GSWJ - The Holy Trinity of Yamaha Handmades, Part 1- LJ26 Review 

John, your brothers FG1500 costing $1k in '73 was the equivalent of $5,800 in today's money, serious money.

That has to be the best sounding acoustic guitar I've ever heard on youtube. I don't know if it's the tunings, the mic, or the playing, but holy cow!

I'm 66 started playing at age 11. I can't think of any guitar I haven't played that I wanted to. Own a HD 28, D18, D15, a Martin custom like a D18, 2 Gibson HummingBirds. My favorite however is the Yamaha Red Label FG5 bought new a couple months ago made in the Japan shop. It's pretty much like the D18 except the workmanship is better. Thats a big statement but when I got the FG5 I had nothing to do to it. With my D18 and the 2 I owned but sold and the HD28 I had to have the nut, saddle, the frets worked on plus neck adjusted. The FG5 came perfect and sounds like a old D18 plays smooth as butter. All for a shade over $1000....crazy price for the quality and sound. I never bought any guitar not made in the USA until this FG5.

I am in love with my FG 500. It belonged to my father and since his passing, I have inherited it. It's a fine, fine instrument and the sound... oh sooooo sweet

I’ve got a 1970 Fg model that I would love for you to hear. It will literally warm your heart when you listen to it, I mean you can feel it in your soul. It was definitely made by loving hands without a doubt, very very special guitar.

John thanks for your honest and unbiased review of Yamaha's. There is an overwhelming misconception in the US that Yamaha are either 'cheap beginner' or 'great value' guitars only. In fact, they are great guitars up there with,and at times, better than either Martin or Taylor. From the Red Label FS/FG guitars they are the equal of Martin's and Taylors. As you mention, the LL series are often better. And I actually own a Martin, which I love, but would buy an LL before another Martin. Thanks again.

The right thumb, the most underutilized digit on a guitarists hands. If you learn to use it..boy you just opened up a whole new world. Beautiful playing John.

i have 2 yamahas LL16D and a Yamaha LL16-12 ARE i absolutely love them they both sound amazing

John, you forgot the great Bert Jansch, amongst the Yamaha players

Great review JP! Can’t wait to see the other two!

Absolutely beautiful... I’m blown away by the depth and colours of sound...

I have had a Yamaha FG 9 M for about a month. It is the best guitar I have ever played. I have owned Martins, Gibsons, Taylors a Rainsong and others. The Yamaha will be the one I keep to the end and pass on to family. It is an amazing guitar.

It's always a special kick to hear you get jacked up about Yamaha. Lots of great little insights. Thank you!

Amazing review John, especially the drop C part. You're an amazing fingerpicking player!

I have a Yamaha LS-TA, and I think it sounds amazing for the price; I can't imagine getting to own and play one of these handmade Yamaha guitars. They just sound so good. I have been shying away from Martin, and I never got along with the sound of a Taylor. I am glad I found your channel. 🐰❤️🎸🎵🤝✌️

I have a 1979 L-5 Nippon Gakki made with Dalbergia Latifolia Indian Rosewood on back and sides and Spruce Top. Ebony Fretboard and Bridge with Ebony bridge pins and Bone Nut and Saddle. I set it up low action medium phosphorus bronze 92/8 strings.

I have the LJ36 bought it when I was stationed in Japan, great instrument, my dad took it and gave me his Martin D28

Hey John only recently discovered your channel and really enjoy and appreciate the videos. Awesome playing. Hello from Newfoundland! Cheers.

I am so glad you are bringing attention to these guitars. They really do sound fantastic. I bet they are even more of a steal on the used market.

Got one of these today and, yeah, this video is mainly to blame :) It's second hand, built in April 2021. Neck is so comfortable. Nice big low end. Rosewood makes it sound more "metallic" than my mahogany Simon & Patrick Woodland Pro Folk, which I like for strumming, but not what I prefer in some registers of fingerstyle, but that's inherent in the nature of the tonewoods.

