Yamaha AE1200

Absolute high end jazzbox!

Sounds great, specialy with coil splitting HB.
Lots of sounds, more then you need.

What can I say.....just perfect!

Looks very solid to me. This baby is born in Japan mid "80 but still looking one week young:)

Never deal with them.

This is my backup. On stage I use a Gibson L4. But to be honest with you. Nowadays this Yamaha is my stage guitar en the Gibson, shame on me, is the backup one.
I never had so good jazzbox. Playing more then 35 years guitar.

What can I say?
It's a great jazzbox

My style is jazz, jazz and jazz:)
Just what a expect from a jazz guitar, good sound!

Great action and very good adjustments.

This guitar will stand by my for ever.

Never deal with them.
But a bit more info about this guitar should give more impact!

I've been playing more than 40 years jazz into a famous jazz quartet.
I bought this guitar in 2004 as back-up for me Gibson L5. But after a while it's now my stage guitar.

Finally got a hold of this baby...AE1200S Hollowbody blond Archtop...made in the mid 80's (basic copy of a Gibson Super 400.) But not the same quality of hand finish..The S stands for solid top. Pearl block inlay, 22 medium fret. Ebony fingerboard. 2 sets of tone and voume knobs. tap touch tone 3 way switch. 2 Stock yamaha gold cover humbucker pick ups. Nice gold finish tail piece.

I play jazz, blues, and rock. This guitar was purchased for jazz and blues..its not a rock machine. I have an SA-2200 for that.
As a jazz box, its ideal. I makes real nice warm sound, I use the D'Addario Chrome jazz 13's I play it through a Yamaha T-50, T-100 and a Fender Blues D'Ville 4x10 I sound great on all three of these rigs.

I bought this guitar on Ebay..it came to me in great condition. I had our local Guitar shop set it up and adjusted. Great action. I put D'Addario Chrome 13's on. The quality of build is typical excellent Yamaha. The main reason I buy Yamaha products is for the quality. No flaws, none that I can see.. the Guitar tech was impressed, and routinely works on Martin, Fender, and Gibson.

One of the great things about Yamaha guitars, is they dont cost an arm and a leg, so you dont mind taking them on a gig... I would never take a $20,000 Benedetto archtop on a gig.. If it got stolen I would be upset, but I wouldnt be bank rupt...I payed 800 bucks so I could recover...I dont think a guitar like this needs a backup. Its again typical reliable Yamaha..

I had our local Guitar shop tech guy work on it. He was impressed with the quality..I bought it used, although I understand Yamaha has a life time warranty. Yamaha has been good to me in the past.

I have been playing guitar for 32 years now.. I own a Yamaha SA-2200 (see my review) and a Yamaha FG-470 (copy of a Martin 45) The whole point of playing and owning these great guitars, is you dont have to pay a ton of money and you get the quality of the expensive brands ie. Martin, Gibson, ect. If they do get stolen or damaged, just buy another one.. If I payed $6,000 for a Gibson L-5 I'd be afraid to take it on a gig. I have played the expensive ones give me Yamaha every time.

This is a repeat (kind of) of the last review. For some reason, the origional review i posted wouldn't load, so i had to copy and paste, did a horrible job. It pretty much has the same features as an L5, 2 volume, 2 tone, 3 way pickup selector switch, pretty much straight ahead, except for the push/pull coil taps. Can't really think of anything else you would want on a tubby jazz box, eh?

Here's where this guitar really shines, the solid top is very resonant, and WARM. I don't really use the bridge pickup, but it sounds great. There is something to be said for the tone of an older guitar, for sure. The P/U's are really nice sounding, I think this is the 1st guitar where I haven't wanted to slap a new set in after buying it.
I am using a Fuchs Audio Technology modded super bassman with a 2-12 ported cab , and it sunds great. I also use a Yamaha UD stomp for delay and mod effects.
The coil taps are great if you want to explore the funk and blues realm, but i already own
a strat and Carvin HF2 fatboy to do that stuff on, so i primarily use this for the Benson and metheny sounding stuff.
This guitar is DEAD quiet, both structurally and electronically, unless you split the coils, then you get the normal buzz, no big deal. I get a LOT of compliments when i gig with this, and have had some hardcore jazz nazis play this, and they all agree that this is a super axe (considering the price range). It's probably not as good as a Gibson L5, or some other big bucks archtop, but I don't think you can do better for the $1000 price range.

