Yamaha AE2000

17-inch wide-body archtop jazz guitar made in Japan, Serial 116345 (haven't managed to find out about manufacturing date yet - does someone know?), solid spruce top, maple neck, ebony fretboard, rounded cut-away, two alnico pickups with volume and tone controls, push/push tone control for single coil wiring, regular three-way pick-up switch, plated hardware (gold), thin neck, yamaha tuners, grenadilla wood bridge (non-tunable).

Amazing full-bodied classic jazz sound with warm lows, rich mids and clear tops - the whole spectrum. I looked for months for a suitable amp (Polytone, AER, Boogie, you name it...) and settled on a Fender Cyber Twin 130 Watt - a great clean sound capitalising on the hybrid valve/transistor/best-of-both-worlds technology (although I don't use ANY of the on-board effects). I use the neck pick up mostly and sometimes combine it with the bridge pick up with the tone control down. I use a G-Major rack with carefully dosed effects which don't colour the sound. The pick ups are high output variety and I've often thought of changing them, but when I think of it, I can't imagine the sound to be any better. I use D'Addario round-wound jazz strings (13).

I had the frets, action, intonation, etc set up by a local guitar tech (trained in Kalamazoo and in Japan at Yamaha) and the guitar is perfect - consistent action, superb intonation. The finish is really robust, rich sunburst colours, enhancing the woods' natural aesthetic. No flaws, cracks, blips or blemishes, except for a slight distorted buzz from the pick-up housing (also a Gibson problem) which you hear when you play unplugged.

This guitar is built to last - already about 25 years old it's like a Rolls Royce - built for posperity.

I've had no dealings with Yamaha, but I have not been able to establish the exact manufacturing date - not a big deal as I'm a player and not a collector.

As far as an overall rating is concerned I have to say that this guitar doesn't have the fame and collector appeal such as similar Gibson or Gretsch guitars, but it slays them considering an L5 would put you back at least 4000 Euros.

Yamaha have made a good name for themselves and I find yamaha models pleasing to play and very comfortable. AE2000 has an ibony neck with pearl inlays. 2 Humbuckers which have integrated piezo ceramic transducers. There is a switch that recieves signal from either the top pick-up, bottom pick-up or a mix between the two (3 positions). 4 knobs control tone and volume.

Finish is sunburst, very strong. I have knocked a few times and no marks are left.

Body style is archtop. Here comes the interesting bit. Yamaha have machined this cutaway with grooves on the inside. Deliberately?? Dont know but it may have an affect of dispersing sound better.

Normal tuning, non-locking pegs and string through bridge.

The neck is not fat. It is elegant and easy to play. Stretched finger span however is always useful to have. Notes above E are accessable with the left hand therefor making high notes playable and possible.

I play AE2000 with a polytone. The sound gives little feedback, thick, loud and a rich resonance. I always had problems with feedback at gigs with an APX10 and the reason why I got rid of this and bought an AE2000 was to fix a feedback problem while keeping a thick, jazzy sound.

No complaints with the action. Its a good height. Not to high and no fret buzz. The finish is brilliant.

I havnt played this guitar live yet but it certainly has no feedback problems, holds in tune, easy to tune up and sounds the part. I cant wait to show it off

As far as customer support goes, it doesnt need any and neither do I.

The guitar is very good. It sounds great, little feedback problems. Its probably well suitable for gigs. The only thing that I dont like about it is, Its too thick and I probably wouldnt buy an archtop again. Cant have everything though!

Carved spruce top,laminated sides and back, gold hardware, two Dimarzio? humbucking splittable coils. Johnny Smith/L5 lookalike down to the inlay in its ebony fingerboard. Stunning, almost flawless sunburst finish. Unbelievably comfortable neck. Surprisingly heavy for an archtop. I bought it for its looks. More knowlegable friends of mine said it was the best made Japanese instrument they had ever seen. I believe it was made briefly in the late 80's and endorsed by Rik Emmett of Triumph and Guitar Player Magazine fame.

I won't fudge on this one. Eight years ago I felt that this guitar was a beautifully conceived and executed failure. Playing through my 1965 Deluxe Reverb and later a Bassman reissue/Peavy Valverb combination, the guitar seemed asleep, sluggish, overly heavily built and unresponsive. The pickups, while versitile seemed way too bright for the sound I wanted. I put the guitar in a corner and moved on to my strat and 335. I pulled it out of its case this year to play it one more time before selling it. What a shock! The sound has developed like a fine wine with age. Sustain and acoustic volume have improved dramatically. No dead spots on the neck. While I'm still not the biggest fan of the pickups, The electric tone is now good for jazz and excellent for blues and hollowbody country sounds. I would guess that Yamaha overbuilt this instrument for feedback resistance. At any rate the bulletproof construction delayed its tonal development. I'll be exploring other pickups in the future however. Five years ago I would have rated the sound a 4 or 5. Now I give it an 8 or 9. With different pickups who knows how good this beauty can sound?

I took a close look at a Gibson L4 this year. The Yamaha is better made, better finished and that neck! If nothing else, the best neck I have ever played.

Tuning is unbelievably stable. At one point I put it away for about 8 months and when I pulled it out again the tuning was virtually perfect. The gold plating is a bit suspect. Just a bit too much wear for the respect that I showed this instrument. The finish however is almost as shiny and transparent as the day I got it.

I called the Vancouver reps a few times to try to get some information about this guitar as I bought it used and knew nothing about it. They were professional and courteous but not helpful above and beyond the call of duty. Still, they listened and tried. Mixed marks in this category.

If you are contemplating a Gibson L4 and have access to one of these guitars, you owe it to yourself to give it a try. It's a beautifully made luxury quality instrument that deserves far more attention than it ever received. The only downside to this guitar for me is its sturdiness and I may be overplaying this problem as I an at best a medium level guitarist who struggles to get his sound.