Categories
Guitar Equipment Pro Audio Archive

Yamaha Guitars And Guitar Amplifiers 1968

Download the entire 12-page 1968 Yamaha Guitar/Amp Catalog (USA region):

DOWNLOAD: Yamaha_guitars_amps_1968_catalog

Models covered in this publication: Model 150, 120, 100, 80, and 60 Classical guitars.  Model FG-110, FG-150, FG-180, FG-230 steel-string acoustic guitars.  Model SA-50, SA-30, SA-70, SA-20, and AE-11 electric hollowbody guitars; and the TA-60 and TA-30 guitar amplifiers.

I have owned and used several of these instruments.  The electrics are really very cool, but keep in mind that most examples will need a neck reset and/or plane in order to play like a new guitar.  Dig that dark green finish on the bass though.  Killer.

It has often been noted that Jimmy Page toured with Yamaha acoustics in the early 70’s, which may be why Japanese Made ‘red-label’ Yamaha acoustics are currently in-demand.

Yamaha has used the term ‘natural sound’ for many decades to market a wide range of different audio gimmicks.  The only constant seems to be that ‘natural sound’ represents Yamaha’s willingness to try odd new things in a constant technological struggle to achieve more accurate sound-reproduction.  This early iteration of ‘natural sound’ seems to consist of these odd trapezoidal ‘happy-meal’ foam speakers.  We had one of these amps in our band back in the 90’s and it was heavy as a bastard and very dull-sounding.

Not sure if this was Yamaha’s own technology or if they licensed it from another firm.  In any event, these odd speakers made their way into an obscure Fender combo amp in 1969, the Bantam Bass.

(web source)

The Bantam Bass is essentially a Bassman 10 with one large foam speaker in place of four 10″ drivers.  It was a short-lived product.

71 replies on “Yamaha Guitars And Guitar Amplifiers 1968”

Awesome! It’s hard to find info on the TA-60 Pyramid amps. I have a 1968 and a 1969. I also am the proud owner of the complete repair manual for these. Great sounding amps. Perfect for surf tones or just running F/X pedals. If you have the chance to pick one up, do it. You won’t show up to the dance with the same dress as anyone else for sure. Good luck!

Joe, what is your email? There is a tech here in Seattle that repaired mine, really nice guy.

Jacob, any chance you’d be willing to scan that TA 60 repair manual? A buddy of mine has one that’s on the fritz, and the service manual would be a huge help. Or if anyone else has access to the manuals let me know!

Jacob,

I have a couple of people having troubles with these and would be very greatful if you could send me a scan of the circuits (schematics) – rolyroper AT yahoo DOT com.

TIA

Hi Jacob.
Do you have a scanned version of your TA-60 manual ??
Any chance you’ll e-mail it to me ??
Best Regards
Peter

Hi, I have one TA-60 that belongs to my friend that would need repairs and I would be very grateful if you could send me a copy of the diagram at least (advise me if any costs??..)
Thank you very much Maurice maurice442 at hotmail dot com

wow I had no idea that Yamaha made guitars back then, I guess you learn something new every day. That picture of the electric acoustic looks sort of like an archtop guitar to me but now quite as big maybe.

The green bass however looks pretty spiffy. I think I want one!

FYI,
Not selling it but I got a 3rd generation guitar, in green also, very very rare with the color and SA-30.

The green is beautiful, if you can find one like it it is a great guitar, only complaint at all is keeping it in tune, but such is life for bigsby style guitars. It was my grandpa’s and my dads, and mine Now.

Jacob,

If you got the willpower and resources to scan the manual it whould be one of the gratest moments in my life since me buying a TA-60 this monday, this would helt me alot!

Cheers
Hnordlander@gmail.com

Guys,
I have a perfect TA-60 myself except one of the weird speakers doesn’t work. Does anyone know where I can find one of these JA-4001 speakers used in the Fender Bantam and Yamaha TA-series amps?
Thanks,
John in ohio

Look out for Yamaha TS cabinets or RA-50.
Both are somewhat costly, but you might find one suitable for spares.

regards
Peter

Ups !! , there is supposed to ba another TA model: TA-70 ,
looks a bit like TA-90, but with only 2 speakers.
Does anyone have pictures ??

