Yamaha LL16 ARE Original Jumbo - Natural Reviews

This guitar is amazing..with some of my other accustic guitars there's usually some eq to get rid of unwanted harmonics but the tone is so balanced sounding on the LL16 it records with hardly any messin around..happy with it for sure

Wow, this thing is a cannon! Super nice sound, very rich and resonant, extremely happy with the purchase. My only little complaint would be why Yamaha would install plastic nut/saddle on a guitar at this proce point and quality - really odd to me. But easy enough to fix on my own, although it is hard to imagine this thing could sound any better, so might not even bother...

I decided to wait two months to write a review of the Yamaha LL16ARE to give myself a chance to really see how I feel about it after playing it multiple times both acoustically and through a house system. Overall, I am thrilled with this guitar.

To start, Zach Maurer made the purchasing experience a breeze. He answered all my questions, and offered some good pointers along the way. I also appreciated the photos that Sweetwater shares with the buyer after the purchase.

The guitar arrived securely packaged - it was in the soft case (which is well-padded), which was in the manufacturer's box, which was inside the box that Sweetwater shipped it in. When I opened the case I was struck by what a good looking guitar it is. If you are looking at this guitar as an option, you already know the details - solid Englemann Spruce top, solid Rosewood back and sides, ebony fingerboard and bridge, 5-ply mahogany/redwood neck, maple binding and just enough bling to make it a beautiful guitar.

I initially had some minor issues keeping it in tune but, with minor adjustments, it now plays beautifully. The action makes the guitar very easy to play without any buzzing. Naturally, the sound man at my church is happy with the passive pick-up that leaves the control in his hands. And the guitar sounds great whether I am playing at home or on stage.

I looked at several guitars before I selected the LL16. For the money, there simply isn't a better value available. You could pay two or three times the money and not get a better sounding guitar.

The resonance and sound is beautiful.
I tried some Taylor's and Martins at this price point, but didn't have the solid back and sides nor the 5 ply neck. The guitar not only sounds and plays great, but rock solid,with quality workmanship. Yes, China has great luthiers and you don't have to buy American for every guitar. I love to support American business, but I'm not rich either.

I recommend putting in bone pins, saddle and nut if you find a good luthier. It was great and is now fantastic. Rings full and balanced for quite a while. Give it a try, I think you will love in the very case that was included.

Shipping box: provided excellent protection.
Case: advertised as gig bag but actually heavy duty well fitted with soft lining and neck brace with velcro strap to hold neck securely.
Guitar:Impeccable build quality. Gorgeous polished gloss bookmatched rosewood back and sides with cream binding all around. Fully Bound fingerboard,perfect frets, beautifully inlaid spruce top and fret markers.
And it Smells like custom shop woodwork and resin every time I open the case to take it out!
The tune was close and after minor retuning it has held perfectly for this past two months. At first the bass seemed a bit loose but by the third day it all tightened up nicely with great definition and sustain. This is my first experience with nanocoated strings and so far they seem to fit the character of the guitar - luxurious, smooth, controlled response..not as shimmery as the D'addarios on my all mahogany Mitchell.
I can't help but compare this instrument to a relative's Martin HD28 - it may not project quite as well as his but I play mostly finger style and the overall sensation is of balance and neutrality - quietly capable with exciting potential.
I feel that I have acquired a piece of kinetic art, a real keeper!
And I have Zach to thank for a great buying experience. He assisted me with promotional financing and followed up after the sale with shipping updates and even high res photos of my guitar to tide me over until its arrival.
I will recommend him and Sweetwater to anyone who's interested.

This might be one of the most overlooked guitars out there. Solid wood at a great price. I've never really seen a bad review about Yamaha guitars and I know why. Their product is so much better than the price range it's in. No it's not made in US, but it's still made by a human who took great care in their work to build a fantastic guitar. The inlays are beautiful and not overstated, the binding is crisp, the wood grain looks great.... I could go on, but looks are opinion based.

It plays how a good guitar should. Action is great, no buzzing and I haven't had any issues staying in tune. It sounds great to my ears and that's what matters. Try and find one to play for yourself... YouTube doesn't do it justice. Although they are hard to find because I think they are just that great, so they're snapped up quick. The soft case is a great bonus too. No it's not a hard case, but you'd be lucky to get a thin gig bag at this price range from other brands.

If you want a great guitar, and can get over the need to have a certain brand name on your headstock, This is it!

I was lucky enough that Sweetwater had it in stock. And as usual.. Sweetwater service was great. The guitar came in great condition, just like the pictures!

