I owned the Yamaha. Maybe if they'd put a Sika top on the thing it might have stood a chance. But back sides and top? Didn't work so good. I affectionately called it "the Bowling Alley"
One;
What weighs more than wood? Glue. What do you use to join 25K chopsticks worth of bamboo together? 8 pounds of glue. It was a very heavy guitar.
Two;
the tone was BRIGHT! I tried to learn slide on it. The Star Trek theme sounded pretty good on it.
Three; Why a Rosewood headplate? Aesthetically it threw off the whole Funky theme.
It was a must have for a Yamaha collection. There was/is a reason folks are not searching for them like a 59' D18 lol