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

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  • Universal8Universal8 Frets: 134
    artiebear 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.
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  • Just ordered the ljx36. This forum is bloody expensive 
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  • artiebearartiebear Frets: 810
    edited July 2020
    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.
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  • 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
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  • sunshinewellysunshinewelly Frets: 731
    edited 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. 




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  • danishbacondanishbacon Frets: 2694
    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.


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  • I love watching guitar factory videos. Great way to pass time in lock down 
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  • ModellistaModellista Frets: 2039
    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. 
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  • ModellistaModellista Frets: 2039
    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. 
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  • artiebearartiebear Frets: 810
    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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  • chor808chor808 Frets: 72
    chor808 said:
    Is that a 36 or 56 
    Ll36
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  • I'm soooo tempted by one of these, but everything I already have is made of rosewood - I have two Avalons in rosewood (a jumbo and auditorium size cutaway) and two kits that I made myself in rosewood (a dreadnought and a jumbo). It'd just be sat there.
    If you must have sex with a frog, wear a condom. If you want the frog to have fun, rib it.
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  • ModellistaModellista Frets: 2039
    artiebear 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 ).
    I’m not sure I’m that bothered about the inlays for another £500. Plus the 26 comes with the open-backed tuners which I think look cooler than the Gotohs. 

    They have two non-pickup non-cutaway 26s in stock, I played one yesterday and am going back today to try the other one. I’d be happy with the one I tried but always wise to compare if given the opportunity I reckon. 
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  • chor808chor808 Frets: 72
    I'm soooo tempted by one of these, but everything I already have is made of rosewood - I have two Avalons in rosewood (a jumbo and auditorium size cutaway) and two kits that I made myself in rosewood (a dreadnought and a jumbo). It'd just be sat there.
    It would look great just sat there
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  • ModellistaModellista Frets: 2039
    A couple of pics from the London showroom:



    From left, LS16, LL16M, LL16-12, LJX26C (black, top), not sure what the sunburst one is.



    The acoustic booth.  From left, LL36, LLX26C, LS56, another LLX26C.

    Someone really needs to buy the sunburst 26.  What a perfect do-it-all guitar - hand-made build quality consistent with all of the ultra high-end Yamahas, very rare paint job, cutaway and electrics for stage use.  Awesome thing.

    And what became my guitar, still on the rack:


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  • WhitecatWhitecat Frets: 5378
    edited July 2020
    Strange that the electros don’t seem to appear at all on YML’s website. 

    Peach have one sunburst LLX26C though should someone want one without having to interact with another human...

    Congrats @Modellista - good choice!
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  • artiebearartiebear Frets: 810
    Looks great @Modellista , enjoy !
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  • @Modellista did you manage to try the LS cutaway version? Would be interested to know your thoughts on those vs. the non cutaways. Thanks!
    Link to my trading feedback: http://thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/58787/
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  • ModellistaModellista Frets: 2039
    Um - I don’t think there was an LS cutaway. There’s an LJ (jumbo) cutaway in the first pic which I didn’t try, but I did try the natural cutaway LL26 in the second pic. Sound wise it was up there with any of the others I tried. Maybe you lose 5% volume from the bit of top that’s missing but that’s it. Tonally it had the same classic Yamaha sound as the rest - balanced across the frequency range - controlled bass, sweet treble, no nasty surprises in the midrange. Build quality is essentially perfect. 

    The biggest difference was the weight - apparently the preamp is a proper job and weighs quite a bit, which I was surprised by. Playing wise it was nice, the one I ended up buying was my personal favourite but you can’t go wrong with any of these at these prices in my opinion.  Just bear in mind that it will feel heavy for an acoustic, and the weight feels like it’s in the upper bout, presumably some of that’s from the battery, whereas in my A3R the batteries and down near the end pin which makes more sense weight-wise. 

    The sales guy was very detailed - apparently the preamps are very expensive to make, a replacement is about £400 - as are the hard cases - all made to order in Japan and would be at least £300 separately. 

    So by buying the non-electro version I’ve diddled myself out of quite a lot of value in the preamp, but I really wanted a non-cutaway non-electric version.

    I would add that also I tried an A5R which is similar in build (and currently price) to the cutaway LL26 and is also made in Japan. The A5 was good but the LL was quite clearly in another league. At the Peach price of £1.5k the LLs are stupendous value. 
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  • Had a quick chat with them yesterday - they might be getting some more guitars into stock...damn that temptation!
    Link to my trading feedback: http://thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/58787/
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