The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    Hey, I've just seen a video from "Dave's world of fun stuff" wherein which he commends the quality of a Yunzhi guitars... So I have some questions that I hope the wonderful community can answer:

    1. They are made to order, or so it seems. To what extent can one specify what one wants?
    2. Are they worth the money you pay?
    3. What guitars are they comparable to?


    Thanks in advance for any answers!

  2.  

    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

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    There are some common problems with most Yunzhi guitars, they need the wiring replaced.

    Yunzhi and TeamYolanda put out some killer guitars. The old knock on Eastman back when they started was they had lousy pickups and wiring issues. They got smart and started using high end American stuff like Seymour Duncan Seth Lovers or Duncan 59s... And most Eastmans go thru their American based workshop for fret leveling, wiring checkout ect...

    Of course a lot of fellas went with Yunzhi or TeamYolanda and once they had their dream guitar in hand took it to their favorite tech and had them properly setup and install the fine electrical components of their choice, like I did. This is a Yunzi John Pisano copy with floating Bartolini 5j pickup and Schatten hidden volume/tone controls on a custom ebony
    pick guard. Screaming guitar, and really loud and well balanced unplugged too. My go to guitar. I ordered this about 4 years ago when Ms. Lora was with Yunzhi, she's great, now with TeamYolanda.

    Best of luck deciding

    Yunzhi Guitars?-10653831_10152500761037239_685583280386282999_n-jpg
    Last edited by BigMikeinNJ; 12-28-2014 at 02:42 PM.

  4. #3

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    A yunzhi would appeal because of the possibility of customization, such as headstock design.

  5. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by Marwin Moody
    Hey, I've just seen a video from "Dave's world of fun stuff" wherein which he commends the quality of a Yunzhi guitars... So I have some questions that I hope the wonderful community can answer:

    1. They are made to order, or so it seems. To what extent can one specify what one wants?
    2. Are they worth the money you pay?
    3. What guitars are they comparable to?


    Thanks in advance for any answers!
    hi dear freind ,
    hope you are well ,
    im jennifer from yunzhi company ,
    i can answer your questions , hope it is not to late .
    we can custom guitars as customer want , so customer need tell me the size /color/and give us more infos ,
    so we can custom the guitar like the customer said .
    if you want to know if it worth the money you pay , i think you can try , i promise you do not have a risk,
    the guitars are all wonderful .
    we have 9 years expenrience , or 10 years expenrience , because it will be 2015 year , haha .
    our guitars are fully handmade and solid wood ,
    so you can match it with handmade famous guitar ,
    quality is the same , but price is cheaper .

    jennifer

    yunzhihengwei03@yzmusicfacory.com.cn

  6. #5

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    I played an Eastman back in 2012. It was on consignment at a shop I used to take lessons at. It was a very nice guitar, the first all solid-carved instrument I ever held. Wish I had enough skills back then to really experience the best that guitar could offer.

  7. #6

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    I just heard about this guitar company. I looked on their website and see that one guitar, 17", hollowbody, 2 pups, sells for $1150. Above I read that those who purchased these guitars changed out the pickups and wiring and did fretwork, that's another $350. Total price for the guitar: $1500. Really? How is this a good deal? Am I not reading this correctly. Thanks!

  8. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by MoCee
    I just heard about this guitar company. I looked on their website and see that one guitar, 17", hollowbody, 2 pups, sells for $1150. Above I read that those who purchased these guitars changed out the pickups and wiring and did fretwork, that's another $350. Total price for the guitar: $1500. Really? How is this a good deal? Am I not reading this correctly. Thanks!
    Name another new hand carved, all solid woods archtop made to your specifications for $1500. For that matter, name one for twice that.

  9. #8

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    I have heard great things about Yunzhi, hand carved, beautiful finished, change the pups and electronics, it is a win, win situation, a no brainer.

  10. #9

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    If you want a laminate guitar, and there are certainly valid reasons to, then probably a Yunzhi or a Wu isn't that great a deal. You can buy tons of factory-produced all-laminate guitars for less. But if you want a hand-carved acoustic guitar, with or without a pickup, the value is much better.