Amazing playing man, unbelievable. Yamaha's have always been amazing guitars.

Really enjoyed this video. Great little chat session about a great guitar company. Lotta respect for Yamaha acoustic guitars for sure ❤

Wicked series of videos J.P. I too really appreciate the craftsmanship and tone out of these guitars. A couple of points to note. The L*26 is specified as 'rosewood' vs L*36+ 'Indian Rosewood'. I recall reading somewhere that this was in reference to the 26 series using an indonesian rosewood of some sort. The 26 series is finished in poly, whereas the 36+ are finished in Nitrocellulose lacquer. Pedantic, I know!

Oh man John 🙂 I can understand you. Just today I get my China build LJ 16 A.R.E. in sunburst. I did fell in love, from the first moment I played on it. This Masterpiece of handcrafting in your hand is a part of the great handcrafting hirstory of Japane. May be the sound is not ways better, but it does´nt metter. Man like you are helping keeping handcrafting alive. I´m a handcrafter too. And so I thank you! God bless you!

Excellent. Plywood is more stable than solid wood. Less effected by humidity swings and is essentially crack proof.

Sounds amazing and nice playing !

John, I could listen to you play for hours. Hurry and drop the other two episodes!

Great review - thanks! And LOVED the Bruce Cockburn instrumental (in Drop C)!

I got an FG745 from my dad's passing..I played it for years..took it to Guitar Center for refrett..as there were no frets left ..literally played that much..And they screwed the crap out of that guitar for 150 bucks..I was pissed..lesson learned..Just purchased the LL16DR..OMG..totally amazing

Hey John, thanks much for giving lots of great insight on Yamaha guitars in general and particularly on the "Holy Trinity"! Very much enjoyed it! I own a lovely LJ-26 since 2008 and I freak out everytime I pick it up over the fact how fantastic it sounds and plays. I own a couple guitars, all great, like them all, but I love this one! Best!

Great playing, you're a great salesman . . . I have a 46-year-old classic with a solid top . . . still love playing it. Cheers.

I have a new Yamaha on order, so this was a great listen for today.Thanks!

That yamaha sounds great. Think I need to make room for one. Awsome playing

John, I quite agree with your opinion of the FG-1500. I had the good fortune of acquiring an FG-1500 in 1975. It had a great balanced tone, clarity and note separation. Choice woods that were visually stunning, especially the 3-piece back with its beautifully flamed maple centre piece. It handled everything I threw at it (musically speaking) without it ever soundng muddy. It was certainly equal to the OOO-28, M-36 and J-40M that I picked up later. Although I gave it to a niece as a graduation present years ago, I still have fond memories of it.

I have a 50 year old FG beauty . Action still good. Tone out of this world

sounds great nice playing!!

Im in awe. Thank you.

My first quality guitar was an L20a which I bought in 1981, all solid woods which I played to death and was as tough as old boots. I finally gave it to my son and recently replaced it with an LL26 which is more than a worthy replacement.

Really enjoyed your review! Thanks

Wow fantastic playing !

Wow, nice guitar indeed. And Well explained and demonstrated.

Beautiful, and amazing feeling necks. The L series are fantastic..

amazing sound, great player

Terrific playing by the way!

I bought the LL16 in Sunburst because of your video. I have been an FG man since 1983. Thanks for all of these Yamaha Videos.

I have a 1990 LA-18, which was a forerunner of today's L series. Comfortable OM-body. Still playing it today; just had it re-fretted. (!)

Dear God, THAT guitar sounded FRIKKIN AMAZING when you ultimately picked it up and started playing. Wow. Love Yammy's but it took me by surprise a little. Lol. I love the OG headstock. Reminds me of my Dad's 70'S Yamaha. Thing was a beast when it came to that big bass bound bluegrassers are always searching for.

