Yamaha LL500

Mine was made in Japan, July 1999 so it is now 10 years old (I have owned it for a month, and played one before in 2003), bought secondhand. A very attractive OM style acoustic, all solid woods, a very nice vintage tinted Sikta Spruce top, and high grade Indian Rosewood back & sides, nice inlays around the body and the back stripe. A very thin clear scratchplate, which I think is a classy touch. One piece Mahogany neck with an added heel piece (you can feel that the shallow V profiled neck is hand finished!). The pretty shaped bridge and fretboard are Ebonized Rosewood, and the Gold plated Gotoh tuners are of a very good quality. The frets are medium thickness, and the neck plays like that of an electric guitar superb!. The only concessions to economy that I can find, are the use of plastic for the bridge/bridgepins,the nut, saddle, and truss rod cover. This LS-500 came with a good quality fitted Brown TKL case.

This guitar suits fingerstyle although the 1&11/16ths nut width may be a little tight for some. Initially the sound was very bright, and seemed to compress under heavy strumming, with the treble strings being more prominant than the bass (but I bought this guitar with the intention of upgrading the plastic parts anyway).
I replaced the loose fitting plastic saddle (which someone else mentioned here)with Ox bone, the same with the nut, this made a big difference to the overall string balance, and added some more zing to the strings, but it was still very bright. I then replaced the plastic bridgepins with Ebony ones, and "hey presto" a noticeable increase in warmth & sustain! the guitar sounds very nice & balanced between bass & treble when playing, with excellent projection, and even better when listening to it from across a room, where the compression under heavy strummage has more or less disappeared. I use D`addario 11`s Phosher Bronze strings.
So overall without the above modifications, the sound is a solid 8, with the mods a very solid 9 close to 10!

The action as recieved is perfect for me, not too high or low, and with no buzzing unless really strummed hard.
Externally the fit and finish is superb, the book matched rims line up exactly as does the back, and the Rosewood used looks the same type & grade as I had on my Santa Cruz H14!
Inside the guitar is not as perfect as the outside, and some glue smears can be seen along some of the braces and at the edges of the kerfing, but I`ve seen this with Santa Cruz as well.
When I recieved the guitar it was apparent that there was a slight gap between the back of the bridge and the Spruce top, which you could slide a piece of paper under for approx 2mm, it looked like a small part of the bridge hadn`t been glued properly to the top during construction (a lifting bridge looks different, and I had one of those on my Santa Cruz). This has now been repaired, but shouldn`t have been there in the first place, so I have to mark down accordingly! The Finish on the guitar is not Nitro, and Yamaha are pretty vague about what it is, but I will say that certainly on the top, it is thinner than the Nitro on my 62 Levin "Goliath". The top, back and sides are buffed to a high gloss, and the neck has a nice satin finish.

The LS-500 is only slightly heavier than my Santa Cruz H, but looks solid and dependable, I would use it live but haven`t so far. It is already 10 years old and there is no sign of the action rising, infact using a steel rule you can see that the top has not moved at all, which is testament to the guitars design & construction

I have not had to deal with Yamaha, so have no opinion.

I have been playing on and off since 1981, am fairly competent in a Pop/Rock/Folk context, but certainly no Hendrix or Tommy Emmanuel!
Singer/songwriter is more my thing.
I nearly bought an LS-500 in 2003 but instead some months later bought the Santa Cruz H14, which I never really bonded with, I don`t know why, maybe it was the expense, maybe the guitar wasn`t attractive enough, or it just didn`t inspire me, I don`t know. Anyway last year I managed to swap it for a reissue Lennon 65 Casino which I`ve craved for, so no loss.
I am very pleased that I have finally got the LS-500, and with the mods I can honestly say that this guitar is as good as the Santa Cruz H model, maybe a little lighter in the bass end, but more sparkly overall with excellent balance and projection, and at a quarter of the price for a new Santa Cruz!
My other guitars are an 83 Matsumoku(Japanese) made Epiphone Casino, the Lennon 65 Casino, an 82 Matsumoku made Aria Pro II TA-60, a 1980 Daion Heritage 78 acoustic, a 1962 Levin LM-26 Goliath, a 2007 Fender classic player Strat, and a homemade Telecaster using Fender US/Japan parts. Over the years I have played most makes of guitar, and have found some cheapies that were great, and some dear ones which were poor. Back in the 50`s/60`s good quality guitars were thin on the ground outside of the big names, but now we are living in a Golden age where quality and playability can be got at all price levels, I have a love of early 80`s Japanese electric guitars, but I think the here and now is the Golden age for good quality accoustics.
I could not have bought a guitar of the LS-500`s quality for the money 20-30 years ago, would I buy another? Yes, and I will, along with a LL-500 too!
One point I would like to add, and which no one has mentioned is that the LS-500 is the Export version of the Yamaha LS-20 model and is identical in all respects except for the pickguard with is Tortoiseshell on the LS-20, and from 2001 the LS-20A came along which had an Ebony bridge upgrade, whether this came across to the LS-500 I don`t know. And for anybody who owns the LS-400, the LS-10 is the Japanese domestic version of that guitar too.

