Yamaha acoustic magic

davismanLV

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Didn't listen to the whole thing. I got a lesson back in the day when I was doing furniture work for a friend of Joni Mitchell's and his boyfriend was a guitar player and I knew he played on several recordings and played with her. I found this all out over time and then one day when Chris was there (feeling all full of myself because I had my Guild D65S!!) and I said, "Chris, what guitar do you play? Something really magical?" And he said, "Well, I guess.... it's a Yamaha and it gets the job done." I said, "Okay, any other guitars you play?" "Nope, just the Yamaha. So, you're going to shorten the sofa on this end and then extend the arm on the other and make it fit in here, right?" Uh huh.... that's what I'm gonna do.

On one of the times in Joni's house when I repaired a couple of her kitchen chairs and did some rehab on them, I was wandering around and saw a guitar in one of those fluffy box things, you know? That you set them down in and it holds them? Anyway, I pulled it out all excited thinking OMG!! What am I gonna get in Joni's house from a guitar??

It was in standard tuning!!! I thought, WTF??

Maybe it was a "guest" guitar.... I have no idea. Anyway, the best guitar is the one that you have that you love. Sometimes, it's a Yamaha. They sure make some nice ones......
 

poser

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Thanks Tom. Neat story, and good advice. :smilet-digitalpoint
 

JohnW63

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Yeah, he just had to throw in some Stairway.

For me, what this shows is every acoustic guitar could sound more interesting with a little effects. That's why having a built in pickup is a plus for me. If I want to , I can add some richness. This Yamaha has this built in and doesn't need any external gear to do it.
 

sailingshoes72

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Anyway, the best guitar is the one that you have that you love. Sometimes, it's a Yamaha.

Amen to that! From 1982 to 1987 the only guitar I owned was a Yamaha FG-110 (red label) from the 1970's. It was a sweet little guitar and I enjoyed playing it. Then I bought my Guild D-25 NT from a pawn shop. But, I still have fond memories of that little Yamaha.

I gave the guitar to my nephew in NYC, and he learned to play on it. And now he is an accomplished jazz/rock player. The Yamaha is probably stashed somewhere in his closet.
 

davismanLV

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I try to only turn my nose up at guitars that don't sound good. Sometimes it's a Mitchell (holy crap) and sometimes it's a Gibson, and sometimes it's a Martin and sometimes it's a Yamaha but I've never played a Yamaha that wasn't moderately decent. They're well made and priced right. So I have an open MIND, sorta.....
 

marcellis

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It’s a brilliant innovation - reverb and chorus acoustically, sans mic or pick-up.
But I haven’t actually liked the sound in any of the videos I’ve heard.
 

Antney

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My yammy was rescued from the trash, has had TWO broken headstocks, and can go head to head with my D50. There is by far more string separation and articulation than the d50, and it can go anywhere in any weather without worry. The guild is more if a strummer while the yammy is a better picker. If I owned the yammy before my guild I wouldn't have bought the guild because I'm a cheap bastard.
 

Kitarkus

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Amen to that! From 1982 to 1987 the only guitar I owned was a Yamaha FG-110 (red label) from the 1970's. It was a sweet little guitar and I enjoyed playing it. Then I bought my Guild D-25 NT from a pawn shop. But, I still have fond memories of that little Yamaha.

I gave the guitar to my nephew in NYC, and he learned to play on it. And now he is an accomplished jazz/rock player. The Yamaha is probably stashed somewhere in his closet.

The one guitar that I never intend to sell is an FG-110 red label Nippon Gakki. It may not have the tone of some of my other guitars....but it has 'it'. I don't have a case for it so it hangs on my wall 365 days per year and is within a hand's grab from me. I allow my daughter to retrieve and play with it. My nephew was in town over the holidays and he was welcome to play around. I don't humdify it. A friend performed a rudimentary neck reset on it a couple of years ago making a good neck angle (rare on these as their value defeats the cost of repairs). It has an undeniably pleasant tone, is easy to play, and is a lot of fun to have around (and not worry about). It also is a lovely little small body size. A very endearing guitar. Surprising tone and playability from a laminated guitar. Here is a photo of mine hanging right next to my desk.

l7mUHDh.jpg
 
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chazmo

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How's the intonation on that, Kit? The saddle looks to me to be on a sharper angle than I'd normally expect.
 

Kitarkus

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How's the intonation on that, Kit? The saddle looks to me to be on a sharper angle than I'd normally expect.

It's fine....not perfect....but fine. 90% of the time that I pick it up....my daughter has it so out of tune that intonation is the last thing on my mind lol. The saddle is situated at a steep angle and is nearly at the front edge of the bridge on the treble side.....they all are like this on this particular model. It'd be darn rare to find one that doesn't need a neck reset. It's a shame too....because these were real fine guitars at a great price. If someone were interested in learning to perform a reset...these would be great guitars to use for the practice.
 

chazmo

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Right on, Kit. I've had the same situation with some mid-80s Ibanez acoustics (I'm a big Ibanez fan), and just like you said... sadly, the cost can't be justified from a resale point of view.
 

sailingshoes72

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We need some closure on that.
Waiting for confirmation.

Al... my nephew takes good care of his instruments, so I know that the guitar is in good hands! He mostly plays his electrics these days (including the '60 T-100 DP). With real-estate space being at a premium in NYC, my nephew's younger sister took possession of his (larger) bedroom soon after he left for college. I'm sure that some of you with families can relate to the sibling rivalry! So his stuff got shuffled around a bit.

Kit... that's a nice photo of your FG-110 (w/ the visible red label). The top appears to be book-matched on that guitar. Mine still has the original hardshell case. When I first delivered the Yamaha to my nephew, we took it to a luthier/repair shop in NYC for a setup and possible neck reset. At the time, we were told the same thing... the resale value was under the cost of a neck reset. Still a sweet sounding little guitar though! :barbershop_quartet_
 

davismanLV

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Hey Kit, I LOVE that Yamaha!! What a great silhouette and shape and color and ... everything!! I love those that are on the wall that you just grab and play. I keep most all of mine out but the only one hanging on the wall is my Washburn acoustic/electric. As an acoustic it's not very good and I currently have no amp. Plugged in it's much better (that's what it was designed for) but it's easy to play and for a super shallow body guitar, it's staying. It's not worth ANYTHING, so why would I get rid of it? I put it in weird Joni Mitchell tunings and have a ball with it. It's worth more to me than to the world at large, you know? I like that Yamaha!! :encouragement:
 
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