NGD Vintage Yamaha AE-11

[bacca51]

I've been wanted a unique jazz box for a while now. After falling in love with the low-hum sing coils in my Yamaha SA-15, I was heavily eying this AE-11 on CME's reverb page. I made them an offer and they countered with a great price. I had them set it up with 11 flatwounds and it plays amazing!



It's in really great condition and is set up with super low action. The only flaw is that the case is worn down to wood, and the back of the neck by the later frets has a bunch of scratches from that. Pretty minor detail.

[surfin_bird]

I've almost bought one of those around 6 times right now, but never followed through.
How is is compared to your SA-15?

[andy]

Very fucking cool! I've never seen one of those before.

[bacca51]

I've almost bought one of those around 6 times right now, but never followed through.
How is is compared to your SA-15?

The SA-15 reminds of a lot of the silvertone/harmony guitars i’ve had. It’s a really unique looking guitar and sounds great, but the playability isn’t amazing. The truss rod is maxed out and the frets are tiny. But I still love it.

The AE-11 is outstanding. It’s one of the nicest guitars I own. The neck is beautiful and plays so well. It reall nails that jazz box tone and just sounds so piano-like clean.

Hard to compare tho, because the AE-11 is super hollow and really built for jazz, whereas the SA-15 can produce a wider range of sounds, the furthest being the jazz tone that the AE nails

EDIT: Just played my SA-15 again, and the neck and playability is definitely is superior to my old silvertones, I guess the AE-11 is just that nice...

[shadowplay]

Really like the look of that, classic but avoiding being a by rote copy. The tailpiece is like a part of an item of modernist furniture.

D

[Despot]

Happy NGD - I've never seen one of those before - very nice!

If this has the same pickups as were fitted to the SA double cut hollow body guitars then it'll be a fine sounding instrument. I've played a few double cuts and they always sound great - these Yamahas deserve a lot more love than they seem to get sometimes (same as old Guilds which I cannot for the life of me understand being as cheap as they are compared to Gibsons or Gretsch guitars).

May it wear well.

[PorkyPrimeCut]

Damn, looks like my post disappeared. Ah well...

I was just echoing what others have said. This is a really looker! Loving the tailpiece.

I only discovered hollow & semi-hollow Yamaha's through this forum. Relatively recently too. Until then I only really knew Yamaha for their acoustics.
I'm a massive fan of the SA-50 (that has a thinner body than this one). I just love the details they put in - the lop-sided headstock, the quirky inlays & the elegant pickguard - not to mention the excellent tuners & ingenious truss-rod adjustment system under the neckplate.

[wproffitt]

I’ve never seen one in the flesh, either, but these seem like great guitars. My SA30 has the same pickups and I’m really into them. How’s the neck on this? On my 30, it’s kind of narrow by the nut but the profile of the neck itself is pretty full. Very comfy for me. Enjoy!

[bacca51]

Stoked to hear that other people are diggin the yamahas!

I love the SA-50 too. I had a really hardtime choosing between the 50 and 15 a while back, but I went with the 15 because it had these acoustic properties that made it sound super 60s.

I’ve never seen one in the flesh, either, but these seem like great guitars. My SA30 has the same pickups and I’m really into them. How’s the neck on this? On my 30, it’s kind of narrow by the nut but the profile of the neck itself is pretty full. Very comfy for me. Enjoy!

These pickups seem a little "jazz-ier" than the other yamaha semi hollows ive played... maybe its just the hollowbody but it really hits that jazz box tone right on the money.
I just checked it out, I think the neck width tapers slightly toward the nut, but not super noticeably. If anything its the profile on the back that gets a little slimmer by the nut. Its a great neck. Reminds of me an old Guild that this shop was selling for 2 grand