If you want to hear the refreshing whispers of nature in green fields and forests and have a beautiful conversation with them, choose LJ16. It's perfect.
The LL16 and the LJ16 are different guitars. The LL has the deeper bass of a dreadnaught. I own an LJ16. I struggled in my decision to choose. Since I primarily fingerpick I went with an LJ16 and soon discovered it was the right choice. The LJ16 has a very well rounded and balanced tone and the mids and highs are REALLY defined, which was an eye opener to me and the body is deep enough to still project depth without the "muffled" mids and highs of a dreadnaught. The necks on the L series are wider then lower end Yamaha's and if I had any criticism it is necks are just a bit chunky or not quite as slim in thickness as I would prefer. The difference is actually very slight in reality, but noticeable under hand. If I still notice it in another year or so I may remedy that. All told, the L series 16's are an extremely good value in a solid wood guitar for the money, in my opinion they outshine low end choices from Martin, Taylor etc or anything else near their price range.
The reason I choose LJ16ARR over LL16ARE was "ballance"! Yes, its volume is bit smaller but it projects sound core more than LL, I thought. Thus, it suits finger style better than LL. Nevertherless, its strum is still good though. Give it a try.
The difference in neck thickness IS RIDICULOUS WHEN YOU GO TO THE 26! The 26 is perfect and slim. I own the LL16, LS16, and the LJ16. Now that I own the LL26 and LS26 I can vouch. THE 26 NECKS ARE PERFECT! The 16's are WAY TO CHUNKY!
I have both an LL16D and an LL16/12 and find them to be outstandingly good guitars. Would NEVER contemplate an american guitar, because of ridiculous pricing, and anyway, these Yamahas are so good, why would you bother. I also own an FG820 which I find myself picking up most frequently. Wouldnt mind an FG850, they seem really nice, and look amazing.
Maybe it's just me but I think that my non ARE LS6 upgraded with a bone bridge and dyed bridge pins from Bob Colosi sounds just like the LL16. The bone bridge did change the sound of the LS6 for the better whereas the dyed bone pins look a lot nicer than the stock black plastic pins. Yamaha sells some nice guitars for not a lot of money. Jarvis always looks so happy when he is playing. Love seeing and hearing all the really nice guitars. Cheers Jarvis!
+carpathus I have an LS16m and also replaced the plastic saddle with one of Bob Colosi's bone saddles. I too noticed quite a difference in the sound/tone overall. Great upgrade with quality materials at a great price; you can't beat Bob Colosi (at least here in the states :)). I've read on some forums that people didn't find any noticeable changes when upgrading to bone on the L series guitars, meaning Yamaha got it right w/ stock parts. But I did notice a difference, for the better. I've had mine since last Feb and it's opening up very nice... I mostly finger pick and so far this is the best instrument I've owned for this style. The L series (as well as the FG series) are amazing guitars and sadly I hardly ever see them stocked in the big box retailers that I visit. They of course have many Taylor 100's & 200's, as well as Martin X series, spread all across the wall in great numbers. Last Feb I went to purchase a Martin 000-15m and ended up picking up the one Yamaha LS16 they had in stock.
FIRST..happy new year to you .Jarvis,I am hoping 2016 is a healthy and prosperous one for you and your family ! may you keep putting out energy that continues to be an inspiration and joy to us all ! You helped me decide on an LL16 three yrs ago , which I still prefer- in fact it was pre A.R.E- and it sounds as good or better than the new ones.it is lefthanded, so perhaps some extra effort was made. HA !
