Yamaha GL1 Guitalele, Natural, Baritone

69 year old guitar hack here. Played electric, and some acoustic guitar in three bands way back in the 1970's. Played acoustic at a wedding. My neighbor bought a Yamaha GL-1 "guitalele" A few years ago, and told me recently that he loves it! A GL-1 is basically a very compact 6 string classical guitar, but, instead of being tuned Eadgbe, it is tuned 5 frets up on each string, so the low and high e's become a's. This means that all the chord shapes I know on a regular guitar can be played in the same positions, but the name of the chord will be different. Example, an e major chord shape on a guitar, will really be an a major on the Yamaha. If I am just playing by myself for myself, there is no problem. If I was to play along with a regular guitar, we would have to work out what key to play in. Also, if I sing and play, then depending on what key I play in, I would have to sing in higher notes.This thing came quicky to me in Hawaii, and it is in perfect condition! Since it had nylon/classical type strings, it is going to take much longer for the strings to settle down and stop sretching. Way longer than my steel stringers. So, don't write a review after a few days complaining about this. All classical style nylon string guitars do this! Pick it up,tune it, play it, and keep tuning it. The tuners on mine seem just fine. It is a total blast for me to play. It sounds great, especially for the small body size. It has very good volume and sustain too. A bit stingy on the fret markers, both on the fingerboard and side of the neck. If you have big fingers, some chording might be a bit crowded. It doesn't have a truss rod. But, many classical guitars and many other guitaleles don't have them either. I have yet to read a review, or watch a video review, where the owner had a neck warp. In short, I should have bought one of these long ago.Update after more than a year now. I still love this little 6 stringer! I have been selling some of my amps and ukes etc. I had considered selling my Yamaha, but cannot do it! It is just such a great insrument. Mine is still perfect. Drawbacks? Few. The 17" scale is a bit tight for me. One string started unravelling after not too much playing. I was able to buy the one string and replaced it. I read a review somewhere where the writer returned his due to various flaws. Looking at mine it's hard to believe. I think Yamaha should make an option of the GL-1 that would come with an under saddle pickup with tuner and volume/tone controls. Great price, great instrument, great FUN!!2/28/2025 update:Just wanted to say my estimation of this instrument has gone up if anything. I am taking super good care of it. It us holding up great. I had one of the wound strings start to unravel early and replaced it. Zero problems. After break in it holds tune as good or better than my other string instruments. That alone is saying a lot. The climate here in the Puna District on the big island plays he'll with stringed instruments. Most go sharp sitting overnight, and flat sitting during the day. This little guy is built very well. I wish it had come with an active pickup with tuned and equalizer, but it's still a keeper!

This is interesting to play the tuning is different going from a d to a standard ukulele of g c e a. It plays like a guitar but on a much smaller scale. Yamaha did an excellent job with fit and finish put together very well. Fun to play and sounds good.

an amazing instrument for the price. i use it a lot for practicing certain songs, with certain tunings. great for learning and plucking. as an advanced guitar player, i have to say that smaller instruments can help you with your playing and practicing. great sound and resonance. tuning is average.

Was hunting for something small and nylon strung that wasn't going to be a toy, or break the bank either. Prefer the guitalele/guilele fretboard and neck as opposed to the travel guitars (e.g. Cordoba Mini series--too wide and thin), and the sound is really appealing, projects well. I was lucky enough to try different styles out in local stores before settling on a guitalele. I'm a beginner/intermediate player, played for many years just for fun, and this thing is so much fun and great to just pick up and tool around with at home (and at work when I'm lucky enough to find time).No problems with the A tuning, sounds pretty cool to play songs in a different key or play uke songs with extra bass, and tuning down to E is no problem--strings do feel looser, some describe it as "floppy," but was not major and still easily playable. Fret board spacing is small and so works best with smaller hands, which luckily I have. Very cool to finally be able to play a larger fret spread (can barely reach 4 frets apart on a standard scale neck).I got this "open box, like new" and fulfilled by amazon (not warehouse though, was a marketplace seller) for $79 total, and it came 100% new in packaging--only the outer shipping box appeared to have been opened before, so I was pleasantly surprised. Cosmetically, there are some issues, especially at the end of the fret board that hangs over the sound hole--edge needs to be sanded badly, but it's not anything that can't wait for a string change. Also, there is one sharp fret that I will need to file, the bottom 3rd fret hangs out past the edge of the fret board. Otherwise, holds tune well with original strings and is a blast to play. For the price, it's a great small guitar/guitalele.

I've been playing finger style guitar for 50 years (steel and nylon strings) and I LOVE this instrument. I find the tone is really pretty with decent sustain and harmonics. It's capable of being played with a lot of nuance, the instrument is pretty responsive. Even with large hands I find it easy to play because of the great neck shape. The build quality is flawless, and I think it's an attractive little instrument overall. I originally bought it to take out on my apartment balcony to play, but I've been playing it constantly indoors since I received it. I highly recommend it, especially at this price!