Who doesnt Love Yamahas - my first new guitar was my 71 Yamaha 12 string ( cant remember the model number - but i still have it-packed away - in a Hardshell Guild case ) its sound is steller - better than any Martin 12 string of that era ( that Ive ever played ) Thou Im not so sure about any Guild of that Era ( i love old Guilds as well - i own a '71 D-55 - thats steller as well )- but it was my constant travel companion --Im gonna pull that Baby out and put some new strings on her !

I love my LJX6C even better after years of playing. It's begin to sing out those quality voice that I wanted for. I tried a LJ26 recently & I love it so much so wanted to buy it on the spot!! I believe no one will go wrong with Yamaha guitars!;)

Yammieplaya, I just received my new FG700S from Elderly's a few days ago and couldn't be more pleased. I used to own a pretty decent stable of mostly mid to high end Martins and unfortunatley had to sell them all last year to survive financially. I'm barley getting my head above water again and wanted to get at least one guitar back in the house. I will admit that I was a "Martin snob" and wouldn't have even considered "contaminating" my Martin stable with a Yamaha. I am very happy to report that I am over my Martin snobbery and have come to realize after many years and thousand and thousands of dollar spent on high end guitars, that a pretty dawg gone decent guitar can be had from Yamaha for a mere 200 bones. The fit and finish on my particular FG700S is impeccable and the tone is very pleasing to my ears. It doesn't have that deep Martin bass whomp but it has enough. And it plays exceedingly smoothly. I think with a few moderatley priced after market mods at some point down the road like a bone nut & saddle and maybe a set of buffalo horn bridge pins, I may be able to jack up the tone even better. But I am simply amazed at the great tone and quality workmanship of the FG700S right out of the box. I'm in the Yammie camp and I'm here to stay!

I have a 1981 L-20A that has been a main guitar of mine sense I got it in a trade in 1983 for a Yari.

A friend of mine bought it new the same time that I bought my Martin D-35.
I ended up with both guitars.

My L-20A is stamped made in Taiwan but I have been told that it was indeed hand made in Japan.

It has a 3 three piece solid Rosewood back and sounds a lot like my Martin D-35 which is also a Rosewood 3 piece back guitar.

The L-20A has turned a lot of heads and made believers out of a lot of guitar players who never knew that Yamaha made such great guitars.http://thumb13.webshots.net/t/57/657...3mcSITo_th.jpg

Here is a picture of my L-20A next to a Yamaha that was owned by John Denver.
I took the picture in Aspen Co. durring a John Denver gathering back in 2006.

My first guitar (1971) was a Japan FG200. Paid $125 of my hard earned dollars for it brand new. Everyone talks about about the FG180, but the FG200 more than holds it own. I also have a DW5S, which is fairly rare. It sounds very nice. But my favorite is my LL500 hand crafted. These are absolutely incredible guitars. It has bell like tones with unbelievable sustain. They were only sold for a few years around 2000-2004. Not many were sold because most of the public doesn't associate Yamaha with a $1200 guitar. If you are lucky enough to find one, buy it. You won't be disappointed.

Thanks for the information.

I seem to recall the bloke in the shop saying that at the time but it didn't mean that much to me. I understand that Brazilian is supposed to be rarer than "normal" rosewood but I doubt I could ever hear a sound difference.

Presumably the more expensive timber is why it has a three piece back?

When I bought it I was just looking for something with a solid top! At that time in the UK there really wasn't too much of any quality at the lower end of the acoustic guitar market and stuff like Gibsons and Martins were way above my budget. I think I got lucky finding this used L-25A in my local music shop and although it wasn't particularly cheap, I think it's been a good buy.

L20A - I think that your guitar looks great, the John Denver model is a bit too lavishly decorated for me!

I was surprised to see that mine was stamped "made in taiwan" as I too understood that the L series came from some sort of Japanese "custom shop". Not that it really matters but it would be nice to know a definitive answer, just out of curiosity.

All this talk about Yamahas I just had to post. My very first guitar was a Yamaha dread. Must have been around '73 or '74. My mother took me to a local guitar shop in Huntington Beach CA and bought me the guitar. It's gone now (gave it away to local charity) and I have since gone through an assortment of guitars. But every now and then I get a tinge of nostalgia just looking at the Yamaha logo on a dread headstock. I don't even remember the model number or how the guitar even sounded. I just remember it meant the world to me as a young teenager learning to play the songs of the day.

That L25 is stunning!! I've never seen that style of fret markers on a Yamaha before! Really cool! I have 2 Jacaranda Yamaha's (and a Jacaranda Webber), the FG300 is laminated. The FG1500 has a 3 piece solid wood back with a maple stripe.
Not pickin' a wood fight but.....
While I have heard of Yamaha using Brazilian as a Jacaranda "substitute", Jacaranda is not Brazilian Rosewood. We just did 20 rounds about that one a few AGF pages back.
Jacaranda is the same as Pau Fero, Morado and Bolivian Rosewood. BTW To add to the confusion, its not Rosewood. All that said. It is a beautiful wood with great warm tone. I was told by a Luthier that the reason it is not used much currently is the dust is quite irritating (like Cocobolo) to the builder.

It is also a wood I am extremely allergic to. I'll have a cutaway dread for sale in Nashville next month and will be glad to see this one leave my shop. I've had more doctor visits and expenses on this guitar than any other in my building history. Beautiful wood though !

Basher - Yamaha might have made the 3 piece back
just to copy Martin. There are a few Yammie models
with 3 piece backs. Anyone know why Martin or
Yamaha built 3 piece backs?
My L-15A has a 2 piece back and no binding on
the fretboard or headstock. (Just to list a few more
differences.)

Yamaha Junkie, HodgesGuitars - I thought Jacaranda was the same species
as Brazilian Rosewood, just from outside Brazil. Is that false?

Wadcutter - 'grats on the fg700s! I love them.
You see how solidly built they are. That is going
to be a great guitar for 25 years! And, as you say, 200 bones.
I really believe that 20 years from now people will rave
about the 700s, 720s and 730s the way people now do
about the Nippon Gakki fg's. I love Yamaha for flooding
the world with great, cheap guitars.

Three piece backs could use smaller pieces of good quality wood that were too small to be used on two piece backs.
It also looked very nice.

I'm buying a 26 series L soon. Haven't decided which one yet, but whether it ends up being an LL, LS, or LJ, it'll be fantastic. I'll try to get pictures when I get it.

I should have tried to buy the 26 Rod was selling out of Austrailia. His price was (comparitively) cheap. It was the around the world guitar travel thing that stopped me most. Good luck with your 26 purchase and yes do publish pictures!