Yamaha AEX-502

The couple of times (not often) I've gone into studio with the AEX502, it has had the strongest effect on studio-staff who for some reason start gushing over it. Maybe it's the vintage sunburst look. Also, on those same recordings - people remarked that the song which sounded most 'unique' was the one where I used this guitar.
It's a budget version of a sort of Gibson hollowbody style with 2 P90 pickups, a chunky neck (that is fine when you play it in), f-holes, and gold fittings (couldn't they have included a free gold tooth or something, also). The guitar is pretty but unremarkable at first glance.
There is one over-riding feature which causes me to now use it every single day. Tradition says that Gibson-scale (24.75") guitars should have a Gibson-size (big m.f.) and Fender-scale (25.5") guitars should be of a Fender-size (skinny and portable). Sometimes tradition is just a pain in the ass, I would love to see the exact opposite happening. Ibanez have made a 24.75 with a Strat shape, only problem is it seems to be rubbish. So - AEX502 - portable, not too big, comfy gibson-scale, not really heavy, versatile earthy pickups, super-quiet unplugged practice - not bad at all.
The case was extra and expensive - a much-too-big Hiscox-yamaha thing with the extra space padded out and an annoying yamaha logo on it - I should have bought a smaller non-yamaha case.

I guess people will use it for the prescribed stuff, blues, jazz, rock. In an unusual move I'm using it as a stage folk-guitar (clean sound) which will never feedback. It's strung with 12's (wound third) and I personally like to have it responding in this way, a bit like an acoustic guitar (let's face it - there is no point in using an steel-string acoustic on stage with a piezo - it's very unmusical sounding).
So yeah, I've found a real niche for this baby, and I'm thrilled with how it sounds and feels.
Other electric players may find the sound lacking a little definition (humbuckers) or bounce (telecasters).

The volume knob was crooked and the guy in the shop said that was 'a new design'. Of course he was lying, but it never fell off and that's the main thing. I'm just a player, not any kind of part-time luthier so I can't talk about construction.
I had to move the strap-nut at the (left-side) body down a few inches onto the neck because unless you're a really lazy rock player with the neck pointing down or horizontal, the guitar will fall to the ground and smash. Now it's fine except the paint on the previous hole is falling off.

It doesn't look like it will last, but mine did. I got it in the mid-nineties, I play it every day now, and it's absolutely a.o.k.

I wanted to approach yamaha with some design ideas (let's face it - they are one of THE big innovators in guitar design now) but their website is elusive - they don't really want any contact with musicians.
If it breaks you can however contact the Yamaha shops.

Yeah, if you find a real use for this unusual guitar with unusual pickups, the same way that I found a niche for it, then you're going to be quite happy with it in the long run. www.mairtinomurchu.ie

No need to say too much here. A simply laid out guitar, with single volume and tone control. Does anyone out there use the separate tone controls on a Les Paul? Maybe - but I don't so this is fine for me. Two P90's (more of them later) nice figures top in orange - goes well with the guitar. Sort of hollow body in that the cavity is routed. Maybe that's why this guitar is no longer made - the tree huggers would have a siezure at all the wood being wasted! Mind that saved a bit by the scarfed on neck joint. Mind, there are plently of Les Pauls out there with the same! Good quality tuners and hardware. Pots feel cheap but work well. This was a budget guitar so maybe that's were a cost saving was made. Overall, a standard guitar with enough of what you need and nothing you don't.

So we now get back to those P90's. As already mentioned in another review the difference in this guitar played accoustically and plugged in is nothing short of amazing. Fairly lifeless accousticaly - the cavity doesn't seem to do much - but that all changes when you plug in. A full rich sound - humbuckery and high output - easy to overdrive. I use an old Fenton Weill valve combo and a Vox Pathfinder R practice amp and with both these amps the guitar sounds wonderful. Would love to plug it into something bigger. Very sensitive to how you play it and pick attack. Get the overdrive up and you have 'Money for Nothing' with great harmonics effortlessly. Turn down the gain and it's sweet blues as well. Very versatile - apart from the out of phase Strat sound, this guitar would cover everything well.

Got this second hand but it had hardly been played and had been used for slide so action was a bit high. Relief was a bit high so a quick tweak on the truss rod and now it's perfect. Fit and finish is perfect - the neck is bolt on but the joint is one of the very best I've seen. Frets are seated well at the edges. Could go on. Let's just say typical Yamaha and Japanese construction thou this was made in Taiwan. They must have god machinery and well trained bods. Seen some Gibsons and a truck full of Fenders that this would put to shame.

Don't gig, but if I did this would be fine. Protect it in a good case and I don't see any reason why this wouldn't be a good workhorse. Gold plating rubbing off at the bridge but so what? Bit of vibe and anyway this is a cheap guitar, right?
Would, thinking about it probably replace the strap buttons - they're the standard type - adequate but something better would be good for live use. Only minor gripe is the plastic bracket that mounts the input jack socket. It would be better in metal as a sharp pull on the lead sideways (whilst your mate is standing on the lead for instance) would break it. Easy enough to get one made.

Gig without a backup? Is any guitar that reliable? More of a personal question as to how much risk you want to take looking like an idiot in front of your mates when a tuner breaks for no reason or a wire comes off the jack socket.....(err...umm, we're taking a break now. Oh - is there anyone in the audience with a soldering iron on them?)

Never dealt with them.

Been playing thirty odd years. Had more guitars then I can remember (probably). Play blues and a lot of the old classics (Dire straights at the moment - saves on the picks).

If lost of stolen (tell me - has anyone out there ever 'lost' a guitar? Ohhh, now I had it five minutes ago, now where did I put it?)I would go searching on ebay to get another. They are getting increasingly rare and the price seems to be going up - last one I saw went for ??200 -which is still abargain.

After having it for a couple of months, I???ll chime in with my thoughts on this guitar. It???s a semi hollow Les Paul style, P90 guitar as described in other reviews.

