Yamaha Studio Lord SL500 Les Paul style in classic cherry sunburst, made in Japan in 1978. These Studio Lord models are amazingly well built, they're a great example of meticulous vintage Japanese craftsmanship. The cherry sunburst has aged beautifully and really shows off the grain of the mahogany, she's definitely a looker! The slim 3-piece neck feels great, it's very comfortable and the guitar feels perfectly balanced. The original humbuckers produce a thick, full sound; the bridge pickup especially has that perfect LP crunch. It's got a few bumps and bruises from nearly forty years of playing, but has aged pretty gracefully all in all. It'll certainly keep some far more expensive guitars honest!

Manufacturer: Yamaha
Model: Studio Lord SL500
Year: 1978
Made in: Japan
Finish: Cherry sunburst over plain mahogany
Body: Mahogany, 4 pieces
Neck: Mahogany, 3 pieces
Mods: none
Neck pickup: Original Yamaha uncovered humbucker, 6.89k ohms
Bridge pickup: Original Yamaha uncovered humbucker, 6.93k ohms
Case: none

Cosmetic condition notes: Some significant wear. The cream plastics have yellowed with age, and there's some mild aging on the chrome. Curiously, one of the machine heads has been replaced with a gold one, although not the actual peg, just the back. It's got some dings on the top, a proper ding in the binding near the rear strap pin and another near the pickup switch cover on the back, some little chips in the headstock, a fair bit of buckle rash and some discolouration from a since-removed sticker on the back. There's some corrosion the pickup poles. Overall condition: fair to good.

Playing condition notes: Neck is straight (these three piece necks are very sturdy), intonation is good, action is low. There's some fret-wear including minor pitting, but is still a while off needing a full fret dress. Plays very well, it feels great! Hard to put down.