Anyone know anything about this Yamaki acoustic?

[bobbymuscles]

Just picked up this Yamaki AY232S with the supposedly original cardboard hard case for $200 at a guitar shop. It’s got quite a bit of wear, but that doesn’t bother me. I can’t seem to find much info on this particular model, but the thing sounds and plays great; might even like it more than my Martin 00-15m which breaks my heart considering that was 6 times the price. To my ears it's even comparable to some of the more high end Martins I've played. There's a serial number on the neck block that says 20508
Anyone know roughly when it was made and did I get an okay deal?

Here's a demo of me playing it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6CcrvZbe8I

Photos:

https://imgur.com/a/0CpjM29

[Tube Sound]

Doesn't help very much but here it is in the catalog. AY232S

[NotALuth]

*** I see Tube Sound beat me to it!***

Your Yamaki AY232S has a solid Canadian cedar top with mahogany back/sides (according to a mid 70s Great West Imports [Canada] catalog).

The AY32S appears to have been their ‘budget’ export model as all the others seem to have slightly more detailed specifications.

The catalog is most likely from ‘75 as it quotes Canadian sales figures for Yamaki for 72/73/74 as 3781/3546/5034 guitars respectively.

Most of the other info available for Yamaki is from Japanese domestic catalogs. Model designations for many Japanese guitars of this era often differed between domestic and export use and it can be difficult to correlate between the two.

The last catalogs I’ve seen are from the early 80’s but I don’t actually know when they stopped production.

Regards,
Clive

[Bluemonk]

Originally Posted by bobbymuscles

Just picked up this Yamaki AY232S with the supposedly original cardboard hard case for $200 at a guitar shop.

Does it actually matter if the cardboard case is original?

[stormin1155]

Those old Yamaki's are great guitars, and have quite a cult following. I still have my Deluxe Folk 115 that I bought with my graduation money in 1973. I've owned over 150 guitars in my lifetime, and this is the one I've kept. Congratulations! You have a really nice guitar there!

[Wade Hampton]

Bobby, what you've discovered is that some acoustic guitars with solid wood tops and laminated wood backs and sides can sound terrific. I'm a fan of Seagull's least expensive instruments, those with solid cedar tops and laminated cherry backs and sides. They're great-sounding guitars, and I actually prefer them to Seagull's more expensive all-solid wood guitars.

Anyway, you have a great find there - play it in good health.


Wade Hampton Miller

PS: You can get a better case for it if you like; nobody would fault you for not retaining the cardboard original...