As far as features... well it has a tone knob and a volume knob. Very easy to use and much more versatile than you would expect.

The factory electronics that were in the guitar were pretty bad. Not as bad let???s say as Ibanez components but bad enough that they should be changed if you want to get the most out of this guitar. Besides, it???s a cheap upgrade since it only has one volume control, one tone control and one cap to change. After the upgrade, you get a whole palatte of tone to choose from. Heads up, if you do decide to upgrade the pots, be aware that the volume is 500k and the tone pot is 250k. The P90 pups on the other hand, are fantastic and I see no need to change them for something ???better???. They seem to bloom when picked hard in a solo. Very nice P90s. The factory bridge, tailpiece and tuners are all ok. I guess you could go for some nicer tuners if you wanted but the factory ones keep it in tune well.

What I found strangest about this guitar was the enormous difference between how it sounds unplugged and hooked up into an amp. If you play it unplugged, it sounds dead and lifeless, without any of that characteristic ???wood??? sound semihollows are famous for. Even when strung up with 11s, it???s very quiet unplugged, almost like a solidbody. However, when you do plug the sucker in, EVERYTHING changes. This little guitar has ALL the tone you could wish for. It truly is a beautiful sounding axe. Terrific for Blues and Classic Rock.

I play it through a Dr. Z Carmen Ghia head with a 2x12 cab. The P90s are strong and will easily push the amp. I found it to be a bit noisy but that's natural for P90s. I did go ahead and use copper tape in the pup cavities and that helps a lot. I'd give it a solid 7 before the copper tape but it's a high 9 now!

I really don???t know how it???s made. When checking it out through the F holes, I can???t find any hint of a union between the sides, back and centerpiece. Maybe they just took a block of Alder and routed it out? If not, then I have to admit it???s very well assembled.

The guitar was used when I bought it and although it looked to be in perfect shape, the neck screws had been stripped. I don???t know if this was due to the neck wood being poor quality or over enthusiastic tightening by a previous owner. Anyway, I repaired it and it???s held up perfectly since. The screws haven???t loosened at all.

The finish is very nice. It's thin but should hold up well. Mine still looks like it just came out of the box.

I don't know how long it will last but it seems rugged enough. Time will tell though and I'm not sure about the neck screw issue. I'll never know if it was a factory problem or previous owner issue.

After the work I did... yeah, I would depend on it.

I wouldn???t know if Yamaha offers good customer support, since I???ve never had the chance to try it out. I can say though that it???s almost impossible to find information about this guitar on the Internet and Yamaha???s site is no big help. At least they answer Email.

I love this guitar! It???s not that easy to come by a semihollow with P90s and especially in this price range. The neck is comfortable, everything works (after I did work on it) and the sound! The sound is the best part. I???ve been playing a little over three years. I don???t have a lot of experience but can now separate the good ones from the bad ones. I???m VERY happy I bought this and if lost, I would try to replace it right away.

Now I???m curious about the AEX520, that was the same as the 502 but instead of P90s, it has minihumbuckers. If I can find one, I???ll buy it.

I'm giving it a 9 because as I mentioned, I love this guitar. Looking at the woods used and sum of the parts, I wouldn't have expected this little guitar to sound that good, but it does.

Not sure when it was made. This guitar is nothing short of amazing. Went to Guitar Center to get a new keyboard for the wife and this was sitting there. I have never played any guitar with p-90's in my 30+ plus of playing. I had just bought a Crate Palamino V-32 amp from there. Sold my Messa Boggie to get the amp..that amp is awesome. My wife walks over and just said WHOA!!!!

I play high gain, low blues Praise/worship music.. I have a Keely tube screamer and a Keely Blues driver and a chourus pedal. The sound on this thing is full. Manager @ guitar center was sitting there, was playing thru a old Marshall half stack with a old Fender reverb unit playing a Eric Johnson Strat..Sounded ok. I told him to play this and handed him the AEX-502.. He sat there with his mouth open...TONE Tone tone.. The volume/tone pots are being replaced today, cheap

No rust etc Mine is the 'Gretch Orange finish' gold hardware,pichup selector a lil noisy

Looks like she will hold her own, I baby my stuff anyways, Id gig with a backup

N/a

These are hard to find, selling my beloved Fender Big Apple, Id love to get 1 if lost/stolen, cant wait to put it in a live situation

late 90's, discontinued model, single cutway semi-hollow w/2 f-holes. 22 frets, 2 p90 pickups. not sure about the woods, other reviews have covered that. standard 3-way pickup selector, one vol, one tone. gloss black finish. maple neck w/rosewood boar w/a matching black headstock. gold hardware looks like gotoh. previous owner put graphtech graphite saddles on the tuneomatic bridge. very basic 2-pickup guitar. features are not the point of this guitar - sound is!

This is a blues machine first and foremost. the p90s let you cover everything from sultry to raunchy, clean to gain with no problem. as other reviewers note, these p90s are exceptionally good at reading your pick attack and you can get almost unlimited feel by varying the attack and pick thickness. harmonics fly out with a little gain. unusually for asian p90 guitars, yamaha actually mounted the pickups correctly - the bridge pickup is close enought to the strings to get the right bark. the neck pickup is appropriately a little lower. pretty well balanced, but I tend to drop the volume off a little more on the neck. very effective tone control from smooth-dark to fairly bright (not strat bright, but brighter than humbuckers). The guitar has a nice resonance with a bit less hollowbody effect perhaps because of the small (for a hollowbody) body size. the only thing making this a 9 is the normal single-coil hum. a good hum-cancelling p90 (is that an oxymoron?) would make it a 10 no sweat. this guitar sounds fantastic. at the price you can get these, it's a total steal. I prefer playing this to my 335 if that's any indication.

