PSA: Yamaha L-series MIJ model blowout at Yamaha Music London

Whitecat · June 2020

chor808 said:

https://i.imgur.com/ZIEVhYr.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/jS4nQbK.jpg

Woooooooow. Congrats!!!

artiebear · June 2020

chor808 said:

https://i.imgur.com/ZIEVhYr.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/jS4nQbK.jpg

There is something very elegant about these Yamaha designs. Congratulations on a fabulous guitar.

Lodious · June 2020

Looks lovely!!!!

chor808 · June 2020

I'll try and get a close up tomorrow, the binding is a work of art. It resonates so well your mistakes ring out much longer!

artiebear · June 2020

chor808 said:

I'll try and get a close up tomorrow, the binding is a work of art. It resonates so well your mistakes ring out much longer!

I too am really impressed by the way these things resonate. A sign of a great guitar. I have been recording with mine this last week or so ( already got four new songs out of it ) and it is lovely to work with. Enjoy getting to know it !

chor808 · June 2020

Oh I should point out the tuners are excellent, they just say Yamaha but if like to put these on my other guitars so o need to find out what they are..

artiebear · June 2020

chor808 said:

Oh I should point out the tuners are excellent, they just say Yamaha but if like to put these on my other guitars so o need to find out what they are..

I would assume that they are Gotohs. The ones on my LJ feel and look a lot like the tuners on my Yamaha SG3000. They are very smooth and accurate.

Whitecat · June 2020

Yeah, they are Yamaha-badged Gotohs. The 36 uses 310s and the 56 510s IIRC.

TheOtherDennis · June 2020

Another beauty. I'll never tire of saying you can't go wrong with a yammie, but these look like it takes that to a new level.

chor808 · June 2020

Pics https://imgur.com/gallery/USnkkRF

Lodious · June 2020

chor808 said:

Pics https://imgur.com/gallery/USnkkRF

Looks great :-).

Does anybody know what strings these were shipped with, they feel really light! I'm not sure if they were .11's or .12's? I think they would have been .12's out of the factory, but mine feels light or .12's. I wonder if it had been restrung with .11's before they were shipped? I'm not complaining, it feels perfect for me :-)

I'm really loving the sound of mine, I was a bit worried it would be too bright, but it's such a balanced tone. The body just feels so alive.

artiebear · June 2020

They did feel like 11's, 80/20 bronze, but I didn't pay much attention to the ball ends to identify them. I thought they sounded really nice, nice bass with a light mid range and airy top end. I did my usual thing of fitting D'Addario phosphor bronze 12's to mine. A bit punchier and a little heavier for altered tunings, but I have to admit that the guitar did sound great with the original strings.

Lodious · June 2020

artiebear said:

They did feel like 11's, 80/20 bronze, but I didn't pay much attention to the ball ends to identify them. I thought they sounded really nice, nice bass with a light mid range and airy top end. I did my usual thing of fitting D'Addario phosphor bronze 12's to mine. A bit punchier and a little heavier for altered tunings, but I have to admit that the guitar did sound great with the original strings.

Thanks AB :-)

sunshinewelly · July 2020

These are now being blown out by peach. Seriously tempted even though I only picked up a martin Om 18 a couple of weeks ago. Only thing putting me off is resale value down the line.

artiebear · July 2020

As far as resale goes, you are already getting a crazy deal for a very high end new guitar when you compare the spec and performance with a lot of other makers. It's worth remembering that L series Yamahas are much less common than the rest of the range and their prices over the years have been commensurate with the type of quality involved.
In answer to your question over on the other thread, you would be looking at an LL to get to Yamaha's equivalent Dread. That being said , LJX36 at Peach would be the pick of the bunch out of theirs right now.

Universal8 · July 2020

It’s a bit worrying that they have to be that heavily discounted to be able to sell them , regardless of the quality.

Whitecat · July 2020

Universal8 said:

It’s a bit worrying that they have to be that heavily discounted to be able to sell them , regardless of the quality.

I’m not sure they have to be - Peach genuinely used to sell these for the original price although they never got that many in at all anyway. Think that Yamaha just wants them gone.

sunshinewelly · July 2020

I assume its basically the yamaha name. No one would question a taylor or martin being sold at this price.

artiebear · July 2020

Universal8 said:

It’s a bit worrying that they have to be that heavily discounted to be able to sell them , regardless of the quality.

Thing is, they do sell them at the original prices all across their world marketing regions. This seems to be a regional deal, seeing as very few of the high end Yamahas make it onto the UK market.. Yamaha are a huge corporation with very different business models across the divisions to some other major players in the industry. These aren't mass produced and stored by the hundreds in various warehouse distribution centres. If the quality is there, and the price is right, why should that be worrying ?

sunshinewelly · July 2020

chor808 said:

Pics https://imgur.com/gallery/USnkkRF

Is that a 36 or 56

Universal8 · July 2020

artiebear said:

Universal8 said:

It’s a bit worrying that they have to be that heavily discounted to be able to sell them , regardless of the quality.

