Love it or Hate it?! The Yamaha Flying Samurai | Luthier Teardown & Giveaway

[@davidrees1840]

I love Yamaha because they always bring something unique to the market, and re-design from the ground up, so the headstock works with the body style, cool and useful wiring schemes, finishes, etc. This one is kinda like an improvement on retro-modern Soviet guitars, Teiscos, etc. Great series -keep em coming!!

[@freshprinceofbeleren3022]

I have had a love for these style of guitars ever since I saw the vintage SG3 and SGV owned by the guys in King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard.

[@alexanderhanksx]

They do have the best taste in weird guitars and even weirder guitar parts.

[@kimseniorb]

they look like soviet urals

[@Cablexman2k]

My 1st guitar was a sg3. Played fantastic and I wish I had it back, but in the mid 80's single coils were not cool. I sadly sold it for a little over $100. Another thing, the tremolo never took it out of tune. I had the sunburst model.

[@LightSpartakkus]

Same here, I finally got an SGV-300. It's hard to find one in Brazil. I'm so happy :D

[@adairguitars]

Awesome seeing this guitar up close and personal. I wasn’t aware of that pickup configuration, otherwise I would have done something similar on the GuiTARDIS. I also wanted to put a trem on my build, but had to forgo it to leave room for the infinity mirror. Such a unique guitar.

[@benleydon]

OMG that takes me back - our local music shop had a white one on the racks for years back in the early 90s - I always thought it was kinda cool looking but it was way beyond the budget

[@nexquestion4379]

I have one in banana yellow, I got it for £99. It's got a few small dents and finish cracks after it fell out of a hanger and landed on and broke an SG. The body is such a comfortable shape to play while lounging about. I love the neck pickup but I would prefer neck to be a little less thin. Cheers Ben!

[@tonypeppers4987]

I am SO happy to finally have a video diving into this guitar. My first serious guitar is a vintage Yamaha sg7 and I love it so much, So so so much.

[@chrisrichards2272]

I have two, a 1967 Sunburst and a 1980s 20th anniversary in pearl white with gold hardware, they were built to somewhat copy Mosrite guitars since back in the day Mosrite guitars were used by the Ventures and they were really popular in Japan. I'm after a Flying Banana now to go with the SGVs.

[@jamesgibson3242]

Love it or hate it? What's not to love about SGVs? I love those. Perfect for surf.

[@Comrade.Question]

Maybe you can confirm after looking inside, but I have read that the bridge pickup block isn't wired as a true humbucker. That when you have the balancer at 50% the wiring runs both pickups in parallel like a Strat's 2 or 4 position.

[@tonypeppers4987]

I’d like to know this too

[@steveDC51]

The coffee/shellac thing reminded me of someone who drank varnish. Horrible end, but a lovely finish.

[@zackvega9596]

Given my usual taste in guitars, I really shouldn't like this as much as I do lol. Really enjoying these teardown episodes as well!

[@peekaboo4390]

Love it .. want the bass to add to my Yamaha collection. Yamaha 's never disappoint me.

[@voornaam3191]

If you like weird bridges, you should absolutely watch video's on RUSSIAN (or USSR) electrical guitars. I've seen a video on a tremolo bar (of course that is always a vibrato bar, but who am I) that was unique. The reviewer was surprised, is that all? Very small construction, just a spring and some lever. And still it worked great. Such designs never came to the US, thanks to our agressive politicians. When this tension has cooled off a bit, it would be a great idea to invite famous Russian Federation guitar players and luthiers to a meeting in, say, Europe. This way you can ask them to take these old and special guitars with them. I know it was hard to get a guitar amp, so any old radio would do, there's always a small amp in old radio's. Not great, but it worked! And these dudes knew which radio's had a better speaker, they knew which radio's had nice tubes or valves. It's just like the first radio amateur times, bright people finding great solutions, and they shared such idea's, so everybody could build it. In these years there have been a number of guitar brands, that had no access to the western floating bridges, so they designed their own versions. It's these things you should see. There are KZbin video's. I hope those are still there. Please search them. And I guess there are vintage electrical guitar meetings, if those "Russian" people can come, some exchange of old time musical instruments can't harm anybody. Right?