As i bought this used, i can't reply on the factory setup, but after a quick trip to my guitar tech's 2 years ago, i have has no issues with this guitar at all. the neck is super comfy, and great for zipping around on. I went back to flats when i bought my carvin fatboy HF2, to try and get an authentic jazz tone, and it is really working out nice.
The frets are .104/.040 , maybe a refret, not sure, but they are on very nice shape. The gold finish has corroded on the tail piece and pickups, but i guess you would expect that on a 25+ year old guitar. my tech looked this axe over when i brought it in after the initial purchase, and he was very complimentary on the construction. The general construction is rock solid.

I would have no qualms gigging with this instrument on a steady basis. I got an email from a guy interested in buying it (i recently listed it on ebay duriog a brief fit of temporary insanity), who had owned one about 15 years ago. He also owns a Gibson L5, but he said he missed his AE1200s. Tha says a lot about these guitars.
The finish (top side) had darkened with age a bit, but i think it looks cool, you know you aren't playing last month production.

Not sure, have never dealt personally with them.

As i stated in my other review, i would give it high marks for sure. our friend below may scream, as it's not a real L5, but these are SUPER for the money you can pick one up for.

Made in Taiwan (I think) in 1980. It has a solid top, 2 volume, 2 tone with push/pull pots for coil taps, 2 gold alnico humbuckers, passive electronics. Mine is the clear finish, the top is slightly darkened from age, maple neck with ebony fingerboard. As other reviewers have stated, it is really close to a Gibson L5(I know the guy a few reviews down will really scream about the last statement, but for the bucks you can't beat these)!
Gold plated tailpiece, tuners, bridge are slightly tarnished (whaddya expect from a 25 year old guitar)? I was lucky because i was able to trade this for a Heritage 516 even-up, and this guitar is in dead mint condition. I have had some pros play it and they have all told me "don't sell this one".

Made in Taiwan (I think) in 1980. It has a solid top, 2 volume, 2 tone with push/pull pots for coil taps, 2 gold alnico humbuckers, passive electronics. Mine is the clear finish, the top is slightly darkened from age, maple neck with ebony fingerboard. As other reviewers have stated, it is really close to a Gibson L5(I know the guy a few reviews down will really scream about the last statement, but for the bucks you can't beat these)!
Gold plated tailpiece, tuners, bridge are slightly tarnished (whaddya expect from a 25 year old guitar)? I was lucky because i was able to trade this for a Heritage 516 even-up, and this guitar is in dead mint condition. I have had some pros play it and they have all told me "don't sell this one".

I have looked this axe over well, and can't find anything to complain about, my tech looked it over, and he said the same thing. When i first took it over to him, and went back to get it, he was blown away by it. The top appears to machine cut, but it is a solid top, i checked to be sure. The action is super, absolutely no fret buzzes anywhere, and the guitar is rock solid.
The hardware looks 25 years old, but what do you expect. The previous owner must have like this guitar as much as i do, because i can't find a scratch, ding or booger anywhere on it.
I did have to replace the push/push pots with push/pulls, as they were shot, but that was no big deal.

I would have no qualms over gigging with this guitar with no backups. This guitar even makes me sound not-so-crappy, which is a pretty big feat. I could depend on it for sure, i think i could even use it for a bouy if i was ever shipwrecked, but first i would probably try swimming real hard with the guitar out of the water, as these are getting harder and harder to find.
The strap buttons are amazing, they are gold, and actually hold the strap on. WOWEE!!!
Seriously, though, it is a really well built and spiffy jazzbox, if you find one, BUY IT!!!
Be aware, though, some of these were made later on with a 2 piece laminate top, so do yur homework 1st.

I used their guitar wizard on the yammie website, and all i could find out is that it was made on dec 23, i think 1980. Yamaha does the dumb thing of repeating their serial numbers every 10 years, WASS UP WIT DAT????. So I can't be absolutely sure of the age, but i have emailed some guys who are Yammie addicts, and they all told me it is a 1980's
model.
'Other than that, i don't know anything about the company.

