The 1 3/4" nut is definitely a plus for fingerstyle. As for the body shape, I think it depends a lot on your personal playing style. I have a delicate touch, and I appreciate the natural volume and projection from the LL. At the same time, I am also very much into folk stuff and flatpicking (though I still have a lot to learn) so a concert/dreadnought hybrid like the LL definitely makes sense for me.

At these prices and quality, I think it's almost impossible to make a wrong decision. If both the Yamaha and the Guild sound equally good, I would say get the one that looks and feels the most desirable. If you're going to be serious about playing, this is *not* going to be the last instrument you'll ever own, so it isn't something you'll regret. At the same time, I find that people adapt their playing styles to get the best out of their guitars. So what you hear today may only be a small portion of what the instrument is really capable of :guitar:

That's 7-8 times more thatn *I've* been there :halo:
Yeah, the weather takes some getting used to. I'm fine with it, but my guitars aren't! In fact, I'm actually building a dehumidifying solution for them now with parts bought off eBay.

Back to the discussion: If you could be patient, I would ask you to give me a few days till my new bone saddle arrives from the US. Once I get that installed, I'll be adjusting the relief and action to something more suitable for fingerstyle. Then I should be able to give a final verdict of the LL16.

Looks like a fine instrument to me! Congrats!

mmmaak,

I sent you a P.M. Pls check. Btw, are in the MIGF as well?

Yes, where *is* Yamaha Junkie when we most expect him?:hmm:

Thanks, Hambone! You seem to have amassed quite a collection there!

Sorry, I was out earning Yamaha Bucks :)
I wish my local dealers took Yamaha more serious. If I want to see an LL I have to buy them :):evilgrin:
What do you mean by overbuilt? Sound? weight?
And don't discard the tuners yet. I have found the tuners on the cheapo's to be fantastic. The Yamaha tuners on my LA18 are fantastic. The tuners on the FG1500 have a split top! And they respond as good as Waverlys I have. Man, the split tops are they easy to string! Your tuners may look cheaper than they perform.
I wonder if the tuners are also Chinese? Maybe some I have not seen.
I didn't know the L's moved to China. I have heard of companies pulling out of China because the labor is getting too expensive! Chinese craftsmanship is getting scary good and I think the Chinese pride in high end stuff will show through more and more. I have a top of the line Chinese Alvarez MD350c WOW what a guitar. I can find some finish flaws in her. But I would have paid 2k more for her with a USA lable. I hope Gibson and others are paying attention.
I have a Yamaha Bamboo B1 on the way! You read it here first!

Yamaha Junkie,

Overbuilt in weight. Very heavy.
Agree with you about the tuner. Their tuner just as good as any other branded tuner. I did check with Yamaha about their tuner price & it priced higher than a Grover!!!!:eek:

yowech

Though the weight is a good indicator of whether a guitar is overbuilt, I think the defining characteristic is still the sound. I wouldn't mind playing a 20kg guitar if it sounded fantastic! Though I probably wouldn't be able to do it with the usual girl on my other lap :evilgrin:

It's a bit hard to describe, but I think that *optimally* built guitars have a certain open-ness to them (airyness, if you will) and respond well to very delicate touches. I experienced this when playing my friend's Lakewood (perhaps unfair to compare the LL16 with a USD3500 guitar). So, I would have to say that the Yamaha is overbuilt in both weight *and* sound. This is not so much a criticism as a curiosity about how it *could* have sounded had it been built a little lighter.

Yamaha Junkie, if you can compare your tuners to Waverlys, they were probably made in Japan. I've played an LJ26 with open tuners and they are indeed of very high quality.

yowech, your LL6 was made in Taiwan, so it could very well have different tuners.

The ones on my LL16 look *and* feel cheap, so I'm not sure how they can be compared to Grovers (unless they too make crappy tuners nowadays). The gears are quite smooth, but have a certain amount of slack to them. I'm not saying they're *bad* by any standards. But when you have sensitive ear and use as many alternate tunings as I do, you would want the best gears possible, and these certainly aren't.

I sit when I play so wieght is not a factor to me. The N500 is a porker. Very heavy. The neck to body joint was designed with Arnold Swartzneger in mind. The neck is the usual thinner profile.
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...g/n500heel.jpg

I'm about to pull the trigger on Monday and order an LL16.

Just a quick question...

I know it's a 1-3/4" nut width, but is the neck itself a thin profile or a little thicker like my old FG-335?

I played the LL16 a while ago and I forgot if it has the same neck as my FG.

I'm gettin' old! :D

It's a "V" profile. A bit of a different shape than the FG.

You may find it a little intimidating initially, but once you get comfortable with it, you may not want to go back... :D

Sammy there beat me to it! :mad:

Yes, it's a V-profile neck. Different from those on the FG series that I've played. It isn't a very slim profile like Taylor necks, but neither is it chunky like Seagulls. It may take some getting used to, depending on what your current neck is like, but it does tend to grow on you after a while. I find it advantageous for certain fingerings and playing styles. But that's just me - your own hands are the best judge :D

By the way, I have been doing a fair bit of tinkering on my LL16 and I do believe that the sound and playability have improved substantially. I'll be posting about this soon, so stay tuned if you want to get the best out of your new Yammy!

ohh, and it would be nice if you could keep this thread going with your own review of the LL once you get it. I would be very interested in knowing another owner's views on what I consider to be fantastic instrument for the price :up:

congrats on a new guitar!!!:)

i wonder how much a baden is in your neck of the woods. they are said to be made in vietnam

I'm not sure if you're referring to me or Buck, so I'll assume it's both :D

I don't know if geographical proximity has much to do with a guitar's price. As a general rule, acoustic guitars are expensive here in Malaysia, and the "big brands" like Taylor and Martin often carry a very hefty premium. Just a consequence of the small market for such instruments (electrics seem to be much more popular, though). One exception to this rule is Yamaha, who sell their own guitars and keep the price under control.

EDIT: Having said that, I would certainly like to play a Baden. But I'm not sure if they have any dealers nearby yet.

Yamaha Guitars are superb!
 

I have a Yamaha FG441S. Solid spruce top, Ovangkol back and sides, mahogany neck, rosewood bridge and fingerboard.
It will be 11 years old in June 2008, and it still plays beautifully. Its condition is as it was when i bought it, and it has matured so well. It cost me 256 GBP in 1997, and I have played it constantly. The woods are excellent quality, and I have replaced the plastic nut and saddle with bone. Also, the bridge pins are now solid brass. I haven't even had a fret job on this guitar after all this time and hundreds of hours of playing. These guitars are "Workhorse" instruments, they respond to your playing style and the volume they can produce is very loud. I have had it professionally set up a few times, and it plays like any high-end, overpriced instrument. I will try to post some photo's soon, I love this guitar to bits. Good luck with any Yamaha you buy, they are fantastic value for money.

I have played an LL6 and an LL16 in shops recently and was very impressed with the build and sound quality of both. Incredible value.
I love the L-series Yams. I have an LS500.

Oh yeah, YamahaJunkie, I had a quick strum on a bamboo Yamaha last weekend. Looked really cool. Sounded like a brick. Cool for collectors.:)