Just ordered a Yamaha LL36

[Dru Edwards]

Fantastic! That's going to be a tough wait for the LL36 but like you mentioned it'll be a lifetime guitar.

I just checked it out at a Canadian retailer and it's the same price as the D-28; $3899 CAD and $4485 with tax. I can't believe the D-28 is that much so I double checked with L&M and yep it is.

[eljay]

Originally Posted by Dbone

In theory you get progressively better wood selections as you go up the range as well.

Goes for tuners, too--maybe.

I just checked the specs on Yamaha's website and the 56s have a different tuner from the 36s based on part number (TM67G-Y22 for 56 and SG301-Y22 for 36).

I don't have a clue what the differences may be but I'm sure the ones on the 36 are no slouches.

The OP has a fine guitar to look forward to!

[Dbone]

Originally Posted by eljay

Goes for tuners, too--maybe.

I just checked the specs on Yamaha's website and the 56s have a different tuner from the 36s based on part number (TM67G-Y22 for 56 and SG301-Y22 for 36).

I don't have a clue what the differences may be but I'm sure the ones on the 36 are no slouches.

The OP has a fine guitar to look forward to!

That is very true. The 56 has Gotoh 510s on it. They are made for Yamaha, rebadged as Yamaha etc

Makes sense. For that kinda difference in price you would hope that there are some extra tangible bits, and there are I guess.

[Dotneck]

Originally Posted by Matt McGriff

I’ll respect the pricing discussion rule, but very close to MAP.

What price discussion rule do you speak of?

[Dbone]

Originally Posted by brancher

Yes, I have seriously considered a Yamaha L series, having played the LL and LS 16, but aside from the bling, what specific quality/build differences lie between the 16 and the 36? I think the 16 is a great value, but never played a 26 or 36 so I cannot compare.

Thx.

It's not fair to completely compare LL16 with 26/36/56, as in many respects they are very different animals. This is not to take anything away from the LL16 being the fine instrument it is in its own right. Have played a few of them in store and marvelled at the performance?!??!?! I don't know how Yamaha does what they do at all price points. Knowledge and scaled excellence of being in the business for so long I guess.

The LL16s are very nice factory high volume guitars made in China. The latter are low volume hand made guitars that are tap tuned, and produced to exacting standards by Yamaha's very best Luthiers in Japan. They are also more lightly built compared to the LL16.

If I can convince my kids to play, an LL16 is what I will be purchasing for them. Sensible pricing, and of a quality that frankly could probably serve anyone's needs...Including mine if I'm being completely honest about it. I love pretty much everything Yamaha really. The only thing that didn't strike me quite right were the Transacoustics...I find that a bit gimmicky, and the weight of the guitar was not ideal, especially the distribution of the weight due to the placement of the involved electronics.

[Dbone]

I remember when I first purchased I wondered what the deal was with the tuners, what they actually were, etc...A little research said they were 510s, and as you can see in the pic of the back of mine, they definitely are:

[Dbone]

Not that I'm hugely about guitar aesthetics, but these are certainly the 2 areas of the 56 that I appreciate in that regard...Abalone always looks so blingy in pictures under light etc...In person it is actually very subdued and tasteful, as I have already mentioned. Yamaha did a great job of glamming things up a bit, but not going too far...At least in my view...

[Jim Comeaux]

I have been a hardcore Martin fan. I have only owned one, a D-28 Standard that I bough new in 1997. I have was over the Moon about it for the first year or 18 months that I owned it, but I rapidly soured on it when it he bridge lifted and Martin would not warranty it. I sold it. Last year I bit the bullet and bought an LL-16 ARE. It was more than I could comfortably afford on a Social Security income, but I am very glad that I did it. Things that I really, REALLY like about the LL-16.
1. The 5 piece neck. 2. The 44.5 mm nut. 3. The materials are first rate and the workmanship is impeccable. 4. The sound is loud, clear and we’ll defined. No, I don’t believe that I will ever “upgrade”’. It just isn’t in the cards for me. I’m 75 and I have been playing for less than two years, so there just isn’t ‘t enough time left for me to become a Tony Rice or a Molly Tuttle or a Billy Strings. But it’s all good! I’m having a great time Ike becoming as good as I can get. I guess that we will just have to wait and see how good that is.

