Review of the Yamaha SA2200 Semi-Acoustic Electric Guitar

[demilieu]

final word on ALL asian made electric guitars-don't pay much for them, buy them 'like-new used' instead on 'new'. and chage the pickups. and maybe the tuners.

[demilieu]

i bought a sa-700 in 1985. and i still have it. mine has an alder center block and a laminated mahogany body and neck. i put in p-90 pickups, had the headstock resprayed solid black (no more yamaha logo) and put in kluson tuners with pearloid keys 15 years ago. it looks like an es 335 dot neck. gibson uses 'better' quality woods as the laminates than most asian-made guitars. btw, i've never heard a coil tap h.b. that sounds like anything to write home about.

[DrsJacksonn]

I'd buy a guitar like this just for its looks!

[demilieu]

@DrsJacksonn wood veneers can be very decieving...the asian manufacturers have perfected using veneers over very cheap core woods to make their guitars look 'just like' their american-made cousins. tis guitar has a very nice flamed maple veneer on the outside, but there's no way other than really examining it close-up to tell what the quality of the core woods are. this is one reason i stay away from epiphone products. they look fantastic,but are 'cheap' on quality materials...

[JoeTeeQue]

A slight disadvantage I found is the coil taps. With the sg2000, you push the control both times, whereas with the sa2200, you pull the control, then push to return, which is a slight inconvenience. I guess the pots for the sg2000 are more expensive.

[besamemucho5]

ok it is a nice guitar .....but it started as an imitation of the gibson es 335 ...there was a time when japan counterfeited products made in usa exactly in the same way as china does it today with no shame at all ...this guitar sold well in countries where people couldn't afford to pay what it cost to buy the real thing ..which is a gibson es 335....the day hasn't come yet when one would choose a yamaha sa2200 over a gibson es 335...not here anyways!!!!

[demilieu]

@besamemucho5 gibson bought the epiphone company in the mid-1960's and then closed their usa operations and licensed the epiphone name to japanese guitar manufacturers. most gretsch guitars are made in korea, i believe.

[alexmc69]

Would have been great to hear some clean sounds, but otherwise a great review!

[Highhillcountry]

I had a mint one I stupidly traded for a Godin S6. It's better than a 335.

[railcar123]

great guitar....used one for years!

[iodineclip]

is it good to play rock on this guitar?

[gahzeyboe]

@iodineclip I haven't played this guitar, but it's a semi-hollow, seems to be very similar to the 335, so if it's at all similar, then definitely, yes. Eric Clapton played a 335 in his Cream days.

[demilieu]

@iodineclip of course. but i don't care for yamaha pickups. i'd put duncans in. in fact, i did! duncan fat cats. and it's one lean, mean feedback machine!

[sasukeuchiha9724]

dude how does the sound of a semi acoustic vary from a acoustic?

[imusoreviews]

@sasukeuchiha9724 - An acoustic guitar makes its own sound by having a large hollow-body. A semi-acoustic is really an ordinary electric guitar where some parts of the body are hollow. This partially hollow nature adds more "space" and "air" to the amplified sound, making it different from a solid-body electric guitar. A semi-acoustic does not produce enough volume to be played without amplification (except for personal practise).

[sasukeuchiha9724]

@imusoreviews yes thanks very much sir that was really helpful but i was really wondering how the sound would differ from an acoustic to a semi acoustic because ive heard a semi acoustic will give more of a jazz sound to it

[imusoreviews]

@sasukeuchiha9724 - A decent semi-acoustic loaded with humbuckers (like this one) will take you from jazz through electric blues to classic rock crunch. The Yamaha has coil-taps as well so pop and country are possible. An acoustic essentially has one voice that can only really be altered by your playing technique.

[faminore7ufesh5]

beautiful instrument

[jobjob76]

Dude your my God!

[robermad75]

great guitar..