After decades of playing every high end acoustic available I had finally whittled my collection down to three favorites; an expensive Ovation, Taylor and Cort Jumbo Cutaway. All acoustic-electrics. I've owned four Martins, two Guilds, Gibson, Breedlove, Takamine, Zager, Ibanez, Epiphone and countless others. I wanted to add an all solid rosewood dreadnought again but just couldn't justify the price points of the major makers these days. With a simple google search I came across the Yamaha LL16 and checked out some demos on YouTube. They sounded great online so I took a chance and bought one without playing it first. Now I can say, like so many others. that there are no disappointments with this instrument. The tone is so well balanced I was surprised. Not bottom heavy like Martins but plenty of beef there when you want to dig into it. Beautiful overtones and clear and distinct top end too. A great players guitar as well as balanced accompaniment for singers. If all the LL16's sound as good as mine then this instrument is the best value in a solid rosewood guitar on the market today IMHO. I like it so much I'm thinking about adding their mahogany and 12-string versions to round out all the acoustic sound options that appeal to me. Don't hesitate to buy one of these. It's everything they advertise and more. One thing that seemed odd was that they used hard plastic for the nut and saddle, but these are easily upgraded and don't seem to degrade the sound quality at all.

I got this guitar in the mail from Sweetwater today and I couldn't be happier. I had them switch out the saddle and upgrade it to a bone saddle. The action is perfect, intonation perfect, just about everything perfect on Sweetwater end of the deal. This guitar sounds better than guitars I've played that sell for two or three times as much. If your in the market for a high quality acoustic without paying over a grand this is definitely an amazing guitar. Cheers Yamaha!

This is simply put, an amazing guitar, particularly for the price. Not only does it have premium materials, it is beautifully constructed and most importantly, it plays like a dream with a tone to match. I bought this guitar online at an even deeper discount than the price advertised here and can't believe what a steal it was. I had a cheaper Yamaha with similar solid wood materials but this one blew it away. I mean the tone is that good and it sounds great both plugged in and unplugged. Say what you will about Chinese made guitars, but they are experts at what they do. Guitars like this are also going to give higher end guitar makers a run for their money as most of the general population simply can't afford to touch them in those price point. This puts a great guitar in the hands of many players from intermediate to professional.

I bought this used off of craigslist for a good price. From the serial number, mine was made in Taiwan. The quality is good. I love it. It sounds great. Tremendous sustain, very balanced, clear tones, great volume, with shimmer and overtones. Great resonance, full. This is a refined sounding rosewood dreadnought. I had a Martin J-40 many years ago. That had incredible tone for certain types of songs, but I would take this LL16 over that as an general-purpose guitar. Its as good fingerpicking as strumming. I had a Yamaha FG-820, was so impressed with that, I wanted to get a higher-level Yamaha (this LL16). After having it a couple weeks, I conclude this LL16 is great and worth the higher price. If I had to give up either my Taylor 314 or this Yamaha LL16, I would give up the Taylor. It just doesn't have the fullness, volume, depth of this. The LL16 sounds great. Unless I buy a Martin HD-28, I think I'm going to keep this for a long time. One minor thing, I would prefer the scale to be a little bit shorter for even better playability.

The guitar is simply a marvel. It is expertly built, beautifully finished, and finally has a sound that is quite honestly unbeatable. The depth and richness of this guitar is amazing and I too, would buy it again - say in the antique burst finish - if given the opportunity. Even more importantly, the guitar is a breeze to play. Set up is great out of the box and there is no effort whatsoever to play this guitar as I have seen with some Martins and Gibsons, for that matter. Hat's off to Yamaha for producing another soon to be classic instrument.

This guitar is everything one could hope for in a solid wood mahogany instrument. I am impressed with the sound and play-ability right out of the box. The lows are "Rosewood rich", and the highs are "mahogany bright" . . a really great balance. The volume/projection is really surprising. I've been playing it only a few days now, so bear that in mind. I would buy one of these again in a heartbeat . . one of the best deals I have found for the $$ spent. As I said . . NO regrets!

Excellent guitar with great features for the money. For $... you get Solid Engelmann Spruce, Solid Rosewood, and an Ebony fretboard and bridge. The sound is exceptionally balanced (which is supposedly due to their revoicing of the series), so consider that if want a "bright" or bassy tone. I generally lean "bright" but this is bright enough for my fingerpicking and strumming. My producer has commented that its exceptional balance makes it, sometimes, less than desirable for strumming when recording. YMMV. It responds better to fingerpicking than other dreads I've used (with the exception of cedar tops) but is built hearty enough that it isn't all overtones, as one would expect from Engelmann and Rosewood. Still searching for the "right" strings for it.

