The Acoustic Thread

[jeremyb]

Got a buddy who is keen on getting one of these: https://www.musicworks.co.nz/yamaha-ls6 ... t-ls6bsare he really likes the looks of it and it reviews well, any thoughts on what else should he look at thats similar price point / aesthetics?

[NippleWrestler]

Got a buddy who is keen on getting one of these: https://www.musicworks.co.nz/yamaha-ls6 ... t-ls6bsare he really likes the looks of it and it reviews well, any thoughts on what else should he look at thats similar price point / aesthetics?

Let him know that due to Australia's very good relationship with Yamaha he could get the all solid model above for less, if can have someone bring it in or ship it.

https://www.mannys.com.au/products/yama ... up-natural

But, they're very very nice guitars that bunch way above their weight, just the Aussie price is ridiculously cheap compared to ours.

[olegmcnoleg]

Got a buddy who is keen on getting one of these: https://www.musicworks.co.nz/yamaha-ls6 ... t-ls6bsare he really likes the looks of it and it reviews well, any thoughts on what else should he look at thats similar price point / aesthetics?

Let him know that due to Australia's very good relationship with Yamaha he could get the all solid model above for less, if can have someone bring it in or ship it.

https://www.mannys.com.au/products/yama ... up-natural

But, they're very very nice guitars that bunch way above their weight, just the Aussie price is ridiculously cheap compared to ours.

Agreed, and that ls16 is really lovely, and a fantastic price for a solid wood guitar. It is small though, if your mate wants something closer to full size, (s)he is on the right track. The 1 series Taylors are pretty decent too. There is a 2 series Taylor currently on TM for just a bit more cash I think, this would be an excellent choice too (and it is also a burst)

[Slowy]

There's a Matsuoka dreadnought on TM for around $950 that looks interesting.

Seen that. I'm tempted to have a look but I have a much better dreadnought already.

Yeah same here, but I have pondered taking the 20 minute drive just to see what the fuss is all about. People on certain forums rave about them but you never know how much of that is the nostalgia that smaller Japanese makers seem to attract.

I had a look at it.
It's well put together and hasn't been played much. Has Grover tuners but no case. It has a familiar look and feel which makes me think it was probably built by Aria which isn't a bad thing; they can do some good stuff.

But it's too expensive IMHO. $600 tops which wiped the smile off the shopkeepers face.

Exec summary, well built and appointed but a generic 1970's Japanese feel.

[NippleWrestler]

Seen that. I'm tempted to have a look but I have a much better dreadnought already.

Yeah same here, but I have pondered taking the 20 minute drive just to see what the fuss is all about. People on certain forums rave about them but you never know how much of that is the nostalgia that smaller Japanese makers seem to attract.

I had a look at it.
It's well put together and hasn't been played much. Has Grover tuners but no case. It has a familiar look and feel which makes me think it was probably built by Aria which isn't a bad thing; they can do some good stuff.

But it's too expensive IMHO. $600 tops which wiped the smile off the shopkeepers face.

Exec summary, well built and appointed but a generic 1970's Japanese feel.

Thanks for taking the trip and checking it out. I offered them $400 on the basis that it could potentially need more work than I was prepared for. Since they're not guitar people, asking about neck angle and bridge height doesn't yield much fruit so cheers for having a look. I suspect itll be stuck on the wall for a long time if they cling to their $900 valuation.

[Slowy]

Yeah same here, but I have pondered taking the 20 minute drive just to see what the fuss is all about. People on certain forums rave about them but you never know how much of that is the nostalgia that smaller Japanese makers seem to attract.

I had a look at it.
It's well put together and hasn't been played much. Has Grover tuners but no case. It has a familiar look and feel which makes me think it was probably built by Aria which isn't a bad thing; they can do some good stuff.

But it's too expensive IMHO. $600 tops which wiped the smile off the shopkeepers face.

Exec summary, well built and appointed but a generic 1970's Japanese feel.

Thanks for taking the trip and checking it out. I offered them $400 on the basis that it could potentially need more work than I was prepared for. Since they're not guitar people, asking about neck angle and bridge height doesn't yield much fruit so cheers for having a look. I suspect itll be stuck on the wall for a long time if they cling to their $900 valuation.

It needed a trussrod tighten. I told the guy that it was reasonable for a prospective purchaser to try adjusting it on the basis that if it was seized, the guitar became essentially worthless. I actually think your offer was about right but he's into it for more than that.

[Slowy]

Banchetti1.jpg (1.3 MiB) Viewed 1566 times

Having picked this up on TM as a punt and had Grant describe it as a 'worthy folly', Oleg and I addressed the warped bridge. This resulted in a significant improvement and the decision to send it to Trevor Binford with the instruction, 'whatever it needs'.

When I picked it up yesterday, Trevor thanked me for asking him to work on it(!!) He gave it a refret and nut and all I can say is it's wonderful. I've owned an excellent old Martin D28 and played many others and none of them were better than this. I'm utterly delighted with the result.

It's the perfect Slowy guitar; old, full of stories and showing the marks from decades of hard work. Love it!

[NippleWrestler]

NGD. Fresh from NZ Post, a 1976 (I think) Yamaha L-6. All solid woods, handmade in Hanamatsu.

Ezo spruce top (no longer able to be harvested), Indian rosewood back/sides, ebony board/bridge, mahogany neck. Came with a non-original case branded from Shimokura Musical Instruments (the case smells a lot like Gibson nitro).

