Yamaha AES820D6

I got mine for UK 179 pounds as a run out on a recent trip to the UK. I got the solid blue one, and while I am not fussed with the colour, I can't complain. This is one brilliant unit. Mine was made in Korea and has an Alder body (although you would never know under all that paint). The pick-ups are open Dimarzios and the tuners are Sperzel locking units. Real quality gear. The neck is a dream and begs to be played hard. The pickups have a setting which 'fakes' a coil tap, giving access to a type of single coil sound.

It came without any gigbag and finding a case to fit it was a chore. I eventually found a Les Paul style Stagg brand that fitted nicely (the length of the neck was the problem)

I have always wanted a baritone guitar and happended upon the 820 purely by chance. At the price, I wasn't going to let it go by and boy am I glad. The sound is pure power, even on the single coil setting. If you want pulsing rhythm sound, this is a unit you should consider.

The finish was the disappointment. The jack plug was loose, so was the tone knob. Both were easily rectified, but I am used to better from Yamaha.

The build on the unit leads me to conclude that it will be around when I am long gone.

It was a sellout and I was passing through town. Having said that, I feel confident that the boys at PMT in Birmingham UK would stand behind it if I needed help.

My favourite feature is the sound. WHat can I say. Pure power.
If I could find another unit, I would buy it in an instant at 179 quid. How these units weren't a hit is beyond me - except that when I looked on the Yamaha website, they were listed as Aus$1899 retail! For that, I would have expected better finish and a hardcase.

I am rating it as a 10 at my price, not Yamahas.

This is the Yamaha AES820D6, the D6 is for Drop Six, in other words the Baritone version of their AES820. Made in Korea, I believe, probably mid to late 2003.

List price on this was $949 when it was released a year or so ago. Got the good price when MF blew them out in Dec/ Jan '04.

Soon to be discontinued, as that is the standard procedure when price are reduced this drastically.

Stats: Basically the same as the AES820 except for the longer 26.25 in. scale, tuned B to B.

(Uh, that is, solid alder body, string-through, attractive chrome six-piece string anchor, a nice update of a tune-o-matic bridge (no sharp metal corners to jab your right hand), two custom body-mounted DiMarzio humbuckers, dead simple two volume & three-way tone selector controls, rear-mounted jack plate, rosewood fretboard, maple neck clad in flat black paint, custom Sperzels allowing for straight string pull, scalloped PRS-style cutaway, traditional body shape but modern enough not to get Yamaha sued by Gibson.)

Some folks wish there was a more standard tone set-up, but I like the simplicity of the three-way switch.

I got this to back up my Dano baritone. The Dano is now sitting in my closet gathering dust.

Love the Dimarzios, great rich tone even in single coil mode. Very quiet. Plays more like a guitar than a baritone, due no doubt to the shorter scale. Most baritones are 30 inches.

In single coil mode, very clean and twangy, if that's what you want. In full HB mode, overdrives my amp nicely. In the tone-cut mode you get a nice round jazz tone.

I play this through a Reverend Hellhound (60w single channel, open-backed combo), either through the amp's single 12" speaker or driving a 2x12" closed-back cab. Big, big sound through the amp, tight and focused through the 2x12 cab.

Fave FX w/ the Drop 6: trem pedal and reverb. Sweet.

Rock solid feel to this instrument. Feels like it could fall off the back of a truck and stay in tune. (Oddly enough, my Dano bari rarely strayed out of tune, but being a Dano it felt like if you dropped it, it would explode...)

Still using the strings it shipped with (.064 to .011).

No adjustment to pickup height neccessary, nor any adjustment to neck or bridge.

I'm pretty much playing it as-is stright out of the box.

Paint is called something like metallic brown, which to my mind conjures a dark shade of rust. Ah, if only. Think chocolate metalflake. Not the prettiest color, not the worst, would have prefered the black. Meh.

Paint job is completely smooth and ripple-free.

Fret ends could have used a little more attention before leaving the factory. Slightly rough, not enough to open up my hand but I do foresee a fret buffing in the future.

Very well put together. Would have gotten a higher rating if not for the rough fret ends.

Again, a very sturdy guitar. It'll probably outlast me.

Have gigged with it three times since purchase, in addition to multiple rehearsals, and it has performed beautifully each time. Folks think I'm playing a regular guitar because of its small size, but tell me it sounds like I'm playing power chords on a six-string bass.

Hardware seems first rate. The rear-mounted jack took some getting used to, but it looks cool. Got a set of Strap-Loks on it although the original buttons are larger than standard and would have been fine for most folks -- I just like the strap-locks.

No idea. The Yamaha website seems over complicated, but that's just because they make every product known to man. They have a lot of ground to cover. Let's just say their music site doesn't get bogged down in a lot of, uh, needless detail...

Been playing since the early '80s, last ten years in an instrumental band with multiple guitar players. Been playing in the baritone range for a while, either with detuned guitars or baritone guitars. Wanted something to back-up or replace my Danelectro Baritone, and found it with the AES820D6.

When the Drop 6 first came out I was very interested, mostly because of the shorter-than-usual 26.25 in. scale. But was also put off by the high (but actually fair) price. Glad I waited for the price to drop by $600 and change.

If I could change any one thing it would be the pickup selector -- no big deal, it's just that I'm used to strumming right where the switch sits on the upper bout. Eh, I'll get used to it. If that's my only complaint, that's pretty good. Would rush to replace it with a duplicate if it was stolen, but I bet they're going to get scarce. You still see some places on the web that have them for around $300. Damn, I should have gotten two of them.