Yamaha L-7S Dreadnought Acoustic Sunburst 1978
Yamaha L-7S, sunburst, made in Japan 1978. 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, 1978, Nippon Gakki factory
Serial: 81122
Finish: sunburst top, black back and sides, 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: 2.375kg
Mods: none
Pickup: none
Accessories: basic vintage hard case
Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has minor scuffs all over but no major marks. The is clean and smooth in the hands, minor dimples and some rub wear on the back only. The back has dimples around the back and bottom edges and widespread light scuffs around the whole body. The sides have dimples and scuffs in the elbow area, back and bottom edge and bottom shoulder. The front has dimples along the bottom and back edges, a dent or two up from the sound hole and play wear on the guard and shoulders. The guard is lifting in the bottom corner by 2mm or so.
Overall: very good condition (7/10)
Playing condition notes: Action is reasonably low, neck is straight, intonation is good. Wearing fresh 12/54 80-20 bronze strings.
Fret life: 7/10, minor wear but playing evenly