bought used so anyone's guess on factory setup. everything is good quality so setup is easy to tweak - action, intonation, relief. Only took a few minutes to make this a great player. The neck has a great feel. I'm not sure why others have criticized it. It's medium c shape with a fairly flat radius board. Great for lead work and just fine for chording. my only ding is that the neck joins the body at fret 16 and teh neck shape goes full at 15 - that coupled with the single cut design makes access to the top few frets more work than on other guitars. forget high-register pyrotechnics on this one. All of the hardware is very good quality. the gold finish is still perfect, the tuners are very smooth and effective, the nut was cut perfectly (rare!). NOW HERE'S THE BIG THING - OTHER REVIEWERS HAVE COMPLAINED ABOUT LACK OF SUSTAIN. THIS GUITAR SUSTAINS BEAUTIFULLY. IF YOURS DOESN'T, 1) GET A PHILIPS SCREWDRIVER AND TIGHTEN THE NECK MOUNTING SCREWS (HUGE IMPROVEMENT IF THEY AREN'T TOTALLY TIGHT), 2) IF YOU ARE MORE DARING, REPLACE THE NECK MOUNTING SCREWS WITH THE NEXT HIGHER SCREW GAUGE AND TIGHTEN UP GOOD, 3) IF THAT'S NOT ENOUGH (!), GET A TONEPROS LOCKING BRIDGE AND TAILPIECE (FANTASTIC). YOUR GUITAR WILL BE RINGING LIKE A BELL.

Had Yamaha gear before and it is solid. Expect the same here.

discontinued. what support?

playing a long time. have and have had lots of great gear. this guitar is a regular gig axe, so cheap I don't worry about a ding or two. sounds as good or better than anything I've owned including strats, teles, 335s (never liked les pauls, too heavy and muddy). use through rivera and fuchs tube amps and a crate powerblock with effects rack (put a bbe in your powerblock loop!). The sound of this guitar is very seductive, the hours just melt away. I believe this will be a long-term keeper. I'm not swayed by logos or price paid. in fact, the biggest kick I get is getting an inexpensive axe that totally rocks. this is one of those. highly recommended!

Cheap well made P-90 Semi hollow body. Body is somewhat bigger than a Les Paul. Very lightweight. I've reviewed this model before (4/2003) but I bought another and it's time for an update.

The neck is thin with a wide fretboard and a flat radius. This does take some getting used to for us Fender players. But in return, you get great chording and fingerpicking possibilities.

This is a blues, blues rock or indie music. The only thing I have to say is ....... P-90s baby! No effects needed. It even sounds good through a solid state practice amp.

Here is why I wanted to write another review on the AEX502. I just bought a black one on eBay because the BUY IT NOW price was $220! This guitar was in new condition and the action, fit and finish were outstanding. The frets were smooth, the paint is masterfully applied, the neck is lightly finished and everything works just fine. The screws/neck bolts are a little corroded but it IS a 10+ year old guitar.

A quality instrument. I'm keeping this one home because I don't want anything to happen to it. I have a tele for playing out.

Never tried.

25+ years on and off. I play a telecaster through various tube amps and have a Les Paul with humbucker sized P-90s. I sold my strats because I kept hitting the pickup toggle switch and volume knob while playing with enthusiasm. The tele toggle and volume knobs have rubber bands wrapped around them to prevent this annoying habit of mine.
I like the sound and placement of the controls. I also like the idea that I can bolt on another neck if so inclined.

Two P90s, semi-hollow body w/ f-holes, gold hardware. Mine is a tobacco sunburst.
Not features galore, just features for getting particular tones.

Very full sound. Bright but not ice-picky (talkng about the bridge pup, here). Separate vol./tone controls or each pup might be nice, bu then the simplicity is compromised.
Lots of different sounds are possible from this guitar: One can play Benson-style jazz, all kinds of blues, country, and Rolling Stones-type rock.

I might not be the most reliable source on this one: I know there are guys who take microscopes to the details. I don't. This guitar, to me, even though not an expensive boutique guitar, is extremely well designed and built.

This is a discontinued model, Even so, if my experience is representative, these instruments have definitely withstood the test of time.

If you have a chance to buy one of these, I really think you should. I might have, on pape, at least, paid a little too much for mine, butI still feel that I got a bargain.

Two P90 pickups (?pups? are cute little baby doggies!), Tobacco sunburst, Alder ?F? hole body, Maple neck, Rosewood fingerboard, Strings and frets plus twisty things and dots. No bells and whistles, no weird whammys, no pointy bits, safe for children (has CE mark under the lacquer on the back) for our American friends this CE symbol is a unifying safety standard for Europe and not a religious thing))! Damn those European laws, I can understand soft toys and small plastic things needing to pass childproof tests, but electric guitars??? Mind you, some musicians need to be kept away from sharp bits, b flat brothers and sisters?Gods key!

Wow! What can I say? I played it through a Roland cube 30 at the shop and was asked to turn it down!!!! It was astounding. I played a Gibson ES135 with P90?s and it was the watermark to which I compared this Yammie to, the Gibson neck was better as the Yammies fingerboard is very flat but the sound is soooo close! I took the Yam home and plugged into my Fender champ 12 (another excellent instrument) and the guitar was pushing the clean channel thru? input 1 into overdrive, able to control clean-crunch-distortion with the volume pot on the guitar, the hum is a bit intrusive so over to input 2 for a more sedate voyage. The neck pickup is a thing of beauty, aural sex if you like, set the dial for blues solo and never look back, drop a gear for blues rhythm by selecting both pickups and you are there. Mix it up for clean and you can wander through mellow jazz, jangle and jive. Punks up a treat too.

As this Jim Yam was languishing in the back of the music shop all dusty sad and unloved it needed some TLC, it still had its plastic film on the gold bridge/stop bar, not bad for something discontinued in 2000. New strings, polish the frets, set the action and intonation and orft I jolly well go! As mentioned earlier the fingerboard radius is quite flat which exacerbates the sharpness of its edge (that?s why it has a CE mark!), I?m sure it can be addressed but I?ve got used to it. It balances well on the strap or knee and its not heavee. The fit is tight, they make motorcycles y?know, and the finish is always at the end.