Yup, still have my old Yamaha I got in ‘76 for about 100 bucks. Can’t kill it. I am in the Canadian Forces so went with me through my travels. I was recently at L&M in Brampton, ON and the fellow recommended for guitars 8-1200 range, he grabbed the Yamaha first for me....played it but prefer a 1 3/4 nut and not 1 11/16 so ended up with a Martin DX1AE which sounded and played to me the best. Good to know the way you put it and the Japanese are extremely caring in their work and precise. Beauty sounds !

Very nice playing!

Holy shit! That guitar sounds amazing!!! Hard to believe. I’m sure it can easily compete with most Bouchers

My goodness that guitar sound absolutely incredible. When you drop C'd thatvole girl I fully expected it to loose at least half its punch. I swear it seemed to resonate more. The clarity under fingerpicking conditions is second to none I've ever heard. But,....... when you took off in drop D?? My jaw hit the floor. Holy moly. The light strums sounded like Angel's humming. That guitar is a masterpiece. Period. Destroys every Martin I've ever heard.

I still have my Yamaha FG335 I bought used when I was 14. Im 51 now. It still plays and sounds great.

Guitars, great. You thoug hUncle JP are something else! U r awesome and each time I watch your videos I'm astonished at how well u play just off the hook and with so much emotion and sincerity. What is it that drives or inspires you, and can you help me to be inspired to play a fraction as whole heartedly as you do? Also I hope my calling you Uncle JP isn't offensive or ass-kissy sounding,it's not meant to be just later in the night when i find myself listening to your music I'm transported to a wonderful place. So Thanks ever so much.☺

A fabulous guitar, very clean and fantastic sound. Great playing by the way. I have a nearly 40 years old Yamaha FG 375 S, Still a great guitar. You can take it out of the case after a half year and it is still in tune.

Hi J. P; I really enjoyed your video, brings back a lot of memories. I bought a Yamaha FG-235 I think that is the right model #, it was one great old guitar, if I wanted to take it to the cottage no problem, could take it anywhere and it did not have to be retuned. It was great. Thanks !!!

I've held onto my Yamaha LL-15 while others have come and gone. Now, it's 35 years old and only getting better. I specially ordered the guitar with solid rosewood back/sides and Honduran mahogany neck.

Like you said, I have a FG140 Red Label Nippon Gakki 1967 guitar, still playing with it and sounds amazing! It was my 12th anniversary gift from my Dad in 1967! I also have a Boucher and the Yamaha FG180 50th Anniversary. Don’t need anything else. A happy fingerstyle guitarist from Quebec

Great guitar well played cheers

I used to own a 1990s L-11 Yamaha played it alot .Sounded great for the money ,did a recording of it my channel of it on the song "greenweaves" just before I sold it. I recently bought a Recording King RD 328 from your recommendations J.P. excellent guitar ,Love it.

My 1st guitar was an FG300 purchased in Japan while I was stationed there in the Navy 1971. Don't have any longer "sadly", but still play a Yamaha every day!

Proud Hamamatsu Yamaha owner here, thank you for sharing this cool guitar. Btw I never saw such a tight grain pattern and incredible uniformity of the top like on my Yamaha.

Your an inspiration JP,thanks brother.

It's nice to have reviews made by a guy who can actually play

I'm very impressed with the sound & quality of Yamaha guitars ! I have a 1980 G-250s classical that I bought new for 250.00 !! The quality is amazing & also have a Yamaha eterna from the 90's. A cheaper line of theirs, but it plays well & is very loud . Love your channel. ! Thanks for sharing this gorgeous Yamaha. !

I teach guitar for a living and have been playing for many many years. There is a trend that many of you my younger students like which is these young guitar players arranging pop tunes for solo guitar with this thumb slap style. It has zero energy and soul. I think this may be a consequence in part of not performing in front of an audience. It wonderful to hear you play. Everything you do swings and has a foot tapping groove. I love your passion for music and guitars as well. Thanks for sharing

Hey J.P. I met you when I played at Shetland FF the same year you did, 2012 I recall..Blown away seeing you play with Bill mate..And yep I still own Yamaha's ;-) Hope all is well..

