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King Loudness « So cute. »
Published on 01/31/12 at 19:27The little Yamaha GL-1 Guitalele is a small nylon string guitar that is half sized compared to a normal model. It features a spruce top, nato back, sides and neck, rosewood fretboard, standard classical tuners and bridge and a significantly reduced scale length. It's quite small, kind of like a cross between a guitar and a ukulele. That being said, it's EXTREMELY easy to play and I've had mine since I started playing guitar almost fifteen years ago at age three. Don't be fooled by its size... this guitar is good.
UTILIZATION
The design is quite ergonomic for sure. It is extremely light weight and easy to hold. I installed strap buttons on mine so that I could play it with a strap. Unfortunately it has no cutaway, but as it is the guitar plays quite well and I can get to the upper frets surprisingly well even though my hands have grown quite a bit. Getting a good tone out of this guitar is pretty easy I'd say... though it's small it has a very present and pleasant sound that is great for nice soft chords or lead work... it's less abrasive than a steel string and has that nice pure classical sound which is very nice for kids who are starting.
SOUNDS
I have loved the tone of this instrument from day one. It obviously isn't going to sound the same as a full sized classical but Yamaha has really done a good job creating an instrument that really has a wonderfully pleasing sound. It is actually reasonably loud for being so tiny and I've been able to use mine to accompany vocals very easily. I have low tension strings on mine so I'm able to tune it to concert pitch, but they also sound very nice tuned up high, which would be a nice recording trick if you want a quasi "Nashville tuning" high pitched sound too.
OVERALL OPINION
All in all I think the Yamaha Guitalele is a great little guitar. I started on one and it has continued to serve me well after almost fifteen years of use and some accidental abuse. Mine has been around the world with me and back, has been dropped, left out, played to death and it's still going. I call it my little trigger and it'll be buried with me. I love mine, it's the perfect traveler guitar, very high quality. I definitely recommend this one!
UTILIZATION
The design is quite ergonomic for sure. It is extremely light weight and easy to hold. I installed strap buttons on mine so that I could play it with a strap. Unfortunately it has no cutaway, but as it is the guitar plays quite well and I can get to the upper frets surprisingly well even though my hands have grown quite a bit. Getting a good tone out of this guitar is pretty easy I'd say... though it's small it has a very present and pleasant sound that is great for nice soft chords or lead work... it's less abrasive than a steel string and has that nice pure classical sound which is very nice for kids who are starting.
SOUNDS
I have loved the tone of this instrument from day one. It obviously isn't going to sound the same as a full sized classical but Yamaha has really done a good job creating an instrument that really has a wonderfully pleasing sound. It is actually reasonably loud for being so tiny and I've been able to use mine to accompany vocals very easily. I have low tension strings on mine so I'm able to tune it to concert pitch, but they also sound very nice tuned up high, which would be a nice recording trick if you want a quasi "Nashville tuning" high pitched sound too.
OVERALL OPINION
All in all I think the Yamaha Guitalele is a great little guitar. I started on one and it has continued to serve me well after almost fifteen years of use and some accidental abuse. Mine has been around the world with me and back, has been dropped, left out, played to death and it's still going. I call it my little trigger and it'll be buried with me. I love mine, it's the perfect traveler guitar, very high quality. I definitely recommend this one!