Yamaha LL Identification

[Ajperdomo]

Hey all,

I have been trying to identify this Yamaha Acoustic I just picked up at an estate auction, and have spent days trying to figure out year and identifying the exact production model, it has been near inpossible. It is an incredible sounding guitar, and even my guitar tech was incredibly impressed with it.

It was told to me that it is an LL-11 but inside the acoustic it says LSX-11 - serial number 105182 which doesn’t really make it much easier to identify. There is no label, but a wood stamp in the soundhole that says ‘made in taiwan republic of china’ - the tuners say ‘made in japan’ - which hopefully might be able to narrow down the era to 80s?

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Pictures at this link:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/zkbgq...74fh9vaur&dl=0

[YamahaGuy]

LS puts it as a concert sized L series guitar (not an LL). The X denotes onboard electronics. Given the tuners, I assume the instrument to be from the 80s or earlier. It looks like a Stika top and mahogany back and sides. Beyond that, I can't help much but to say it's a nice find, especially if you got it under $500.

https://yamahaguitars.nl/facts-figures/the-l-series/

Based on the article linked above, it seems to be from 1978 - 1984, all solid woods, and handmade.

[Ajperdomo]

Originally Posted by YamahaGuy

LS puts it as a concert sized L series guitar (not an LL). The X denotes onboard electronics. Given the tuners, I assume the instrument to be from the 80s or earlier. It looks like a Stika top and mahogany back and sides. Beyond that, I can't help much but to say it's a nice find, especially if you got it under $500.

https://yamahaguitars.nl/facts-figures/the-l-series/

Based on the article linked above, it seems to be from 1978 - 1984, all solid woods, and handmade.

Thank you for the info, thats good to know about the LS body type, though the weird thing is, the X in the name for electronics, but the guitar doesn’t have electronics and has no sign of ever having electronics. Got the guitar for 220 and amazing sound for that price. It just blows my mind that i cant find any literature of this exact model ever existing, feels like the mandella effect

[Ajperdomo]

I emailed Yamaha directly, and their response:

"Looking through the serial number lookup systems, I was only able to find serial numbers that have 6 numbers as being Made in Japan:

(sent me pics of 6 number serials)

Unfortunately, I was not able to find a 6 number serial number that coincides with guitars Made in Taiwan (Republic of China). Additionally, I cannot find the LSX-11 anywhere in our system, which leads me to believe that it was not produced for the US market. I'm very sorry, but I'm afraid I don't have any more information on this guitar. "

Does anyone know what this means? There's no chance it was made in Japan actually?

[Rockysdad]

Check here, maybe this will provide info.

https://yamahavintagefg.boards.net/

[mcduffnw]

Originally Posted by Ajperdomo

I emailed Yamaha directly, and their response:

"Looking through the serial number lookup systems, I was only able to find serial numbers that have 6 numbers as being Made in Japan:

(sent me pics of 6 number serials)

Unfortunately, I was not able to find a 6 number serial number that coincides with guitars Made in Taiwan (Republic of China). Additionally, I cannot find the LSX-11 anywhere in our system, which leads me to believe that it was not produced for the US market. I'm very sorry, but I'm afraid I don't have any more information on this guitar. "

Does anyone know what this means? There's no chance it was made in Japan actually?

No, this guitar was made in Japan, for the Japanese market only, not exported outside of Japan.

It is a rare guitar, and a very very nice one, that likely would have had a price at the time of around $800 to $1200 in US dollars, maybe a little higher, but in that range. That is a super nice guitar you have there and was made by hand by Yamaha's Hamamatsu Japan factory.

You found quite the gem of a guitar!!!


duff
Be A Player...Not A Polisher

[L20A]

My L-20A was made in 1981.
It didn't have an L on the headstock.
The LL series came a few years later.

I was told that Yamaha was having a problem sourcing wood for their guitars around 1982 to 1985 or so.
It was said that the lack of wood caused Yamaha to drop the L series because they could make 3 or 4 laminated guitars with the same amount of wood as it would need to build just 1 all solid wood guitar.

When wood became more plentiful, the LL series started to show up.
I can't back any of this up as it was what I was told to me by a dealer.

[Ajperdomo]

Originally Posted by mcduffnw

No, this guitar was made in Japan, for the Japanese market only, not exported outside of Japan.

It is a rare guitar, and a very very nice one, that likely would have had a price at the time of around $800 to $1200 in US dollars, maybe a little higher, but in that range. That is a super nice guitar you have there and was made by hand by Yamaha's Hamamatsu Japan factory.

You found quite the gem of a guitar!!!


duff
Be A Player...Not A Polisher

Honestly from my findings it makes total sense, because I find the Japanese LS and LSX Models over on Ebay, and they are the closest thing I can find to what I have. Do you know why it would be stamped "made in Taiwan republic of China" on the soundhole, and "made in japan" on the tuners?

Any idea what a modern value would be placed on this? I got it at an estate auction with an old Breedlove, and knew that the original owners had insane taste at acoustic guitars

[mcduffnw]

Originally Posted by Ajperdomo

Honestly from my findings it makes total sense, because I find the Japanese LS and LSX Models over on Ebay, and they are the closest thing I can find to what I have. Do you know why it would be stamped "made in Taiwan republic of China" on the soundhole, and "made in japan" on the tuners?

Any idea what a modern value would be placed on this? I got it at an estate auction with an old Breedlove, and knew that the original owners had insane taste at acoustic guitars

Oh...I missed the Taiwan stamp. Well...in that case the guitar was made in Taiwan. Nothing wrong with that, the Taiwan factory guitars in that era were terrific guitars. The tuners were made in Japan by a Yamaha factory, which I was once told, not sure on this, that became the Gotoh Company. Your guitar could be either a late run L series or a very very early LL series, but the smaller LS body style, the LL body was their rounded dreadnaught shape. Maybe that is why they had trouble finding info on it for you...it was right on the edge of the change over from L to LL series, and that guitar/model just got lost in the shuffle information wise. You have a really fine guitar there and a steal of a guitar at that price you paid. Even in Taiwan, they were made by small teams of very highly skilled craftsmen, and Yamaha's wood quality has always been top shelf on their L and LL series guitars whether made in Taiwan or Japan.

I still am a little surprised that Yamaha could not find more in house info on your guitar...but...they did, and do, just make so many guitars every year that maybe their records system is just overwhelmed a bit from that era and the switch from L to LL. Nonetheless, you did very well to buy that guitar. Now just play it and have a blast, and delight in the fact that you have a rare and fantastic guitar!

duff
Be A Player...Not A Polisher