The Yamaha Super Live Series was a series of radical electric guitars from the 1980s, including the Explorer / Iceman style HR models and the pointy V-shaped FZ-1000.
YAMAHA FZ-1000The Yamaha FZ-1000 was a Super Live Series model from 1987. The FZ-1000 had an asymmetric small V shaped body and was distributed in Japan only. The bolt on neck has unusal double neck plates | |
YAMAHA HR-CustomThe Yamaha Yamaha HR-Custom was introduced in 1994 as a Kyoji Yamamoto signature model. This model is based on the HR-1 from the 1980s , but does not have the complicated built in electronics of the HR-1, instead the HR-Custom has a figured maple top laminated spruce, maple, mahogany and karin body. The neck is also five layer laminated maple and karin. It has a Rockin' Magic Pro-III bridge and two DiMarzio humbuckers These were made for distribution in Japan only.
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YAMAHA HR-IThe Yamaha HR-I was a Super Live Series model from 1987. This model was not made for long and only distributed in Japan so they are relatively rare. There are plenty of extra electronics in this model: the Rockin Magic II tremolo bridge has a built in piezo pickup, the two humbucking pickups are also active, there is a built in compressor and even a built in chromatic tuner. | |
YAMAHA HR-IIIThe Yamaha HR-III was a Super Live Series model from 1987. This model was like the HR-I but without all the built in electronics and it was less than half the price of the HR-I. |
Specifications:
Model | Image | Finish colors | Made in | Number of strings | Finish effects | Scale length |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
YAMAHA FZ-1000 1987 | black finish, white finish | Japan | 6 strings | - | - | |
YAMAHA HR-Custom 1994 | orange finish | Japan | 6 strings | transparent finish | 24.72 inches scale length | |
YAMAHA HR-I 1987 | black finish | Japan | 6 strings | - | - | |
YAMAHA HR-III 1987 | black finish | Japan | 6 strings | - | - |
Model | Controls material | Number of control knobs | Pickup selector controls | Tone controls | Volume controls |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
YAMAHA FZ-1000 1987 | black controls | 3 control knobs | 3-way selector switch | - | - |
YAMAHA HR-Custom 1994 | gold controls | 3 control knobs | 3-way selector switch | 1 tone control | 2 volume controls |
YAMAHA HR-I 1987 | gold controls | 4 control knobs | - | - | - |
YAMAHA HR-III 1987 | black controls | 3 control knobs | 3-way selector switch | - | - |
Model | Pickups configuration | Pickups brand and model | Circuit functions | Power supply |
---|---|---|---|---|
YAMAHA FZ-1000 1987 | 2 humbucker pickups | - | - | - |
YAMAHA HR-Custom 1994 | 2 humbucker pickups | DiMarzio pickup(s) | - | - |
YAMAHA HR-I 1987 | 2 humbucker pickups, piezo mounted tremolo | - | active electronics, compressor, tuner | 9V PP3 battery |
YAMAHA HR-III 1987 | 2 humbucker pickups | - | - | - |
Model | Body style | Body material | Body top material |
---|---|---|---|
YAMAHA FZ-1000 1987 | V shaped body | - | - |
YAMAHA HR-Custom 1994 | Explorer-style body | laminated mahogany body | figured maple body top |
YAMAHA HR-I 1987 | Explorer-style body | - | - |
YAMAHA HR-III 1987 | Explorer-style body | - | - |
Model | Bridge | Hardware color |
---|---|---|
YAMAHA FZ-1000 1987 | locking tremolo | black hardware |
YAMAHA HR-Custom 1994 | locking tremolo | gold hardware |
YAMAHA HR-I 1987 | locking tremolo | gold hardware |
YAMAHA HR-III 1987 | locking tremolo | chrome hardware |
Model | Fingerboard position markers | Fingerboard material |
---|---|---|
YAMAHA FZ-1000 1987 | arrow fingerboard position markers | - |
YAMAHA HR-Custom 1994 | crown fingerboard position markers | ebony fingerboard |
YAMAHA HR-I 1987 | dot fingerboard position markers | - |
YAMAHA HR-III 1987 | dot fingerboard position markers | - |
Model | Neck joint | Number of frets | Tuner layout | Neck material |
---|---|---|---|---|
YAMAHA FZ-1000 1987 | bolt on neck | 24 fret | six-in-a-row tuners | - |
YAMAHA HR-Custom 1994 | set neck | 24 fret | six-in-a-row tuners | laminated neck, maple/mahogany neck |
YAMAHA HR-I 1987 | set neck | 24 fret | six-in-a-row tuners | - |
YAMAHA HR-III 1987 | set neck | 24 fret | six-in-a-row tuners | - |