  11. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by sgosnell
    If you want a laminate guitar, and there are certainly valid reasons to, then probably a Yunzhi or a Wu isn't that great a deal. You can buy tons of factory-produced all-laminate guitars for less. But if you want a hand-carved acoustic guitar, with or without a pickup, the value is much better.
    Made me think a bit. How experienced of a guitar player do you have to be before your hands/ears are trained to the difference? I can play a lot of great music on my Washburn J6 with laminates and inexpensive pickups. But after playing an archtop made for acoustic sound, I certainly hear, feel, and enjoy the difference. And it does translate to amplified. Especially when using quality pickups and amplification.

    There is a 'quality' to archtop sound that takes time and experience to appreciate. To further that into the realm of stratification in quality instruments takes money, sometimes a significant amount, and more time. Given the path it's interesting to see how many have been down it. Sometimes I want to stop because I'm OK with Yunzhi/Wu guitars. Other times I want a Trenier.

  12. #11

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    Laminate guitars were, AFAIK, introduced because they are more resistant to feedback, not because they were cheaper. A loud, responsive carved top feeds back easily, and the amplified sound isn't necessarily better than that of a laminated top. If you're playing entirely, or even mostly, amplified, a laminated archtop makes a lot of sense, and even high-end boutique makers offer them. As the old saying goes, horses for courses, and it's really a matter of taste and preference. I use my 18" Wu mostly for playing rhythm, either entirely acoustic or with the amp just loud enough to reinforce the acoustic sound, and I like that tone. If I want to play single-line solos, I have other guitars that are better suited for that, like my Benedetto Bambino Deluxe, which is laminated and thin-bodied. The Wu is ok for that, but the Benedetto is better, and I don't have to worry about feedback.

  13. #12

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    Typical for me is a Grace Designs Felix pre -> Palmer tube DI -> Schertler Jam 150. You can hear the acoustic elements. If I want an electric sound I usually reach for a solid body.

  14. #13

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    They offer so many different styles for a reason.

  15. #14

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    I was talking to Ms Lora from Yolandateam, and the Mr Wu guitars are today priced higher, US$1500.
    She offered the Younzhi regular model priced US$ 1100.
    Have anyone experienced those Younzhi not made my Mr Wu?
    Thank you!

  16. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by Campos
    I was talking to Ms Lora from Yolandateam, and the Mr Wu guitars are today priced higher, US$1500. She offered the Younzhi regular model priced US$ 1100. Have anyone experienced those Younzhi not made my Mr Wu? Thank you!
    Mr Wu is an independent guitar maker working much like any other custom luthier. He used to work at the Yunzhi factory in a senior role but that was something like 6 or 7 years back. There are likely Yunzhi guitars that were made directly by Mr Wu but mostly they have always been made by different individuals doing different jobs in a factory setting.

    I have 2 from Mr Wu and 5 from Yunzhi. Wu is more consistent and both guitars from him were made quite well. Yunzhi's are less consistent. They all sound good. A couple of them sound great. But there are workmanship flaws from trivial to pretty annoying. You can expect finish flaws you can polish out. You can also expect the need for a fret job. If you order electronics expect to take them out and throw them away. Other things are possible. This was all 5 years ago for me and none of the flaws have kept them from becoming good instruments. I still have all my Wu and Yunzhi guitars and have no plans of parting with them. I'm not surprised Wu guitars have gone up. They will probably continue to do so. Yunzhi's on the other hand are a great bargain if you can work out minor flaws. Assumes things are unchanged since my dated experience of course.

    Anyway.. what you probably want to know is if you should spend the $1500 for a Wu or get the Yunzhi for $1100. If it were me I would go for the Wu. And while you're at it buy some Gotoh 510 tuners and mail them to Lora for the build. Good luck.. buying one of these is quite the experience.

  17. #16

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    Thank you, Spook!
    Probably I'll go for a Gibson 175 before ordering a Yunzhi. I really would like to have a real acoustic jazz guitar, I mean, a jazz guitar with a sonic acoustic performance ... but a 175 is a dream also ...

