Very much a work in progress all corrections and contributions welcome
Made in Japan sold in the domestic market, these are quite rare but not expensive guitars based on the Randy Rhoads
style. With a Sharkfin theme including the perloid fret markers. As well as the one above which with
commission would have cost the buyer £240, one sold on Ebay in 2015 for £320 in very
poor condition and with some bits missing. One vintage guitar shop currently, sept 2016, has one for sale at £1,000
but they are dreaming.
Daviedawg from the Yamaha forum tells me he read that these were originally intended for the US market but
currency changes so skewed the price that they marketed them in Japan instead. Timing wise this makes sense,
also models of this sort of shape such as the Quest Atak range were targeted at the US market from Japan.
Released |
October 1986 |
Discontinued |
1987 |
Price |
85,000 yen |
Scale |
628mm |
Fretboard |
Rosewood with white binding |
Frets |
22 |
Body |
Basswood |
Neck |
2 plate 4 bolt on Maple |
Hardware |
Black Finish |
Bridge |
Rockin Magic Pro 11 |
Pickups |
SAH-1B x 2 Uncovered Black Bobbin pickups |
Selector Switch |
3 way |
Controls |
Black Speed Knobs 1 volume and 1 Tone |
Scratchplate |
Brass |
Those specs are from the Yamaha Archives kindly saved by someone selling one of these. Some additional information supplied by Daviedawg and Buzzard.The Archives didn't have the specs when I looked but I have known them to come and go so may comeback. Interestingly Daviedawg a very reliable member of the Yamaha forum dates his to July 1986. Un fortunately the only serial numbers I have seen are the one above 6N30056 and 6M27052 these are an 86 to 89 Yamaha series of numbers which don't specify the year just the month M = June N = July. So as so often with Yamahas the only reliable way to get the year would be from the pickups. They appear to have been made only in black or pearl white.