Pickup selector is loose, needs another washer to secure, volume and tone is ok, may need better quality for gigging. Scientific tests show us that if you drop an electric guitar from a moving vehicle it will bend, break and blemish?
Blemish it will in the school of Hard Rocks, the top of the body is thin around the ?F? holes, which will break if pushed hard, but bend those notes and all is smooth?

If this Jammie Yammie breaks and I cannot get another I will need some sort of support as I will be deeply pissed off. G.A. ? Guitaraholics Anonymous.
?Hi, my names Slinger Axe-hero and I dropped my geetar from the window of the tour bus and now I?m all alone.. Waah!? If we bend will we not break and blemish??

Nothing is perfect, but sometimes things get very close. Of all the guitars I have had/owned I?d say this plus valve amp is the closest to perfection! It equates itself very well at all styles and with a great natural sound to start with, you just cannot go wrong. In fact don?t buy one, leave them in the shops for the muso?s with the savvy.

Japanese.
2 P90 style dogear pickups.
3 way switch for neck, bridge, and neck + bridge pickups
Semi acoustic counstruction.
Bolt-on neck.
Brass Tune-O-matic bridge.
22 frets. Black lacquer finish.
Single cut. 1 Volume and 1 tone pot.

A strong sound. Tone and volume controls work really well, even at low volumes. Play it with a danelectro nifty fifty amp. Boss parametric equaliser, digitech chorus, boss compressor, and a wah-wah.

Twangs well. Creates a lovely full sound, works very well with the boss compressor.

I usually play it at relatively low volumes. Though it does seem to higher volumes, I cant really say how badly it feeds back in front of a marshall stack.

The machine heads/top nut give very slick tuning.

Got mine second hand, and it was very well set up. I have had it 9 months, and have restrung it twice. Use rotosound hyrid strings, and they have never buzzed.

The neck is very nice and straight.

Pickups and pots work well together,I usually use the equalizer to give it a slightly sharper tone.

It doesn't come with a hard case, so that would have to be rectified.
Hardware is very sturdy. I have had no problems so far.

I think its beautiful. I walked in the shop, saw it there, asked how much, gave it a try, and within a few hours I bought it. I had been thinking of upgrading my pacifica( tele), as it has a lot of limitations, and was expecting to pay between 5 and 8 hundred pound. Once I got this there hasn't really been a question of needing or wanting another guitar.

alder body, maple bolt on neck flame maple laminated top. 1 vol 1 tone
3 way switch. as basic as they come.

i have owened every major brand in the last 25 years. been a profesional musician off and on. i still have my favorite vitage tele
but, this orange p-90 cheepy is the best guitar iv'e ever had. rediculous i know but true. it's a perfect weight for live gigs and the selecter on the top bout rules. i'm also a lead singer and this is the perfect axe for that too. the 24 3/4 scale snaps back fast (a real plus for singers)and the semi acoustic properties sing. i love the pickups and when i go back to my tele or strat or les paul they just dont have the vibe. this thing is full & sings man. no it dosn't have set neck/ mahogany bod sustain
but i dosn't need it. it is the best blues axe i ever played and i
have used it exclusively for 3 years and 50 plus shows (i'm slowing down a bit now @ 40) i run my baby into fulltone soulbender, marshall supervibe, classic rat, true bypass ross distortion and a variety of vibes, echos ,trems etc... into the clean channel of a hot rod deluxe
it's heaven for me. also i prefer to have the guitar fight me a bit
so i don't mind that it dosn't bend strings like a tele or paul.

this is the only guitar period that i have not modified (i have never even taken the neck off!! nothing!!) and iv'e owned 100 guitars.
incuding 4 les pauls, 3 teles, gretsch aniversary 1964. warmoth customs etc... i did the intonation the first day and havent touched it in 3 years. the gold came off the hardware in 6 mo. and 20 gigs. but who cares i like my shit to look beat. orange flame top.

this guitar takes a little tlc due to its thin top but mine has been droped, kicked left in extreme heat and cold had beer spilled into the f holes. and it still functions 100% perfect.

never delt w/ them will never need to.

i special ordered this guit when i saw it in a catalog. perfect for a blues guy with tatoo's from head to toe (i dig setzer) i payed a lot for it. considering they closed them out at almost nothing. $279.00
ouch. but this motherfucker has made me very happy and i'm going to start stockpiling them. e-mail me if you want to sell yours.
iv'e tried to get away from it and play something more expensive
ie.. my gretsch or tele so i don't look like an amature but no dice
this bitch has me under her spell.

Semi-hollow/chambered LP body, laminated top, S/S P-90's w/3-way, bolt-on maple neck w/rosewood f/b...yada, yada, yada.

Yamaha pups are both @ 8.2 ohms, sweet tone but the neck needs to be underwound for better balance.

Plays thru. '56 Tweed Deluxe clone, JStation and Peavey Pacer(solid state). NICE! for blues and rock.
Forget-about-it!, this thing is rich, chimey and there's no ice-pick bridge(very full for a 90 bridge).
I planned on messin' w/pups b/c I wanted a 520(mini-hums)model, but this thing is quiet, so I may not hide a set of SD mini's under the covers. Big step for me to not take the iron to it, but the tone is big, open and bold.

Pups could be balanced better(identical Ohms).
For any guitar, I added a cap to the vol. pot for consistant tone and changed out the cap on the tone pot for subtle variations.

Can it get better for this price? Not really Thank you CNC precision. Tight and solid build. 3-way selector is a touch loud. The neck is straight and had the correct amount of relief. No fret buzz @ descent string height. Nice string height @ nut too.
Paint is nice.
Good action, played great and inntonation is correct.

I had to tighten jack and 3-way nuts.

I wouldn't kick or punch it near the f holes to be sure. I don't play out and about.

Almost 30yrs. playing now. I'd buy one in an instant if stolen. The tone is worthy of love. It's big and open with enough mid to drive the pre-amp but not honkin'. Good stable axe. Unfortunately discontinued.

