Who bought a Transacoustic Yamaha? Did you keep it?

goldtop

Just wondering how you got on with it after the 'honeymoon period'. A small parlour/concert-size guitar might be a perfect sofa-side guitar for me. Solid rosewood LS-TA or laminated mahogany FS-TA/CFS-TA. (I have a Sigma J45 for loud strumming in the music room.)

But... although every single YT review of these had gushing praise for the transacoustic idea (aside from Paul Davids), I can't see any of these guitars in any of the comparison videos (Andertons, Alamo, etc).

So I am wondering if it's a gimmick once the novelty wears off? Or do acoustic purists - which I'm not - scoff at the idea?

Please share your experiences. TIA.

Tannin

I'll be interested to see what the hive mind has to say on this. 

My guess - and this is 100% pure guesswork unsullied by any hands-on experience whatsoever - is that the electronic gimmickry  will get switched off permanently fairly early on, but it will be a real Yamaha acoustic guitar when you turn the junk off, and pretty decent for that reason.

Cranky

I have an FSTA.

 It’s definitely a real guitar junk off.  It’s fun to play and sounds nice, not even boxy if you strum it with a pick. And the fx make me smile.

Tons of them for sale used in the States, which I don’t get.  Not sure about the UK.  If you have mixed feelings about the fx, then I would definitely just buy used, as the new price probably has you looking for something less “gimmicky” (if that’s how you feel about it).

DavidR

Never tried one either. I'm the opposite of attracted (repelled? - too strong) by anything electric on an acoustic as I do not feel it's part of the acoustic tradition and path. I don't even like the current trend to always fit amplification to acoustics à la Taylor.

Suppose that makes me a purist, or old. Every time I've tried an electric guitar, or any type of electric acoustic guitar device, I've got bored with it. I think I would get bored with Transacoustic too. Love Yamaha acoustics. Have 3.

JohnCordy

I have one - it's my only acoustic - I love it - the LSTA

goldtop

Thanks chaps. I'm still on the fence, although logically, just switching it off gives the exact same tone as the non-TA versions, and then there's always the output for recording without the internal FX.

(Dithering...) 

JohnCordy

@goldtop yeh I don't use the chorus, but the reverb can be useful for unplugged playing, and then I just use it as my go to acoustic for duo work etc

Stuckfast

I tried one at a trade show once. IIRC both the effects are quite understated and subtle from the player's point of view. I'm not really a fan of either chorus or reverb on acoustic guitar, though, so didn't really see the point.

goldtop

Stuckfast said:

I tried one at a trade show once. IIRC both the effects are quite understated and subtle from the player's point of view. I'm not really a fan of either chorus or reverb on acoustic guitar, though, so didn't really see the point.

And that PoV might explain why these guitars appeared as wow-look-at-this reviews when new, but never got included in the comparative reviews afterwards (Andertons, Alamo, etc). 

I'm about 75% persuaded though - but I think I need to try one in person. Main q is whether the parlour version is too small and/or whether the 'S' concert size is a bit too big.

tomjax

I've only tried one in a store. The effects were impressive and I could see them coming in useful at times. But the biggest thing I noted about the guitars was how HEAVY they are with all the electronics bundled in them.

chor808

I had the lsta and sold it. It was great but the novelty wore off and you end up with a heavy acoustic. 

goldtop

Interesting about the weight. The LS is almost dreadnought size already. I'll see if Yamaha lists the weights.

(I did go down the rabbit hole of built-in FX.looking at the Hyvibe and LAVA guitars. But they lack the immediacy of the Yamaha's simpler system.)

chor808

Unless you really need the onboard effects I'd get an ls6 or ls16. 
I've got the ll36, A5R and a silent guitar for gigs (I wish it was silent with all the  mistakes).
They are all great but the 36 is something special. If you can find a LS26 or above get it.

goldtop

Thanks. LS/AC are at the top of the size range for me. I already have a J45 copy. If I get an LS, I will get the TA and just ignore the FX when I don't want them.

I'll have a look into the differences in 16/26/36 spec, so see what upgrade are toneful and what's blingy. 

DartmoorHedgehog

I had a go on one in a shop and was quite pleasantly surprised by the reverb - a lot less gimmicky-sounding than I expected. Not sure I'd really want to pay extra just for the effects at the expense of the base guitar (although the one I tried sounded pretty decent with the effects off as well), but I think if my guitar had that option I'd probably use it a fair bit.

Cranky

There’s always a Tonewood Amp a-la Mike Dawes.

goldtop

^ I saw a video on that, but I prefer Yamaha's approach. 

Cranky

^Yamaha’s is less clumsy.

But my Tonewood turns all of my acoustics into the Yamaha, and with a few extra fx (I like the Leslie setting).

I have both because the Yamaha sits at a friend’s place in Hawaii.  I bought it there and left it knowing that it’s basically the ideal climate to leave an acoustic unattended for prolonged periods.  I thought the FSTA was fun enough that I toyed with getting another for at home, but decided on the Tonewood instead because I didn’t really want a whole other guitar.

goldtop

Makes sense. I've just ordered the entry level CSF-TA as a sofa-side guitar. 

guitarjack66

goldtop said:

Just wondering how you got on with it after the 'honeymoon period'. A small parlour/concert-size guitar might be a perfect sofa-side guitar for me. Solid rosewood LS-TA or laminated mahogany FS-TA/CFS-TA. (I have a Sigma J45 for loud strumming in the music room.)

But... although every single YT review of these had gushing praise for the transacoustic idea (aside from Paul Davids), I can't see any of these guitars in any of the comparison videos (Andertons, Alamo, etc).

So I am wondering if it's a gimmick once the novelty wears off? Or do acoustic purists - which I'm not - scoff at the idea?

Please share your experiences. TIA.

I have a Sigma GA sized as my best guitar and really like it's sound/tone and neck/fretboard. I plumped for Sigma after trying a Sigma travel or 3/4 sized as I thought that felt great too. I am delighted with it and wondered if you'd considered another smaller Sigma to go with the larger model you have? Like I say,the one I tried felt and sounded very nice,even at the small sized but it was just a bit smaller than I wanted. They are generally reasonably priced too.
PS Just seen that you've ordered a guitar but maybe somebody else can think about my suggestion in future.

goldtop

guitarjack66 said:

goldtop said:

Just wondering how you got on with it after the 'honeymoon period'. A small parlour/concert-size guitar might be a perfect sofa-side guitar for me. Solid rosewood LS-TA or laminated mahogany FS-TA/CFS-TA. (I have a Sigma J45 for loud strumming in the music room.)

But... although every single YT review of these had gushing praise for the transacoustic idea (aside from Paul Davids), I can't see any of these guitars in any of the comparison videos (Andertons, Alamo, etc).

So I am wondering if it's a gimmick once the novelty wears off? Or do acoustic purists - which I'm not - scoff at the idea?

Please share your experiences. TIA.

I have a Sigma GA sized as my best guitar and really like it's sound/tone and neck/fretboard. I plumped for Sigma after trying a Sigma travel or 3/4 sized as I thought that felt great too. I am delighted with it and wondered if you'd considered another smaller Sigma to go with the larger model you have? Like I say,the one I tried felt and sounded very nice,even at the small sized but it was just a bit smaller than I wanted. They are generally reasonably priced too.
PS Just seen that you've ordered a guitar but maybe somebody else can think about my suggestion in future.

Interesting. I had thought that Eastman's pricing and quality had sort of usurped the place of Sigma in the market. There are some all-solid Sigma models now, so I will see if there's a GA/Concert size for the next one.