[brancher]

Originally Posted by Dbone

It's not fair to completely compare LL16 with 26/36/56, as in many respects they are very different animals. This is not to take anything away from the LL16 being the fine instrument it is in its own right. Have played a few of them in store and marvelled at the performance?!??!?! I don't know how Yamaha does what they do at all price points. Knowledge and scaled excellence of being in the business for so long I guess.

The LL16s are very nice factory high volume guitars made in China. The latter are low volume hand made guitars that are tap tuned, and produced to exacting standards by Yamaha's very best Luthiers in Japan. They are also more lightly built compared to the LL16.

If I can convince my kids to play, an LL16 is what I will be purchasing for them. Sensible pricing, and of a quality that frankly could probably serve anyone's needs...Including mine if I'm being completely honest about it. I love pretty much everything Yamaha really. The only thing that didn't strike me quite right were the Transacoustics...I find that a bit gimmicky, and the weight of the guitar was not ideal, especially the distribution of the weight due to the placement of the involved electronics.

Thanks for the reply - makes a lot of sense. I agree about the TA's, Not my cup o' tea, but lots of folks like 'em. Given your explanation, I think I need to look for a dealer with higher end Yammies. I was in a shop yesterday, and the owner said they are having a tough time getting the Yamahas in.

[Gomers]

Huge congratulations on you incoming LL36.

Having admired for a long time but having never played Yamaha’s JPN made guitars, the nearest I’ve been is a Taiwanese made L15a I owned briefly. It was sublime !

Your 36 will be amazing. Better guitars than a lot of the usual suspects IMO.

[GoldenBoy12]

I got an LL26 a few months ago and absolutely adore it. Fantastic sound...rings like a bell. Enjoy it.

[Deliberate1]

I just put my name on the Sweetwater order list for a LL56. It does not really surprise me that I did. But I did not decide to pull the trigger until this morning, when I read Matt's post about his incoming LL36, and the oft-repeated enthusiasm from owners. And then I listened to this - oh, my....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3ZF...l=J.P.Cormiers

I have been thinking about this purchase for a couple years now. Perhaps some of you know the feeling. Hot hands (after listening to a Yamaha-playing idol - Bert Jansch). Cold feet (price). Rince and repeat. But things changed. Surely, not my admiration for Bert's music. It was the price, or more accurately, my perception of it.

I could be wrong, but I think Sweetwater's price for the LL56 when I first looked a couple years ago was like $3999. Again, I could be wrong, but not by much. Today, it is $4199.99, based on an MSRP of $7663.80. In France, for those of you unfortunate enough to have to buy an LL56 there, it will cost you 7289 Euros (https://www.stars-music.com/yamaha-l...el_104466.html), at least at that shop.

Perhaps I am not alone in thinking that my perception of what a good guitar costs has changed given the dramatic increases in new and used prices since the pandemic. And it is not simply the usual ebb and flow of market demand and supply. Companies, like Martin, changed their pricing structures. I understand, back two years ago, you could get 40% off MSRP from certain AGF dealers. But no longer(?). Sweetwater does not even post MSRP information for Martins guitar - just the price you pay.

So back to the Yamaha LL56 content. At Sweetwater, a Martin D-28 Deluxe, will cost you exactly $200 less than a Yamaha guitar crafted by a single Japanese master luthier from hand selected, tap-toned top graded woods, with elegant abalone inlay (if that is your thing), top closed tuners and a bunch of other details common to one-off custom made guitars. Most important, of course, it sounds every bit of it (hear Cormier play and gush).

Like many of you, I have also held onto my chair when looking at the "starting" cost of custom-made guitars from solo or small shops. I need not name names. I figure you'd better have at least $6000 in your pocket for the basic, unadorned model from an established luthier. Prices go easily into five figures from the more seasoned (or "hot") luthiers or if you want fancy stuff or a fancier name. And that price point makes perfect sense given changes in the factory-made market.

