Yamaki Deluxe 110 Folk

I have a Yamaki Custom 12 string with Grover tuners and dreadnaught Solid Indian Rosewood and rosewood neck with a small metal plate saying YAMAKI "reinforced neck". Inside the guitar there is the stamp and a number 225.....the sound is incredible!
But I am sure some of the other guitar lovers will appreciate this input! I have recently lost my job! So after I sold a few things to raise money it finally got down to my guitars......A 1966 Martin D12-20 a Yamaki and the third a 1973 Martin D12-35.....Well first to go was the 1966 Martin D12-20......and than I tried to sell the D12-35 and the deal fell through.......I was really relieved.....I was happy in fact......and just than I've landed a job.....but overseas...and obviously I can't travel with two guitars. So I am keeping the Martin D12-35 because as good as the Yamaki sounds.....it can NEVER sound like a Martin Indian Rosewood D12-35 that was HANDMADE in 1973 and aged to maturity without any blemishes!
Thats my two cents worth......and visit Ebay for Yamaki listings....
Take care and keep on pickin'.......

I play country and western and folk songs....

The Yamaki is great

Never could find out much about the company

I first owned this style guitar in the early 70s. It appeared to be a Martin knock off and I was blown away by the workmanship and tone. Actionwas really smooth. I had to sell guitar in 1975 to help finance my fiance's engagement ring. Recently I found this model on an online auction and picked it up for 120$. It had lots of battle scars but when I played it it was like Deja Vu. Man, this thing just sings. It has grover tuners, solid spruce top, laminated mahogany back and sides. Dreadnought style

I use it for church worship and just kicking around the house. I use it mic'd at church. great projection and sustain.If I ever see another in better condition--and I rarely do--I'll grabit in a second!

Action was a bit high, but I adjusted the truss rod and now it plays like butter. Minimal buzz when played on high end, which I rarely do. Bridge and top have bo serious cracks, just battle scars.

So many scuffs and scars I sanded it down and applied some new layers of nitro-cellulose laquer, sanded, rubbed and polished and it looks good. Replaced warped pick guard and tuning pegs, which were pretty shot. It is a great guitar for solo gigs. I use it for recording rhythm parts on my Boss BR-8 digital portastudio, and use Tacoma CIC Chief for fingerstyle.

no knowledge of company or history, except early 70s Japanese brand

I would buy this guitar in a second if I ever saw one for sale. I think I would buy any Yamaki steel string dreadnought style. I have owned four total and have never had a lemon. If anyone has one for sale or knows of one--give me a shout!

I've had this thing for four years, having not a clue as to its model name or date. As you can imagine, it was a great feeling to find some people who've heard of these wonderful, grossly underrated guitars. I am 12, and I was given this by my dad- English folk musician Terry Docherty, over four years ago, and since then I have never met a soul who had ever heard of Yamaki. The only info about it I have ever known is from the stamp on the inside: 'Yamaki Guitar Co. Est 1954, Made in Japan.' Not much help for picking out a model. Thanks to the other review of a Deluxe 110 Folk, I can identify my guitar as being one of these, as it is almost identical to the other reviewers, so my thanks goes to him. The only area where our guitars differ is the neck. My piece of mahogany is in a very steep 'V' shape, which I'm not too keen on, because after a passage of seven or eight bar chords high up the fingerboard, you feel like the end of your thumb will drop off. The rest of te guitar more thatn makes up for it though. The machine heads are a blight on an otherwise beautiful guitar, a previous owner having rather messed up a replacement operation, leaving some unsightly holes in the rear of the headstock. The rosewood fingerboard, bound in what looks to be plastic, (it sounds cheap, but Les Pauls are bound in plastic, and they cost upwards of #1000)has a lovely feel, and the aged spruce top looks wonderful, as do the Indian rosewood sides and back. It looks every bit as high-class as a real Martin 000.

It sounds as good, too! It just gets better with age, and I've heard Dreadnoughts that aren't as loud as this. While it's at its best below the 10th fret, it sounds great all over the place.

I haven't a clue about how it was set up at the factory, (I don't even know how old it is) but it's great at the moment. It needed a new nut and some truss rod adjustment, (I don't know if it's the original rod) but it has been otherwise fine.

This guitar is as tought as old boots. I've chucked it on buses, taken it to folk festivals and folk clubs and it's better than ever, a real workhorse!

Hey, I don't know if they still exist! Stupid review category if you ask me. But you didn't ask me so who am I to argue.

Please get in touch. I'd love to learn more about Yamaki 'cos I'm still pretty much in the dark. Any more English Yamaki-fans out there?

I scored this guitar from a friend of a friend,and actually got it for free.I did some research and found it was made in the early 70's.The desing is basically a copy of a Martin 000-18 auditorium,the only differences are the ajustible bridge,and it has a zero fret and a (I beleive its steel)metal nut.The company is out of Japan,though I have never seen another one like mine,or with the Yamaki name.The body is(I'm about 97% on this)rosewood(back and sides)the neck is mahogany,with a veneer over the face of the headstock,the top is spruce,it might be Engleman,not sure,but it has a flame to it that is just awesome.I imagine the top was lighter,but it has aged and darkened,even in the 7 or 8 years that I have owned it.The tuners that were on it were open geared,and they honestly sucked,though I beleive they were the originals.The finish is gloss,which still shines up nicely.The neck is wide/fat,but it has a slight flat shave along the whole thing,so your thumb feels good when whipping out difficult chords etc.

The guitar sounds really nice,it seems more of a flat-picking,rather than rhythm,but it keeps up with my buddys when we jam.The tone is really warm,the only thing I dont like is the low E is just a tad muddy in the lower registers,but it livens up as I go up on the neck.The guitar has nice highs,really mellow,they jump out when I strum harder,but never get even a tad shrill.I do a lot of finger picking with it and it performs wonderfully,it is surprisingly loud for such a small bodied guitar.

The set-up of this guitar is great,which is why I'm so puzzled that I have never heard of these guys!!Both the top and back are really sweet,they are both bookmatched fromm the same piece of wood(duh!!)and Yamaki obviuosly had some talented workers,they did a beautiful job,everything is nice and tight,no file marks or finish blemishes,I totally scored!!!The only wear I can see is the top is arching a wee bit(I guess the guy had it in his garage for quite a few years,temp. and humidity changes can be evil)and the fret board is starting to develope small dips in it from it being played so hard for so long---BUT I LOVE THIS THING!!!!!

I have and will again use this guitar for gigs,I use a Pro-Mag in it and it sounds great(especially with a little gain!!)This guitar really rips amplified,the weird thing is it has never given a problem with feed-back,strange.The quality is deffinately up there,I have dropped it a few times,its been kicked,slapped,beat on,you name it.Surprisingly there are only 2 dings in it.I know if I bring this guitar with me anywhere it will do its job.It's already been across the U.S.A--yeah baby!!!

I wish there was a company I could get ahold of,so I could get some more info on what I have.If you go to a big bookstore you will find a little bit of history,but I'm telling you,you will have to dig!!Check out the net,there is always something out there.

I also own a Gibson J-200,a Taylor 655,and an Alvarez classical.I use this guitar as much or even more than my others.The neck is quite a bit different tha my Les Paul,but feels just as smooth.I would be really heartbroken if anything happened to this guitar.Besides the semi-muddie low E,and the slight bow of the top(which I think gives it a little more resonance)this guitar is a real jewel.