Yamaha L-7S, sunburst, made in Japan circa 1979. What a stunner! Yamaha's L series was their 'luxury' series, so this was a pretty high end offering back in the day. At ¥70000 in 1979, this was more than thrice the price of the basic offerings by Morris, Takamine or Yamaha at the time, so it got some nice appointments. Firstly, it's all solid: gorgeous ezo spruce top and a finely grained African mahogany back and sides. The neck is mahogany too, with one of the darkest pieces of rosewood I've ever seen for the fretboard. The sunburst finish, reverse parallelogram inlays, fretboard binding, gold hardware, ebony bridge, seven ply binding and super cute butterfly pattern pickguard make for a really beautiful instrument to look at, it's really quite something. The neck is a moderate shape, fatter than many Yamaha acoustics we've had through, with a slight V to the shape, but it's so nicely carved and intuitively shaped that it feels great in the hands. The tone is awesome too: clearer and brighter than a Gibson, but similarly warm and open. The natural sustain this produces is outstanding: chords seem to ring forever, it's really quite something. If you're after a vintage acoustic with a lovely clear voice and a whole lot of classy country club swagger, this is surely a great pick. Luxury indeed.

Model: Yamaha L-7S
Made: Japan, 1979 approx, Nippon Gakki factory
Serial: 91215
Finish: sunburst, gloss poly
Body: solid ezo spruce top, solid African mahogany back and sides, square shoulder dreadnought shape
Neck: African mahogany, Indian rosewood fretboard, 25.5" scale, 12" radius, slight V shape, moderately chunky profile
Weight: 2.550kg
Mods: none
Pickup: none
Accessories: basic vintage hard case

Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has some scuffs around the posts on the front. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, minor dimples and some rub wear on the back only. The back has scuffs on the shoulders, dimples along the top edge, elbow area and back edge and some minor surface scratches in the middle of the body. The sides have scuffs in the elbow area and bottom corner and some dimples on the bottom shoulder. The front has dimples in the bottom corner, scratches along the back edge, scuffs in the elbow area and some play wear on the guard and shoulders.
Overall: very good condition (8/10)

Playing condition notes: Action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good. Setup with 12/54 strings.
Fret Life: 8/10, minor wear only