I have been playing for 30 years off and on, i own a zion strat with kinmans, a carvin Holdsworth HF2, a Taylor 714LTD, a cordoba RCWE gut string, a samick RL-4 (don't laugh, it's a great guitar for the money!!), and a carvin 7 string that my brother gave me, nice bro, eh?
If it were stolen, i would have to hire Mister "t" to hunt down the fool who done stole it, and put a whoppin' on his head.
I'm not exactly Goerge benson on the guitar, or even a bad impersonation, but i can get around on the guitar ok, but i would highly recommend these to anyone looking for a nice tubby archtop to do the jazz thing.

Made in Japan for a limited time between 1989-91.Solid spruce archtop which is almost a dead ringer for a gibson L5.Has a beautiful honey finish,two alnico humbucking pickups,two volume & two tone controls.The tone controls are push pull knobs which allow the player to split the coils for a single coil tone.Back and sides are beechwood,the neck is maple with a ebony fingerboard & real pearloid inlays.

This is a very nice sounding guitar.My guitar instructor has a Gibson L5 from the 80's.At my last lesson I asked him to test drive the Yamaha and then the L5.His first response was "wow this is a great guitar".I have to admit, after then hearing his guitar, the L5 had a slightly more mellow tone with less attack.He then informed me that the strings had not been changed in ten years.I also asked a coworker friend for his opinion.He also, thought it was a great guitar and "is a keeper".

The action on this guitar in incredible.The frets were perfectly filed on both the crowns and the fret ends.This guitar has a great neck which allows for really low string height without any,I mean 0 fret buzz.The only things I did'nt care for were the corny tailpiece design and the look of the bridge.Both were gold in color along with gold pickup covers and gold tuners which, did nothing to accent the beautiful finish.I replaced these with an ebony tailpiece and an ebony saddle and truly, it is now a beautiful guitar.

My before mentioned coworker, commented on how the guitar felt "very durable".I would trust this guitar on any jazz gig.Having said that,the top is very sensitive and is prone to feedback if you do not mute your lower strings.

I contacted a Yamaha tech.for info.on this guitar.He returned my call within a few hours and was very helpful.One of the first things he said was that the ae1200 is a "great guitar" and that you hardly ever see them for sale.

I've been playing for two years having switched to guitar from drums.I am a musical instrument repair tech. by trade.Trust me when I tell you I know a fair amount about wood,string setup,finishes etc.If you can find one or these guitars buy it!I along with many other ebayers did not bid an this guitar as there was a repaired crack on the upper neck.Once the auction ended,I was able to contact the owner and decided I'd take a chance.Apparently these baby's sell for around $1000.00.I would still be happy If I paid that much.For $500.00 I am thrilled.Again this is a fantastic guitar.I really feel like I got lucky.

I'm a little surprised by the rave reviews others have given this guitar. Without a doubt is it a great value for the price especially since it has a solid-top rather than the laminated top most inexpensive archtop guitars are made with (for example, Ephiphones). However, having said that, I sure wouldn't say this guitar is indistinguiable from a Gibson L5 or Super400 as far quality OR tone.

There are some very notable distinctions between the Yamaha AE1200S and Gibsons which account for it's lower price (and not just the fact that it's Japanese made). For example, the finish on both the body and the hardware are inferior to Gibson's. The body has a polyeurathaine finish which can fog over time. Unlike normal laquer finished Gibsons, these guitars can't be stripped off and refinished (or so my guitar repair man tells me). The hardware is good solid hardware, but the gold finish is easy to chip and wear off.

The electronics are NOT active, despite what one previous reviewer says. Active electronics require a battery. The electronics on this guitar are regular old passive electronics. The guitar does feature coil tapping, which certainly makes it a lot more versatile than your typical archtop guitar.

As far as features go, it's strengths are the solid top, and coil tapping, and reliable hardware. It's weaknesses are the cheap finish on body and hardware.

