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UNPLANNED DOWNTIME: 12th Oct 23:45

NGD: Yamaha LS6 ARE

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AlterlifesonAlterlifeson Frets: 445
edited December 2022 in Acoustics
There was a thread a little while ago about the Yamaha L acoustic range that was on offer at Peach and after some deliberation I went for the LS6. This is Yamahas small bodied, non cutaway acoustic - Solid top with lam rosewood back and sides. 

The service from Peach was great as you'd expect. The individually photograph each serial number so I  picked my favourite and waited for it to arrive. Unfortunately on of the sales reps called me the next day and said whilst it was being set up/check over before shipping a tech found an issue with the neck so it was going to be sent back to Yamaha. I chose my next favoutite and called back whilst also request that delivery was delayed for a couple of weeks as I was away for a while. All of this was made super easy by Peach. Really great staff.

Anyway, I've been playing this one for around a month now and cannot fault it for the £450 odd I payed. Fit and finish are absolutely faultless in every way. Not a blemish. Intonation is spot on, action spot on, relief spot on. Top marks for both Yamaha and Peach. It came with coated Elixirs which I am not normally a fan of but I love them on this. Super smooth and they seem to add some zing to the boxyness associate with smaller bodied acoustics. Haven't felt the need to do a string change at all so far. They are lasting ages.

Sound wise it projects well, it does still sound like a smaller guitar but I am hoping it will open up a bit over time. Plus, it is a small(er) bodied guitar so it wasn't a surprise. Anyway, onto some pics. The top is a bit darker in person. The LED lights in my kitchen washed it out a bit.










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Comments

  • SoupmanSoupman Frets: 172
    Nice looking guitar. Dare I say it? It looks peachy  :#
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  • DavidRDavidR Frets: 595
    edited December 2022
    Or a Martin OM28 Modern Deluxe for £5K! And yes, before people start, they really are comparable.

    No brainer. Congrats+++. It looks brilliant - and I want one!

    :-(
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  • AlterlifesonAlterlifeson Frets: 445
    DavidR said:
    Or a Martin OM28 Modern Deluxe for £5K! And yes, before people start, they really are comparable.

    No brainer. Congrats+++. It looks brilliant - and I want one!
    Indeed, really unbelievable for under £500. I would be extremely happy at RRP too. One of my best guitar related buys for sure.
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  • VinylfanVinylfan Frets: 33
    Nice to have a real world review of it.  Did it replace something similar?
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  • AlterlifesonAlterlifeson Frets: 445
    Vinylfan said:
    Nice to have a real world review of it.  Did it replace something similar?
    Not really, this was my first foray into the acoustic world outside of a D28 copy that has been handed down over the years. My guitar playing friends are all quite into acoustics however so I knew the sort of thing I wanted and have had the opportunity to try a few different styles. 

    This was still bought blind, having not played a Yammy acoustic, but after a lot of research.
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  • guitarjack66guitarjack66 Frets: 1397
    What body size is this? Concert,OM,000,Auditorium?
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  • AlterlifesonAlterlifeson Frets: 445
    guitarjack66 said:
    What body size is this? Concert,OM,000,Auditorium?
    Yamaha just call it 'small' but it is comparable to OM/000 but a little deeper. It sits somewhere between a dread and an OM in terms of depth.
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  • goldtopgoldtop Frets: 5625
    ^ Yup. I did a nerdy spreadsheet when I started my buying research, and the LS/AC/etc range of Yamaha guitars is Taylor GC/OM/00- sized, but the Yamaha is 11mm deeper.

    So, in terms of cubic cm, the sound box is pretty much exactly halfway between OM and dreadnought. Probably a nice compromise. Must try one when I've sold my Sigma J45.
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  • gordijigordiji Frets: 714


    Sound wise it projects well, it does still sound like a smaller guitar but I am hoping it will open up a bit over time. Plus, it is a small(er) bodied guitar so it wasn't a surprise. Anyway, onto some pics. The top is a bit darker in person. The LED lights in my kitchen washed it out a bit.






