Yamaha LL-TA TransAcoustic Dreadnought - Vintage Tint Reviews

I've owned high end Taylors and Martin and this one matches or beats them in playability, tone, and looks beautiful too. It's more versatile because of the TA and I highly recommend it. Just my opinion, but I think it's the best overall value in an acoustic w/electronics. Build quality was excellent. I was expecting it to be good but not this good for the money. I don't write many reviews, but this one truly deserves it. BTW, I am writing this review after owning this instrument for about two years. Bought and sold many guitars over the years. This one gets played the most and won't be sold while I'm above ground.

Great action and thin neck. Guitar sounds pretty good even without the effects. It's a beast

This guitar is awesome! Can't put it down!
Great craftsmanship by Yamaha again at a great price! The unique sound when the on board effects of the transacoustic technology is turned on is amazing! And the Sweetwater experience stellar as usual! Buy this guitar, you'll love it!!!

I eventually decided to roll the dice and order one from Sweetwater, having already had great experiences with them. The one they sent me is a keeper. It sounds fantastic when its Transacoustic effects are off, sounds like an all-solid spruce top/rosewood back & sides guitar should sound. The effects work perfectly and inspire me to learn, practice, and play more. If the technology were a mere gimmick, the novelty would've worn off by now. Whatever genre of music you play, whatever environment you play in, this guitar will enhance both your enjoyment and your abilities. Miles Davis said, "Play what you know, and then play above that." The Yamaha LL-TA will help you pull that off. Thank you, Sweetwater!

Get one if you can afford it, your entire set will change, wonderful guitar with or without effects, warm, has perfect presence and loud... Incredibly built...

I love this guitar, it sounds great with or without the transacoustic effects. Looks beautiful too, easily worth double its price.

For those who like the 'feel' of simplicity, this guitar has that vibe (despite its advanced electronics)

The design looks and feels like a hand built guitar should be. It is a handsome looking guitar.

When you pick up the guitar, you know that it is a quality-built instrument. It highly exceeded my expectations for its price. Even when looking through the soundhole, the insides are meticulously put together. No visible glue drips and manufacturing dust. The trims and binding are cleanly crafted (the binding is wood at the body), the paint is flawlessly applied. The 5-ply neck has a great finish and appeals to me.

When you play it, it is pleasantly at par with the premium brands. The tone by itself is wonderful and ringing, as expected from solid spruce and rosewood tonewoods. The beauty of the sound is augmented by the effects. It sounds nothing like I have heard before, especially in a studio.

If you're open to it, try this out. It's an amazing value guitar. There's a pretty high chance you'll enjoy it as well.

I ordered this based on a video review I had seen. I had been playing (not regularly) a Martin 000C-16RGTE which is a smaller thin-body guitar because I've had some past shoulder problems. When this dreadnaught arrived I wasn't totally sure I would keep it. The Martin seemed more comfortable to play. BUT, the more I played the Yamaha LL-TA, the more I liked it. I definitely appreciated the tone of it over the Martin - brighter with more volume. At first I only played it with the Reverb turned on (to about 1/3). These days I will sometimes just leave the electronics off, because it is a great sounding guitar on its own. That said the reverbs (there are 2) and the chorus are both great sounding and a ton of fun. I've had it now for over seven months, and I am playing a lot more these days - just because this guitar is so much fun to play! Really breathed new life into my acoustic adventure. Sold the Martin.

I told myself that I would NEVER - EVER buy a instrument made in China, but this guitar is especially well made. Yamaha's China factory did a better than "good' job building it. I was completely surprised by its playability and still am - like a big body Martin. It's smooth and even. Even the factory setup is good. Not as good as a custom setup, but completely acceptable. The TA electronics are really nice while playing w/no outboard gear and when using gear it's easy to control.
The only drawback for me is using 2 AA batteries as opposed to a 9v - which is quite standard throughout the industry concerning guitars with active electronics. But aside from this, I love it and you will not be disappointed.

Craftsmanship is flawless and guitar sounds awesome with and without effects!!! Not a fan of the factory strings so I changed out to Martin Silk and Steel and couldn't be happier. Shipping was fast. It left Sweetwater on Friday and was delivered Monday morning. Thanks to my sales rep Chris McCown for the help. He told me I would love this Yamaha and the internal voodoo. He was correct!!!! :)

Great Acoustic Guitar ! It play's and Sounds Great. Set up was spot on...
The Reverb & Chorus, I love it.. Love the solid woods also... Special thanks to
Ben Robinson and the gang at Sweetwater getting me this guitar Super Fast !

