Up for sale, a 1982 Yamaha SG2000 in excellent, 100% original condition and in perfect working order. Known as the "Les Paul Killer" for numerous, very good reasons, the SG2000 is an incredibly well-crafted, soulful, and powerful-sounding instrument. Boasting neck through body construction, a carved maple top, and brass mounting plate below the bridge, this Yamaha was perfectly tailored to the player seeking an array of classic rock tones, with great versatility and reliability that often exceeded the Gibson equivalents from the same era.
Perhaps most closely associated with Carlos Santana's early work, the SG2000 was endorsed by Santana, and his influence resulted in many of the features that made the model a classic for unparalleled tone and sustain. He recommended making the guitar heavier (with denser woods) and installing a brass plate underneath the bridge, connected to the tailpiece and later patented as the Sustain Plate. Yamaha also used a three-piece neck with two pieces of mahogany paired with a central maple section that was patented as the T-Cross System. This not only improved the stability of the neck, but also added to the tonal complexity, with features of both tonewoods evident in the sound. This SG2000 weighs 9lbs 13oz, professionally setup here at Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar with 10-46 strings, slinky action and accurate intonation
The neck has a medium C-shaped profile carve at the nut, gaining more shoulder and overall heft further up the fretboard, measuring .840” deep at the 1st fret and 1.010” at the 12th. The bound ebony fretboard has a 14" radius, meticulously inlaid with pearloid split triangles and featuring medium jumbo fretwire. The frets retain their full factory height with well-rounded crowns, with only light wear beneath the plain strings on frets 1-6. This guitar plays cleanly up the 24 3/4” scale with a straight neck and a responsive, optimally-adjusted truss rod. The stock bone nut measures 1 11/16” in width. The headstock sports ornate floral inlay, bound by deeply ambered multi-ply binding, along with the SG2000-embossed truss rod cover. The original Yamaha-stamped gold tuners turn smoothly and hold accurate pitch.
All of the electronics work as intended, with untouched solder joints. The humbuckers have date stamps on their baseplates, reading 57.4.9, which translates to the 57th year of the Showa period (1982). Yamaha even made special versions of the Gibson reflector cap knob style, with ridges around the edges that make the knobs easier to grasp and roll for quick swells and tone adjustments. The original bridge and ornate harp tailpiece are intact, with heavy patina through the gold plating. The control cavity and switch covers retain their protective adhesive factory covering.
The gloss Tobacco Sunburst finish is framed on top by multi-ply binding, and cosmetic wear includes a handful of dings along the lower bout perimeter and back adjacent to the lower strap button, scuffing along the strum path, and a number of faint finish scratches on the body as a whole. The gloss finish on the neck profile is clean and smooth.
A gray/green faux leather gigbag is included