Tagged Under:

Go Behind the Scenes at Yamaha Guitars

Three cool videos about the history and design of Yamaha guitars.

Did you know Yamaha has been making guitars for over fifty years? Here are three videos that trace our long history of quality guitar crafting and show how that innovation continues today.

First, a visit to the Innovation Road museum located in Hamamatsu, Japan, where U.K.-based guitarist Paul Hindmarsh conducts a hands-on “playing” tour of the many historic Yamaha guitars and basses on display. Highlights include an encounter with the SG3 — the company’s first production electric guitar, introduced in 1966 — as well as the SG7 “Flying Samurai”; the ’70s classic SG2000 solid-body electric; the original “Broad Bass” BB2000; and the Pacifica 912, the first-ever Pacifica guitar, introduced in 1990.

In this second video, Paul explores the Yamaha Guitar Archive in Hamamatsu — a treasure trove of the company’s early guitar and bass designs (many of which were never released commercially), including a 1965 prototype of the GSX33B — the very first electric guitar Yamaha ever built. Others include a 1973 SB75 bass that was the precursor to the BB line; a 2003 SG2000 Double Neck with both standard and extended necks plus a Hawaiian koa top; and an early Revstar prototype with “café racer” cosmetics.

Ever wonder how a guitar or bass is made? This way-cool behind the scenes tour of the Yamaha Guitar Development Custom Shop in Calabasas, California gives you exclusive insight into the design and build process. Learn about the research and development that goes into the creation of new instruments, view the workbenches on which they are assembled, check out the facility’s CNC (computer-controlled cutting machine) as it fashions a custom Revstar from scratch, witness the painting process, and visit the studio room where products are tested and the Guitar Showroom where artists get to explore design ideas with staff and finally hear their custom-crafted instruments in action.