Yamaha Studio Lord, brown sunburst, made in Japan circa 1978. This is such a great guitar. The Studio Lord was Yamaha's take on the Les Paul, available from 1976-82 and made alongside the famed SG and SA series. This one is wearing a coat of their 'brown sunburst': bad name, but golly it looks good. The chocolate brown fades to a vibrant yellow, showing off some gorgeous curly detail in the plain maple top. Paired with the cream plastics top hat knobs, it looks superb. The neck is a moderate rounded '60 style shape, not as slim as many MIJ LPs, but also not a baseball bat; it's a comfy intuitive shape. The body is a pretty reasonable weight and rings truly unplugged, it feels great in the hands. The tone is awesome: thick and syrupy with heaps of girth through the lows and mids, paired with a zesty talkative treble and plenty of breath and clarity. You'd have to drop some serious cash to get a USA made model that feels and sounds this good, so hey, do the smart thing?

Model: Yamaha Studio Lord SL500
Made: Japan, 1978 approx (serial 006470)
Finish: brown sunburst over plain maple, gloss poly
Body: agathis (asian mahogany), three piece non-sandwich style, plain maple top
Neck: maple, 3-piece, rosewood board, 12" radius, 24.75" scale, moderate 1960 profile
Weight: 3.985kg
Mods: none
Pickups: Yamaha L-III humbucker x2
Case: none

Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has some dimples on the end and some scuffs on the front. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, minor dimples on the back only. The back has some dents in the elbow area, scuffs along the back and top edge and in the middle of the body and some surface scratches around the switch cavity. The sides have some very minor scuffs around the whole body, no major marks. The front has some light scuffs near the jack, along the back edge and in the elbow area and some play wear on the guard and horns. Overall: very good condition (8/10)

Playing condition notes: action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good, truss rod works. All electronics tested and working properly. The frets have minor wear only, 8/10 for fret life left. Wearing fresh 10/52 Moonshiners.