My somewhat worrying obsession with Yamaha acoustics continues with the delivery of this LA-8 today.
I owned one of these about 7 years ago , it was nice but wasn’t ‘special’. Incidentally, that particular guitar recently came up for sale here in the UK at around twice what I sold it for.
Since then I’ve acquired my LL-500 which is VERY special. So when I saw this LA-8 online about a week ago at a fair price, the irrational part of my brain started working. As of yesterday, nobody had snapped it up so I took a punt on it thinking I’d probably be able to move it on if this one turned out to be a bit ‘meh’ too.
It arrived today and I’m happy to report that it’s quite a bit better than the previous one but not without some minor issues.
It sounds ace, set up is perfect and playability is buttery. So all good there. Issues - there was previously a pick up installed although this now is only an endpin Jack and a bare ended cable flapping about inside. Think I’ll go for a K&K pure mini.
The finish on the laminated Rosewood back and sides is showing some ‘cloudiness’ in places, like condensation that doesn’t wipe off but is definitely a defect in the finish.
Lastly, can somebody tell me what the object inside the guitar is (2nd photo) please ? I’ve no idea, is it a cleat, a mounting for a battery ? I’ve haven’t seen anything like it so am a bit stumped. Can’t see any evidence of cracks so am scratching my head a bit.
It’s a good size too, a very slightly scaled down version of the LL body shape, a smidge less width and body depth.
It’s a slightly rough old dog and I’m still trying to figure out the year from the s/n, either ‘95 or 2005 but overall I’m pretty chuffed with it.
And finally.....Yay, my tFB subscription appears to be letting me post pics
Comments
Never owned a Yamnie so no idea what that is in the second pic, sorry. But someone else here will.
Meanwhile, enjoy your new guitar
By the way, is there a Shetland Pony standing on the beige velour footstool/chaise longue showing in the 3rd photo down?
2004 Yamaha LL-500
1995 Yamaha LA-8
2004 Yamaha LL-500
1995 Yamaha LA-8
Shame about the nasty strap button fitting too, although you could at least fix it by having the heel cap replaced.
Otherwise, nice-looking guitar.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
BillDL summed up your query about the foreign body.
Defo a wood block for mounting something, but removal attempts could pull strips off the back and it's right next to a brace.....
Going to leave the heel button where it is for now too. The cloudy finish on the B&S is intriguing, unfortunately it's quite difficult to photograph.
There's tons of tone in it though, so much better than the one I used to own which seemed a bit dull sounding. This one appears extremely resonant with loads of sustain and lush overtones and although of very similar build to my LL-500 (albeit laminated back and sides), they sound very distinct from each other.
I assume photos can still be seen, wonder why I can't see them now
2004 Yamaha LL-500
1995 Yamaha LA-8
I've become very used to 1"11/16 nut width over the past few months, think it suits me best.
2004 Yamaha LL-500
1995 Yamaha LA-8
Going to try some John Pearse 80/20s on it when they get here.
2004 Yamaha LL-500
1995 Yamaha LA-8
My experience has been bad - dead straight out of the box. But, tbf to JP, that may have been the string supplier, not him.
Let us know what you think when you try `em
2004 Yamaha LL-500
1995 Yamaha LA-8