Yeah !! , got a workshop manual covering TA-30 , TA-60 and TA-120.
That’ll keep my amps alive for years to come. :o)

Hello

Saw your comment regarding the circuits/manual of the amp Yamaha TA60.
I have a broken Yamaha TA60 and I would really need this. Could you please send me a scan of it.

Thank you very much, sorry for the abuse.

Best
Bruno Sousa

Hi. I just got a TA-70! The power amp is dead and i really could use a wiring… U still have?

Thanx in advance!

sven.midensol at gmail.com

i just bought a yamaha ta 60 and i could use a manual. can i buy a copy of yours venlig hilsen egon

i have a 1968 yamaha sa-30 semi-acoustic hollowbody ss 9435. I have the original capo’s and strap from the 60’s. looking to sell it… great playing guitar, just want to get rid of it. need some cash. i will send pics if anyone is interested.

if anyone has a ts60 speaker cab (from the ta70?) could they tell me what the values for the fuses are? it’s probably the same power amp as in the ta60 seeing as it’s driving 2 of those same speakers.

Doesn anybody know anything about the yamaha ts-200 its a 412 powered cab but has no volume or eq knobs you just plug in and play but if you hook up a od pedal it can ge really loud it looks like it might have tubes in it but i wasnt able to take off the covers that looked like they might have tube in them

I have a working TA-60 that I’d like to sell. My only complaint with this amp is that the potentiometers are ‘scratchy’, and that’s after I cleaned them with Caig Lab’s faderlube. Nice sounding amp, but I’ve got too many of those..

Is it still on sell?, I’m interested on buying it. If it is so, Would you mind to write me about it, thanks.

I have the TA-30 and would greatly appreciate a scan of the repair manual

Thanks
Dana in Alberta

Do you still need a repair manual ??
I’ve got scans. ;o)
Send me an email, and return the pdf files.
Best Regards
Peter

Hi. Im in need of a service manual og schematic for reparing my goof friends ta-60. Do you still have them and would it be possible to get a copy. It would bo nothing less than awesome if you could get it.

Best regards, kasper jeppesen / Denmark.

Def. can use a TA-60 schem. If there are any out there pleeeeze send me one. Never have I seen speakers like this. The Japanese always seemed to have a futuristic sense in many of their designs and took chances…or bust…which happened from time to time. Gotta luv it!

Do you still need a repair manual ??
I’ve got scans. ;o)
Send me an email, and return the pdf files.
Best Regards
Peter

Hi from South Italy! The TA series( Piramid double speaker) was My first Bass amp for My first 4 strings basses. After I bought a Washburn 6 str, so I needed more low frequencies! But I have it still in My collection! Can I have the .pdf manual copy? halvideo90k@yahoo.it is My mail!! Thanx a lot!!! Have a nice Music life!!!! Alberto (I have a Facebook profile, with some of My musical pics!)

Hey guys, I’ve been out of touch for awhile. I’d love to buy another TA series amp if anyone has one reasonably priced. Also, I’m looking for the powered cabinets. Alex, your cabinet needs a preamp like the pe-100.

hi peeps, just found this forum. I think I have a TA 90 serial # PE100
currenly not working. Does anyone have anyone
have a manual for it, it hasnt been working lately
after changing the fuses.. I need help
could you reply to email as well?

I have a TA 90 but is not working too. Could somebody please mail me a manual of it, in order to repair it? Thank you so much.

Picked up a TA-30 amp today. It works OK but has Hum. I’m going to recap and restore the amp. Would appreciate if anyone could email me a service manual or schematic.

Thanks
Mik

hey everyone,
i have a yamaha ta-90 or ta-70 combination (don’t know exactly; contains pf-100 and ts-60). i wan’t to sell it on ebay but before i give it away for a rediculous price i woul like you folks to approximate the value of this nice amp. if anyone is interested – it’s located in middle-germany.
thx a lot an cheers!

Hi people!

My name is Ricardo and I’m from Portugal.

Lately I’ve been very interested in these early Yamaha SA models. Not only the SA-30, but the SA-50. I’ve listened these guitars and I think they are simply amazing. Sound, finish, reliability, everything seems to be pretty balanced and well built, very reliable. I know a person near my city (OPorto) that has one SA-50, spot on, mint condition and he considers it a treasure to be kept.

