Lyle L-50S Acoustic

The finish has the flamed edge,dreadnought bodystyle, rosewood bound mahogany neck? .
It is made in Japan and it says W-460 crafted for the discrininating musician.It has the hummingbird pickguard with flowers and a butterfly.The neck has the Gibson style inlay angular mother of pearl.
The bridge is fully adjustable and looks to be teak,The qulity of craftsmanship is excellent in I can't think of there being cheap laminated woods in there.

My daughter purchased this guitar to learn on, The present strings are cheap and I am going to changr them to Phosphor bronze strings today.
It sounds very nice consitering it had elcheapo strings on it?
I likr the adjustable bridge for her sake as a begineer I will get her light noodle masters and mess with the eleveation.

Very well made as the Japanese wanted to make a statement on thier workmanship.

I think this Guitar will last a very lnog time and sound sweeter as time rolls on.

Went out of business years ago

I have been playing acoustic guitar for 32 years now and recently tried out the Electric Guitar scene to rekindle my interest in playing.I have a 1977 Ovation acoustic electric, a 1973 Martin D-18,
A Mexican Fender Stratocaster, and a Japanese made Epiphone Elitist 335.I have many tube amps that I have been buying and fixing up from a Epiphone Comet to a Gibson GA55RVT Ranger.
My friend has a vintage Gibson 335 and loves my 1300.00 Epiphone Elitist. He is a profesional musician and I respect his opinion.
I love all my guitars and gear,I was going to buy a real Gibson 335 but the prices were way to much for me to afford.My wife would want a bigger diamond if I purchased a Gibson.

Copy of the Gibson Hummingbird, known for its colorful pickguard featuring a hummingbird, flowers, and a butterfly. Lyles were made in Japan at the Matsumoko Guitar Factory. This factory also made guitars for Aria and U.S. importers who put the Matsumoko-made guitars under their labels. For example, L.D. Heater company of Portland, Oregon, imported Lyle guitars from 1969-1980.

The Lyle is a 22 fret square dreadnought. The Lyle apparently has a laminated top (based on what another reviewier, who pulled up the bridge, attests to). I think the back and sides are also laminated. I would guess they are mahogany, not rosewood, because of the mellow (not boomy, Martin-like) sound. Because of the coloring, it is hard to tell by sight if the back and sides are mahogany or rosewood. Fingerboard appears to be rosewood. The bridge is adjustable. There are strap buttons on the bottom of the heel and at the end, which I think were installed at the factory.

The Lyle has a sunburst finish ranging from red to golden yellow. Adjacent parallelogram inlays on the fretboard, with the Gibson symbol and Lyle in pearl inlay on the headstock. The entire guitar is glossed. The tuners are enclosed, metal, and appear somewhat generic. Nevertheless, she is a beauty and looks vintage in a very cool way.

The Lyle has no serial number but I would guess it was made in the mid to late 1970's. This is consistent with what I was told--that it was made in 1976.

I have a Martin D16-RGT, which I think is the best-sounding Martin dreadnought for the money (it is a poor man's HD-28). The D16-RGT, made of rosewood, is boomy, which is good for certain songs. But I wanted something more light and mellow for other types of songs. Keith Richard's guitar on Angie always struck me as hauntingly beautiful and when I found out he played a Hummingbird on that and other tracks, the search was on.

The Lyle sounds just like Keith's guitar on Angie. Twangy, mid-rangy, on the bright side. Not a lot of base. I absolutely love the guitar's unique sound.

Action on the guitar is excellent. When I bought the Lyle from a used guitar store, I immediately put Elixir lights on her. The Lyle is easier to play than my Martin. The construction of the Lyle, however, was not as good as the Martin. For example, some glue is visible inside the guitar along the bracing. No significant flaws have caught my eye.

These Japanese guitars are built to last. Just check out the Internet and e-bay to see how many are for sale and the good condition they are in. I would not be surprised if this Lyle outlasts my recently-bought Martin. The Lyle has shown few visible signs of aging and her sound, like fine wine, has only gotten better with time.

Seeing as Lyle closed down about 25 years ago, there is not any warranty. But these guitars are rock-solid and would not be concerned about any major issues arising.

I have been playing for about a year. I also own the Martin D16-RGT and another Japanese 1970's guitar, a Ventura V-200s, which is an outstanding copy of a Gibson J-200. Acoustics just turn me on more than electics and I love the Gibson sound (Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" turned me onto the J-200).

