Well, I have added one more guitar to my collection

[freethought]

I was in Guitar Center on this one-day sale they were having on everything in the store. I spent most of my time in the acoustic room but you could still hear some guy outside jamming on the electrics as if he was Yngwie Malmsteen.

I must have tried twenty different guitars. I even tried some thousand-dollar Martins and some Taylor acoustics that were going for $2000.00 and up. And some mid range Takamines, Breedloves and Seagulls. Alot of good instruments but none that really "spoke" to me. Well, I did find one acoustic tucked away in a corner and gave it try.

It was love at first strum!! A nice bright sound and great feel. Strings were space enough apart so could comfortably fit my fingers in between the strings for fingerpicking and plucking.
And a handsome instrument to boot!

What kind of guitar was it?
A Martin? No. A Taylor? No. A Larivee? No Breedlove? No.
It is a Yamaha F-Series. The price was $260.00 without the hardshell. For all instensive purposes I was prepared to slap down $1000.00 for the honor and bragging rights of owning a Martin acoustic. But Nope, fate had different plans I guess. Kind of funny how things work out
aren't they?
This is just a little story I had to tell. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be in the woodshed for the rest of the year.

[SacredCow]

1. I just retired my Yamaha acoustic...

And I purchased it almost exactly as you described. I was playing Martins, Guilds, and Taylors at the guitar store, though at the time I was a student and could never afford such an instrument. Then, next to all of these, I spy one of their used instruments- a beautiful cherry-burst Yamaha dreadnaught from the early 70's (an FG-175s). I gave it a strum, and was just blown away; Surely, I'd never be able to afford this one. To my delight, the price was only about $150- still more than I could really afford, but I wasn't about to let that deal get away from me. Out came the credit card, and I took her home (and she was dubbed "Flora"). I have played her alongside guitars costing literally thousands more- a couple of which offered to trade. No way, though- fate brought us together and I wasn't about to give her up.

That was about 15 years ago. But this past year, the wear on the frets and fingerboard convinced me to let her retire. Perhaps down the road, I'll see about having her reconditioned, but for now she's polished up in her case and enjoying the rest. I bought an Ovation to replace her on a daily basis, though every few months I still haul her out to give her a fresh set of strings and remember her tone- she deserves it.

[freethought]

2. Acoustics typically have not treated me well

I have no problem finding the electrics that I like, I have 6 of them, but acoustics just don't seem to like me. This particular guitar is the first acoustic that felt right and sounded the way I like. Usually I have some sort of gripe about them. Not this baby!
It's a pretty simple instrument, no complex inlays on the neck or sound hole, it does have an simple abalone inlay around the soundhole.
The headstock, and bound in a off-white binding and body is bound with a dual layer binding. The spruce top is flawless as far as I can see. I am pretty sure the back and sides are rosewood. Simple but elegant. What more could you ask for??!!

[SacredCow]

3. Yamaha has the capability of making some fantastic guitars...

Acoustic and electric. One of the dumbest things I ever did was sell my Yamaha Weddington, but I needed the money at the time. I told myself I'd buy another one, but now they're almost impossible to find. :(

[freethought]

4. Wow, that's a beauty!

It actually looks a great deal like one the PRS single cut guitars. Sorry to say I don't think I have seen one of those. I have seen a few of the newer Yamaha RGX Series of instruments. Haven't tried one though. Yamaha does make some similar instrument like the AES Series. Ever try one of those? You might be surprised!

[SacredCow]

5. The Weddington pre-dated PRS by a few years....

But they didn't make them for very long. That was my only Yamaha electric, and I haven't really tried any others. I'm pondering a 12-string acoustic, though, and will certainly be checking out their offerings...

[DFW]

9. A good-sounding guitar deserves to be refretted!!

I own an old (1965 or thereabouts) Guild F212-XL, which I bought in 1974. It sounds
so sweet and well balanced, you wouldn't believe it was a stock instrument. The frets
wore down in time, but I had it sent to one of the best guys in the east (Fran Ledoux
in Marstons Mills) to get it refretted, and it sounds just like it did in the 1970s.

[paparush]

6. Buddy of mine had an old Yamaha..he gave $50 bucks for it when he was in rehab.

Beat up as hell but still the sweetest sounding acoustic I've ever heard.

[DarkTirade]

7. You gotta go with what feels and sounds right for you.

Sometimes you'll be surprised.

I've had one no-name guitar feel right to me (unfortunately I didn't have the money for it) that I just wasn't expecting to like. I just tried it for the hell of it. And I had one Fender Strat that I fell in love with back in 2001 or 2002 despite there the fact that I've never found a Strat that felt right since and I hadn't really found one that felt right before then. I found one that felt okay recently, but before I got a chance to get the money for it it got sold. There were a few more of the same model and color, but none of them quite felt right. I think it was because it was the only one with that particular kind of wood in the fretboard (ebony, I think. I started as a violinist before I took up guitar, so maybe that just felt more familiar to my fingers), but it may have been a slight change in something else. Who knows?

[old mark]

8. My wife and I have matching Yamaha dreadnoughts.

Don't recall the model, but they were very inexpensive. They sound very mellow and jazzy, beautiful fingering, one of the favorite guitars of my life. I have played Martins that don't even come close.

mark