The sound of this guitar is not nearly as a rich as a good Gibson, in my opinion. This claim by the other reviewers surprises me most of all. In my experience Gibson's are notoriously inconsistant from guitar to guitar and I would never buy one without playing it first. This means that if you compare the Yamaha to a real dud Gibson Super 400, maybe, just maybe, it might sound better. But if you compare the best Yamaha to the best Gibson, it is undoubtably going to sound inferior in tone. This is not a slam against Yamaha. It's just that you can't expect an $1500 archtop to compete against a $6000 one. Are Gibson L5s and Super 400s overpriced? Yeah, sure they are. But they're still better made and better sounding than the Yamaha a AE1200S.

The question should not be is the sound better than a Gibson, but is it better than a Guild, or an Epiphone in the same price range? The answer to that probably depends on what you want from your tone. I use my guitar through a Fender Bassman 58 Reissue with a spring reverb. It sounds great when I play alone. I tend to play a lot of travis style picking and it gives me a great rockabilly and blues sound. The main problem I've had with the tone of this guiter is that even WITH the coil tapping options, it's not an easy guitar tone to fit into a combo when you have a second guitar. It's neither rich enough in the bass to stand out, nor bright enough in the treble to cut through. One reviewer said he could make his guitar sound like a telecaster--that's absurd. Even set to single coil on the bridge pickup, this guitar DOES NOT sound like a telecaster. But then, how could you expect it to, it's a hollow body. It's not SUPPOSED to sound like a tele. I've played this guitar in a number of different settings, through a variety of amps, and I think the sound lacks the tonal complexity to make it a really great guitar. Perhaps with the right amp and the right EQ, I'd feel differently about it. To my mind, it has too much midrange, and tends to get muddy when played in a band, unless special effort is made to keep other instruments out of the same range. In this regard, I consider this an excellent practice guitar and recording guitar, but only a so-so live band guitar.

I bought my guitar used. It was probably around 8 years old by the time I bought it, so I can only talk about the condition I found it in. Overall it looked very good. However it some of the flaws I already mentioned: the finish was starting to fog in areas and the gold hardware on the bridge and tuners had the finish worn off. The guitar also had a crack in the wood around the toggle switch, a common problem area for archtops. The crack was easy to have repaired and it's virtually invisable now. My overall evaluation is that despite some of the cosmetic flaws with this guitar, it is very well made. It's a great guitar to play. I tend to play heavier strings, to get as much rich tone as I can out of the guitar. The action is great and this is a sweet playable guitar for both finger picking and flat picking. I've considered putting a bigsby vibrato on the guitar. My guitar tech tells me it should work fine.

With the exception of the finish, my experiance is that this is a solid reliable well made guitar. It's certainly a work horse and doesn't need to be babied like some archtops.

It's best feature is the price and it's solid construction. I got mine for $600. That was ten years ago, but even then, it would have been very hard to find another solid-top hollow body guitar at that price that was in good condition. I'm not sure why they stopped making this guitar, given the overall value. I would have expected it to have a consistant fan base. Perhaps it is the look of the guitar itself. The tail piece has a dated 1980's look to it, with a loopy pattern which is kind of a turn off.

april 1986 according to yamaha one of the fist ever made,20 frets,solid spruce top,2 volume 2 tone (push push to split p-ups)3 way toggle,two alnico humbuckers(splitable),maple neck with ebony fretboard,sunburst,archtop,rosewood base with tun-o-matic bridge,yamaha tuners (like schaller),25.5"scale,all hardware is gold,case

i play jazz,blues and it suits this kind of music to a tee,i like the split p-ups because i like the singlcoil sund for the authentic old 50's sound and the humbucker sound for the fuller tone,i just made a c.d. using the ae 1200 exclusivly and it coverd all the suonds i needed,even tele like country sounds this guitar does it all,i used a ampeg j 12t for the rccording but now i use a 1986 boogie 50 caliber,i use d'dario chromes (12's)strings,

you can set this guitar up any way you like,it will allways play great ,there are no flaws,the finish is excelent,

this is a true work horse , i play app. 220 gigs a year with it and it dose show no sign of tireing ,it will withstand all playing situations you throw at it, you can depend on it 100%,i did numerous shows with only this guitar.

yamaha ist most excelent to deal with ,i inquired about my serial number , they phoned me back at home and a guy named toni tld me all about the instrument .

i have the guitar since april 99' i wanted one when i first saw it in 91' but it sold quickly and they did not make many ae 1200 with solid tops,i tryed new and used gibson's(L5,super 400's, tal farlow,L4 es175etc.)and the ae 1200 holds its ground to all of them i mean it is better than all new gibson's i tried.it is more versatile.for the money you spend you cant get a better value not even guild or heritage offer such a quality instrument for such a good price.

