Yamaha AES720

Awesome features for the price could not be beat for the price in any other guitar maker. Solid guitar

I play metal/alternative and the sound blows my band mates ibanez rgs/ jacksons out of the water. Picks up harmonics and pinched harmonics great. Sounds awesome with tons of distortion. The neck pick up is not that great but I dont really use it that often. Puts all guitars ive played in this price range to shame.

This is my only complaint is the bulky neck. Not as bad as say a les paul but not no where as fast as my rg. Finish has held up great for the past 4 years.

I would depend on this guitar as my only guitar if I were on tour. I had one issue in 4 years where I had to solder the input wire comming loose but I find myself doing this 10 times as often with some of my other guitars strats/ibanez/peavey.

never dealt with em

best guitar for the money hands down never regretted the purchase. Helped me create my own unique awesome sound. Took my music to new heights

all mahogany body and neck with beveled sides, accented in 'Pacific Blue' while the middle is in black, DiMarzio custom pick-ups, Grover tuning heads that screw/lock down [pretty novel--didn't know they made locking heads], TOM bridge, V-V-T controls, 3-way pick-up slector switcj--unique 'tone-enhancing tail/string thru the body system--a very solid, well-made guitar with a 'futuristic Les Paul/Ferrari' vibe to it!!!

unplugged it sounds snappy and consistent--plugged in, it sounds pretty organic--the pick-up sound full clen, fabulous in overdrive--harmoics are easy to ping out--as a LP player, I was pretty used to the chunky neck with no problem--the neck pick-up is great forthat warm, sustainy 'woman tone' sound. I wish it had coil-taps, but oh, well!! Overall, a great-sounding axe!

right out of the box the guitar played awesome--all I had to do was tune it up and stretch-out the strings--action was sweet--I was able to get it to sustain well w/ controleed feedback, my trademark signature sound for my rock band, LOL!!!

this is a very solid guitar--although as a habit I always carry 2 guitars, also, I got it just to limit my playing on my Gibson Les Paul Studio [in Alpine White], since I kinda wanna save it from too much playing!!! Had to tighten the top strap button, but other than that, it's asolid axe!!!

'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' nothing yet--it has gone thru rehearsals and one gig so far, delivering in flying colors!!!

Overall, this was the best deal and 'bang for the buck' guitar ever for me!!! It does the job for my band, which plays in am aggressive, heavy style a la AFI, Offspring, Lit--I've been playing for well over 30 years--and have had everything, just about [Gibson, Jackson, Hamer, Kramer, Fender, LTD] I also have the aforementioned LP Studio, an Epiphone Alpine Whitre LP Custom, a LTD NH 400 w/ EMGS and Floyd Rose--and a $99.00 Squier Strat. Std--if it got stolen, I'm getting another one--I know Yamah recently discontinued this series, hopefully it's replacement will be just as good as it's predescessor--

Modern take on LP. Two rear strap buttons, angled jack, the best feature is the unique bridge... the most comfortable I have played with regard to right hand position. Two tone paint...wife and kid see a lot of guitars. They both ooohed over this one. Mahogany, two Dimarzios, FAT,flat neck. Korea mfg.

Ballsy, humbucker distortion. Sustainnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn....Can be clean with light pick attack. Just what I wanted. Makes my Crate V1512 come alive. Good for modern and classic rock.

Set up right out of the box was excellent. Couldn't stop playing it. Finish is grey metallic with gloss black top. A unique looking guitar. Appearence is top notch.

Seems very solid. Don't gig but I never do anything without a back up.

Can't say but Yammy has good rep.

playing since 1975. Have owned a number of guitars. Curently own '65 Fender Mustang, Fender Strat American Standard, Fender standard Telecaster and others. I found this on sale at Guitar trader for $349.00! I would buy it again. Very happy with this one.

Japanese made Les Paul body style with custom dimarzio humbuckers. One tone control and seperate volume control for each pickup. I talked to a Dimarzio tech and he said the specs for the pickups were almost identical to the Super IIs. These pickups were OK but not great. I put a Dimarzio Super Distortion in the bridge position and I love it. The neck PU is a little muddy sounding so I will probably change it out too. Most people would be more than happy with the PUs that it came with, but I thought it could be better and I love to tinker and change things. It has a medium width neck that is pretty thick, which I like. The finish is flawless, very smooth, fast neck.

This guitar is great for rock or metal, but does not have a good clean sound.

The guitar was set up very well..perfect right out of the box. The guitar body is flawless.. a little heavier than I like though. The problem is with the electronics. The switch went out in less than 6 months...it would not switch to the neck pickup. I called Yamaha and they said to send it in and they would fix it. I ended up puting in new switch myself to keep from having to send it back. I also replaced the pots because they were giving me problems too. I was surprised at the el-cheapo electronics. I have other Yamaha stuff and it has been great. The actual body is perfect though and it was not that big of a deal to put quality pots and switch in.

Was not reliable with the original pots and switch.

Customer service was good. I called and actually talked with a real person and they said to send it in and they would fix it, no questions asked. I would have done this but I could'nt be without it for that lenght of time.

I have been playing over 30 years. Right now I play in a heavy Christian rock group (what this guitar was made for) and a praise and worship band (this guitar is no good for that..so I usually use my jap strat there). I can't get a good clean sound out of it and open chords do not sound good at all. For metal or rock it is great. I love the finish and the craftsmanship is exellent. Overall I am giving it an 8, I would give it a 10 if it wasn't for the crappy pots and switch.