[@davepayne164]

Was at a gig last week where the support played one of these (Fake Laugh). As a 30 odd year veteran I was amazed that there was a guitar onstage I’d never seen. So thanks for this! :)

[@svendiagraham]

I have really missed you recording from HQ. The interactions with the staff is always welcome and seeing you bring in an employee for advice or to just bounce ideas off of lets us know that you don't have ALL the answers, as one shouldn't. It's no wonder you enjoy the Livestreams so much with the absence of direct staff interaction at home.

[@samirisku9835]

First electric guitar i've ever played was Yamaha Samurai in sunburst colour back in my friends home! Very nice looking guitars IMO!

[@claudevieaul1465]

I have a definite weakness for these 'reversed' shapes, somehow... Aside from converted lefty Strats I love the Firebird / Thunderbird, Mosrite, Ibanez 540pII or Iceman, the absolutely gorgeous Aria Pro II Urchin, and this Yamaha.

[@zynosgd9982]

It's all so weird that it ends up making perfect sense, I would LOVE to rock something like that on stage in my metal band lol!

[@analogueheart9733]

It chugs like crazy too, using one to play hardcore and I dip into some late 00s mallcore too. It's a bit dark but otherwise fantastic.

[@cheapskate8656]

A visually pleasing guitar with an interesting bridge. Thanks for bringing another cool guitar to our attention.

[@robertborger5821]

The pickup design is cool, really let's you play a lot of styles

[@Eff_Marti]

I firmly believe Yamaha makes the truest, coolest, most comfortable non-boutique instruments out there. No matter what the instrument. But their guitars in particular have always been out of this world!

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

There are cooler guitars out there but you may be right, of the main stream companies Yamaha truly are pretty awesome

[@Eff_Marti]

@@CrimsonCustomGuitars They're kind of underrated, as of being a mainstream company that always tries to come up with new stuff... Still tho, the real unicorns are at the top shelves of the vintage japanese section.

[@steev3d]

I have been buying a few used guitars direct from Japan and the build quality and playability of Yamaha MIJs rivals anything I have seen on a western guitar

[@tranka6112]

Really, Ben, you are the most English person I have ever witnessed... If I had a show like this, I would just curse, scream, shout and in the end cry... I think it's a damn shame, what this companies are doing.... BTW, if you ever come into the embarrasing situation, that you have to ground your bridge - do yourself a favour, and use a 2,5mm² wire and connect it directly to the socket ground... because as you surely know, current always takes the easiest route available, so a grounding wire should always be at least twice as thick as a signal wire...

[@simonjhudson7378]

The two single coils/humbucker is really interesting. Don't suppose there are wiring diagrams for guitars you are showcasing in your Luthier teardown series?

[@bfitz111]

I've been nerding out on these guitars for months! I just wanna play one..... Thanks for the teardown vid and please let us see when you build one!!!

[@frankcarter6427]

one of the coolest looking guitars ever made IMHO - want

[@nevada150]

PTFE tape on the screws? Keith.

[@flapjack413]

That bridge pickup setup reminds me of one of my Jaguars... I took two RWRP jag pickups, and routed out next to the bridge pickup, and wired in a second pickup right next to the bridge pickup. I just put them on a DPDT switch that basically grounds out the second pickup, same as how you'd do with a regular humbucker. The idea of a blend pot for the two, and the available real estate for wiring mods in a Jag, have got me thinking about coming up with a new wiring schematic for it. Thanks!

