a SG700 for me to check out. I have used the guitar at a couple of gigs, and my instant reaction is "fantastic". Unlike my original SG1000, so heavy it left me leaving the bandstand two inches lower on one side, the SG700 is air-like by comparison, because of its lightweight mahogany construction. Although it must be said, the latter sports a one and three quarter inch depth body as opposed to the 1000 which is two inches.

SG700S specification

The guitar that Darren sent me is black and the quality of the paintwork would not shame a Yamaha grand piano. In other words the finish is flawless. The guitar is also obtainable in translucent green sunburst. All the hardware is gold-finished, again to a very high standard. The chunky Yamaha machine heads are set into a vintage style headstock, adorning Yamaha's classic logo finished in gold. The body straps are Yamaha's usual large size, so no embarrasing moments where the guitar parts company with your strap leaving you red-faced playing air guitar.

Yamaha SG

The pick-ups are coil-tappable Yamaha Alnico humbuckers and, like the SG1000, are accessed by two push-pots on the tone controls. The mahogany neck with its rosewood fingerboard plays like a dream, in fact it's very Gibson-like. The neck joins the body at the twentieth fret, and all twenty-two frets are easily accessible. Like the 1000 the versatility of pickup tones is amazing. The single coil bridge position is very Telecaster-like, switch to the humbucker mode and it's vintage Blues Breaker Eric Clapton. The neck pickup produces a natural warmth which combined with a clean sound is ideally suited to jazz. The guitar boasts many tonal options, for example neck pickup in humbucker mode, bridge pickup single coil or vice versa, or the pickup selector set to both pickups.

As an all-round work-horse this guitar fits the bill, either clean or overdriven, for funk, indie, jazz, blues, to full tilt rock - this guitar has it all.

The SG700S(left) and Ray's original SG1000

The RRP for the SG700S is £659. I wouldn't say cheap but then you are getting superb build quality for your hard-earned cash. Later this year Yamaha are expanding their SG range to incorporate the reissue of the 1000 and the 2000 - I understand the top end of the range will sell for around £1000. The style and versatility of this instrument combined with its versatility puts it on my must-have list.


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