As listed in previous reviews, the features are pretty basic - semihollow, single cutaway body, with a pair of P90s. This one is Black. I'm giving it a high rating as it has just the features I was looking for, no more, and no less. Simplicity!

Very versitile and responds well to both type of amplifier circuitry. This guitar is a blues screamer, a dark jazz-horse, a funky rhythm machine. It can do anything I ask of it. Sure there are guitars that have other voices, but the AEX502 excells in delivering just what I was looking for in this guitar.

I bought this guitar via auction on E-Bay. Thus, I am not sure if the setup was factory. What I do know is that the guitar was never played due to it's absolutely mint condition. So, I suspected it is the factory setup. The action upon receipt was just fine, but I lowered it just a bit to fit my liking.

The Yamaha bolt-on neck joint is a really sound design and is fit very well. All components are well fitted and connected.

This is the first guitar manufactured by Yamaha that felt the need to buy. I was impressed by the gloss and coating depth of the black body finish. The clear satin neck finish is really smooth.

The guitar is fairly light in weight, but certainly designed to last. If you are looking for an axe to bound around a stage with, maybe this is not your tool. For everything else, I'd consider it dependable.

When the AEX502 first came out I tried it and decided to wait a year or so to buy one. By the time I was ready to buy, Yamaha discontuned the model and they were being cloesed out. This lead me reconsider buying one because they were obviously not regarded high enough to be retained in the product line. Thus, I did not purchase one when the buying was good. I've regretted this decision ever since and have been looking for a mint used one for a couple of years. Finally found one.

Sometimes a really good product is discontinued for who knows why. I can tell you that this guitar is one of my very favorites. Its simplicity is brilliant and the playability is great. Simply, I have fun with it. Isn't that why we play...to have fun?

Other guitars I own are a couple of American Std. Strats, Ibanez AS120, Gibson J45 and Takamine 330. Even though the AEX502 is the least expensive and has the lowest snob-appeal of all of the above, it is on the top of my list.

all features have been mentioned already.

I bought this one at ebay. Jesus, halle.....
New one, beautifull black finish. included a manual and a guitar cable.

I think i'm going to love this one. The picks are Yamaha, that's it, no S.D, no gibson. It seemes they have their own sound, but still p90.
In front of the amp they make some noise, uh... so. Through my small solit state practice amp roland 405 they don't impresse me. But through my all valve ENGL bluesscreamer, they sound good. I think this is a nice bluese axe. And that's why I bought it. I've one Ibanez custumised with a S.D. p90, sounds different, not better\worser.

Out of the box, i bought it new, it was great. really great, intonation o.k., no buzz, action has to be lowered a bit. Compared to a gibson smartwood this is absolute top, the smartwood i had to bring to my repairmen. I liked the sound of the guitar but always hurted my hands on the frets !!! very poor fretwork, i suggest incidental.
The yamaha : It's not a fast neck for my taste, it might have been less bold.
I'll get used to it.
The Black finish is great, if it stays that way.... time will show.
I don't like the thin wood they've used for the front. I'm afraid it might break down, again time will show.

I think, and hope, it will last quite some time. The gold finish won't live a life time

This guitar is for the price I paid absolute great !!! I paid 'bout 210 US for this one, new out of the box. I wish they made this guitars for this price when i started playing guitar, 25 years ago. This is no top guitar, but again for the price it is. Recently i tried 4 different blueshawks, i'm glad i didn't buy one of those, soundwise they were a better deal. mainly because of the varitone switch. If there 'd been only three sounds on it, it would lose from this Yamaha.
Here in Europe the going price was bout 500 euro ( 450 US ), a good price. 210 US, i paid for, this is the best guitar there is ! If i can get my hands on another one i'll buy it.
Stuff i play(ed)\owne(d) gibson sg, gibson smartwood les paul, ibanez as200 ( great guitar ), fender strat.stand., fender 72 thinline, etc. I compared this guitar to the ones i owned. This is my first guitar with p90 picks, so i cannot really judge the sound with other p90 eq. guitars, except for a customised ibanez with S.D. p90, more power\bottem end. But i think this yamaha will cut through the mix, i just hope theres not to much feed back.
Playability might have been better, for the price again superb.

Playabillity compared to the blueshawk, this one wins !

All said before. It's got everything an electric guitar needs including a tone control to get in the way between the pickup signal and the valves.

The voicing of this guitar is excellent. The combination of tried and tested tone woods, semi hollow body and P90ish pickups produces a full blooded rich sound with bite and aggression. A tactile guitar that is very responsive to how it is played. If you want a multi-voiced guitar to play through a black box to play covers, forget it. This is a guitar for playing through a good valve amp.

The finish is flawless and puts some of the legends to shame showing what can be achieved on a much tighter budget. Forget the factory set up, fretwire filing and adjustments - who plays a guitar as it is when it comes out of the factory. The important consideration is does the guitar have the potential to be set up well. The answer in this case is the AEX 502 does. (The irony being that it was pretty good with the factory set up.)

I have no reason to doubt the life expectancy of this guitar and the bits on it. Naturally any semi-hollow guitar is not as robust as a solid one, but then what musician abuses an instrument. The gold plating on the bridge and stoptail are a bit distressed, but you pay a fortune for this on a pair of Seymour Duncan Antiquities!

Bought second hand.

I've been playing various guitars for about 40 years. My current one was custom built - single cut ash body with internal chambers, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard and a pair of Rio Grande humbuckers. The AEX 502 gives me a completely different and almost unique sound. Yes I would try and replace this guitar if lost, but I feel that this model may become collectable. It is pretty individual, it is revered by those in the know and there weren't that many made.

I didn't compare this guitar with any others. Once I played it, it sold itself.

See the other reviews for features. Mine is completely stock. This model only had three versions from what I can see ... Brown sunburst, Orange, and black.

The features are why I bought the guitar .... semi hollow, P-90s, and a cool looking single cutaway shape. Bare bones, nothing fancy (just the way I like em!)