My new FG5 is arriving today, stuck at home can't wait.. :)

I was really enjoying this until you got to drop D and now I'm weeping......just wow, double drop D would be super haunting, I thank you for bringing my attention to Yamaha guitars, I have never thought of them in this way.

I've had a soft spot in my heart for Yamaha's my entire life. My Dad gigged for over 40 yrs with an early 70's FG. Nothing like a big fat g-run on that ole bad boy. Played it until he could no longer play it easily. Fretboard was a pitted mess by the time he was done his local music career. Still have it tucked away though.

sweet guitar and huge fan of Yamaha nice playing there too thx

Great discussion of Yamaha, including why some people dismiss them. These are holy grail guitars in every price range. Back in the 70s, when I was at school veryone wanted a red label 150. Last year I got a 2nd hand LL16 - all solid for under £400. You are playing some fantastic guitars, but frankly, even without custom shop, Yamaha would still be extraordinary guitars. In passing, I should mention that plastic pegs are ubiquitous even on high end guitars because almost everyone has an opinion about pegs and changes them out to their faves. Same as you say about pickup systems

Damn! What a phenomenal guitar player 👏. I love me some Yamaha guitars.

I bought a new LS16 (made in China) Yamaha in 2015 for $900 and it’s been a fantastic guitar. It sounds and plays so well it’s really hard for me to justify buying another guitar ever again. And it’s so well built it should outlast me. I just broke out the tuner this morning, after not tuning it for at least a month, and I only had to adjust the B-string. I’ve heard not having to tune much is a sign of a well built guitar, I don’t know, but if it is then there you go. My dad always made fun of Yamaha because in his mind Yamaha made dirt bikes. I think that has probably hurt their brand maybe more than they realize. Many of us Americans imagine a Yamaha worker screwing in an engine part one day, and then putting on a guitar neck the next and just think ‘how good could their guitars be?’. ...Mountain Blade... how cool of a name is that?!

1970 FG-150. Sounds incredible. Bought new in 1971 for $89 from Keynote Music in Surrey BC from Dino Gerussi. Rhymes with Bruno. (his brother)

I had a couple over the years the best one burned in a house fire that my ex had! They are amazing guitars. My wife's cousin bought one of the L series and he says it beats his D-28 and his Guild Dreadnaught hands down. I just bought another Martin and was lookin at the Yamaha's I wish I would have!

incredible review of the L series Yamaha Guitars

So true. My first guitar was a 1972 Yamaha classical G180 if I remember correctly. I eventually upgraded in the mid 90’s to two Brune’s, a cedar Fleta and his signature spruce when you could get them in less than six months. While that Yamaha was no Brune’ it was an outstanding guitar I played until it was near sawdust. Now my couple Yamahas are of the steel string variety. Much better guitars than they’re generally given credit for. I have a Yairi that is as good as any other classical I’ve played. The Japanese have a long and storied tradition in guitar building. I very much enjoy your content and especially your chops young man.

John, thanks for the great review. And: awesome playing! Could listen for hours!!! Out of curiosity: comparing an LJ and LL, let's say both being the 36 range, which from your POV is the better choice for Fingerpicking? I love Dreadnought sound but those medium Jumbo Yamaha sounds awesome! Appreciate your opinion. Thanks and play on!

Hi JP, Sam W. here....nice to talk to you a few weeks back. Rest assured that your brother's FG1500 is in good hands and is played every day!! (I just texted you a few clips.) And as Claudio says, Bert Jansch was the reason I got my first FG1500 back in the mid 70's,

That would be me. I'll be 40 this Christmas and I've got a little laminate Yamaha about my age and I'd never sell it. It's unbelievable. It looks like it's 80 years old and I just love it.

beautiful!

I had a couple of FG180s. Good solid guitars. Pacifica electrics were nice, too. When John Denver and Bert Jansch were playing them, that was enough for me.

