Absolutely Terrific Yamaha GD20 - High Grade Classical Guitar

Please read my return policy at the bottom of the page.

*************************************************************************

         Yamaha GRAND CONCERT GD-20

This is yet another great guitar introduced by Yamaha Corporation. It remains in excellent, almost mint condition. The only cosmetic problems are 3 “rice grain” size dents on its top and minimal cloudiness of the sides and back.

The nature of cloudiness causes that, thanks to camera's flash light it will always look worse on the pictures than it really does in nature. I have tried to portrait it as realistic as possible. But it is still shown greatly exaggerated. In nature it is hardly noticeable to a naked eye.

Cloudiness is caused by using forcefully dried in heated chambers wood, which looks bone dry on the surface, but still retains some moisture deep within. When thick lacquer is applied, before it sets it sucks the moisture from the wood, due to the process of diffusion. As the result it temporarily traps some moisture underneath. Later on as the wood fully dries through the inside of the guitar this trapped moisture is being replaced with the dry air. Cloudiness is only a cosmetic problem and doesn’t pose any danger to the integrity of the wood, nor influence the sound of the guitar. It is also very good indicator of solid woods being used to build guitar, since cloudiness never occur on laminates.

The condition of the case can be described as almost mint.

To my ear it sounds beautifully enough to call a great guitar, with much higher replacement value that its retail price at any given moment in time. It is obvious to me any individual description of guitar’s the sound quality can have a different meaning to different people. It really depends on what are the other guitars being compared with the one that we are trying to describe. Depending on personal taste and ear sensitivity, the term “beautiful sound” can be imagined quite various ways. The same applies to loudness of guitar. Certain guitar can be very loud to one person, who played in the past much quieter one, while to someone else the same guitar could be too quiet.

For example, in not that very remote past, I have thought about many guitars as being very loud. But after experiencing Masaru Kohno guitars (also Hiroshi Tamura #10, Yamaha GC7S, Asturias Custom S, Aranjuez #6) all these other guitars are not very loud to me anymore, although they will be very loud to many other players.

Loudness of a guitar can’t be the only factor deciding about greatness of a guitar. There are guitars that are not very loud, but produce sound so charming, that the volume becomes irrelevant. This rule applies for example to all Hiroshi Tamura P series, all Asturias, Arias & Yamahas no matter which model we choose.

The guitar, you are looking at right know is definitely great (to me).

SPECIFICATIONS:

GD20

Year(s) Sold:

1990-2001

Original MSRP(US$):

$949.00

Top:

Solid Yezo Spruce

Highest grade AAAAA

Back / Sides:

Indian Rosewood (Back is Solid)

Neck:

Mahogany

Fingerboard:

Ebony

Bridge:

Ebony

The best sound transferring wood, besides Jacaranda

Body Depth:

94-100mm

String Length:

650mm

Nut Width:

52.5mm (62@12th fret)

Upgraded with custom made bone saddle & nut

Action is set to: 3.5mm under E6 & 3.00mm under E1.

String spacing at the saddle is 58.5 - 59.00 mm

It will be shipped in brand new hard foam case.

Message to Australian buyers !!!!!

In order to ship a package with guitar to Australia at affordable rate +/- $100 (USPS International Priority Mail), height of such package can’t exceed 42” and its girth+ length can’t exceed 97”. Therefore I will pack the guitar into a case that is short enough to meet this requirement.

Returns

If you are not happy with your purchase you may return the guitar for a full refund.  The cost of return shipping will not be refunded.

All you need to do is to:

1.    Notify me within 5 days after delivery

2.    Pack guitar the same way I do it, using the same box and materials

3.    Ship it back to me within next 2 days

Another words I expect this “trail” period to occur within +/- 7 days. Naturally guitar has to be returned in the same condition as I ship it to you. This is simply honest offer for honest buyers. My goal is to make your purchase as risk free as possible. I know very well that spending $1000 of hard earned money is not emotionally easy undertaking for majority of guitar lovers. I am sure that reading my feedback can ease a bit your “purchase anxiety” but it still will be there no matter how hard I try.

Victor