Thirty years ago, when I still had the Seagull, I picked up a local trader magazine in Western Nova Scotia. One advertisement listed "two acoustic guitars, one Yamaha ". I called and got the address. My first impression was disappointment. The guitar was leaning against a wall, spattered with paint. The strings were oxidized and were probably 5 years old. The machine heads had seized so the owner used Vice grips and a propane torch to move them. (The grips had started to melt and showed the marks of the pliers). The bridge was a piece of steel and the nut was a piece of hard wood. But when I picked it up and tuned it, it still was able to give evidence of the voice it posessed. It was an FG 580, the bottom end of a line of semi hand built instruments Yamaha produced in the early '70s. The owner had purchased it new in Halifax and played at dances for years until his hands developed arthritis. It bore cigarette burns and pick wear, but it needed a new home.
I cleaned off the paint, replaced the nut and bridge and installed Grover machine heads. She sings! When I play out, I will either use a Markley sound hole pick up or a condenser mic to amplify. This guitar, along with the Framus will be with me until the end.
Best
Les