I really like the frets. Wide and taller than anything else I've played. Easy to bend .......

I like blues and early rock. This guitar design was an intentional journey into the past. The sound that comes out is just like what you hear on early Chuck Berry, early BB King and Howlin Wolf era records.

The variety comes from your pick attack and the left hand techniques you use. A very percussive sound. You won't really duplicate it with Strat type single coils or humbuckers.

Play these through a tube amp. I plug directly into a Peavy Delta Blues 210 and have "the tone". The cheap Crate practice amp I use doesn't sound good with any single coil pups I've ever tried. Go tube or tube emulating amp with P-90s.

Purchased used from a music shop via eBay. They said they set up the guitar but it buzzed like hell (open strings buzzed!!!!!!!!!) and with a high action no less! I'm a little surprised that the other reviewers didn't experience the same thing. That's got to be why the first owner sold it in like new condition.

My luthier took off the bridge, rounded it off with a file and solved the problem. Other than that the guitar was in excellent shape. Looks great with the Brown sunburst, black pickups and rosewood fretboard. All the knobs, tuners and switches funtion beautifully.

I consider a file to be radical surgury for a musical instrument ... hence the low rating.

As good as any semi hollow guitar from any other guitar maker.

Never dealt with them.

I gave it a 10 for fantastic value. I've been looking for a guitar like this one for under $400. The best prices I've seen for P-90 hollow bodies are ES-135s ($1000), Guild Bluesbird 90 is ($1100), Gibson Blueshawk is also a $700 ticket or more. The PRS, Heritage and Hamer are all over $1K. Those are all great guitars but I'm not a pro player so I buy $300-400 guitars and am more than satisfied. I've been playing 25+ years on and off. I own a Strat and a Raven RP450 w/ humbuckers.

This guitar has such a great vibe that I can't "practice" on it. I pick it up and go off into another zone for an hour or so. Get another one .... oh yeah. Hey Yamaha, bring em back! Discontinued?!?! Are you guys nuts?!?!

I really don't know where this guitar was made...but in fact I don't care as this guitar is very well made, ,elder body, beautiful flame top in orange ..F holes,tune-o-matic bridge ,gold hardware, single cutaway, 2 P 90 (dogear)Pu, bolt on neck, 22 frets..the neck is comfortable..I 've got this guitar with a luxury hard case from yamaha

the sound is perfect for Blues /rock blues..not so noisy..awsome..rich and fat with also glassy tones

this guitar was well set up, no buzz..stay in tune

I bought this guitar used..so..

It's a pity, yamaha discontinued this model, as it is a very good guitar for the price..if you find one..buy it..I would compare (a bit) with Gibson Blueshawk but this guitar is really nicer..

22 frets, laminated top, in orange. Pickups are single coil P-90's, which give a wide range of tones from nice clean, dirty blues, and even some awsome sustain.

I play blues, classic/acid rock, funk, and some rockabilly. I played it through a small Create all tube combo. I have always liked the sound of humbuckers, but really enjoy the sound of the P-90's. The single coil pickups do give off a little bit of hum but that is their nature. Overall the sound of this guitar is very warm and fat on both of the pickups.

The guitar was set-up by a buddy who works at the music store and the action was set-up nice on it. The pick-ups were adjusted to a good height that let them shine through. The top on the guitar was bookmatched well with the entire guitar showing the same throughout.

Yamaha guitars are very well built and a lot of times are over looked as good guitars. I seriously doubt that this guitar would have any serious problems granted it is taken care of.

I have only sent the company one e-mail and I did get a response from them which is more than most companies give you now'a'days. I do not have any other experience with the company.

I've been playing the guitar for seven years. Overall this guitar is a nice piece that will last a long time, has nice playability, and it sounds very warm and fat. I think the blues and rock players would enjoy this guitar very much especially played through a nice warm tube amp. If you find this guitar (it is discontinued) then I would suggest you give it a try and if you like then it would be a great guitar to own.

Not sure of the year but it was made in Taiwan. Same as everyone els, 22 frets, laminated top. The finish is beautiful and makes it look like a slightly smaller version of a Gretsch Nashville. Pickups are single coil P-90's, which I love, give it a wide range of tones from nice clean, dirty blues, and even some sweet sustain. I love to use the neck pickup for really thick, muddy, sounds. The tuners I replaced with Sperzel locking tuners. I recommend these to everyone, as they improve tone as well as help it stay in tune. I also added a pickguard, which it lacked and needed. I also, for the hell of it, attached a Fat Finger weight to the headstock for even more improved tone and sustain.

Nice clean tones to down and dirty blues. I play blues, surf, rockabilly, oh hell just rocknroll. I play it through a Marshall Valvestate Bi-Chorus, with occasionally a J-Station, for differnt cabinet sounds. This thing can handle it all. I have always been a humbucker man, but these P-90's have sold me. Even though I do get some hum from time to time, but thats just single coils. Could stand to have the pots replaced though. I play it mostly using the bridge pickup but when I want soemthing real down and dirty I use the neck pickup. Play this thing through a clean channel with the neck pickup and you'll get a killer tone.

I got this guitar from Center and the only problem I had was the intonation needed adjustment. I took it back and they took care of it in five minutes. Finish is beautiful. Guitars are like pieces of art to me. i can look at a beautiful guitar for hours and I never get tired of looking at it. Brings a smile to my face everytime I take it out of the case.

After having numerous problems with my past guitars, especially my last a Ibanez Roadstar with a fucked up neck. I was so frustrated I was about to quit playing. I finally purchased this guitar and I am very happy with it. My girlfriend told me that she has heard me call every guitar, piece of equiptment I own a piece of shit, at one point or another, except that guitar. I've never had a problem with it. Would I gig with it? Hell, I wouldn't think of playing anything else.

Never dealt with.