Hi Guitar Spa Singapore, how much of a difference in sound will the dyed bones pins apply to the guitar? I own a LL16M and a LS16. Thank you for all your great, well-recorded and informative reviews. From the Netherlands; goodnight.
well the guitar came with Plastic pins which are soft and tone robbers. The bone pins will transfer the energy back to the bridge and you get more sustain with clearer trebles
Hi Jarvis, I've got the LL16D Black Version. It is an absolute beauty. Thank you very much again for your recommendation. It sounds miles better than my friend's Gibson J45 2015 model and he is regretting for underestimating the Japanese made guitar. Keep up the good work and happy new year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
+hein phyo May you have good health, love and joy...wow..i think the J45 just need a great setup that's all..and it is a different beast compared to he LL16D
+The Guitar Spa Singapore I saw your video on J45 talking about the "Sick Guitar". Could it be that my friend's j45 is affected from moisture because we live near the ocean? Would putting rice grain or sand pads help with it or should we just bring it straight to the repair shop?
I have both the LL16 A.R.E and the LJ6 A.R.E., the latter having laminated back and sides. The tone is so harmonically rich and sustaining that you would be pushed to tell it wasn't all solid timbers. Lovely guitars.
@@Nvr83 May be the LJ has at last the same volume, but this round body make it easyer tu handle. It is not as big as the J200 from Gibson. I´m happy with mine.
Hey, I bought a Yamaha LS16-ARE, and I was thinking about replacing the 'plastic' saddle and nut with bone, but the guy that owned the shop said that the plastic saddle and nut it comes with is some special composite that's supposed to be better than bone. What do you think about that? I noticed you always replace those two parts, what is it you like about bone? It might be cool to do a comparison video, playing a Yamaha how it's normally set up, and then with the bone saddle and nut sometime, just to see the difference in how bone affects it's sound....Oh, and the LL sounds a bit better strummed to my ear if you like that bassy drone sound, and the LJ sounds significantly better fingerpicked.
The stock saddles are plastic which are cheap and also tone robbers ., they sound ok but if you want to optimize it then upgrading it would be good - you would notice even big company's Gibson Taylor Martin uses plastic for their entry level guitars due to cost and fit bone in the higher end series . That alone speaks volumes
like the sunburst i had an LL16 but the top was 2 different colors kinda put me off it .have you played the red lable guitars yet thinking of buying one.
happy 2016 guitar spa :} i have a request please :} can you please have a demo of yamaha LL16M ARE this is the nahogany body sow that we can hear the difference between mahogany and rosewood.. pls :}
I'm about to buy a new acoustic guitar replacing my 20-years-old-companion. I've tried the LL6 and thought it was a great guitar. I'm waiting for my guitar seller have the LL16 to try it. By listening your test, you answer my two questions: jumbo or not jumbo? At first I think LL16 sounds better to me so can you tell if the volume is more important with the dreadnought or the jumbo or if the difference is very small? Good vid'
+The Guitar Spa Singapore All right! My choice is done :) thank you very much. I'm watching others videos from you specially the Gibson J45TV and in my ears, I prefer the Yamaha's tone oO
That's pretty ignorant. You understand that LL16 has a boomier sound right? So it deserves to take fingerstyle. It even beats Martins and Taylors more than quadruple its price.
Hi Jarvis This has been told to me some time back from my friend a luthier who also works at a major guitar store in the town here in US. He said that Yamaha is the only Japanese manufacture that owns their factory in Japan and China thus having more quality control over their product, other brands contracts those factories in China to build their brand. I have noticed that the guitars are curved in the video! are you using a new camera or is it my new dell laptop my wife just gave me for Christmas. This appears on both ends on the camera like you're using a fish eye over the lens. The audio is very nice and clear Love n Peace
+The Guitar Spa Singapore Thanks for the explanation and omg that was the fastest response from anybody on youtube. Good morning to you it's 7.12 am here.