While it's an exceptional value that I'm very happy with, I did make some changes. I replaced the nut and bridge pins with bone models from Bob Colosi. I didn't care for the stock pickup and replaced that with a Baggs LB6 (with bone saddle by Bob Colosi) and replaced the tuners with Grover Rotomatics. These are, probably, total, a few hundred bucks in upgrades. That said, the guitar itself is an exceptional dreadnought for those who aren't bluegrass players. It's definitely intended for the folk musician or singer-songwriter and its versatility and balanced tone make it an exceptional instrument for someone needing something outside of the traditional sounds of Martin or Gibson. Even with upgrades, it is an exceptional value.

This is really a nice guitar for the money. I compared the Yamaha LL16 martin d28, Guild d40 and the Gibson J45 and the sound is right there as well as the playability. The first LL16 that was sent out by Sweetwater had to go back because there were obvious blemishes in the top that looked like they were made when they clamped the top. I feel that with Sweetwater's 55 point inspection they should have caught this and shame on Yamaha who are known for quality to let this one slip past. This guitar model is made in China but Yamaha boasts about quality control for the L series so a bit of a miss. The second guitar was flawless and more like what I would expect from Yamaha and has plenty of punch, articulation and sustain. It has a passive pickup that sounds fine and keeps the price reasonable. I just need to adjust the amp and I get the effects I need. All and all I would recommend trying this out and comparing to some of the top Dreds and I think you will be pleasantly surprised how good a $ guitar holds up against guitars 3x that price.

I like this guitar very much. I have had this guitar for about 9 months now and it is a definite step up from my other three. I especially like the neck. It is a bit wider down towards the bridge, but I consider that to be something that I need to adapt to rather than having the guitar adapt to me. I like the wider nut, and the five piece neck is the bomb! It allows for a very low action and I'm a flatpicking bluegrasser that sometimes gets a bit too aggressive with the pick, but no worries, there still is no fret buzz. I did change out the Urea saddle for a Bob Colosi bone saddle, but I don't believe that it made much if any difference. I also changed out the bridge pins, again no tonal differences, but cosmetically it was an improvement. Strings, it really likes the Martin Retro strings. It does not prefer phosphor bronze strings. With the PB's the trebles tend to get just a bit thin and strained sounding, especially up past about the 7th fret. Sound, it isn't doesn't have the bass of a Martin HD-35, but then again no other guitar on this planet has that either. All in all, it is pretty well balanced, if just a bit weak on the bass side. Stays in tune very well. The tuners are adequate, but are just a bit inconsistent with their smoothness. The individual tuners seem to each have their own personalities. Some are smoother than others. Would I buy it again? Just watch this space and it is very likely that I will add the Mahogany version of this guitar to my stable, so YES!

After lots and lots of research on which guitar to purchase. I chose the Yamaha LL16. Of all the comments I read, the one that really struck a chord with me was "If you're going to spend $800 or more get a solid wood guitar." That's great advice.

There are lots of top name brands in this price range but they are mostly HPL (High Pressure Laminate or compressed wood). They market these as sturdy guitars that are not effected by humidity and temperature (generally at the cost of sound). I wanted a great sounding guitar.

So I decided I wanted a solid wood body with a 1 3/4 nut width as I do lots of fingerpicking. All I hear is solid rosewood is the best all around sound so I went with it and it is NICE! Looks good and sounds even better!

The guitar is very responsive with fingerpicking at all volumes and you can really pound on it with strumming and it sounds great as well.

A guitar preamp was frequently recommended, however I plugged it in without a preamp and it sounded fine to me. I am sure as I play it more I will understand the need but my experience is currently no preamp needed.

It came with Elixir strings that were fine but I am going to try lots of different strings in search of the best sound possible. I could end up back with Elixirs.. we'll see.

I believe in the Yamaha brand. I have played many yamaha instruments over the years and they've never let me down.

A hard case instead of a solid foam would have been nice, but I will survive.

Overall I see myself playing this guitar for quite some time. The sound is very, very good, great sustain, and looks fantastic.

I would give it a 5 but I don't have much experience to says it's a truly awesome guitar. To me it sounds great and is definitely a professional level guitar.



This is the right guitar for me at my current playing level (intermediate and learning more everyday).
I give it a 5 but I don't have much experience to suggest its an awesome guitar. I do love this guitar