The Yamaha LJ 16 ARE 6-String Electro Acoustic Guitar Natural is a high-quality steel string electro-acoustic with a medium jumbo shape. Expertly crafted from hand-selected solid Englemann spruce, solid rosewood and ebony, this stunning guitar delivers a full, bright tone both amplified and unplugged.
The L16 features all-solid Rosewood/Mahogany back and sides with hand-selected premium Engelmann Spruce top. Newly designed bracing pattern and A.R.E. treatment create rich warmth and open resonance while maintaining excellent tone balance which makes this guitar fit in a band perfectly. In addition, new comfortable neck profile and Yamaha's Zero impact pickup ensure you a stress-free performance on stage.
The main features of the Yamaha LJ 16 ARE 6-String Electro Acoustic Guitar Natural include:
I needed a new gigging guitar, wanted something between a dreadnought and a concert size so I chose this body type, a mini jumbo. I've been previously playing Yamaha's CPX-series guitars and also NEX-bodied Takamines as my stage guitars, and the LJ16 has just a slightly bigger body .
The sound of this guitar is lovely. Really balanced, no overpowering bass, nice sustain. Bright, but not too bright. Works for both strumming and fingerpicking.
The Zero Impact pickup works well, actually I was quite surprised how nice it was. Not overly spiky highs and harsh mids, as long as you plug it into a nice DI or preamp. It's a passive pickup, so input impedance of your DI/pre does matter, but I bet it works perfectly with every acoustic amp out there.
I can't say anything about the tuners yet, they seem alright and I have nothing to complain so far.
I need to lower the action just a hair and widen the nut slots a bit, that's all. Do that with every guitar I buy.
The softbag is nice too, seems sturdy.
Yamaha is always a solid choice if you want quality for your money. Only complain i had was the finish, there were some blemishes. The "actual" finish/lacquer is flawless, no problem there. Just the final touch was missing and I had to do it myself, glue spots etc. I've seen cheaper guitars with better overall finish so I was a bit pissed about that. BUT, I'm not saying this is the case with every LJ guitar, I seriously doubt that.
But yeah, no regrets buying this one!