One thing. These are roughly $1000.00 here in the US today (March 2020). You pay $1000.00 and you are still upgrading a plastic saddle? I would buy this guitar but I want it to include these upgrades. How would my request to have the upgrades be done before delivery be taken by my shop (perhaps it would be "well OK but this is going to cost you even more') How far up the Yamaha line do I need to go (I am staying with Yamaha) before I will be happy with a guitar that does not need upgrades (action work happens all the time, it is not an upgrade) I practice and play almost 100% outside (bad acoustics) I know the guitar sounding a bit off because I am outside is not the instruments fault. I ask, is there a group of guitars that are intended for outside playing? This will be my first "upgraded" guitar. I started a year ago with a Yamaha FG830
A série "A" é com certeza a série de violões mais incrível que a Yamaha já produziu... Em virtude da alta carga tributária da merda do país que eu nasci, no caso o Brasil, eu tenho a real necessidade de pesquisar muito a respeito de violões que sejam a melhor opção possível quando o assunto é custo benefício. E acreditem em mim, o modelo A5R é uma máquina. É um verdadeiro sonho de consumo para mim. Experimentei em uma loja o modelo A1M que é o modelo de entrada da série A. Este modelo já me impressionou bastante. O modelo A5R é o top de linha. Gostaria muito de colocar as minhas mãos nele e adquirí-lo. Infelizmente os importadores INCOMPETENTES da Yamaha não trouxeram nenhum modelo de Jacarandá indiano para o Brasil (A1R, A3R, A5R). Gostaria de poder xingar e ofender a mãe do cidadão responsável pela importação dos violões da Yamaha todos os dias. Infelizmente a linha transacoustic e as demais não seguem o mesmo padrão de qualidade. Parabéns YAMAHA pelo SHOW DE INCOMPETÊNCIA.
+The Guitar Spa Singapore Hard to tell exactly but to me the LJ seems more balanced. The LL has more bass, but also has that "resonance" around the D string which the LJ does not seem to have. Not saying one is better than the other. If you get a dread you want that bass punch.
Not everybody likes the tone of a Gibson. I would watch their build quality...quite inconsistent. Same is ture of Martin and Taylor to a lesser degree. Just sayin'...
Right yeah.. i was just using Gibson as an example ! but we can all 'pick' on the build, same with lots of things these days.. trouble is, like this guy, they 'hype up' these guitars that much, then when you actually play one its a big disappointment ! When the Yamaha LL16 came out, i wasted no time getting to the music store to buy one, but when i seen it & played it, i was so disappointed, in fact i hated it.. i left with my money in my pocket !
+kingdom777866 dude I did enhancement job and with a good proper setup it enhances the tone. The original plastic sadldle and strings were not that good to start off with
If you want to hear the refreshing whispers of nature in green fields and forests and have a beautiful conversation with them, choose LJ16. It's perfect.
Awesome shootout. Have a great New Years Jarvis! Thanks for the great videos.
Welcome Joe and have a smashing good year ahead
Great job! Great videos!
Thanks, I was looking for this!
The LL16 and the LJ16 are different guitars. The LL has the deeper bass of a dreadnaught. I own an LJ16. I struggled in my decision to choose. Since I primarily fingerpick I went with an LJ16 and soon discovered it was the right choice. The LJ16 has a very well rounded and balanced tone and the mids and highs are REALLY defined, which was an eye opener to me and the body is deep enough to still project depth without the "muffled" mids and highs of a dreadnaught. The necks on the L series are wider then lower end Yamaha's and if I had any criticism it is necks are just a bit chunky or not quite as slim in thickness as I would prefer. The difference is actually very slight in reality, but noticeable under hand. If I still notice it in another year or so I may remedy that.
All told, the L series 16's are an extremely good value in a solid wood guitar for the money, in my opinion they outshine low end choices from Martin, Taylor etc or anything else near their price range.
Blasthoff of course they do, low end martins have laminate back and sides
The reason I choose LJ16ARR over LL16ARE was "ballance"! Yes, its volume is bit smaller but it projects sound core more than LL, I thought. Thus, it suits finger style better than LL. Nevertherless, its strum is still good though. Give it a try.
The difference in neck thickness IS RIDICULOUS WHEN YOU GO TO THE 26! The 26 is perfect and slim. I own the LL16, LS16, and the LJ16. Now that I own the LL26 and LS26 I can vouch. THE 26 NECKS ARE PERFECT! The 16's are WAY TO CHUNKY!
