All user reviews for the Yamaki Deluxe Dreadnought

Here is the other Yamaki guitar that I mentioned in my recent review of the Deluxe Folk model. It's basically yet another copy of the famous Martin D28. There is a whole myriad of these guitars floating around from junk to treasure, and I can definitely say that this falls into the latter category. It features a spruce top, what I assume to be mahogany back, sides and neck, and a rosewood fretboard (just like the Yamaki Deluxe Folk). It is made in Japan and was built sometime in the early to mid seventies.

UTILIZATION

The design of the Yamaki guitars takes many cues from Martin's legendary and well tested template. This particular Yamaki dreadnought is EXTREMELY light considering how big a guitar it is, and it's got a killer amount of resonance. The neck is very small and fast and the action of this particular guitar was dead low, right to the fretboard without fretting out anywhere. This was perfect for me as I'm primarily an electric player who likes a low action that's good for string bending and fast passages. The upper fret access is decent, but there isn't much past the 14th fret because of the lack of a cutaway.

Getting a good sound is easy out of this guitar. It has a booming resonance that sounds very full and carries quite well when playing lower register chords. However it also works well when used to play higher chords when adding texture with another guitarist as well.

SOUNDS

The Yamaki Deluxe Dreadnought has a very full and rich sound that sits well in a mix when playing with other instruments. I recently used the guitar at a jam where there were some other Martin, Guild and Vintage (Trev Wilkinson design) acoustic guitars present. I took to playing the Yamaki for the whole night because of its easy playability... however the tone of it so impressed me that I opted not to swap for one of the more expensive guitars even when offered. It works very well for rhythm tones in the country, blues, bluegrass and rock styles as well as for flatpicking lead lines. This guitar has a great clarity compared to a lot of modern acoustics that almost have more of a... plastic sound. It sounds woodier and less compressed/boxy overall, and is definitely worth looking into as a great jam guitar.

OVERALL OPINION

All in all I think the Yamaki Deluxe dreadnought is a killer Martin copy for the cash. They can be had for about $300 used which is a great deal considering the price of a new or vintage Martin D18 or D28. They are difficult to find (I've only ever seen the one) and when owners have them they are reluctant to part with them. However they aren't as well known as an Ibanez or a K Yairi so the prices haven't gone through the roof on them... yet.