4:00 have to timestamp that motivational guitar history. I constantly listen to this really magnificent

Beautiful

Japanese built instruments are very well made and endure. I just received a forty year old Daion MARK V from my father and it’s a great instrument which has stood the test of time. Cedar top and rosewood back and sides with bone nut and saddle etc. The rosewood MAY be rosewood that is under a cites jurisdiction as I discovered on a thread recently so no US travel for this one I think in the future. I never discount a builder due to geographic location. RU-vid and the internet at large have opened a world of contradictions to the purist. Great work in these vids JP.

Awesome video thanks for sharing. In 1975 I paid six hundred dollars for a Martin D35. That's a good comparisons to the worth of that guitar. Cool video thanks for sharing.

Amazing sound but the playing is exceptional. Well done, sir

Talk about tight punchy highs!!...that Yamaha is amazing!!...as Michael Hedges used to say...it rings like a bell!!...

I agree with you, l found and LJX36C Yamaha in Madrid in 2011 AGL Musical and today l’m happy, I was not wrong!!!✌️

My FG441s holds open C wonderfully. I am so addicted to this guitar. I'm hoping I can find another Yamaha that does everything as well as this inexpensive 90s Yamaha does. I just kept it in a Cmaj7 tuning for a couple years. It's so rich and wonderful it really is as addictive as the finest, high thebaine opium poppy there is. I'm just hoping I can find a fancy Yamaha that does as much as this one. I just don't know if it's a matter of luck. I bought the guitar at Barbaras Guitars in DC in 96-97 and the luthier there said he'd done some work on the FG441s and though it was amazing. I think what he was really saying was, the neck got broken off and he did a nice reset. I don't know. Sorry to blow up your channel's comments. I just found your channel and the Yamaha forum. I'm in my mid 50s and I got this idea in my head that it was time to buy a "nice" guitar. I thought about doing it in the 80s. There was a little guitar shop that had a $1400 acoustic by a company I'd never heard of. $1400! That was like a million dollars to me. It was amazing. It was a Lowden. I should have pimped myself out and bought it. I was pretty enough. But no, I was stuck on buying rack effects and trying to be Fripp/Belew/ Frisell/ Holdsworth/Frith/ Alll the Beefheart 70s-90s guitarists, Richard Thompson and Hedges at the same time. My youth made me lean toward the fancy gadgets. Now, after playing this humble 441s fro 20 some years, it's time for something cushy. Something with a lower acton. I'll never have the kind of guitarist you have.... although if I sold my modular synth I could buy a Collings... but I really do thing an FGX5 will do the trick if I can manage to find one in the beginning of 2021. Should have the money together by then.

That guitar sounds increadable, better than any guitar i heard on you tube! I own a 30 year old Yamaha 441s, also a great sounding and playing guitar, wanted to buy another dreadnought, i tried many but no other guitar can beat mine!

Thanks so much sir!! I researched between Gibson, martin and Taylor and I definitely with out a doubt identity the superiority of the built sound and Finnish of YAMAHA. I bought a LLTA model and I’m so happy but also I paid 1/3 of the price compared the other brands. Thanks Sir for your honest videos and thanks to YAMAHA for your honest guitars!!!!

I was dumfounded by the astoundingly beautiful sounds of heavenly music you just put in my once sleeping ears... Totally amazing , God bless ,, thank you... where can I get one compreable....

Most of the time video just doesn't capture the sound quality. But this sounds AMAZING! Reminds me of my Japanese hand made Yairi.

I just ordered a brand new YAMAHA FG-840 from The Music Zoo here on Long Island NY. While I await its arrival via Fed-X I searched videos to once again hear its tonal qualities. I came across your excellent vid..Best of all in Utubeland

Sounds beauty

Just got a high end 2020 A5CR.... $1500... outstanding! Made in Japan

I must say I'm truly fortunate to have one 😉. Got the LJX26C

I have an LL16, I love it!

JP - this is your best sounding guitar 🎸 till the next video 😉