YAMAHA GL1 Guitalele Mini Acoustic Guitar, Tobacco Brown Sunburst

At this price level I had low expectations, but having respect for the Yamaha brand I took a chance and ordered the guitar, half expecting to send it back it it proved a disappointment. It didn’t disappoint at all. As an experienced player of various full size acoustic guitars I must admit this little guitar is surprisingly well made and pleasant to play for such an economy price. TBH I didn’t buy it for myself, it was supposed to be an alternative instrument for my Ukelele playing partner to progress to. She didn’t like it, because two extra strings aid a step to far for her. Ah we’ll never mind I tried. Also I hope to use it to teach guitar to my 8 year old grandchild but haven’t introduced it to him yet. The body size is ideal for him, and the classical type nylon strings should be easier for him. However the neck width is about the same as a full size guitar and flat rather than radiused, which is not ideal for small hands. Also due to the necessarily short neck the tuning cannot be standard EADGBE like a full size so that’s an obstacle to learning the fretboard for later progression to a full size guitar when he’s older.

This guitar does not disappoint - a Yamaha product, it is very well made and set up. You will need to adjust to the small fretboard but the sound quality is great. I have taken it on many trips and even played it in the car. I would think it is also perfect for a child. Much better than a ukulele as you do not have to learn different chords. As this instrument has 6 strings, you get the full harmony and a much fuller sound. Comes with its own bag. I would highly recommend.

I bought this as a travel guitar as I couldn't afford one of the dedicated travel sized guitars and didn't fancy the limitations of buying a ukelele. And I am very impressed. The sound quality is great for something this sized. It feels well balanced in my hands and the neck, although smaller than a normal guitar, still allows me to play with relative ease. I have big hands so I was doubtful at first but apart from playing the A chord as a single finger barre I am managing fine. Tuning it was easy too - I just used my standard guitar tuner to tune the top string to an A - which is equivalent to the second string on a normal tuner then just tuned the rest from that. There are dedicated guitalele chord charts available but I just play mine with standard chord shapes and the sound is as if I have a capo on the 5th. The higher you go up the fretboard the duller the sound becomes which is standard for most acoustic guitars. But for the majority of players this will not be too great a problem. The only issue I have is with the finish. Obviously for a little over 50 quid I didn't expect the highest quality finish but mine looks like it was painted in a shed. There are lumps of dust all over it, sanding marks still apparent where the neck joins the body and I had to spend quite a while picking off several globs of glue which hasn't been removed and some loose bits of varnish. Despite this though I am left with a great little instrument that is small enough to sit and practise with in an armchair or pop in the back of the car when I go camping. Well worth the money.

This is the second Yamaha GL1 I have bought. Honestly, there's a lot here for a guitarist or a ukulele player. The tone is great, the treble strings sound as they should and you get a surprising amount of bass on the lower bass strings. The matt finish is also nice, it looks especially good on the sunburst model as you can see the real wood beneath the usual surface and it looks pretty good. Good things: Sounds great has a well-balanced tone and has a fast response to the string. The fretwork is excellent and didn't have any rough edges. Binding on the edge of the guitar is a lovely touch, adds a real feeling of quality The sunburst effect is great too, my good lady commented on how pretty it was. The strings that come supplied are not terrible. Bad Things The action is a little high. But a few minutes with a file and concentration takes care of that. Just don't take too much off! The strings are close together. Bit of a no-brainer, but I have big hands, and its a squeeze. But that's part of the challenge. It's not a loud instrument. To really make it yell you have to pick hard. But, good for conditioning the fingers. All in, worth every penny and I would recommend it to everyone who wants to try something new.

**The sheet Yamaha provided with the 'GL1 Standard Tuning' is partially incorrect- they say (correctly) that the top A string is 440Hz, then (incorrectly) show that A on the first ledger line above the treble clef as that A. Yikes! No wonder a few people are breaking strings** I bought the natural pine version - it's very well made and the black bag is great to start with. I think the person who said the paint job was poor had one of the black/dark brown coloured ones? The C string slips a bit but all other strings are holding very well. I'm a ukulele player, so I bought it to have some extra lower notes. Unfortunately I'm not sure if this instrument really offers much to ukulele players, because the bottom strings have to be left out of many chords like Gmaj, and other chords which were so easy on uke, become a handful or end up in unwanted inversions...so I'm not really using the bottom 2 strings very often, plus they just get in the way for many strumming patterns, especially as the bridge is angled. However for fingerpicking it's a lot of fun. BUT as a mini guitar it's such a handy size and so much fun to pick up for a few minutes or noodle on it while watching TV. I love it! I think Yamaha should include a chord chart in the box, but there's a good one on deviantart.

I play ukulele (and love it, I have several), and was trying to transition over to guitar, but I have an infuriating disability which makes my muscles fatigue very quickly so I can't hold a guitar for long. I'd been considering a guilele/guitalele for some time but was pretty sure that what I'd get was the tricky fingering of a guitar with the slightly tinny sound of the uke. Well, I was wrong. This is a beautiful instrument. The tuning lets you transition seamlessly from a uke because the highest 4 strings retain the usual soprano uke tuning. So you can immediately play familiar pieces while ignoring your two new strings. You'll need to get used to the mellowness of the low-G, plus you now have a vastly increased range. The tone of the instrument is much, much nicer than the uke. And I love my ukes. It's more guitar-like, although the higher the note you're playing, the more uke-like it sounds. But the two don't sound the same, there's no question the deeper body of the guilele makes for a rounder, sweeter tone. The build quality of the instrument is great, it's well finished, nice tidy fret edges, markers on the side of the neck as well as on the fret board so you know where you are. It feels solid with good quality fittings, is fitted with nice strings (nylon, with the lowest 3 wound, as you'd get with a classical guitar), and it's a very attractive colour. I love this thing. It's £50. Buy one!

