I wanted a new acoustic. I've been playing out a lot more in the last few years but never in super-nice places. Mostly bars and such where I always feel uneasy about bringing my Taylor. I wanted something nice sounding and playing but that I wouldn't mind lugging around as much. I didn't have the money to spend on another taylor (even lower-end 2xx) so I starting looking around and thought "who makes great guitars but isn't a "big" luxury name like Taylor or Martin"... the answer: Yamaha.
They have boatloads of cheaper yet great playing/sounding acoustics, therefore, there must be something good in their higher-end guitars no?
After reading and researching a lot, I came to the conclusion that their L series must be quite good. They are available in 4 "grades". the 6s and 16s are handmade in China (6s have laminated backs and sides while the 16s are completely solid woods) and the 26 and 36s are all solid woods and handmade in Japan.
I went to a shop in Montreal while there 2 weeks ago. Tried a LLx6 (dread with electronics) and it sounded completely dead. They didn't have any 16s so I tried a LJ (medium jumbo) 26. Very nice, nothing to go completely crazy about but nice. A "6" goes for 500$, while a 26 goes for 2000$ (but it was on sale for 1500$).
I took a chance and ordered a LJ16 from them via the web (found a coupon for 10% off). All in all it came to 770$ shipped.
Came in yester day and WOW... amazing guitar! It smokes the LJ26 I tried (maybe I got lucky here or unlucky there). I just love that thing.
The craftsmanship is perfect. The wood (solid indian rosewood sides and back, solid englemans spruce top) is beautiful, fit and finish is just perfect.
Tone: that's where I start feeling like something's wrong with the price of these. It's just so clear and loud. I've been A/Bing it with my Taylor 414 for about an hour this morning and really, there isn't much that the Yamaha should envy from her older sister.
It sounds clear both fingerpicked and flatpicked. Doesn't compress when strummed harder. It's a bit louder than the Taylor (it's both deeper and a bit bigger). The Taylor's a tiny bit richer in overall overtones and is a bit richer when fingerpicked. However, the differences are very subtle.
I always considered that the taylor, at a tad over 2K$ in 2004 was worth every penny. I still believe that today but that Yamaha, at about a third of that, is an AMAZING bargain.
Anyone looking for a GREAT acoustic for very little money should definitely look into them.
Here are a few pics of course!
They have boatloads of cheaper yet great playing/sounding acoustics, therefore, there must be something good in their higher-end guitars no?
After reading and researching a lot, I came to the conclusion that their L series must be quite good. They are available in 4 "grades". the 6s and 16s are handmade in China (6s have laminated backs and sides while the 16s are completely solid woods) and the 26 and 36s are all solid woods and handmade in Japan.
I went to a shop in Montreal while there 2 weeks ago. Tried a LLx6 (dread with electronics) and it sounded completely dead. They didn't have any 16s so I tried a LJ (medium jumbo) 26. Very nice, nothing to go completely crazy about but nice. A "6" goes for 500$, while a 26 goes for 2000$ (but it was on sale for 1500$).
I took a chance and ordered a LJ16 from them via the web (found a coupon for 10% off). All in all it came to 770$ shipped.
Came in yester day and WOW... amazing guitar! It smokes the LJ26 I tried (maybe I got lucky here or unlucky there). I just love that thing.
The craftsmanship is perfect. The wood (solid indian rosewood sides and back, solid englemans spruce top) is beautiful, fit and finish is just perfect.
Tone: that's where I start feeling like something's wrong with the price of these. It's just so clear and loud. I've been A/Bing it with my Taylor 414 for about an hour this morning and really, there isn't much that the Yamaha should envy from her older sister.
It sounds clear both fingerpicked and flatpicked. Doesn't compress when strummed harder. It's a bit louder than the Taylor (it's both deeper and a bit bigger). The Taylor's a tiny bit richer in overall overtones and is a bit richer when fingerpicked. However, the differences are very subtle.
I always considered that the taylor, at a tad over 2K$ in 2004 was worth every penny. I still believe that today but that Yamaha, at about a third of that, is an AMAZING bargain.
Anyone looking for a GREAT acoustic for very little money should definitely look into them.
Here are a few pics of course!
. My experience with lower end Yamahas has been fairly good - the most recent guitar I played was an FG475-12, solid top, nato everything else, and it was a great sounding 12 string. Stupid low setup with no buzz too. Very tempting.