I went to my local GC to try a Taylor or other high-end acoustic and this LL-TA was hanging in the used section. As soon as I picked it up I knew I had to have it. Sounded better and played better than any guitar in the store. Went to buy a Martin or Taylor and left with a Yamaha at 1/3 the price. I get so many compliments on my tone. Amazing guitar. Build quality is amazing. As soon as you pick it up you can immediately tell you are holding a quality instrument. The internal effects are amazing and just an added bonus.

This was the best decision I've made for some time! WOW, this guitar is a pleasure to hear, it is absolutely fantastic! I am very happy with the product and the quality of the Guitar .Thanks Dan and Crew!

I played as many guitars off the wall at Sweetwater that were $1200 or less as possible in one afternoon. My natural instinct was to go with what I knew. Taylor (not much in that range), Guild, and a really low end Martin were tried first. Then the salesman at Sweetwater offered me the Yamaha after telling him what mattered to me. A cutaway isn't worth the 15% sound reduction as I rarely play high on the neck of an acoustic. Too me a full size dreadnaught is difficult to beat.

The Yamaha LL-Ta was his recommendation. He pulled one from stock that was considered a demo. There wasn't a visible scratch or flaw. I was immediately impressed with guitar. Yes, it is all solid woods, but I've grown to consider the name on the headstock paramount over the years. This is what a lot of us fall prey to for various reasons: advertisement, favorite artist, yesteryear reputation... I now see the error my ways. Give it a try! You will be impressed.

On a side note this was a replacement guitar for an unhappy purchase online. The folks at Sweetwater are the BEST. They treat me the same with a $2 purchase as they do with a $1000 investment. I don't order anywhere else. No questions asked about the return, and the salesman was extremely attentive.

The trans-acoustic features are very cool. When I picked one up at the music store, someone had apparently left the TA feature on. Not knowing anything about the TA system, I actually went from amp to amp in the small room trying to find out where the sound was coming from. I was happily shocked when I finally realized it was just the guitar. The sound without the TTA system is just as impressive, It reminds me of a good Gibson acoustic with both the high and low ends being bright and balanced. This is definitely my new favorite. Well worth checking out.

Guitar came in top notch condition with extra padding. Sales was smooth. Best on call experience I ever had online.

The Yamaha LL-TA is a surprisingly great instrument and tremendous value. It compares with custom Martins, Guilds and Gibsons. It truly hurts any Taylor I put it up against at the store. Yes, even the 814"s. The all-Ta has a very well balanced tone. Bass is strong and present and round. The highs are bright and clear, not tinny or thin. It looks great. Plays very smoothly. ( I lowered the action a bit) and stays in tune. Not much volume drop between strumming and flat picking and responds well to dynamics.

Everything about this guitar is quality. The sound from it is amazing and I'm not talking about the "transacoustic" portions of it. It's just a great sounding acoustic by itself. I have played the lower tier transacoustics and was not impressed at local guitar shops. They did not carry the LL-TA at any shop. So I had to roll the dice on this one.

However, I never feel I'm taking a chance when I buy from Sweetwater. They make sure you get great products and backed by their prestige in service. I cringe anytime I have to send anything back, but they always make me feel like it's no problem. Ben is a wizard at Sweetwater. He is always looking out for my needs. I always have tough questions for him and he knows if a product won't fully reach my needs. I appreciate that input from an honest company. Not just trying to make a sell... but the sell that works for me fully.

I was scared this one would sound bad as the one in local shops (thin, no bass, lacking character). It does not. I'm very impressed. It's not a Collings, Santa Cruz, or custom/signature Martin. However, the fact that I'm using their names means it is close. I would say it sounds like a non signature or non custom martin. It beats all of my taylors on sound and I have very nice taylors. I heard there's no bass on these and that was a concern, but it projects fullness and volume. Bass has showed up on this guitar model. You can feel a presence with this guitars tone. It has that "it" factor people are looking for. Not exactly piano like highs, but geez it's knocking on the door of that elite sound. You just know it's different from all guitars in it's prices range and competes against custom luthier guitars. My best way to put it is... this has a sound of it's own. Not trying to sound like anyone else.

Playing pick is great on this, but finger style really shines on this guitar. Really able to get articulate sounds and plucking off of it. Notes ring out for a long time.