I have both an LL16D and an LL16/12 and find them to be outstandingly good guitars. Would NEVER contemplate an american guitar, because of ridiculous pricing, and anyway, these Yamahas are so good, why would you bother. I also own an FG820 which I find myself picking up most frequently. Wouldnt mind an FG850, they seem really nice, and look amazing.
Maybe it's just me but I think that my non ARE LS6 upgraded with a bone bridge and dyed bridge pins from Bob Colosi sounds just like the LL16. The bone bridge did change the sound of the LS6 for the better whereas the dyed bone pins look a lot nicer than the stock black plastic pins. Yamaha sells some nice guitars for not a lot of money. Jarvis always looks so happy when he is playing. Love seeing and hearing all the really nice guitars. Cheers Jarvis!
+carpathus I have an LS16m and also replaced the plastic saddle with one of Bob Colosi's bone saddles. I too noticed quite a difference in the sound/tone overall. Great upgrade with quality materials at a great price; you can't beat Bob Colosi (at least here in the states :)). I've read on some forums that people didn't find any noticeable changes when upgrading to bone on the L series guitars, meaning Yamaha got it right w/ stock parts. But I did notice a difference, for the better. I've had mine since last Feb and it's opening up very nice... I mostly finger pick and so far this is the best instrument I've owned for this style. The L series (as well as the FG series) are amazing guitars and sadly I hardly ever see them stocked in the big box retailers that I visit. They of course have many Taylor 100's & 200's, as well as Martin X series, spread all across the wall in great numbers. Last Feb I went to purchase a Martin 000-15m and ended up picking up the one Yamaha LS16 they had in stock.
@@RRW276 great choice.
FIRST..happy new year to you .Jarvis,I am hoping 2016 is a healthy and prosperous one for you and your family ! may you keep putting out energy that continues to be an inspiration and joy to us all ! You helped me decide on an LL16 three yrs ago , which I still prefer- in fact it was pre A.R.E- and it sounds as good or better than the new ones.it is lefthanded, so perhaps some extra effort was made. HA !
+Rick Shattil May you have good health, love and joy...this 2016 is where all your dreams become a reality
Is it comfortable to play? It looks like a standard dread, but it's listed as jumbo on the yamaha site... I need a good left handed guitar.
Hi Guitar Spa Singapore, how much of a difference in sound will the dyed bones pins apply to the guitar? I own a LL16M and a LS16. Thank you for all your great, well-recorded and informative reviews. From the Netherlands; goodnight.
well the guitar came with Plastic pins which are soft and tone robbers. The bone pins will transfer the energy back to the bridge and you get more sustain with clearer trebles
Hi Jarvis,
I've got the LL16D Black Version.
It is an absolute beauty. Thank you very much again for your recommendation.
It sounds miles better than my friend's Gibson J45 2015 model and he is regretting for underestimating the Japanese made guitar.
Keep up the good work and happy new year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
+hein phyo May you have good health, love and joy...wow..i think the J45 just need a great setup that's all..and it is a different beast compared to he LL16D
+The Guitar Spa Singapore I saw your video on J45 talking about the "Sick Guitar". Could it be that my friend's j45 is affected from moisture because we live near the ocean? Would putting rice grain or sand pads help with it or should we just bring it straight to the repair shop?
+hein phyo Yes it's wet
@john smith yep, LL26 is made in japan.
Imjmi.😊b😊😊😊😊i😊😊😊b😊😊bhh😊b9b9vuv you in 😊
I have both the LL16 A.R.E and the LJ6 A.R.E., the latter having laminated back and sides. The tone is so harmonically rich and sustaining that you would be pushed to tell it wasn't all solid timbers. Lovely guitars.
Tehey both are solid. I am absolut shure.
How would you compare the sizes of the guitars? I have the LL16M, love it, but sometimes it feels too big.
@@Nvr83 May be the LJ has at last the same volume, but this round body make it easyer tu handle. It is not as big as the J200 from Gibson. I´m happy with mine.
@@Nvr83 The LJ is much the same body depth, but it feels smaller because the tighter waist makes it sit deeper on your lap.