I've been playing (seriously) for the past seven years. Unfortunately my budget doesn't always match my level of playing ability. I am also one of those tone, setup compulsive nuts. So when something doesn't sound right or feel right, no matter how small, it drives me nuts. So this thing is a dream come true for me. This is definately the guitar you keep forever. If it were stolen, I'd hunt the person down, as well as their family, friends, and anyone who owed them money!

AS BEEN STATED IT,S APRETTY BASIC GUITAR LIKE A TELE BUT SEMI HOLLOW. YOU CAN MAKE IT SOUND LIKE A SG JR THRU A MARSHALL IF YOU ROLL OF THE TONE POT. I,VE OWNED 150 PLUS GUITARS AND THIS IS SORT OF ORIGINAL.

ROCKABILLY CLEAN +LESLIE WEST GRIND USE THE TONE POT

HOW MANY PEOPLE IN TAIWAN PLAY GUITAR ?

IT WOULD BE MY BACK UP

Don't know the year of manufacture, but made in Taiwan according to the hang tag. One volume and one tone control (that works). Smooth maple neck, as good as any I've ever used. Wonderful subtle flame on the maple veneer.Tobacco sunburst, and I chose the darkest sunburst in the store. I do love the smooth grover style (unbranded Grovers??) machine heads.

Difficult to categorise. This guitar sounds like nothing else I've ever owned. I'm a Fender-holic,love the out of phase Strat middle position sounds, and when I bought this, I was out to buy a Levinson Blade, saw this at a bargain price, and loved the bite. After 3 months, I'm still discovering new tones, and all with a 3 way selector, one volume pot and one tone pot. This guitar is an enigma, but I love it, I think.

As previous reviewers have commented, rough fret edges. The action was a little high when I bought it (I love to bend, but also like a fast action, so I have to compromise). Love the subtle flame, the binding is second to none, in a beautiful creamy white. Lowered the action, and now have some fret buzz, but I'll get my local guitar guru to sort that (he sets up Def Leppards guitars, so he ain't too bad)

I've played live with this guitar, and yes, it can take it. Did discover a ding in the back of the neck one night, and I don't remember dinging it. Got some pickmarks on it, other users have commented about a pickguard, yes, it could use one, but for the money, what would you expect. The gold plate is wearing off pretty quickly, but I do rest my hand on the bridge all the time, and the gold plate wears off on Les Paul Customs too, so no marks deducted there.

Not dealt with them

Been playing for 35 years (with a break). As I said before, I'm a Strataholic. I'd never used a guitar with P90's before. I'm a wrinkly rocker, who plays stuff mainly from the 70's, but can I get a great authentic Andy Sumner (The Police) or The Edge (U2) sound out of it!! I play normally a 77 Strat or a Tele through a Crate valve 30 watt, but I love my Gibson Lucille. I've been searching for years for a guitar that can produce classic Les Paul tones along with classic Fender tones (the nearest I ever found was a strange thing made by Gary Levinson) but this thing doesn't produce either. At the price, everyone should have one, it's certainly opened my mind. All I can say is that I'm still playing it. I play it more than Lucille now, because I can't work it out.

same as all other reviews

Fat rich sound. Sounds a little like a gretsch i used to own. I'm playing it through a marshall with little other effects nad it just sounds fantastic....oh, and LOUD.....

Finish is unbelievable for a guitar of this price, or any price for that matter.

Action was nearl perfect straight from the store. A little fret buzz, but easily cured.

Seems solid enough, only time will tell. I tend to look after my guitars, so it's not something i'm worried about.

n.a.

I've been playing about 15 years and also own a usa tele. Amps have and will always be Marshalls. I was on the lookout for a gibson 335, but this guitar has changed that and i'll probably now go for a les paul. If this guitar was stolen, i would HAVE to replace it.

If you see this guitar in any music store, i would strongly recommend a play...though be prepared to be smitten.

Mine's orange.

Having owned Les Pauls, Strats and other usual big deal guitars...well this is another big deal guitar...and it costs, what, about a third or evn a quarter of the price of the usuals.
I love the woody mid-range bark of the bridge pu. It makes LPs sound too thick and Fenders sound too thin. Perfect for roots/blues/jazz.
I love the fact that it's a cheap guitar yet brilliant.
Works great for jazz on the neck pu. I play it at home ( as a retired local gigger ) through a PV Classic 20 and an Alesis Nanoverb...and get a perfect blues sound with no effort.
I prefer it to my American Standard Tele...which cost an arm and a leg. I would rather have this guitar than a Les Paul.

Plays fine. Set up better than average. Don't like the almost varnish-less back of the neck: It takes a scratch way too easily. The gold plating started wearing off within a couple of weeks. The tone capicator is OK rather than brilliant. Pickups sound best with a little top rolled off.

Not sure that it would take a fall. But semi-acoustics are more delicate. I'd use it without a backup for blues/roots gigs but maybe not for a top forty or pop band.

Never needed it.

Thirty years. Two Teles. No. -Definetly- would replace if stolen.
Love the sound, playability, looks, poor-man price.

Features are well covered in other reviews. Mine is the "brown-burst" finish, and it really looks very nice for an extremely cheap guitar. It came with no accessories.

I play modern to roots rock and I think it does well for those genres. Not extremely versatile. It is a semi-hollow w/ P-90s, and sounds like one. I use it through a '67 Pro reverb or a Peavey delta blues 2x10. For lead on the fender I use an Ibanez tube screamer. It *is* noisy, especially w/ the fender, but the electronics are cheap, and P-90s are... supposed to be noisy. :] It is mostly a very bright sounding guitar. I imagine that you can take some of that edge off if you've got a tone pot that works, which I don't. Mine is only effective between 7 & 10. Anything lower is like turning out a light. I think it would probably be very well suited to "rockabilly" style music. It has a certain "telecaster" kind of quack and twang, if adjusted correctly, but I like that the P90s are a bit hotter and thicker than your average single-coil. I like to run through the bridge p-up, with both volume & tone pots on about 8. A great 1,2,3,4 rock n' roll tone.