Thing is, they do sell them at the original prices all across their world marketing regions. This seems to be a regional deal, seeing as very few of the high end Yamahas make it onto the UK market.. Yamaha are a huge corporation with very different business models across the divisions to some other major players in the industry. These aren't mass produced and stored by the hundreds in various warehouse distribution centres. If the quality is there, and the price is right, why should that be worrying ?

Fair point.

sunshinewelly · July 2020

Just ordered the ljx36. This forum is bloody expensive

artiebear · July 2020

sunshinewelly said:

Just ordered the ljx36. This forum is bloody expensive

Great choice. The LJ is a great body size, being deeper than your OM but not being too big. Being a 36, It will also have a thin nitro cellulose finish. The pick up system is supposed to e very good indeed. Looking forward to the NGD thread. I am loving my LJ at the expense of my other acoustics just now. I just started tracking the 7th song I have written since I got mine 4 weeks ago today, it's an inspiring guitar to play and record with. The same appointments in the range of some other well known makers would have set you back well north of 5k ( in the case of some north of 8/9k )at least, without even the ARE treated englemann option.

sunshinewelly · July 2020

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6qR0_qrXjU

just noticed this video - not sure if the process has changed since then. enjoyed watching it. I thought that Martin were small scale but they seem huge compared to this factory

sunshinewelly · July 2020

Well my guitar has arrived. It's absolutely beautiful and flawlessly put together. It's a step up on my martin which had a number of litle issues. Ie glue marks and cleaning compound residue

The binding is a work of art

Its heavier than the martin which I assume is the rosewood construction

It's also noticeably more resonant which I assume is more due to the larger size than anything else

Not sure what string scale it has as it's hard finding the specs of the neck. Action is higher but seems easier to play and bend strings

The fretwork is exceptional not that the martin is bad in that department. Definitely different sounding to the martin

Jury's out on the pickups. The baggs anthem in the martin is unbelievable and I have not really had a chance to really test the yamaha yet. Pain in the arse fitting the battery though. The pick up controls are lovely though. They pop up from the top of the side of the guitar and you can pop them in so they are flush. Not seen that before

Smells nicer than the martin as well

As for the sound it's different to the martin. Not sure what sound I prefer. It's loader unplugged though and has more bottom pressense

Not sure I would pay full price but then again woukd not pay nearly £5000 for any guitar

At the price peach sell them though its a bargain especially If you consider the martin is the more expensive guitar.

danishbacon · July 2020

sunshinewelly said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6qR0_qrXjU

just noticed this video - not sure if the process has changed since then. enjoyed watching it. I thought that Martin were small scale but they seem huge compared to this factory

I think Martin were closer to that in the 90's - or at least it's what it seems from the limited footage I could find. Today a majority of builders use vacuum presses and templates to fit the braces, compared to the more traditional method you see in the Yamaha video. There are also some architectural differences, such as the neck block. The format used in the Yamaha, as I understand it, is common to Japanese guitars. I own a 1970s Brazilian guitar built by Sugiyama and it has a similar neck block, although it's a classical. Also interesting in the Yamaha video is their use of side bracing that bypasses the support strip that holds the top and back.

sunshinewelly · July 2020

I love watching guitar factory videos. Great way to pass time in lock down

Modellista · July 2020

I popped in (twice!!) to the showroom in London today. Chap called Steve was very helpful and I had a good play of the LL26 and 36. The 36 was very pretty but the strings were a bit dead. The 26 was absolutely lovely and as presented was he pick of the two. It revealed hidden shallows in my technique but also encouraged correction of such defects because the sound was so clear and the guitar rewards precision in one’s playing.

The chap told me that the luthiers are basically old and are retiring so there are no more being made of this type. They may introduce some small luthier versions of the A series or the FG series but it sounded like the flagship ranges as we know them are no more.

I may be back tomorrow to buy one.

Modellista · July 2020

They also had a couple of examples of the 26 in a cutaway version, one in a very fetching and apparently quite rare red sunburst.

artiebear · July 2020

Modellista said:

I popped in (twice!!) to the showroom in London today. Chap called Steve was very helpful and I had a good play of the LL26 and 36. The 36 was very pretty but the strings were a bit dead. The 26 was absolutely lovely and as presented was he pick of the two. It revealed hidden shallows in my technique but also encouraged correction of such defects because the sound was so clear and the guitar rewards precision in one’s playing.

The chap told me that the luthiers are basically old and are retiring so there are no more being made of this type. They may introduce some small luthier versions of the A series or the FG series but it sounded like the flagship ranges as we know them are no more.

I may be back tomorrow to buy one.

Quite interesting regarding the luthiers. There were a lot of things about my LJ56 that were typical of classical build techniques ie very traditional old school process. It may be that the model is to go more towards CNC multi bench production while retaining a small shop, lower run feel.
Regarding strings etc, when I received my guitar it had reasonably fresh strings on it, sounded good, I stuck a new set on and it sounded amazing. I would be tempted to ask them to restring the 36 so that you can make a reasonable assessment. I have done similar in the past, I've even been taken up on my offer to put a new set of strings on a guitar in store, just so I could properly assess it ( I bought that one in the end ).

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PSA: Yamaha L-series MIJ model blowout at Yamaha Music London

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