Neck-thru, mahogany, dimarzios, string thru.

I have a 13 year old Les Paul and once I got the Yamaha I played it non stop I liked it so much. Very much a good alternative to a LP. I bought it because I loved the full sound Ty Tabor gets with the AES 720, 920 guitars. List to King's X last CD "OGRE TONES" If you want to get a feel for how heavy this guitar can sound. I think this is one of the most underated guitars on the market right now.

action and feel is very similar to a LP. Fat neck, solid as a rock construction. The beveled body style makes the guitar feel much slimmer than an LP yet I probably has just as much mass. This is a warm sounding guitar.

Solid guitar. I have had no quality issues what so ever.

never used it.

If you like the fat sound of a Les Paul this is a VERY good alternative for the $$. You will not be disappointed.

Bought in 2005, Korea, 22 frets, Mahogany body and neck. I think Korean Mahogany. 2 Volume, 1 Tone, 3 Way, H/H Dimarzio similar to if not the same as super distortions I'm told. Metalic blue on black finish. LP style body (nice looking) Tunomatic bridge except better smoother design. Locking tuners (spertzel I think)there good anyway. 22 3/4" scale fat carve neck. This guitar has what it needs so 9.

Her's where the 720 is really outstanding. After trying SEVERAL other guitars. A new young salesman said to me "try the AES 720 it has Dimarzio super distortions in it." I said "we white haired guys don't wan't SUPER DISTORTIONS." He said "no no, the're really syrpy and sweet. Yes they are and they have a reasonable tight bottom end, ala low E & A strings.Courtesy of Ceramic magnets, and a 250K tone pot. Not sure of the cap value.
This guitar is Rich/Full and Bright enough for me. Not as bright as a Maple capped guitar or other sharper sounding pickup, pot, cap, combinations. More usable and less harsh with an exceptionally likable tone pot roll off.
Gets a 9, it's really good at what it does.

Here's where things are both good and bad. This guitar is VERY well designed. The Koreon manufacturer has been doing an unacceptable job. That's why there's so many seconds on the market. (music123, and others) The bottom route for the pots was to deep when combined with the AES's top route for Volume/Tone knobs. Leaving only 1/16" thickness of Korean mahogany to hold the pot's. There's no way this is enough material and you can't tell when your buying it unless you take the rear cover off and the knobs off and measure. If it's a thin one the knobs will push through the top of the body if they have even a light or medium hit. Also the rear bucker was badly/crookedly set in it's route because the wire channel route wasn't deep enough. Because I'm a Machinist I can fix most manufacturing problems, but most people can't so check.

This is a great guitar for its sweet, syrpy, clear, not muddy voice. I would buy another for sure. Just don't buy a "second" unless you can do the repairs. Long & McQuade dicounted the one I bought, so I took it and am satisfied.

You can read about the features in music123. Features are nice. Guitar is really cool. Very well made.

Well there is a rattling and buzzing sound on the low-E string and A strings on the 2nd fret. I cannot belive that a $700 guitar would make such a noise. No, the rattles are not audiable if the amp is screaming, and infact it sounds awesome on stage, but when I play at low amplification levels it has an annoying metal ringing sound.

I bought it new from music123, and I am not sure if music123 just sent me a refurbished rattling guitar (I really don't trust *any* guitar dealer) or if it's a problem with these guitars in general. Guitar center doesn't see this guitar, so you are stuck with online stores.

I am deeply disappointed with Yamaha. I have a lot of Yamaha gear, and all of them are great--except this sucker.

Great action, fit and finish. I really like every thing about the guitar, except the rattling sound at low amplification levels.

Can't say. Looks well made.

Haven't dealt with them. Better to return to music123 than f**k with customer support.

Unless the flaw is with this unit alone, I think this guitar is awesome. Great sound (except the rattles/buzz), awesome pickups, and very well made.

Mahogany body and neck, rosewood fingerboard, loaded with a pair of DiMarzio custom humbuckers. Simple controls (front/rear volumes, master tone) and pickup selector. Simple, yet unheard of in this price range, especially with the pickups. Black and sparkling charcoal.

Playing through a Vox AD30VT, Mesa Heartbreaker 2 x 12 combo and Marshall JCM2000. For anything from clean, bluesy licks to metal.. this guitar is God. Normally I would rate based on price range, but this guitar can stand on its own in ANY range. The DiMarzios add an excellent touch and really make the guitar versatile - it's more suited to agressive rock, for sure, but the fat tones which can be achieved from this easily rival any Les Paul I've played. Percussive to mellow, bright to throaty, this guitar does anything that 90% of the guitar population needs.

Perfect set-up - no flaws in finish, neck assembly or frets. Not happy with the light string gauge, but that's personal preference. The finish on it is fantastic. Deserves higher than a 10.

Since I haven't gigged with it, not going to rate it yet - but in short, in a year when it's been tested, it will be a 10. James Black from Finger Eleven plays one, and if you've ever seen him, or know him, you'll know that on stage he puts his guitars through hell and back - and they're still fine.

Haven't dealt with them.

For anyone looking at a Les Paul, Strat, or Ibanez, look at this guitar first. The sound will floor you, and the price tag will make you bring it home that day.