[@veguitars]

How come that the scratch plate yellowed although the plastic sheeting was still on but didn't under the fb? Did the material age or "oxidize" with exposure to air and natural light or is it a longterm reaction to the adhesive of the protective sheet? Cheers V

[@malodesi]

Uhh yeah! The Guitardis was one of my absolute favourites!

[@timscarrow9151]

I was a kid in the 80' s and our local shop had a red one it sat for over a year I don't know where it went. gibsons were 750 new for a Les Paul. I still have that.

[@wckoek]

I remember there is a constant problem of string breakage with these when they are available.

[@marcialavine1272]

I don't know if anyone else experienced an almost dizzying flashback in time like I did when I saw that guitar... Not that it looks like one I've ever seen before, but I do believe I've felt it's spirit!!! Gather 'round, kids, to hear a story of long ago from Aunty Marcia. This bit of de ja vu- even if I was the only one it happened to, it took me straight back to 1984- the year I graduated high school. I suspect that this feeling will soon evolve into the intense desire - nay, need- to gather up a group of best friends, grab a slide rule, or a triangle as in my case, adjust the attitude and the bow tie, find your damsel in distress and not one group but two lizard alien forces who have been hiding in plain sight for 50-odd years. Throw in a fast car, a lightning strike, some wild physics theories, a love story that couldn't possibly work out in the long run- I say it's because the damsel had a pageboy haircut and wore the "borrowed white button down" look better than I ever did, even if I can honestly attest to the fact that I once rocked the hot pink 3-inch spike heeled pumps with ankle stockings and a pencil skirt tight enough to need a slit almost too far up the back to wear in public.... *Sigh* Oh, how I miss those days! The next thing you know, there will certainly be a bit of clumsy kidnapping, old fashioned torture, cool gadgets that refuse to follow current laws of physics but no one cares, and what amounts to a second rate starship that will follow at least one- and at just the right time to stop WWIII by blowing up. And then comes the urge to just walk down an empty aqua duct for no apparent reason, other than it just looks totally badass. My younger friends, BEWARE! If you ever see some friggin physics genius wearing a suit and bow tie, carrying an electric guitar slung across his back in place of the Samurai sword, and happens to have truly shocking electric blue eyes that only a few people have - one of them being Peter Weller, and another being- yes, Ben Crowe- you can be certain of nothing except a wildly entertaining bit of totally mad, mad mad fun. If you don't want to wait around for that, just watch the movie, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. You're welcome, Children!

[@KozmykJ]

I remember lusting after the SG2 at school in the 60s. Was it in the Bell's Catalogue ? I think so.

[@wilhelmtheconquerer6214]

I'd love one of these "80's metal-ified", with HS pickups (super distorsion in the bridge, maybe?), Kahler tremolo, bright yellow, black pickguard and simplified control layout (vol/vol/tone/toggle w push/pull coil split or similar)

[@jacolux]

It’s a very cool guitar, both the look and the ideas. I would love to have that one.

[@paulberger6540]

When setting intonation, I use "Flat is Far, Sharp is Short" to help me remember...

[@hakancarlsson2881]

Hated the headstock until you said the name was Samurai... It clicked and now looks awesome... 🤷😁

[@Fujistrat]

Hahah I felt the same way, If I win it I promise to wear a Kimono while I play it

[@jeffjeff4477]

I am a fan of these bodies, bass primarily.... upside down 4001, Iceman, explorer vibes.... Very cool guitars!!!!

[@Charles-Darwin]

yamaha oozes innovation and such unique takes on instruments, truly one of a kind company. I love my LS-TA and will never sell it. There is a darker blue 1966 one of these with gold hardware on Reverb for 2.6K!

