Members ddd Posted January 31, 2006 Members Posted January 31, 2006 I've just started fingerpicking guitar this year - really enjoying it. I wonder if anyone can help with this one. I've recently been auditioning acoustics, martin, taylor,etc. I had my heart set on a Taylor but last week I tried a LS16 from Yamaha. Really impressed and I'm thinking about buying it. It appears to sound and play as well as a Taylor at a fraction of the price, it's solid wood too. I must be missing something here. Any comments welcome.
Members Rada Posted January 31, 2006 Members Posted January 31, 2006 I think every guitar maker has really good guitars and really bad ones..... I do believe it when someone tells me they have a Yamaha that plays better than most Martins they've gotten their hands on. I believe that person just got an excellent Yamaha. I've always had bad luck with Martins and Taylors, I would put them in my hands and they would feel like toys and sounded uneven and so that's always put me off.... Many people have played my Norman ST68 and have said it sounds better than their [enter high end guitar manufacturer]. They would then go down to their local dealer and try the ST68 out and say it sounded like crap. In a nut shell, every manufacturer has its duds and every manufacturer has it's golden guitars If you love the way that Yamaha sounds then, for God's sake, BUY IT!!! You will be kicking yourself if you don't!! You'll be that guy in every guitar store that says, "Several years ago I ran across this cheap ol' guitar that sounded better than any Taylor....man I should have bought it when I had the chance"
Members ddd Posted January 31, 2006 Author Members Posted January 31, 2006 Thanks for that. I thought that my inexperience was showing here.
Members t60 fan Posted January 31, 2006 Members Posted January 31, 2006 Rada's post is correct IMO. Any decent manufacturer using quality materials will "accidently" get some just about perfect (same is true with cars, motorcycles, etc.) Grab those. The alternative is expensive, handbuilt "boutique" guitars which get the individual attention to get them right. I believe the above to be true to a greater extent for accoustics as opposed to electrics, especially vs. solidbody electrics.
Members Rada Posted January 31, 2006 Members Posted January 31, 2006 your inexperience could be the reason it sounds better, who knows? who cares? if you like it, buy it....years or months from now when your ears become a bit more "refined" if you'd like an "upgrade" then go right ahead
Members Cldplytkmn Posted January 31, 2006 Members Posted January 31, 2006 its not an experience or inexperience issue... like Rada so eloquently said, every maker puts out duds and gems. its just the nature of wood IMO. I've got a $600 takamine that i'll probably never get rid of, regardless of how many 'higher quality' guitars i own. I just found one that was built on the right day. my brother in law has a great yamaha, i love playing it.
Members Freeman Keller Posted January 31, 2006 Members Posted January 31, 2006 Well, I didn't go thru the specs but the LS16 is not an "inexpensive" guitar - it seems to sell somewhere in the 850 to 900 range. Looks like a small bodied (OM) sized rosewood guitar, gloss finish, solid wood - competitors might be the OM-21 at 2500 list and the T714 at nearly $3000. (Street prices considerably less, but not 900 bucks). Our Larry fans can chime in with the equivalent Larrivee model. Unfortunately it seems like under a grand you get some of the new woods (sapele, ovangkol), satin finish, and even laminates. Here are the limited review from the HC database http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Data4/Yamaha/LS16-01.html My first guitar was a little Yamaha which I still have after 35 years and it is still a great player. The LS16 could be a great little guitar and a good buy if it sounds right to YOUR ears.
Members Tony Burns Posted February 1, 2006 Members Posted February 1, 2006 Yamahas are very nice for the money , the first new guitar i ever bought was a Yamaha 12 string back in 1972. - and i still have it , at the time i belived it to have a better sound than the Martin 12 strings and Guilds of the time , and alot less costly. Probably the best value in a Guitar you can get - buy the best model you can afford and you you wont be sorry ,and please get yourself a hard shell case for it . Good luck !
Members zenbu Posted February 1, 2006 Members Posted February 1, 2006 high end Yamahas are nice guitars ...for any money. I have an LL33 J all solid and it was so good I got rid of my Taylor 610. The LS16 is part of the latest line and the top of that line costs thousands of dollars, if I remember correctly the 16 series has solid top and back with laminated sides...or am I confusing the 16 with the 06? I really want an LS too and am waiting to get a used one either from the newer series or the older one... because they`ve been building them for a while. I think some folks lump all Yamahas in the same catagory but that LS16 is an excellent guitar, far better made than their entry level guitars...which are nice too but don`t compare to the 16.
Members daklander Posted February 1, 2006 Members Posted February 1, 2006 The L series is a very nice hand crafted guitar with quality material. I played a no longer made LL500 a few years ago that I kick myself in the ass for not buying. I didn't have the grand it cost but that was offered to me in a loan which I declined. DAMN! That was the easiest playing, best sounding guitar I've ever had the pleasure to put the paws on, bar none. If that puppy speaks to you, don't let 'er go. Choice materials and Yamaha
Members babablowfish Posted February 1, 2006 Members Posted February 1, 2006 "If it sounds good, it is good." Duke Ellington
Members jackwr Posted February 1, 2006 Members Posted February 1, 2006 Just to make a point. A friend built a great sounding banjo and put a JC Penny stick on logo on the head stock. The name don't make the sound, just changes the good to bad ratio.
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