Nothing really special at first sight. A solid handcrafted made-in-Japan guitar. It has a solid Sitka spruce top and indian rosewood sides and back.The inlay work and gold hardware make this guitar truly beautiful, and at 900$?? What a steal!

The second i heard this baby, i knew i was making the right choice. It plays very loud, and sounds magnificent. The highs are crystal clear and the lows are earth shaking!

I bought the guitar used, and when i received it, the action was already perfect. I couldn't ask for anything better. The finish is beautiful, the workmanship is amazing and i haven't noticed a single flaw yet!

I love this guitar. It's my first acoustic, i admit, but i have tried many others in search for the right guitar. At first, i wasn't ready to spend more than six or seven hundred on a decent acoustic, but when i saw this, i knew it was worth putting in the extra buck. A cutaway would be nice, but then it wouldn't sound as good as this, so i can't say i'm not happy. I don't think i'll take this one gigging, not because i don't trust her, but because i don't wanna lose her ;)

Hand made in Japan. top of the Lotus guitar line. Dreadnaught shape. solid spruce top. indian rosewood sides and back. Ebony fingerboard. beautiful inlays.
Very elegant and beautiful guitar-I love looking at it.

Great sound. a joy to play. great for blues-crisp, dry,fat and very balanced: sound good over the whole range.
I have a Huss & Dalton DRH which has a sweeter and a richer sound-more overtones. but the Yamaha got power and perhaps even greater highs for solos.

low action and great feel. one of the most comfortable necks and the overall playability is just superb.

seems very solid.

been playing for 20 years. have played many acoustics. got a Huss and Dalton RD-h and some great electric guitar(have had Mcnaught, Mcinturff, PRS, Fender, Tom Anderson, Hamer artist and more)
love this guitar. As said before it's not really on the same lavel as my H&D DR-h but I just LOVE playing it beacuse of the sound, feel and look. Love it.

Handmade in 2004 in Japa this guitar came to me as a "special offer". My local dealer meant, that he has a great instrument that I should try. So it has a solid spruce top but it looks lets say a bit normal. Dreadnought style. Nothing special on the first sight. No special features.

But yeah... what a sound... He offered me this instrument for only 500 ?! No question, I bought it. And believe me I never made a better deal!

For this category only one statement: perfect!

The hardware seems that it will last the next 50 years. Very solid. And I believe it will become better and better and better

Warranty five years. I had only one contact about the price. I got an answer in less than one day.

So last but not least. I play for 28 years. I own several guitars. some Yamaha FG 6 and 12 string. One Fender. And and and... This LL 500 is worth every cent. It it were stolen I woul buy a new one. No doubt about it! Only on thing. Since I bought this one its hard to be fair to other instruments at this price level. I'm sorry for my bad english but I'm from Germany.

Read the other reviews. Well, I'll give it a ten, but it has not electronics and no cutaway, which makes the sound better. The materials are first class (sitka spruce and indian rosewood, no laminates, for $979---unheard of.