Hey, I bought a Yamaha LS16-ARE, and I was thinking about replacing the 'plastic' saddle and nut with bone, but the guy that owned the shop said that the plastic saddle and nut it comes with is some special composite that's supposed to be better than bone. What do you think about that? I noticed you always replace those two parts, what is it you like about bone? It might be cool to do a comparison video, playing a Yamaha how it's normally set up, and then with the bone saddle and nut sometime, just to see the difference in how bone affects it's sound....Oh, and the LL sounds a bit better strummed to my ear if you like that bassy drone sound, and the LJ sounds significantly better fingerpicked.
The stock saddles are plastic which are cheap and also tone robbers ., they sound ok but if you want to optimize it then upgrading it would be good - you would notice even big company's Gibson Taylor Martin uses plastic for their entry level guitars due to cost and fit bone in the higher end series . That alone speaks volumes
+The Guitar Spa Singapore thanks for the reply. That's a good point about the higher end models using bone.
what song are you playing
sounds good
like the sunburst i had an LL16 but the top was 2 different colors kinda put me off it .have you played the red lable guitars yet thinking of buying one.
He finally got a tuner ;-; so proud
Dude I ahead tune it with a tuner before I review the guitars and the tuner is always at my left side
+The Guitar Spa Singapore U have?? XD my bad I LOVE UR VIDEOS THOUGH
I have watched you since the first video
just bought the LL16 and can't put it down...
in this demo the LL16 sounds fuller but i like the shape of the LJ better. cheers.
happy 2016 guitar spa :} i have a request please :} can you please have a demo of yamaha LL16M ARE this is the nahogany body sow that we can hear the difference between mahogany and rosewood.. pls :}
What can i say i own the ll16d. It is louder and fuller with more sustain. Thanks for the review as always.
+Kevin Loewen Yes the yamaha's are getting better...
I'm about to buy a new acoustic guitar replacing my 20-years-old-companion. I've tried the LL6 and thought it was a great guitar. I'm waiting for my guitar seller have the LL16 to try it. By listening your test, you answer my two questions: jumbo or not jumbo? At first I think LL16 sounds better to me so can you tell if the volume is more important with the dreadnought or the jumbo or if the difference is very small? Good vid'
The ll16 has a more articulate focus tone which is what I like plus the dynamic punch in which you can pump or drive the TOP by sacking it
+The Guitar Spa Singapore All right! My choice is done :) thank you very much. I'm watching others videos from you specially the Gibson J45TV and in my ears, I prefer the Yamaha's tone oO
what song did you play in this video pls
@@TheGuitarSpaSingapore mee too ll 16 or LL TA is the best........
@@bogart5131 ll16
Had an LL16ARE. Traded it in. Regret it. Likely buy again but laminate as my campfire/cottage guitar. Amazing guitars
LL for flat pick and rhythm LJ for finger style
That's pretty ignorant. You understand that LL16 has a boomier sound right? So it deserves to take fingerstyle. It even beats Martins and Taylors more than quadruple its price.
@@osamabinladen824 you don’t know shit about guitars.
bought the LJ, zero regrets.
Much more comfy to hold than the larger LL - but slightly less mids compared to a dreadnought but fuller in sound
most important is that you love it
Hi Jarvis This has been told to me some time back from my friend a luthier who also works at a major guitar store in the town here in US. He said that Yamaha is the only Japanese manufacture that owns their factory in Japan and China thus having more quality control over their product, other brands contracts those factories in China to build their brand. I have noticed that the guitars are curved in the video! are you using a new camera or is it my new dell laptop my wife just gave me for Christmas. This appears on both ends on the camera like you're using a fish eye over the lens. The audio is very nice and clear Love n Peace
Yes the camera was on a funny mode
+The Guitar Spa Singapore Thanks for the explanation and omg that was the fastest response from anybody on youtube. Good morning to you it's 7.12 am here.
No pick up system for this type of yamaha?
its in there
ll16
An LL16 vs FG5 would be great.