[@tombriggs6304]

man you posted this video the same week I was dreaming about getting this exact guitar, crazy

[@TheMarxist70]

Leatherman, other than their unfortunate double entendre name, are a lovely company based three hours south of me and Seattle. Amongst other knife makers and edged tool craftsman that seem to propagate in Oregon. Other than bench made they are my favorite people to deal with. Glad to take me there with me over to the UK! Quality does seem to find its way across the pond

[@AwkwardHypernerd413]

the guitar in doctor who i think is the SGV 800, it has two p90 looking pickups (although i'm not sure if they're actually p90's or stylized single coils)

[@RS-uw2zm]

My first real guitar was a yamaha sg45 from 1972. I have USA Fenders and Gibson's as well as prestige ibanezs and I still play the old yamaha the most.

[@sinnersdwarf7138]

I have a Squier Katana wonder which cuts through the mix better 👀

[@robertr4193]

You might be able to use some lock tight on the screw pole pieces to lock them in the height you want them to stay at but not sure if the lock tight would interfere with the magnetics of the pickup or not. I don't think it would but it may.

[@guitartech-uk]

Wouldn't affect the magnetism but as locktite is anaerobic it rots plastics.

[@LisaHarsh]

Love you Ben but it’s great to see Sam and the others in the videos. Hope you figure out the bugs in audio

[@uncleswan3896]

there's a 1966 one in blue up for sale on reverb right now FYI

[@BLBlackDragon]

Still had the scratch film on it? Yeah, that was a display model. Explains a lot. This looks like a nice little rig. Nothing big, nothing fancy, but a good basic bit of kit.

[@georgeprice4212]

I remember playing and tuning one of these - although in Red (either Red Sparkle or Red Metallic, one of the two, but definitely Red), with three single coils set up to be single coils.

[@peterjohnson4932]

Glad to hear you're planning to build a guitar with this wiring scheme Ben. I'm very curious about it as I had the idea to wire a Strat in a similar way. Will you be making a wiring diagram available? I'm assuming the bridge and middle coils are wired in parallel. I wish you'd taken a closer look at the pickups underneath. You said they were "ferrite", which implies ceramics. Can you take resistance and inductance readings? Looking forward to see what you do next!

[@peterjohnson4932]

I've found a wiring diagram online. Still looking for details on the pickups.

[@DougHolmes]

How about building a guitar with all three kinds of pickup?

[@chrisggoodwin777]

The looks aren't really my cup o' tea, but the pickups sound pretty good, especially that middle pickup. It has a bit more character than a standard single coil middle pickup does

[@svendiagraham]

Funny thing, Ben... I'm currently finishing a build with 3 P90s, but I'm doing individual on/off switches for each pickup to allow for a full range of both 5-way and 3-way pickup options. I like that Yamahas set up, but it seems a bit unintuitive. Seems like you really need to pay attention when selecting your tone.

[@sydmichel]

"locktiteing" screws in place is best done using, well...Locktite. or, superglue if you must.

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

Yep.. you're not wrong. I like playing with alternatives if they occur to me

[@flapjack413]

Ben, I noticed when you were leveling the frets, that you were removing material on the push strokes only. I'm curious as to why, and if I've been doing it wrong all these years by keeping my beam on the frets on both the push stroke, and the pull back toward me. Your input would be much appreciated! Thanks!

[@omikl]

If you are looking for an original ‘60’s model, Ishibashi Music has a ‘68 SG-5A in their U-Box used gear shop, as well as a couple of ‘86 made 20th anniversary reissues.

[@dnizy]

I'm assuming that pot just engages both pickups in series. In which case what's the benefit of this vs something like the freeway 10 position switch? The only reason I can think of is so save a few quid on parts. I recently used the freeway switch and it gives me 3 single coils on their own, 4 pickup combinations in parallel and 3 pickup combinations in series. So it has more flexibility and is way simpler to jump between them.

[@DarwinStearns]

OMG yes! Please build a triple P-90 guitar using the Samurai wiring scheme. It already sounds amazing - in my head...

[@asbury29]

I’ve always dug these “banana headstock” guitars - excellent breakdown!

[@malcolmspillett8172]

II have a Flying Samurai SG5A which I believe is from 1966 in sunburst. The first guitar I lusted after before I started playing.