    HNGD.
    I was browsing these as a result of your post and stumbled across this comment on youtube which may help the 'opening up' you speak of.

    ;ve owned many Yamahas and each one is well made and the best value for the money - period. If you want to bring out the best possible from this guitar - increased harmonics and projection for cheap - replace the plastic pins and saddle with Graph Tech Tusq. Pins need to be sanded to fit, and the saddle is the same as for a Martin - Tusq model 9110 comprensated. Drops right in and no sanding required unless you want a slightly lower action. I left mine alone and the increased break angle from the pins to saddle really brings out incredible tones from that massive top. The end result will be - if you listened to the stock guitar first, and being blindfolded, listened to the upgraded guitar - you would NOT BE ABLE TO recognize it by sound. It is a completely different guitar sonically and will hold it's own against any made on the market costing 2 to 3 times more.

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  • usedtobeusedtobe Frets: 3841
    Lovely looking guitar. Strangely, I’ve never owned a Yamaha, although my brother had a lovely acoustic, about 40 years ago - give or take.. which I coveted..
     so if you fancy a reissue of a guitar they never made in a colour they never used then it probably isn't too overpriced.

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  • guitarjack66guitarjack66 Frets: 1397
    I'd love a Yamaha and had a travel sized one that was just too small and the fretboard was too narrow. Do any have wider fretboards?
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  • AlterlifesonAlterlifeson Frets: 445
    gordiji said:


    Sound wise it projects well, it does still sound like a smaller guitar but I am hoping it will open up a bit over time. Plus, it is a small(er) bodied guitar so it wasn't a surprise. Anyway, onto some pics. The top is a bit darker in person. The LED lights in my kitchen washed it out a bit.






    HNGD.
    I was browsing these as a result of your post and stumbled across this comment on youtube which may help the 'opening up' you speak of.

    ;ve owned many Yamahas and each one is well made and the best value for the money - period. If you want to bring out the best possible from this guitar - increased harmonics and projection for cheap - replace the plastic pins and saddle with Graph Tech Tusq. Pins need to be sanded to fit, and the saddle is the same as for a Martin - Tusq model 9110 comprensated. Drops right in and no sanding required unless you want a slightly lower action. I left mine alone and the increased break angle from the pins to saddle really brings out incredible tones from that massive top. The end result will be - if you listened to the stock guitar first, and being blindfolded, listened to the upgraded guitar - you would NOT BE ABLE TO recognize it by sound. It is a completely different guitar sonically and will hold it's own against any made on the market costing 2 to 3 times more.

    Thanks for the info, that sounds like something definitely worth pursuing in the future. The saddle seems like the logical first step, nice that it is a straight replacement too.
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  • goldtopgoldtop Frets: 5625
    guitarjack66 said:
    I'd love a Yamaha and had a travel sized one that was just too small and the fretboard was too narrow. Do any have wider fretboards?
    How narrow is too narrow? The CSF range is the fairly typical 1 11/16, the 1 3/4 only comes along on the bigger models, AFAICS. I can deal OK with 1 11/16, though. 

    Among the few smaller guitars with 1 3/4 are the Martin Dreadnought Junior and 000Jr.
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  • guitarjack66guitarjack66 Frets: 1397
    I am usually an Imperial measures person but my relative newness to guitar means I am a millimetres man here. I'd say 43 is the absolute minimum but wider is better. 44.5mm is my Sigma width and that works very well.
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  • AmigoAmigo Frets: 109
    What Sigma is that, if you don't mind?
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  • goldtopgoldtop Frets: 5625
    ^ Can confirm that J45 Sigma copy I have is 44.55mm - measured just now with digital calipers.
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  • guitarjack66guitarjack66 Frets: 1397
    Amigo said:
    What Sigma is that, if you don't mind?
    Its an OM sized Sigma. GMC-STE model.
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