Does anybody realize how fantastic these guitars are? I think Yamaha discontinued them! The guitar cuts right through everything. Somebody said to check it out for blues. Oh boy is he right. Bend those strings and dig in. I mic it, no electronics. Beautiful full sound and a fantastic neck. The overtones can be startlingly clear and bell like. I do most of my writing on this guitar because it is "inspirational" due to the sound. Not as wooden as a martin, more complex sounding than my taylors. A very balanced and pretty sound.

As good as any other guitar I've owned.

I've had it for about four years. It gets better every day. Yeh, you can depend on it.

No idea.

I bought this because I read a "blurb" in guitar player a while ago about the LL400 and it sounded very interesting. Went to Sam Ash to play one. The LL400 is very nice, but the 500 is bigger and more "soulful". So I bought it. Playing for over twenty years. Seriously for about 10 (with breaks in between.) This guitar is the best unheralded guitar ever. Better than my Taylors (own three) and my d-28. I saw a few on ebay for $600 and $699! That is an absurd price. My opinion is that you suhould buy one and SET IT UP BY A PROFESSI0NAL, NOT THE PART TIMER AT THE MUSIC STORE. It's a 10. No cutaway, though. Oh well, you can't have everything. But you get a few extra inches of wood for sound. The natural finish, by the way is starting to "yellow" quite nicely. A great buy. No, an absurd buy.

Made in Japan (don't know when), solid spruce top, solid rosewood back & sides, mahogany neck, ebony fingerboard. Body is I believe a jumbo size; gold tuners.

It was the sound the totally blew me away on this guitar. I wasn't in the market at all to buy an accoustic guitar, but when I picked this baby up, the deep rich and full bass response stood up right next to all the Taylors & Martins that were sitting in this music shop! Granted there may have been a Taylor that had a better action & fit, but when it came to the tone department, this LL-500 sounded just as great as the ones double and triple the price.

When I bought the guitar, the action was way too high and within minutes my hand was worked out to death. Tightened the truss rod and voila, the action is impeccable. I love playing with this guitar, but I'm so careful with it because I don't even want to get a single scratch or anything on it! I wipe it down with a dry cloth (as well as all my guitars) to prevent sweat build up and to keep the guitar looking new. The spruce top and rosewood back are both perfectly bookmatched. The neck is actually more V-shaped than oval, so it takes some getting used to, and the width of the fingerboard feels smaller than usual for an accoustic guitar, but that just might be my imagination. I've got thin fingers, so with the low action there's not much difficulty playing any barred chord.

I've only owned the LL-500 for 2 months now, so I cannot make rigid comments in this category. I don't play live, but this guitar without a shadow of a doubt can last any live performance, it is so solidly build that the finish will last for years to come. I have an old accoustic epiphone guitar (1988 - my first guitar), and that has lasted over the years, so I'm sure this baby will probably last tenfold longer.

Never had to deal with Yamaha.

I've been playing for 15 years. I have a host of other electrics and accoustic, including a yamaha 12 string electric. I don't know what I'd to if it were stolen... kill the guy if I ever found him... The price was great for a handcrafted guitar, the tone was phenomenal to my ears, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity. I wish it was a cutaway, but then the only ones that were cutaway and sounded as great were the Taylors at $3,000 +. No thanks. I did compare this LL-500 to the LL-400, and it far exceed it it in bass response, overall tonal clarity as well as projection distance.

Quality dreadnaut features such as Indian rosewood one piece back and sides. Rosewood fingerboard with ivoroid neck and body binding. Gold tuners. Handmade in Japan. No case.

Incredible! Fantastic value! This guitar easily can stand with guitars costing three times as much. For me it has just the right amount of sustain and harmonic ballance. Full rounded bass and sweet top end too. Im in love with this guitar. The sound is sweet music to my ears.

The team over in Japan definatly know how to make great guitars. I am impressed with everything about this guitar. The workmanship and fine craftsmanship really show. I took it home, tuned it up, and it was perfect!

My first acoustic was a Yamaha I bought in 1984. It has been through the ringer and still plays great. Yamaha guitars are built to last, Im a believer.