Anyway, I found an Yamaha SA model at a good price, that I’m wanting to buy in Lisbon. I’ve been talking to the owner and he knows little about the guitar, he’s been keeping it untouched for the past years, so he’s trying to sell it.

Here’s a picture:
[IMG]http://i61.tinypic.com/p4wfd.jpg[/IMG]

After a lot of research, the guitar has been definitely changed by a previous owner. He installed a Shadow active PU, with and additional switch near the control knobs (i wonder who does that?! my god…) on the neck and a vintage Hofner PU on the bridge. Those were the only changes he performed because he didn’t like the sound of the original pickups. Meanwhile, the tremolo bar is missing, the tuners were also changed along the way. The serial number is nowhere to be found because, after carefull examination, I think the fingerboard was changed. The previous owners don’t know who (possibly) did it, but it sure seems like it.
The fingerboard has dot inlays, so that was for a period of time the main question wether it was a SA30 or a SA50, but all the other features check out: the kind of binding and bridge tend to show that this is a SA50.

The only number or inscription that is shown is on the PU pocket like a stamp: something like “?091” (I’m not sure about the first letter or number).

Anyway, the main goal is to perform a restoration close to the original SA50, and I contacted Yamaha to ask if they would have spare parts or they could make them as custom parts, but they don’t.

So, what do you think? I’m open to suggestions!

make sure that there are no dead spots on the neck – these models tend to get a bit of a hump in the neck where the neck meets the body. I agree they are super cool gtrs but just make sure that they fret fine when you lower the action and adjust the truss rod to your desired action.

I have Yamaha TA-30 amp. Is the Power Switch is secured to the panel with a nut and then the knob? I have most likely lost the securing nut. I quickly tested metric and SAE thread nuts on the Power Switch’s threads but they didn’t fit (though perhaps I don’t have a proper SAE size nut, since they aren’t commonly available here).
What spare part I should be after?

Found a suitable nut. It’s the same thin nut that is used on the inputs on the side of the amp.

Got a TA-60. I live in Australia. Perfect working order. I’ve had it for 30 years been sitting in storage for most of those years.

Hey guys, I’ll have to sit down and read all these replies! Just took receipt of a working TA-70 today. The head is scratchy(common), but it all works sans the reverb(probably broken spring) .

i want to buy a TA20 but i want to have the Manual first cause seller said it works but wih noises so it wil have to go to the tech guy.. soo if any of you happens to be so kind and hit me with a copy of the manual of the TA20 i will be thank!

Hi all,
I’m trying to get any information I can on an Amp I’m looking to purchase. The model no. on tag says YBA-45 and Serial No. 1473. The tag says it’s a 75watt amp/speaker combo. Any help regarding this would be very appreciated.

Thank you

Been another few years guys. I do see there are some sites that have the schematics. I had one of my TA-60 redone several years back. Sounds great with a Strat. I traded it off to someone who was looking for that surf sound. Definitely does that! Hope he enjoys it. In the meantime I still have my other TA-60 and a TS. These are neat amps. Worth a few hundred used I suppose. Best of luck to everyone!

I am looking to buy a Yamaha 12″ speaker mod, JA 3052. The one with a chromed back plate to the magnet with a central vent hole covered by a small grill. The magnet has a white paint finish. It was used in the Yamaha TA 25 combo, guitar amp.

I bought a TA25 guitar amp at an auction, the speaker is a JA3052 12″. It seem to be a special design as it has a chromed back plate with a central circular vent grill. the rest of it has a cream “crackle” paint finish. I have it mounted in a small cabinet and use it with my Roland keyboard. It sound great so Iam trying to locate another identical one to use in a stereo set up. Can anyone help, please?

Hi Eric
I have a TA25 yamaha guitar amp i bought in 1969 ,now i need a schematic diagram/service manual.Do you no someone who knowes this amp.

Can you email to me the Yamaha TA-60 Repair/Service Manual.
I have this amp at a one man repair shop and he is unable to fix. He mentioned he needed a repair manual. He’s given up at this point.
Thanks for your help, Bruce 3.10.2019

Leave a Reply to Buzzard Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.