I think Gibsons are outrageously overpriced and did not want to shell out the money for them. So I researched alternative options on the Internet and settled on the Japanese 1970's copies.

My Ventura, also a sunburst, matches my Lyle and I could not be happier with my choices. Any sound difference from the Real McCoy is negligible and not worth spending the extra thousands of do-re-me.

Made in Japan in 1982 (I believe as this is the year I bought it new) it has 20 nickle frets on a rosewood fingerboard and Mahogany neck. A solid perfectly matched split top of Spruce with Mahogany 2 piece back and sides. The back is split by a 5 layer inlay with the 3 center strips being black and natural rectangular sections. It has a glossy, transparant finish finish on a dreadnought body. Bone bridge on a arch saddle tailpiece with nylon pins. The tuners are the original chrome sealed tuners. Standard frets. It came with a soft shell case, which is still in good condition because of good care. Some of the stitching is broken.

I have used this guitar on stage for all of the country songs but usually switch to electric for the harder rock songs. I use a Yamaha G100-212-2 amp with a Sunrise pickup installed inside the guitar with the rear button jack plug in. It has a warm full sound (depending on what kind of strings I use of course) not quite as loud as a Martin, which I have used as well. It is best used on stage using the natural sound, amplified rather than using effects. I like the playability of the guitar. It has a nice action with no fret buzz. It works well with finger picking style as well as strumming and mild lead.
My dislike is the original bridge was nylon and it was brittle. I replaced it because of chipping. I was going to replace the bridge pins as well except for they work well and I disliked the tone I obtained with other styles. I use a Sunrise pickup with a Sunrise preamp that I plug into a Yamaha G100-212-2, 100 Watt amp and I have been pleased with the sound that I get out of it.

The action was actually very good. When I replaced the bridge I was careful to keep the action the same due to the playablity of the neck. The top was matched very well. you really need to know where to look to see where the pieces are matched together. No flaws, no glue marks. I did need to replace the bridge but that was actually due to the material not the placement. The original cracked and broke. All of the bracings are in place correctly with a little over glue in some spots but very little. I was very pleased with the quality of the wood and the finish. The inlay was done nicely the hardware still looks good after using it for 22 years with just regular cleaning. The tuning pegs are firm and responsive. I was going to replace them at the suggestion of a "friend" but decided not to because these are sealed and work fine. The saddle is fit properly with good balance. (again I had to replace the bridge) The action of the neck is very good. I did have to work on the frets once due to wear but the action is still great with no fret noise.

This is the guitars best quality. It really does play well. It has been my workhorse. I have used it in the studio and on stage. My bandmates always want to use my guitar when I am using the electric. The frets may need to be replaced in a few years but other that that I don't think I will need to replace anything. The finish is holding up great. It has been bumped a few times by bandmates grabbing it to play when I was using the electric (for lead rock) and it didn't ruin the finish other than to put small dings into the surface of the instrument. I replaced the tail strap button with the plug in jack when I electrified it (for easier stage use) The front didn't have a button so I added one. It has been very dependable, especially on stage. It isn't a string breaker and hasn't been for anyone who used it which is why it has been a band favorite. I have never had to use it for a backup but have had to use it AS a backup when I break stings on my Tele.

N/A I have never had to take it into the company. I have a luthier friend that did the fret work and replaced the bridge for me. I put in the Sunrise pickup myself.

I have been playing for 33 years. I own a Barcus Berry electric violin. An E.S.P. Series Telecaster copy, which play very well and a G. and L. Tribute ASAT Classic.
If This guitar were stolen or lost I would love to replace it with the same thing. I am having extreme trouble finding any information on it which is why I originally came to this site.
I love the playabilty, the comfortable feel and the sound of this guitar. It's like it was make for me. My favorite feature is the warm rich sound it gets. It is the guitar I use on solo gigs. I hate that I can't seem to find any information about it. I only know of one other person that has one and it is an inferior model.
I compared this to Martin D18's and Takamine, neither of which felt as good. The Takamine was a more expensive but felt bulky and I didn't care for the tone. The Martin was difficult to play and the frets felt too sharp. neither had the smooth feel the Lyle had. Especially for the price at the time.
I wish it had a hard shell case for safer gig travel but I can get that.
I just really enjoy playing this guitar and have had alot of trouble finding information on it. This site has the most information I have found so far.