N/A

Ive waited a long time for an acoustic guitar like this. Im blown away at how reasonably priced it was. This guitar is built extremely well. I feel lucky to be the owner and player of this fine guitar. I would give it a 10 but I was a little dissapointed that It dosent have a case with it. (it has to be special ordered). No big deal, its worth every penny.

solid woods and increadible finish
nicer richer looking guitar in it's price range
abalone ring is a great touch

wow i tried it against a d-28 & d-35
it totally smoked them
utterly
the nicest tone of any newer guitars period

handmade 'nuff said

solid as a rock

yamaha is huge

these are a steal at 600 bucks it's the greatest new guitar value ever if you can find one i liked it so much i bought 2
800 buck for 2 killer acoustics no problem
i urge all to try one of these you'll be hooked
they play and sound so good it's scary
i want to find a LL-400
oh they record amazingly with my taylor lemon grove 12 string
very balanced and loud

1999 Handmade from Japan. Solid spruce top with solid Indian rosewood back and sides.Mahogany neck with a satin finish. 1-11/16" at the nut. Yamaha's Grover?like tuners. I'm not sure but I think that the nut and saddle pieces are a plastic or micarta. I would think that since this a 'High end" guitar that they would have gone with bone. Not too expensive to change out, but I don't think that this should even be an issue. Beautiful inlays and purfing throughout, however this does nothing for sound/function. Overall, a 9 for the nut.

Great for fingerpicking, strumming, lead licks...whatever. Very comfortable guitar due to the size/shape of the neck and the necks' satin finish. The left just glides up and down the neck. Love the satin neck. Very full bass and midrange response with very clear highs. Projects well without being too loud or boomy. Mutes well. Great for bluegrass style music. Polished sound no matter what style you are playing. This is the finest sounding guitar that I've ever played...period.

Set up was fine. Action just right, not too low or too high. The spruce top split line is a little more visible on this one compared to other guitars that I've owned, but I'm being VERY picky here. It's really not that bad. I love the tuners..Precise. Fit and finish is right on. It's handmade, the quality and shows throughout.

Very sturdy yet relatively light. Solid construction without being a tank, like say a Guild J-30, which is bombproof but feels like it(Heavy). Haven't had it long enough to notice any wear but looks as though it will hold up. Again the tuners are so smooth and precise, can't see anyting going wrong there.

Web site is great if you can negotiate where you need to go. Very slow on answering email questions. Haven't had any reason to deal with them other than a few questions. I would imagine that the stand behind their products.

Playing for 24 years. Own an older Yamaha 12 string FG-460S-12 that I had bought in the mid 80's,Circa 1890's Bay State (USA) Brazilian rosewood Parlor guitar,Circa 1930's Oak Parlor (USA unknown),Early 1900's Gibson A2 Mando,1940's Kay Venetian style Mando,1930's Vega banjo,1920's Martin Uke. I've owned a Guild J-30 and have played friends various Martins, Taylors, Takamines,Larrivee,Ibanez and Gibsons. As stated before, this is the most beautiful sounding guitar that I have ever played as well as one of the easiest. I've always tried to buy American thru the years, and will usually spend the extra money that it takes to do so to get the same quality, however, the value/quality of this guitar was too good to pass up,especially when you consider that I'd easily have to spend 3-4 times as much to go with a comparable Taylor or Martin. Would I buy one again? Hell yes !!

It's a guitar with no extra features. See other reviews for particulars

As one other noted, new strings help. It has a marvelous tone and sustain,particularly on the mid and low range. The higher notes are not terribly bright.

Bought second hand. No buzzes but perhaps could have a touch lower action. No flaws detected yet.

Too soon to say. I intend to take care and I will play almost only at home. I woner if an all solid wood guitar like this needs a dampet. One highend Martin in a nearby store was messed by sa leaky dampet so I wonder.

na

I have an old Gibson b25n with a crack and a nighthawk which I also bought used which is perfect. As the LL is big , I've had to adjust to the size and this effects how I can hold it, chording etc.It seems to have alot of quality for the $ and I like the ringing rosewood sound. I was also considering a Norman st 68 with a cutaway . That also had a nice sound and very easy action but I felt the build quality wasnt as good. Also. altho many sites say the 69 has solid wood sides, they are laminate. Maybe this would make no difference and perhaps it would have been stronger but it was a coin toss. I would have liked the cutaway