Kerry Brown
Ambassador of the Great Northern Bar Jams
Picked this up at the North Vancouver Long and McQuaid today. I went in to buy a full size 6 string solid wood acoustic and take advantage of their 6 month no interest sale. My budget was hopefully around $1200 but no more than $1700 plus taxes max. I tried every Gibson, Taylor, Martin, Larrivee, and Yamaha they had that was below $2,000 with solid woods. There was a very nice Larrivee with a spruce top and walnut back and sides. It was the best sounding of the lot but the action was a little high and it didn't have a pickup. The Yamaha was a very close second sound wise and it played much better than the Larrivee. The Yamaha was by far the loudest of them all. It's a little bright but my hearing is toast at high frequencies so it sounds great to me. Not as bright as the Taylors but brighter than the Gibsons, Martins and Larrivees. I am very impressed with the fit and finish. It has an Engleman Spruce top, mahogany back and sides and a 5 piece mahogany neck. The binding is maple wood which looks very nice. It was also the least expensive guitar I tried. I'm a very happy camper.
