Yamaha Lord Player LP Copy

jonnyburgo

One up for sale near me, Mahogany, set neck, lawsuit, late 70s as far as I know.

Anybody got/had one?

Need info, I am seriously considering buying....

not this one but same model/colour

zenzeypher

It's yamaha dude.. Japanese yamaha.. need I say more.

monquixote

zenzeypher said:

It's yamaha dude.. Japanese yamaha.. need I say more.

I know nothing about them, but if it's a 70's Yamaha it's probably fantastic.

usedtobe

Just buy it!

Octahedron

Hey @jonnyburgo have you checked out the My Les Paul Forums? They're always a great source of info. Found one thread on Lord Players from 2010. Link: http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/other-single-cuts/73975-yamaha-lord-player.html

There might be more. Or you could sign up (if you haven't already) and post a new thread or resurrect that one!

I have just had a brief skim through it. It looks good.

Also if the guitar you're looking at is any bit as nice as the shared photos I'd say just go for it! At worst, if it's the right price, you've got a little restoration project on your hands. If it were anywhere near me, being a Yammy, I'd be all over it. Why? Because it's a lawsuit guitar, because it's a 70s Yamaha, because... it's cool. And the name is funny. 

Yamaha make some great guitars. That's not to say their lawsuit guitars from the 70s were great of course but it's Yamaha. 

The best and most consistent info that I've found across the web is that they're well-made and there was a budget model called the Studio Lord. It seems they were made for sale in Japan only so that's why you don't see many around. Though I guess with time they've probably slowly dribbled a few out across the world through eBay, etc. It sounds like a lot of people who have them change the pickups (with minimal regrets). And I've heard a few odd comments like "The finish/paint is really thick" here and there, and that they weigh a fair bit. 

Sooooo I don't know. If you've got time to have a bit of a tinker with it you could have a neat piece of lawsuit guitar on your hands.

usedtobe

Not the 'L' word..  X_X

p90fool

I had one here a couple of years ago, it looked ok but sounded kind of thin and reedy.
They're not even that nice looking close up, but it's a serviceable guitar I guess if you change the pickups and electronics as is usual with this kind of stuff.

Probably stupidly collectable now but as it stands I can wouldn't give a hundred quid for one, whatever its quirky or interesting history.

Maybe it's just me, but the reputation of some of these Japanese guitars is being grossly inflated these days - some of them weren't terrible, but that's about it.

There are exceptions like the SG2000, but even then, being brutally honest the pickups still managed the muddy/spikey-at-the-same-time thing.

If that Yam is dirt cheap it would be an interesting talking point, but to me it's no better than any typical £300 Asian guitar being made now.

TTony

The JapAxe forum might be of use.

It's pretty much dead as a forum, but there's a big reservoir of opinion and advice from years gone by.

Nunogilberto

If you buy it, the Gibson Bureau of Investigation might rock up outside your house in a black SUV, before bursting into the house and smashing the guitar to bits...

Neil

p90fool said:

 

Maybe it's just me, but the reputation of some of these Japanese guitars is being grossly inflated these days - some of them weren't terrible, but that's about it.

It's because people keep bandying around the term "lawsuit" when it has no base in reality and builds a sort of mythical quality.

There was no lawsuit, simply that Gibson asked Ibanez not to use their open book headstock on their LP copies  in the US which Ibanez was glad to comply with. 

daveww

I'd be careful as a lot of 70s stuff from Japan wasn't that good.  I know almost nothing about early yamaha but did collect other well known brands for a few year.  Japan came into it's own around 79 and early 80s and a lot of early 70s stuff I've seen was not nearly of the same standard, bolt on necks, pancake bodies, cheap woods, etc etc.  I'm not saying it's no good and it might be great I'm just saying be careful.

p90fool

Neil said:

p90fool said:

 

Maybe it's just me, but the reputation of some of these Japanese guitars is being grossly inflated these days - some of them weren't terrible, but that's about it.

It's because people keep bandying around the term "lawsuit" when it has no base in reality and builds a sort of mythical quality.

There was no lawsuit, simply that Gibson asked Ibanez not to use their open book headstock on their LP copies  in the US which Ibanez was glad to comply with. 

Partly that, but the whole Matsumoku thing is also largely a crock of shit too IME. Some were very competently made for the time, albeit out of Asian "equivalent" woods and yet again with rubbish pickups and electronics.
If Fender and to a lesser extent Gibson hadn't lost the plot around that time I doubt we'd remember any of those usable-but-dull guitars, although I'm glad they did gain a foothold, simply because of some of the great Asian guitars we've had and continue to have since.

fretfinder

Could be a boat anchor... :-O