Yamaha anyone?

is it over-priced as in similar to gibson / fender?

or are they over-priced as in super duper cheapo stuff sold at a premium price?
 
Yamaha are in similar class to peavey, their products deliver well.

Yamaha also have very very outstanding products too, IMO they are world best as the Single Brand covering the entire range of music product, not to mention other industry like motorcycle too.

You don't hear them much as they are practically too 'common'. Price wise, of course slighty higher than a lesser brand of same quality. But that is expected, the quality control is stricter, the same product may be scrutinized deeper.

For peace of mind, a little extra is worth it. But as long as you buy from reputable good dealers, who make sure the things they sell meets certain standard, you are pretty safe, and save some money too on lesser brand.
 
i heard that they shifted production from japan to taiwan a few years back which was still ok then

recently they shifted it to s korea... would this really affect the quality of their products?
 
Manufacturers are always finding ways to reduce production cost. Also the parts inside can be produced from anywhere in the world by whatever 'contract manufacturer'.

They also produce their stage custom drums in Indonesia, and a range of their guitars too.

The most important thing is not WHERE it is produced, but the quality control put into the product.

If you are really fussy, I think the only option for you is to approach "Boutique Manufacturer". Where the output is low, normally completely built by a 'master builder' person. You get to talk to the maker of your purchase on what you want.

NOTE MY LAST LINE IN MY LAST REPLY, THAT IS THE ANSWER YOU ARE LOOKING FOR.
 
oo... yeah the main dealer for yamaha guitars in s'pore is yamaha...

and they do carry a whole range of guitars from low ends to high ends...

i was wondering since now the mid ranges from from korea how do they compare with the older taiwan counterparts...

is there a reason why yamaha ain't considered a lawsuit guitar maker? is it cuz the guitars priced lower then gibson/fender counter parts can't cut it?
 
Yamaha guitars & basses are good, but like what Tany said, overpriced.
Here's my opinion why:

As you may or may not know, Yamaha operates with Music Plaza as its storefront, and Kinderland is related to Yamaha.

I talked to my dad about Yamaha and he said that their marketing strategy is to introduce music education to kids. You see, parents believe that music enhances their children's intelligence, that's what research claims (imo, it's partially true). So, they seek out Yamaha's music schools, enrol their kids and purchase their musical instruments from there etc. Examples are piano, classical guitars, etc...

Yamaha Music Plaza shops keep a large inventory of products to facilitate their buyers. Imagine the costs related... Inventory holding costs, rental, utilities, manpower, etc. Since Music Plaza is together with Yamaha, they can influence and adjust the price according to their needs/wants.

I personally feel that Yamaha's approach to guitars/basses is severely flawed. Luther is their authorised dealer, and even his prices are lower than Music Plaza's. Yamaha should relinquish their marketing and sales of guitars/basses to Luther, because he is THE MAN! (I respect him a lot, one of the rare decent & honest guys in the local guitar/bass industry) If you don't catch my drift, Yamaha is preventing Yamaha electric guitars/basses from achieving success & popularity. An irony, eh?

Take the GHS strings for an example. $10.90 for a pack??? If I remember correctly, Luther had 3 Burnys a long time ago. If memory serves correctly, the RLG-45 costs $650 at his store, while Yamaha Music Plaza is selling it at $900. While I was doing my Jpn mktg research, the lowest selling price of the RLG-45 is JPY33,000 at KinkoMusic. Now that's very cheap...
 
i think those cheap yamaha(starter kinds) are quite flimsy for those modern made ones, those 10year plus ones are much better(in my point of view)... i've got one too, 20yrs+, still lasting until now, except for a rewiring...
 
Wait for the year end or mid year sale, I bought my AES620 at $785 during a mid year sale last year, which they are listing now for $1k plus. I think their price are ok with me, cos its still affordable. And all their guitars u bought have a one year warranty, which u can send for service at their service center at Ubi if something goes wrong.

As for quality, I think its quite good. The AES620 I have do not have any flaws at all and its made in Korea. Their mid end guitars which are korean made are of higher standard, but their lower end ones which are Indonesian and China made seems to be lacking in quality though. As mentioned by mikemann, they are like peaveys, not glamourous but they deliver.

So if u want a yamaha, wait for their sale and go for the korean made ones. They are value for money.
 
+1 to what mike said: it's not about the country of origin exclusively, if they are well made, then they are simply well made.

however, many players here tend to equate the country of origin with quality issues. there is a valid concern nevertheless, but many products are overlooked simply because they are made in certain countries, which is an ignorant method of assessment.
 
My first guitar is a Yamaha classical guitar model G-50 that my mom bought for $80 back in 1975, I am still playing with it every now and then and the tone gets better through the years

cheers
purplehaze3691
 
mikemann said:
Manufacturers are always finding ways to reduce production cost. Also the parts inside can be produced from anywhere in the world by whatever 'contract manufacturer'.

They also produce their stage custom drums in Indonesia, and a range of their guitars too.

The most important thing is not WHERE it is produced, but the quality control put into the product.

If you are really fussy, I think the only option for you is to approach "Boutique Manufacturer". Where the output is low, normally completely built by a 'master builder' person. You get to talk to the maker of your purchase on what you want.

NOTE MY LAST LINE IN MY LAST REPLY, THAT IS THE ANSWER YOU ARE LOOKING FOR.

+ 1 mikey...

Hmm... I remember the time when I was in Swee Lee browsing around, and some ppl wanted drums and they dismissed Yamaha drums just because they were manufactured in Indonesia... Ignorant fools...

The country of origin doesn't matter. Like what you said, it's the quality management system of the production plant that matters (Most ppl don't know the actual meaning of QC lol)... I might write an article on quality management systems one day... Don't know when tho..

On another note, I am waiting for Davis to bring in more Samick GB stuff... I got hold of a spreadsheet that has all the details of Samick's products, but it's written in Czech :lol:
The acoustic guitars are damn good for the price, or so I have heard from Harmony Central. And almost all or all of them are made in Indonesia, from the Excel sheet I have. And ALL their Malibus and Interceptors are made in Indonesia as well.
 
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