Do not misunderstand me. I begrudge the solo shops nothing as their owners respond to the realities of the market place. I was a small business owner in another life. I have no doubt their prices reflect not just an increase in demand for a hand-crafted labor of love that cannot be produced any faster than it should be, but also increases in the cost of materials and production. And I surely do not begrudge those among us who support those efforts. Indeed, I celebrate you. The fact that they do no doubt inspires luthiers to push the musical and artistic envelope. And the rest of us enjoy their ownership vicariously.

So, anyways, Matt, my apologies for co-opting your thread. And thanks for pushing me over the edge. I think we will both be very happy with our choices. For what I once, not so long ago, thought was more than I would comfortably spend, now seems a relative bargain. Such is the power and seduction of perception.
David

[Dbone]

Originally Posted by Deliberate1

I just put my name on the Sweetwater order list for a LL56. It does not really surprise me that I did. But I did not decide to pull the trigger until this morning, when I read Matt's post about his incoming LL36, and the oft-repeated enthusiasm from owners. And then I listened to this - oh, my....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3ZF...l=J.P.Cormiers

I have been thinking about this purchase for a couple years now. Perhaps some of you know the feeling. Hot hands (after listening to a Yamaha-playing idol - Bert Jansch). Cold feet (price). Rince and repeat. But things changed. Surely, not my admiration for Bert's music. It was the price, or more accurately, my perception of it.

I could be wrong, but I think Sweetwater's price for the LL56 when I first looked a couple years ago was like $3999. Again, I could be wrong, but not by much. Today, it is $4199.99, based on an MSRP of $7663.80. In France, for those of you unfortunate enough to have to buy an LL56 there, it will cost you 7289 Euros (https://www.stars-music.com/yamaha-l...el_104466.html), at least at that shop.

Perhaps I am not alone in thinking that my perception of what a good guitar costs has changed given the dramatic increases in new and used prices since the pandemic. And it is not simply the usual ebb and flow of market demand and supply. Companies, like Martin, changed their pricing structures. I understand, back two years ago, you could get 40% off MSRP from certain AGF dealers. But no longer(?). Sweetwater does not even post MSRP information for Martins guitar - just the price you pay.

So back to the Yamaha LL56 content. At Sweetwater, a Martin D-28 Deluxe, will cost you exactly $200 less than a Yamaha guitar crafted by a single Japanese master luthier from hand selected, tap-toned top graded woods, with elegant abalone inlay (if that is your thing), top closed tuners and a bunch of other details common to one-off custom made guitars. Most important, of course, it sounds every bit of it (hear Cormier play and gush).

Like many of you, I have also held onto my chair when looking at the "starting" cost of custom-made guitars from solo or small shops. I need not name names. I figure you'd better have at least $6000 in your pocket for the basic, unadorned model from an established luthier. Prices go easily into five figures from the more seasoned (or "hot") luthiers or if you want fancy stuff or a fancier name. And that price point makes perfect sense given changes in the factory-made market.

Do not misunderstand me. I begrudge the solo shops nothing as their owners respond to the realities of the market place. I was a small business owner in another life. I have no doubt their prices reflect not just an increase in demand for a hand-crafted labor of love that cannot be produced any faster than it should be, but also increases in the cost of materials and production. And I surely do not begrudge those among us who support those efforts. Indeed, I celebrate you. The fact that they do no doubt inspires luthiers to push the musical and artistic envelope. And the rest of us enjoy their ownership vicariously.

So, anyways, Matt, my apologies for co-opting your thread. And thanks for pushing me over the edge. I think we will both be very happy with our choices. For what I once, not so long ago, thought was more than I would comfortably spend, now seems a relative bargain. Such is the power and seduction of perception.
David

Congrats!

Now if I can just get mine to sound the way it does when JP Cormier plays an LL56. Not gonna happen, but one needs goals in life. Even if they're unachievable ;-0

[L20A]

I owned a Yamaha L-20A from 1981 for over 30 years. I wore it out and sold it about a year ago.
At the same time, I owned a Martin D-35.
Both guitars were great and actually sounded a lot alike.

I envy your new LL-36.
May you enjoy it for life.

[edcmat-l1]

PSA there is a LL56 on Reverb, used, in excellent condition, under 4K.