YAMAHA SA 700 Order Made - One of One
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1977-83 Yamaha SA’s are some of my favorite vintage Japanese 335 style guitars, and this one is pretty special. It was either order made for a customer or less likely made by Yamaha as a one off for some promotional purpose.
This guitar is fitted as a 77-83 SA 700 would be, except it has a jet black ebony fretboard with real mother of pearl slash-block inlays. Production SA 700’s came with a rosewood fretboard and dot inlays. The inlay pattern is borrowed from a Yamaha AE 2000, which is very similar to a Gibson Super 400 with some of the slashes rotated. The inlay pattern on this SA 700 is more intricate than the split blocks used on the top of the line SA 2000 which was offered at the same time.
Only the SA 700 and 2000 were offered in Yamaha’s YN (Yellow Natural). That blonde finish with the ebony board, MOP inlays and mahogany neck make for a stunning guitar. Other than the ebony fretboard and inlays, this guitar is outfitted just as any other SA 700 would be and is in outstanding original condition.
In 1977 Yamaha introduced an entirely new version of their SA line of acoustic electric guitars. These were called 'Super Axe' as seen on the headstock, but what makes them really special is that these were the first Yamaha's to closely emulate the ES-335, which all SA's since have followed. Prior to this only two models were actually semi-hollow body, and while beautifully designed, you would never mistake one for an ES-335.
Unlike other Japanese manufacturers of the time, Yamaha didn’t try to make an exact copy of the 335, but kept theirs true to the original, including a maple center block sandwiched between spruce with kerfs. The 77-83 SA’s are highly desirable and well regarded 335 style semi acoustic guitars. The models at this time were very well made, using high quality materials with one of the larger neck profiles used on Japanese made 335 style guitars.
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