  18. #17

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    I got a Wu about a year ago, and it needed nothing other than adjusting the truss rod and the bridge. The truss rod was completely loose for shipping, as it should have been. Bridges need adjusting both vertically and laterally for playability and intonation on almost any archtop, so those were just par for the course. The frets are fine, as is the finish. No electronics ordered, so no problem there. All in all, it's a great guitar, with a sweet acoustic tone and rather loud, even though it's a smaller model, just under 16" at the lower bout and just over 2.5" deep at the rims, as ordered. I did change the tuners, mostly for cosmetic reasons because I thought the Wilkinson tuners were ugly. They worked fine. I haven't taken either of my Benedettos out of the case in some time. The Wu hangs on the wall for ease of grabbing for playing, which I do every day. It was $1500 including shipping, plus Paypal fees and inlay, which was ~$40 IIRC. To me, it was a solid investment. I might not get my money back if I ever decide to sell it, but I seriously doubt I will. Resale value was never a concern, because I bought it to play, and I do that.

  19. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by Campos
    Have anyone experienced those Younzhi not made my Mr Wu?
    Yes. This Yunzhi. As good as a Wu in every way.

    Also it's good news to hear that Wu has now increased his prices to $1500. That's only about a 33% price increase over the Wu I ordered 3 years ago...still a fair price for a custom ordered carved archtop.


  20. #19

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    Hi all. I'm Frank. I'm new here. I'm succumbing to GAS and considering an archtop from yunzhi, which many of you have experience with. I've tried to take in all info available here but have a question about fret edge treatment. I am partial to Ibanez Artstar fret edge treatment and wonder if there is any way to have yunzhi duplicate it. Any suggestions would be helpful.

  21. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by Tafari
    Hi all. I'm Frank. I'm new here. I'm succumbing to GAS and considering an archtop from yunzhi, which many of you have experience with. I've tried to take in all info available here but have a question about fret edge treatment. I am partial to Ibanez Artstar fret edge treatment and wonder if there is any way to have yunzhi duplicate it. Any suggestions would be helpful.
    There are quite a few threads on this site concerning Yunzi that would be well worth your time. Plus posting this should bring out proud Yunzi owners and their stories.

  22. #21

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    Quote Originally Posted by Tafari
    Hi all. I'm Frank. I'm new here. I'm succumbing to GAS and considering an archtop from yunzhi, which many of you have experience with. I've tried to take in all info available here but have a question about fret edge treatment. I am partial to Ibanez Artstar fret edge treatment and wonder if there is any way to have yunzhi duplicate it. Any suggestions would be helpful.
    Could you explain a little of what you mean by Ibanez Artstar fret edge treatment?
    Different factories have ways of doing things, Yunzhi has ways of doing things. What is it you're looking for? That'll make it easier to assess whether they could incorporate that feature.

  23. #22

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    Yunzhi Guitars?-feat_1051-jpg
    Yunzhi Guitars?-feat_1022-jpg
    Smoothly rounded, part-spherical fret ends

  24. #23

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    Quote Originally Posted by thelostboss

    Smoothly rounded, part-spherical fret ends
    Ah. Sure they will. When they build it, ask their rep, Lora, to ask if their luthiers could use medium fretwire, kept high with the fret wires rounded off. Send them a picture and they'll do that.

  25. #24

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    Yunzhi may attempt anything you ask them. Whether that's a good idea or not is another matter. If it's not part of their regular set of features, it's probably better to avoid it.
    Last edited by Spook410; 05-12-2021 at 02:12 PM.

  26. #25

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    Quote Originally Posted by Spook410
    Yunzhi may attempt anything you ask them. Whether that's a good idea is another matter. If it's not part of their regular set of features, it's probably better to avoid it.
    That being said, agreed with and acknowledged, rounding fret corners is not really a hard thing to do. They have some really talented high echelon luthiers working there and fret ends are below basic lutherie 101. If that's the only stipulation for a make or break deal, you're an easy customer.
    Why are you unhappy with your Ibanez?