Setup was pretty good; had to tweak the truss a hair to get rid of a little buzz. Pickups good. The top is really nicely finished (again, for a guitar in this price range), but I wonder how many years of abuse it will stand up to w/out cracking or wearing through.. the veneer seems so thin.. The electronics are cheap but effective. Tone pot is lousy and I suppose that I'll need to replace it one of these days. Not a big deal.

Yes, it will take live playing. (but maybe not rowdy live playing over the course of a few years) Yes, the hardwarewill last. Covered the top/finish above. Strap buttons are solid. I can depend on this guitar. I'd use it w/out a backup if I had to.

Never dealt with. No warranty.

Playing for 15 years. Yamaha AES800, Ibanez '79 concert, Yamaha pacifica, various others. Fender Pro reverb & Peavey delta blues. I would buy another one. Love it's vibe. It is a very cool little guitar, for very little money. Seperate tone & volume pots would be handy, or maybe a "blend".. but generally I like guitars "less is more". This is an "economy" model guitar, it isn't incredibly versatile, but if you're looking for a semi-hollow with some cool tone and feel, and don't want to spend a fortune, this is it. If Gibson made this it would cost $800. The sum of the parts definitely greater than the whole.

Two P90 pickups, 3-position switch, single volume and tone control, simple but efficient. Pickups have individually height-adjustable polepieces.
Tunomatic style bridge, unbranded machine heads that both look and feel solid.
Bolt-on neck. "Gibson" scale length.
Dark tobacco sunburst, nice subtle flamey top, golden hardware.

Unplugged is not much louder than a normal solid-body guitar, which at first surprised me. Plugged in paints an instant smile on my lips... these P90 pickups might not be the best in the market, but they do sound very nice. I plug the guitar into a Boss GX700 for effects (a little reverb, compression, amp simulation...) and then into a Fender VibroChamp. The tone control is very effective on this guitar. I have it usually set at around 5, and slight alterations either way can easily be made, it's very responsive.
In the shop a slight hum could be heard, which is typical of single coil pickups. However, at home and even with moderately loud volumes, the hum can be completely removed with a little touch of the GX700's Noise Reduction, without affecting the overall sound/sustain.
These pickups sound more like standard single coils than humbuckers (they are single coils after all), but with an extra layer of "cream" that makes them sound smooth, fat... just lovely. The bridge pickup can be sharp and bright, or it can be made to sound quite mid-rangey by using the tone control. On single coil guitars I normally don't like the bridge position, but here it's very useable. The neck pickup's sound can almost be spread on toast, and with both pickups on there are these high frequency harmonics that add a lot of body to the sound. Clean sounds are beautiful, and overdriven tone is great too, but the best sounds, in my opinion, are obtained with very moderate overdrive... just to give it a little "oomph"... good sustain too.

This is a very nicely built guitar for the price. The pickup switch feels a bit loose, but works well. These pickups are wax-potted, and some of the wax was still visible spilling through the six polepieces, although it's easy to remove.
This guitar was fitted with what looks like a 10-46 string set and medium to low action, which feels a bit tighter than my usual 9-42 floyd-rose stratocaster, but not too much, and it only takes a little time to get used to it. I wouldn't fit lighter strings; I thinks the sound is better like this.
The neck is nicely shaped with big frets. The fret ends should have been made a bit smoother, 'though.
Although the guitar doesn't feel too light for a semi-solid, it's slightly neck-heavy due to the reduced body mass. This may bother some people, but I don't find it any worse than a SG, for instance.
The finish in general is very good, from the neck joint to the F holes. This is a Taiwanese Yamaha that has nothing to envy her Japanese siblings.

I have a number of guitars, from humbuckered beasts (Gordon Smith) to stratocasters. This is different to all of them, thanks to these P90 pickups which are just so creamy. The worst part of the guitar, maybe the balance (neck heavy) although it's not problematic. The best... the sound, feel...
It's still early days, but I think this is one of the guitars I'll keep permanently.

Standard features on a guitar of this price, but separate volume and tone controls for each pickup would have been a plus. Then again, I did not pay for separate controls, so I am not complaining.

For rhythm, which is why I bought this guitar, it totally blows away my Fender Strat Plus. The P-90 type pickups are superb. I refer to this guitar as "a poor mans Gretsch". It also sounds great for jazz, light rock, country, folk, and even classical music.

I play with a Fender Concert amp on the clean channel, and this guitar is surprisingly quiet, a lot quieter than my tele.

At first, I gave it a 7, but after playing this guitar, it plays more like an 8. Simple soft leads are great on this guitar. For rock leads, I have a high output humbucker guitar that I use. I have been playing on and off for 30 years (mostly on, a few years off).

This guitar is solid for a semi-hollow body. Yes, I would play it live, and look forward to using it live. No, it isn't a solid body, so you have to treat it with a little tenderness. After all, she is beautiful and has a sweet voice.

Don't know, I have not contacted them.

This guitar is a real value, equivalent to guitars priced in the $500 to $1000 in my opinion, here's why. The body is alder, which I consider the premier of woods for a guitar, along with maple and ash. The top is maple (i.e. can you say Rickenbacker). The neck is maple (i.e. Fender).

I think the workmanship is superb. I know that this is not a handmade guitar, it was cut out on a CNC mill in Japan. But today, you can make more accurate parts with computer controlled mills than by hand. Even custom shop guitars today have the parts made on CNC machines, but add the custom assembly which does add a lot to a guitar.

The binding on my guitar is perfect, better than a friend of mines 60's vintage Gibson 335. My guitar is orange stain finish, and it says "Gretsch" all over it. As you can tell, I bought the guitar for the looks, and because I collect guitars, and this one was different. To my surprise, I play it, because I like it. My only regret was not buying two of them, one to play, one to collect.

I would not sell this guitar for under $1000, that's what it's worth to me, and if I did, how could I replace it? I dont' believe they are made any longer (as of April 2001 when I posted this review).