Hi, want luxury, wearability, my ae1200s made in japan, 69 is it.
The bomb. This 22 fret baby, has laminated top. I have 2 vol, 2-tone,
3 way switch, 2 tap. h'h pickup config. Pickups are humbucks.
Very active electronics make me very satisfied.Maple neck, body, w/a
satin finish.Single cutaway. Accessorized with a tortoise shell pickguard trimed in detail with a plastic three line edge.
Purchased in '89 in Wheaton,MD for 8 bills 5 years later valued at a grand without the yamaha yellow ripcord plush hardshell case.

suits my gospel contemporary and soloing perfect.
Original tubed fender twin-reverb with silver and blue head
I used 3 on reverb
its all clean sound with retubed
it's rich, mellow i get the best of both worlds
I mix fat pick style, with orchestra chords, and thumb and finger tricks

excellent from factory, needs no technical assistance
I monkeyed with 'em til I was satisfied then put them back as close as I could. All factory work was good enough.
The finish at the bottom starts fading, that is a minor where nobody sees.

I USED IT LIVE SINCE 89. YES.!!!tHE HARDWARE IS DURABLE. One minor
flaw with the tortoise pickguard: it corrodes the gold hardware close
to the guard because of released gases. The gold hardwre needs to be protected near the pickguard. use clear epoxy to cover the pickguard
and enclose with clear adhesive sheets trimmed to pickguard dimensions then use a clear adhesive piece to cover the pickups.
The strap buttons are solid, and I can rely on my ax.
Yes, it is a dependable soloing instrument.

Never needed support.

I been playing since 1965.
Yes, if i could find it at that price. I buy another.The thing I love is the weight and the proportional dimensions and the color and tone. I have played the L5 , SUPER400S, and solid bodies. I choose the ae1200s because of the price and hardware and sound.
It is a classic in my opinion . I played the 20grand 400s, and the difference is no difference.

I have owned probably 75 different guitars so far. This is absolutely without a doubt the finest made and sounding versatile guitar anyone could want. You can play sweet jazz, clear country or rock with this guitar. The guitar even comes with tap paickups for those who want to tamper with tone perfection. The guitar is an eaxact L-5 copy. I have a friend who has an L-5, and he could not tell the difference in playing jazz. He could definitely tell when comparing the tone to other styles of music. His L-5 is a jazz box, the Yamaha is all things. Strangely enough, this guita being a 17" full size archtop does not feedback much on stage like every other `7" I've ever played, it is built like a tank and gorgeous. The guitar comes with two split tap pickups that will surprise a person with an ear for tone. You can go from Duane Eddy, to Joe Pass to Robert Flacke tones with this guitar. The tuners are the best I've used, they really lock in the tuning. The hardware is gold plated and the finish is not like most asian made guitars. A lot of people are against Japanese made guitars, but I play them almost exclusively due to the quality and tone (the same as I prefer Japanese cars). I also own a Fender Flame and an ESP Custom and I am looking a getting one of the new D'Angelico guitars soon, all made in Japan. If you get the opportunity to compare this guitar to a top Gibson, I now which one you will buy if you are buying it for tone, playability, and finish.

I use this guitar with a Lab L-9 amplifier. It can go from sweet bright, not rauscous to mellow sweet jazz. It has a full sound but is not muddy, very clear tone.

NO flaws noted.

I have replaced one tap pot and the 3 way pickup selector in the last 15 years.

No need for customer support. When a guitar is built right, quality precludes customer support.

I have been playing for 35 years. I have a 9 year old band called "High Caliber" in the DFW area that plays 40-50's standards, old and new country, 50-70's rock and roll, cajun, some jazz and blues. I need a versatile instrument on stage. I also use a Roland GR-33 with it's many sound capabilities to augment our sound.