I can't remember when I last spent 50 quid and got so much pleasure. This little guitar is so much fun - it just makes you smile when you pick it up to play. It's made really well and feels solid. Up to Yamaha's usual high standards. Now, lets get any potential negatives out the way: Obviously, as it's a 1/4 size guitar, it's NOT going to sound like a dreadnought. If you want it to do that then you'll have to alter physics (or something). But for a small guitar it's surprisingly loud and has a genuinely nice tone. For me, it's a better option than a Uke, as I want to play guitar stuff on it, not Ukulele stuff. There's plenty of online resource to show you how to play the guitar chords with different shapes that work on the Guitalele. Just have a go at playing Marley's "3 Little Birds" and tell me this isn't a fun instrument :)) For £50 it's well worth a spin. If you don't like it, not only are you probably mad, but you can sell it on eBay - there'll be plenty of takers!! No more boring shopping trips with the missus, I can now sit in the car keeping myself amused (legally) :))

I was not sure if this would just be gimmicky or sound too much like a ukulele rather than a guitar, but I got to try it in a guitar shop and then decided to purchase. I've been so pleasantly surprised by this little guitar. It sounds great, just like playing a regular guitar with the capo on the 5th fret. The tuning is a bit different but you can get a uke & guitar free app to help you if you don't have a tuner. It also stays in tune very well and looks great, I bought the tobocco coloured one. I bought it for its small size so I can bring it on my travels. It fit in a backpack and it came on the plane to Nashville with me no problem. A great wee guitar for a jam sesh on the go 😊 I highly recommend!

Jag är väldigt nöjd!

Perfect

Bought this guitalele and my expectations were justified. It very comfortable small guitar for travel and training for me. Sound very good: include all frets and play chords. My variant has few scratches but for me it is not a problem and I think in common quality is good. Also it has good price. When I use it tune it to E (recommended A) and it’s sound good, string tension also normal with it.

I've been playing this little gem for a week now as a replacement for my full size acoustic that is in dire need of a neck reset. It sits next to my office chair where I can pick it up and play any time. So far it has done a pretty good job of staying in tune with only the usual nylon string settling in. Tone is interesting with a neat, plucky sound and, being tuned to A, it shares the same finger positions on the 4 treble strings as a ukulele. In fact, it is a good sounding baritone ukulele but could be a little bit challenging for some due to closer string spacing compared to a uke. Action is fine and I am in no hurry to change the setup. factory strings seem OK and i will play on them until they wear out. Yamaha states that low or standard tension classical strings can be used and Savarez, D'Addario and DR are recommended brands. No need for special guilele strings. The finish is very satin and may not be pleasing for those that enjoy glossy guitars though i think it's OK and seems tough enough. My GL1 came with a small blemish in the wood on the back which is an imperfection in the wood itself and not the finish. I would take 1/2 a star for the blemish but quality control is overall pretty good and the fret ends aren't noticeably sharp. I would not recommend this instrument for beginners due to the short fret spacing and slightly more difficult fingering for some chords. A 1/2 or 3/4 scale classical or steel string guitar will be a better choice for learning the fundamentals and will have more volume for performances later on when the player gains confidence. Who is this instrument for? number one, it's for me. I have been playing guitar for decades and have a soft spot for small bodied instruments and recently started playing my wife's ukulele due to my guitar being down for the count. Ukulele players might enjoy this instrument as a way to cross over to six string though the string spacing will take some getting used to. Guitar players who want a sturdy travel guitar will be well served by this instrument but will have to make peace with transposing everything up a fourth. Some players have used high tension strings to allow for standard guitar tuning. I'm not sure I will do so as I like the sound as it is and also play ukulele music. Overall I think the Yamaha GL-1 is a reasonable value for the money and I'm very happy with it so far.

La verdad es que había leído mucho de este producto antes de comprarlo y, una vez lo he recibido, me ha sorprendido gratamente. Las calidades de la madera son muy muy buenas, la acción de las cuerdas es correcta y el sonido acorde a la dimensión de la caja del instrumento. Llevo años tocando la guitarra y quería ésta para estar en casa tranquilo en el sofá. La afinación en La no es un problema. La puedes afinar con un afinador de click en modo cromático. Mantiene la afinación muy bien desde el principio y las cuerdas venían nuevas, para nada oxidadas y no se estropean con los trastes como decían algunos. La funda es mucho mejor de lo que yo esperaba con un ligero grosor y un asa. El problema que dice la gente de que la afinación es diferente no es ningún problema. Puedes tocar las mismas canciones pero suenan un poco más agudas, pero ningún problema. Antes de comprar el guitalele prueba con tu guitarra con una cejilla en el quinto traste y así te haces una idea de cómo suena el guitalele. Así que muy muy satisfecho con la compra.