This is the First Gen of these guitars. Latter models had different inlays, a smaller TRC, screen printed logo, and most tellingly laminate B&S and a Adirondack top. A tank of a thing with buckets of volume and very pleasing overtones when you let it ring, with a very deep throaty low-end that shoots out the front. There's an air of disuse about it but it's slowly waking up, remembering it's a guitar and it can shout if it wants to.

Action is 2.5mm across the board. Not modern day amazing but perfectly on-spec for older builds. I've a mind to shave the bridge by 1mm and see if I can get it lower. The relief is right where I like it.

I really enjoy the carpentry on display here - the heelcap is a piece of maple, the binding is mostly wooden strips laminated together and there's hardly any plastic used anywhere (although the outer stripe of the body and neck binding is cream plastic).

Obviously it's not perfect, it's approaching 50 years old if it isn't already (this model was released in 1975 as Yamaha's Luxury range (hence the L)), it's got dings, scratches, marks, spots, the binding came loose around the waist and was hastily repaired but the bones are good and you can feel the mojo and quality of the build in this thing. Delicate, it is not.

[Slowy]

Fabulous! Happy New Guitar Day.
I'd love to meet it sometime

[NippleWrestler]

Fabulous! Happy New Guitar Day.
I'd love to meet it sometime

Whenever you like. It needs to be woken up some but what's there is good.

[dc]

gibson.JPG (1.65 MiB) Viewed 1242 times

I bought this Hummingbird 30 years ago. It's an early 70's POS, and I've never really got on with it. It's had a bad neck repair and was generally pretty sad. Recently I took the Martin over to Trevor Binford for a new pickup and took the Gibson over to show him, and much to my surprise he was quite excited about it, even the fact that the bridge is some 15mm off centre, which he reckons happened in the factory!

Anyway, I left it with him for a bit of a Trev-up, new strings and a neck tweek, and now I can't put it down. Completely different from the Martin, but I'm really enjoying it.

[Slowy]

gibson.JPGI bought this Hummingbird 30 years ago. It's an early 70's POS, and I've never really got on with it. It's had a bad neck repair and was generally pretty sad. Recently I took the Martin over to Trevor Binford for a new pickup and took the Gibson over to show him, and much to my surprise he was quite excited about it, even the fact that the bridge is some 15mm off centre, which he reckons happened in the factory!

Anyway, I left it with him for a bit of a Trev-up, new strings and a neck tweek, and now I can't put it down. Completely different from the Martin, but I'm really enjoying it.

Don't think I ever met the Hummingbird, Dave. What's the one on the right?

[dc]

gibson.JPGI bought this Hummingbird 30 years ago. It's an early 70's POS, and I've never really got on with it. It's had a bad neck repair and was generally pretty sad. Recently I took the Martin over to Trevor Binford for a new pickup and took the Gibson over to show him, and much to my surprise he was quite excited about it, even the fact that the bridge is some 15mm off centre, which he reckons happened in the factory!

Anyway, I left it with him for a bit of a Trev-up, new strings and a neck tweek, and now I can't put it down. Completely different from the Martin, but I'm really enjoying it.

Don't think I ever met the Hummingbird, Dave. What's the one on the right?

It’s an El Maya from the 60s. El Maya was the high end version of Maya guitars, a Japanese maker that got wiped out by the Kobe earthquake, apparently. They’re getting a bit of a cult following now.

[Jay]

Banchetti1.jpg

Having picked this up on TM as a punt and had Grant describe it as a 'worthy folly', Oleg and I addressed the warped bridge. This resulted in a significant improvement and the decision to send it to Trevor Binford with the instruction, 'whatever it needs'.

When I picked it up yesterday, Trevor thanked me for asking him to work on it(!!) He gave it a refret and nut and all I can say is it's wonderful. I've owned an excellent old Martin D28 and played many others and none of them were better than this. I'm utterly delighted with the result.

It's the perfect Slowy guitar; old, full of stories and showing the marks from decades of hard work. Love it!

I had the pleasure of verifying Slowy's statement above and can confirm that this guitar now plays beautifully, even with my poor finger picking and strumming and throwing Norah Jones and Bread at it. And it sounds glorious in every way.

From worthy folly to utter jolly - this guitar makes one smile

[Slowy]

Banchetti1.jpg

Having picked this up on TM as a punt and had Grant describe it as a 'worthy folly', Oleg and I addressed the warped bridge. This resulted in a significant improvement and the decision to send it to Trevor Binford with the instruction, 'whatever it needs'.

When I picked it up yesterday, Trevor thanked me for asking him to work on it(!!) He gave it a refret and nut and all I can say is it's wonderful. I've owned an excellent old Martin D28 and played many others and none of them were better than this. I'm utterly delighted with the result.

It's the perfect Slowy guitar; old, full of stories and showing the marks from decades of hard work. Love it!

I had the pleasure of verifying Slowy's statement above and can confirm that this guitar now plays beautifully, even with my poor finger picking and strumming and throwing Norah Jones and Bread at it. And it sounds glorious in every way.

From worthy folly to utter jolly - this guitar makes one smile

And while the mutual admiration society is in full swing, That Tele Jay finished recently... through his little radio amp.... everything dialled back to accompany two acoustics..... utterly frikkin sublime! It was gorgeous; sounded like it was coming from the hifi speakers.

Unless you're playing solo, it's hard to judge tone without other instruments. I love how tones can can assume a magnificence within a context.

Oh and Jay, Norah Jones is fine but there's no forgiveness coming for Bread.