[@malcolmspillett8172]

I should add that it's missing the trem arm and the frets are almost worn out. After Martyn Booth did a restoration job on it it is playable as a rhythm guitar and needs a custom string set.

[@offal]

That is a nice giutar it looks straight out of the 50`s and the colouring and hardware, supurb. the lines and vntage looking pickups are impressive, who wouldn`t want this.

[@tmurphy6477]

Its a very cheap and poorly made guitar that looks cool.

[@thomasd9237]

I love weird & different guitars. That one is pretty cool. Thanks for the great video !!

[@MerovingianBR]

What a beautiful looking guitar, stunning!

[@Chaseki]

I understand why the headstock looks like that, is supposed to replicate like a Samurai sword, katana etc. but I will not get used to that. It's a bit cursed. on a strat the G and high E string are already at a disadvantage because of the distance between the nut and the tuning peg, and here, on the long sword like headstock the distance is even longer.

[@ofeldtc6]

Are you planning on making this a diy kit for sale?

[@tedmt]

Could you please make a teardown on the Yamaha Revstar 2022?

[@vasiq10]

Hello, beautiful guitar! I found a used Yamaha SGV 300 here in Brazil for 675 dollars, what is the price in your country? Thanks!

[@kstew_co]

My first guitar was a green one of the SVG. The bridge broke at those pot-metal post. In my wisdom as a 15 year old, I took off the bridge and lost it. 😥 I still have the guitar, but I've been looking for a new bridge for a year or so. If anyone has a broken SVG and is willing to sell me it, I'd be happy to take it off you! If anyone has any types for a new bridge that I could add to this guitar, let me know.

[@ScottJones12stringscott]

Ben, I have many Japanese guitars. Japanese made arias and many Japanese made Yamaha's over the years and a few other guitars that I only have ones of and I really like the sound of this one.

[@jlarts]

I can't help but wonder how well this fits on a hanger given how slim the headstock is but it is an interesting shape for sure.

[@Comrade.Question]

I have an old SG-2A and it doesn't exactly fit on the standard vertical hangers. It can _technically_ fit, but most of the guitar's weight ends up getting supported by the lowest tuning knob.

[@marcraygun6290]

I have a vintage 67 sg2a flying samurai and it's fantastic every bit as well made as my 62 jazzmaster

[@casanovafunkenstein5090]

Sadly this one is a bit less impressive. I'm kind of disappointed considering how nice my revstar is because I love the way these look

[@martinwright8483]

Two of these are on Ebay at the moment. Not sure of their vintage though.

[@byteborg]

Why not put a drop of Loctite 221/222 (violet) onto the screws in the pickup?

[@guitarandy2406]

If you actually paid £7-800 for it then you paid way above the original RRP (Denmark Street tax where just about everything is overpriced perhaps?), they made these in the early 00s and you could pick them up in the UK new for around £260-320, briefly considered one as my 2nd electric and eventually ended up getting an SBV-500 (Jazz style) as my first bass. The V stands for Vintage to distinguish the reissues from the original models 60s which in the configuration of this one would be called an SG-7. The 300 was the lower end Taiwanese import model competing with higher spec Squiers/bottom of the range Fender Mexico, hence the more budget appointments. The SGV-800 was also Taiwanese but slightly more upmarket with a pair of Mosrite-esque P90s, there was also the budget option EGV103 made in China that was basically a strat in this shape with a similar control layout but none of the quirky elements. There's also a bunch of higher end, domestic only Japanese models including several signature variants. One of the more common (relatively speaking) variants is the SGV-700 that came with with gold hardware and a bound headstock & fretboard.

[@andrewwinch474]

I have a soft spot for Yamaha guitars, as my first electric was a 1968 (from memory) SG-3C, known as the flying banana, in Orange. Unfortunately young me painted it black and painted the scratch plate.