Well one is rosewood and the other is mahogony - one is modern while the other organic vintage tone
@@TheGuitarSpaSingapore Thanks, but it would be great to actually hear them together.
One thing. These are roughly $1000.00 here in the US today (March 2020). You pay $1000.00 and you are still upgrading a plastic saddle? I would buy this guitar but I want it to include these upgrades. How would my request to have the upgrades be done before delivery be taken by my shop (perhaps it would be "well OK but this is going to cost you even more') How far up the Yamaha line do I need to go (I am staying with Yamaha) before I will be happy with a guitar that does not need upgrades (action work happens all the time, it is not an upgrade) I practice and play almost 100% outside (bad acoustics) I know the guitar sounding a bit off because I am outside is not the instruments fault. I ask, is there a group of guitars that are intended for outside playing? This will be my first "upgraded" guitar. I started a year ago with a Yamaha FG830
LL16 sound I like better.....just a personal preference....both sound great.
Also with me...... ll16 sounds better
Same here. LL16, to my ears, is the best-sounding guitar money can buy. Even more so than Taylors or Gibsons.
Lj16 seems much more powerful and it's all solid wood 😉👍
You bent the necks!
Neville Nicol 😅😂🤣
I am going to sell my LL16 ARE. It has power, it’s rich and bright.
So that's why you gonna sell it?
@@savanaviolenta cause hes drunk
Jose J Castaneda Sell it to me
A série "A" é com certeza a série de violões mais incrível que a Yamaha já produziu... Em virtude da alta carga tributária da merda do país que eu nasci, no caso o Brasil, eu tenho a real necessidade de pesquisar muito a respeito de violões que sejam a melhor opção possível quando o assunto é custo benefício. E acreditem em mim, o modelo A5R é uma máquina. É um verdadeiro sonho de consumo para mim. Experimentei em uma loja o modelo A1M que é o modelo de entrada da série A. Este modelo já me impressionou bastante. O modelo A5R é o top de linha. Gostaria muito de colocar as minhas mãos nele e adquirí-lo. Infelizmente os importadores INCOMPETENTES da Yamaha não trouxeram nenhum modelo de Jacarandá indiano para o Brasil (A1R, A3R, A5R). Gostaria de poder xingar e ofender a mãe do cidadão responsável pela importação dos violões da Yamaha todos os dias. Infelizmente a linha transacoustic e as demais não seguem o mesmo padrão de qualidade. Parabéns YAMAHA pelo SHOW DE INCOMPETÊNCIA.
I like the LJ. She reminds me of a beautiful fertile woman with all the curves. I will not be able to keep my fingers off her . 😍
Timoteo Luna well go for what you like
Timoteo Luna Legendary comment.
I can explain it all officer…..
LL is more balanced.
Yes
+The Guitar Spa Singapore
Hard to tell exactly but to me the LJ seems more balanced. The LL has more bass, but also has that "resonance" around the D string which the LJ does not seem to have. Not saying one is better than the other. If you get a dread you want that bass punch.
Poor camera angle
yamaha lj 16 is better than yamaha ll 16
@@osamabinladen824no you are wrong lol
Could you please stop using a wide-angle lens which distorts the guitars annoyingly-or maybe record in a bigger room?
Buy a Gibson, dont fuck about with these cheapies not worth it !!!
Not everyone is a rich as you or can afford a Gibson
Not everybody likes the tone of a Gibson. I would watch their build quality...quite inconsistent. Same is ture of Martin and Taylor to a lesser degree. Just sayin'...
+James Strange very true
Right yeah.. i was just using Gibson as an example !
but we can all 'pick' on the build, same with lots of things these days..
trouble is, like this guy, they 'hype up' these guitars that much, then when you actually play
one its a big disappointment !
When the Yamaha LL16 came out, i wasted no time getting to the music store to buy one, but
when i seen it & played it, i was so disappointed, in fact i hated it.. i left with my money in my pocket !
+kingdom777866 dude I did enhancement job and with a good proper setup it enhances the tone. The original plastic sadldle and strings were not that good to start off with