Yamaha AE1200S

**rquattro** · 08-11-2015, 01:47 PM

Hello all I just picked up this '92 Yamaha AE1200S III.

It has a medium C profile neck with medium jumbo frets on an ebony fretboard.

The pickups sound really nice warm and articulate, and split really nicely. the top is laminated spruce and the back and sides are laminated maple.

There is some nice birdseye on the back of the neck sides and back.

I have been looking for a good archtop for around $1000 and haven't been able to find anything that I liked by Ibanez, Peerless, Epiphone, D' Angelico etc. Definitely the honeymoon period here but super pleased for now.

Yamaha AE1200S-20150811_093139-jpg

**pubylakeg** · 08-12-2015, 07:42 AM

Congratulations. That's a beautiful guitar, and a bit of a rarity. Very classy !.

**Archie** · 08-12-2015, 08:09 AM

Yeh good guitars. Heavy but then its gonna last. I played a few and always enjoyed the amplified tone and they can be good value.

Enjoy :-)

**rquattro** · 08-12-2015, 01:14 PM

Thanks Archtop. Yes it is a heavy build. I am strictly an electric player and I'm loving the amped tone. Loud enough to practice at home was a nice bonus! Lots of talk about "thunk" (joe pass pat martino) versus "shimmer sweetnes" (wes, george benson) lately. For me this guitar has a really nice balance of both if that makes sense.

**Archie** · 08-12-2015, 01:23 PM

Your guitar has a warm, smooth yet well balanced and detailed enough sound for a laminate. Thats all you need to sound great (ok player too).

I would be happy to have your guitar as I would any of the best laminate models. Ok maybe I would be more impressed with a sadowski but hey, apples to oranges really in terms of price.

You did very well, it will sound excellent. Don't worry about anything else :-)

**rquattro** · 08-12-2015, 01:36 PM

I was able to play both a Sadowsky Jim Hall and a semi hollow but couldn't get either to sound good for me.
The Yamaha sounded so much deeper and more complex than the Jim Hall to me. Individual strings inside chord voicing are so clear and warm on the Yammy.
I took it to a jam last night and suddenly comping became so much more fun as I started to pay attention to the moving inside voices.

Best

**lespaulatwork** · 12-26-2016, 07:06 AM

I have exactly the same guitar over here in Belgium.
A good friend of mine bought it brand new in the US while visiting New Orleans.
It is a 1995 model. He passed it through the belgian border authorities with some financial pains. (extensive import taxes) He almost did'nt play it. It is flawless and he had the kindness to leave it to me for 700 EUR incl original case. Almost a gift.
Most of the time play it acoustic at home. Electric I play it through an AER Compact mobile. Fine combination. Also with a Joyo American sound pedal.

**helios** · 12-26-2016, 04:40 PM

Congratulations! I foolishly sold mine. Bireli Lagrene (who is nothing short of a virtuoso) makes one sound just fine:

**Monkeybrains** · 05-12-2020, 02:38 PM

So I finally got a proper archtop. I did flirt with a Eastman a few years back but it didn't work out. This one is a yamaha AE1200. 1980s plays pretty good although it will be having a full setup soon.

Needs new pickups in due course, the originals are long gone. Going to Put in a pair of kent armstrong PAFs I got lying around for the short term until I decide what to go with.

**losaltosjoe** · 05-13-2020, 06:54 PM

Congrats! A mid-1980's Yamaha AE-1200S was also my first archtop. It is a terrific guitar. I still have it but it now resides at my parents' home for when I visit. I look forward to seeing some pictures. Play it in good health. -- Joe

**Monkeybrains** · 05-14-2020, 02:12 AM

**73Fender** · 05-14-2020, 06:17 PM

Congrats. She’s a looker. Yamahas are excellent.

**Rainer** · 12-21-2022, 03:59 AM

Hello

In the first message you write: "...the top is laminated spruce and the back and sides are laminated maple"
I found some ads that say it's a solid top. Are they wrong?

Anybody knows the difference between the Yamaha AE 1200S and the Yamaha AE 1200?

Thanx & Greez, Rainer

**littleknicky** · 12-25-2022, 06:21 PM

Some nice info here:

The Yamaha AE Range

I have a ae1200s with a solid top, which I believe is pressed, not carved. Here's a pic of the manual that accompanied the guitar when I purchased it. Yamaha AE1200S-20221225_231625-jpg

**DawgBone** · 12-25-2022, 07:01 PM

My guess is the "S" stands for sunburst? Didn't they also come in natural? They don't seem to be very common as compared to the semi hollow Yamaha SA2000/2200.

When I was prowling reverb for a hollowbody recently I looked closely at the only one of those I saw listed, a sunburst model . They were asking $1300. It was gone in a day or two. That was quick. I've never met a bad piece of Yamaha musical equipment. Currently gigging with their powered speakers for PA. Almost as good as the QSC for a lot less money.

**2bornot2bop** · 12-28-2022, 10:19 AM

They were available in blonde. I owned one. Here’s an old pic.

Yamaha AE1200S-b76f1024-b034-458e-af5d-35fbb97f68d1-jpeg

**losaltosjoe** · 12-28-2022, 02:56 PM

Originally Posted by DawgBone

My guess is the "S" stands for sunburst? Didn't they also come in natural?

I believe the "S" stands for solid top. Here's a picture of my mid-80s AE1200S, which I purchased in 2010 (my first archtop). It is a really nice guitar! I was lucky that I was able to replace the "gassing" pickguard before it ruined the finish and hardware.

Yamaha AE1200S-yamaha-ae1200s_03-jpg

**rsclosson** · 12-29-2022, 01:26 PM

I had one that I stupidly swapped. I wish I had it back!

**garybaldy** · 12-29-2022, 08:23 PM

Originally Posted by rsclosson

I had one that I stupidly swapped. I wish I had it back!

A couple of years ago I had the chance to buy one. It was going for 1450GBP. The seller dropped to 1350 for me but I thought it was still a bit too much. It sold for 1450 after about a week. I should have pulled the trigger.