[@fearnpol4938]

It’s strange to hear guys still thinking that polepieces need to follow the fretboard radius! Pole piece ‘stagger’ is to try and compensate for string frequencies appearing louder.

[@kroasta]

I had to pass on 2 sgv's in thé last few month because of money. I find them so funky!

[@awonderingoneil206]

Any love for Teisco Guitars? they really were the Surf guys of Japan.

[@1973retrorabbit]

Pretty cool shape but I think I'd like it reversed, so the long horn is at the top... But with access to the higher frets, not that I use them much but I do need to be up around 20 to 22 for a few tunes. (I don't do wiggly wiggly solos).

[@benjaminfowler4513]

Check out the Soviet made Aelita model guitar, it's this shape reversed though they weren't made anywhere near as well

[@zdcyclops1lickley190]

The body is upside down! The long horn should be on the top. Why you may ask, to stop neck dive. Prevent the giutar from pivoting if you let go of the guitar to adjust the mic or the amp.

[@mikebarnard2689]

Get these Telegram replies to fk, they ruin the comments section, scamming cretins.

[@williamknell864]

I played a few of these at a couple of (long departed) Daddy's Junky Music CT locations. I really liked that bridge.

[@GermanBlackSheep]

i dont know how the white part is called in english (where you peeled of the plastic) but you can put it in hydrogenperoxide and blast it with a UV light for a few hrs and it will be as good as new

[@PaulCooksStuff]

Pick guard Scratch plate Like most things it has several names just to confuse newbies

[@ironblast5]

My first guitar was a sunburst Yamaha samurai it sounded and played amazing

[@glarrymoreme]

800 is quite expensive. I bought a Sire S7 for 600 now that is a great guitar

[@eklypse69]

Yamaha is the greatest motorcycle/piano/guitar/boat motor manufacturer out there.

[@Beardo2517]

Man I've wanted a flying samurai in the dark green for years

[@patrickdecanio5599]

Absolute LOVE that headstock

[@HandToolWoodGuy]

RE the pickguard plastic, I hate it when I realize I probably should have left well enough alone, lol.

[@ScottJones12stringscott]

By the way Ben, I would really recommend getting a Japanese made Aria pro 2. There's a number of models are all beautiful and they really play well but they have to be the Japanese made ones.

[@felipew101]

Just looking at it makes me want one

[@odiec5567]

I have always been interested in headstock length for string tension. I feel that having a reverse headstock with inline tuners would provide the best tension, but it would be a pain to tune... Any bright ideas on a better system for this Ben that aren't banjo tuners?

[@danielbarbieri8199]

I think the same. Gibson firebird tuners are a solution.

[@shredenvain7]

Tuning isn't really an issue on guitars with reverse headstocks unless it has a Jackson style headstock. That style causes the lower string to have a weird angle after the nut. As long as the guitar has a fender or Ibanez style headstock you should get all the benefits of the extra tension with minimal tuning issues.

[@danielbarbieri8199]

@@shredenvain7 indeed, the main question was about tuners. With a strat with reverse headstock, it's a pain in the ass to turn them... imo 😉😁

[@daffygrey]

Intonation: If (F)lat, go (F)orward.

[@seoigh]

I've almost bought and SGV-800 about a million times

[@seanfunk9894]

You should do a Luthier Teardown on an EVH Wolfgang WG Standard.

[@catandtheostrich]

Hi Ben - colour balance looks a bit off - a bit too blue, new camera?

[@catandtheostrich]

Colour temp too high?

[@Prototype-0_]

The bass flying samurai is my absolute dream guitar

[@motaman8074]

Reverb has one for sale from 1968.

[@fb-guitars]

lot of wonderful electric guitar were created in japan in the 60's. I own a guyatone lg-350 sharp5 😍. I would lo ve to find a Tesco spectrum...

[@johnking3863]

Loctite make a wax for locking threads, might be better than shellac.