It feels very large to hold so you need to be able to play a bigger guitar. There are things I wish this guitar was. I wish it had a hard case made for this. But the soft case is nice. Wont take your guitar out of tune like other soft cases. Seems a lil flimsy while opened, but nothing to be concerned about. Zippers scare me on soft cases, but I haven't worried about that once with this case. This is the kind of guitar that deserves a hard case though. I wish the guitar were a tad smaller. With no cut away I was still able to reach things I can't normally reach on a dread. So that shocked me as well. I'm a very decent guitarist, but I do have troubles playing this. It feels like wider string spacing. I'm just missing a little here and there, but mostly solid. Not really a guitar made for my smaller hands, but cause of my experience I manage quite well. On other guitars I never miss notes like I do on this (still rare, but happens). However, I'm just blown away by the sound out of this 1k dollar guitar. I have played this in lower tunings and it has faired very well. The tuners are fast and smooth, but solid. It stays in tune very well. The frets feel very polished and fingers slide well throughout the guitar better than almost every guitar I have played.

As for the Transacoustic portions... I love this guitar off, but when it is on... it sounds so good that you forget what you are playing. I had this happen to me on a Collings where the sound was so good it was distracting from my technique. Once you get used to this it is hard to play without. But many times I pick it up and play it while its off and I'm in awe of how good it sounds without Transacoustic turned on. I don't do a lot of chorus, but it gives you a 12 string sound that is great. The two types of reverb (room/hall) are amazing. After seeing the tonewood amp I wish I had delay on this too, but I will not complain. I love this guitar. I have a lot of guitars and It's hard to impress me anymore. I'm blown away by this turned off and on.

Sometimes I catch myself just looking at it. The wood and finish is quite amazing. It screams quality and craftsmanship. It's very beautiful. My eyes going over every detail. It's a very attractive piece. The 5 piece neck isn't all the way through. However, it's really amazing to see any kind of 5 piece variation on a guitar this price

Nobody should regret this purchase unless you can't play a bigger guitar or aren't experienced enough to play on this string spacing. Even if those are your weaknesses I still think you should try one out sometime. If you love your guitar currently and want the transacoustic poritons... maybe try out the tonewod amp. I haven't yet, but I'll end up with one soon I imagine, but I still keep reaching for this guitar. It is in my head when I'm at work. I just want to play it more. That's what great guitars do.

We already know the quality of Taylor guitars and other brands of Acoustic-Electric guitars, this is not the case, the fact is that this great guitar without amplifier offers us these sound effects. Consider it a new technology for this style of guitars.

Finally made the decision and ordered this guitar while still available with 48 month interest free financing. The A.R.E. wood treatment gives the guitar an amazing unplugged projection. It rings with the highs and has warm full lows. THEN you dial in the effects and there goes your mind! The guitar is full and rich without the effects or amplification. Add those pluses and it is icing on a very delicious cake!

At first I was a bit skeptical about the whole TransAcoustic technology but after hearing numerous reviews, it actually sounds really great. I can't get my hands off of the guitar!!
T.A. effects (Reverb and chorus) works plugged in and you can enable T.A. effects from guitar body while plugged in also.
5 piece neck is really stable and holds the tune really well. Neck profile to me is on a bit thincker side but got used to it pretty quick.
Tonewise, it sounds just like other Yamaha LL16 ARE blowing away ANY guitars x2, x3 the price.
There are still small fit and finishes that could be better like neck joint had a tiny bit of extra glue..etc but I'm being really really nit picky here

I've played for close to 50 yrs. and have owned a lot of different guitars. The plan was get something a little special before I retired. After playing the Martins, Taylors, and a lot of other relatively high end guitars, I happened upon the Yamaha which wasn't even on my radar screen. Completely took me by surprise with it's quality and it's sound. Had it down to about three different guitars, and the Yamaha came out on top. The technology that they put into these guitars is amazing. You really have to get your hands on one and try it out because the videos really don't do it justice.

I had seen numerous reviews on You Tube featuring the LL-TA- reviews where professional guitar players trying it for the first time were genuinely blown away- and I could tell these reactions were in fact authentic- not just some clever marketing campaign. When mine finally arrived after a 15 month wait I wasn't disappointed. Having amplification at the press of a button (along with chorus and reverb) is such a remarkable option, not to mention the quality of that amplification. I thoroughly enjoy playing this truly unique instrument, and everyone I have played it for has been duly impressed as well. I have been playing guitar since 1958 and this is one of the most satisfying instruments I have ever played. I couldn't be more pleased.

Nice-looking guitar and interesting, impressive TA electronics, but action and tone don't compare favorably with any of my Taylors.