Yamaha Acoustic Guitalele, GL1 – A hybrid between guitar and ukulele (70 cm) with 6 Strings (3 nylon/3 metal wound, commonly known as a nylon string set) and Fitted Yamaha Gigbag – Natural
| Weight: | 10 g |
| Size: | Ukelele Size |
| Dimensions: | 71 x 23 x 8 cm; 10 Grams |
| Model: | GL1 |
| Colour: | Natural |
| Colour: | Natural |
| Origin: | Indonesia |
| Size: | Ukelele Size |
Awesome! I love this product. It was just what I wanted!
This instrument is good value for money, not sure if I prefer it to my concert ukulele, but it is fine
Love it. Perfect condition. In no way disappointed. Arrived on time. Great for practising my guitar chords (even though it is not the same key), can play as a ukulele and can learn to play it in its own right. Versatile. Great.
1. Imagine a guitar the size of an alto saxophone, and/or the size of one of those impressively long watermelons, that are thin for some reason. Is that something you want? Yes it is. Get it.
2. You ever wanted to be pretentious in public by taking an acoustic guitar around? Those things are huge, and difficult to play in Cars, hammocks, and crowded busses, where you’ll annoy people. Instead, opt for this instrument, which will make people judge you, but not before questioning the size of your instrument.
3. It’s made by Yamaha, these people make everything from trumpets, to motorcycles, to cybernetic androids that can make French toast with basic ingredients, a lighter, and some ambition. You want it.
4. Let’s get real for a minute, The strings are dental floss, but you know what? you’re not buying this thing for the strings, so cut those things off and put some metals on it like an adult.
5. No strap mount? No problem, take a screw and throw it on the bottom of the instrument and get playing, because people who complain about petty details don’t deserve tiny guitars
6. The instrument projects really well for its size, like a baby on public transport, play this thing with a pick, and some ambition, and Everyone in your hemisphere will hear you. (Note : players with small hands, or people that play crazy wide chords, you’ll love this)
7. Alright let’s get real, the carrying case is a Kroger bag, but you know what, this instrument weighs as much as a can of Pepsi, so you’ll probably be fine.
8. Let’s talk about tone quality, imagine a 250 dollar guitar with a capo on the fifth fret. That’s what you’re getting. It’s pretty good.
9. Built quality : you could use this guitar for home defense.
10. Final verdict : you won’t regret buying this. As an instrument, it’s just good for your heart. It’ll listen to you, it’ll comfort you to hold, and play it, and you’ll make some great memories with it.
10/10 worth it.
Great little Guitalele, well built which a rich sound quality.
It is exactly as described and Yamaha are always great quality…I prefer my Yamaha steel string and have not used this that much but it is great fun. Perhaps I will enjoy having it more when I go on holiday as it is highly portable
Nice sound, very compact, ideal for travelling, delivered on time intact……
Better than I thought.
Great for playing about the house and has a nice sound
I wanted something that would allow me to get a uke-cum-banjo sound for some Irish folk songs. I didn’t want to learn a new instrument for this so I bought this. And it is perfect.
I can use all the guitar chord shapes (although obviously they’re a fourth up in pitch) so it was immediately playable and usable.
The quality is pretty good. It isn’t a high end instrument and that’s apparent, but it is better than I expected for the price. There are no dead frets or sharp fret ends and the intonation is pretty good for such a short scale.
The tuners are fine, though not brilliant, and the neck is very playable.
The only downside is the supplied strings. They are not great, but they are usable.
If you are looking for a great little instrument for a bit of fun or to add to your collection, you probably won’t regret getting one of these.
I live in halls and keeping a guitar is a hassle so I decided to get a Guitalele, since I’ve had a bit of experience with Guitaleles and thought it would be a good alternative. It is a very fun little instrument and I’ve really adored playing it. It is compact and you can take it anywhere with you. Including on a plane, so you don’t have to buy a special case for air travel and then wonder whether it will survive.
Excellent for the price but remember , the frets get pretty narrow on the way up the fret board
Wow what a bargain for the money. Yamaha are a good name and they didnt let me down.
Ridiculously good quality for the price! Keeps it’s tune SO well and has the most unbelievable resonance. I don’t know how Yamaha make such good things so cheaply. We’ve had this at jam nights, parties, BBQs and even recorded it on an album. Great to chuck in the back of the car to take on holiday. BUY ONE!!!
I’ve been looking at these guitaleles for some time.. after reading the reviews and seeing demos on websites I took the plunge.. and oh boy! I’m not disappointed 😀 The sound is pretty impressive for a little thing, and I’m definitely putting in more practise time.. especially handy when learning new tunes (though, I notice it does make my fingers a bit lazy, so I make a point of not neglecting my acoustic guitar). Chuffed to bits! Worth every penny.
Excellent. I needed a small guitar for noodling about on when on holidays or away with work, any situation where lugging along one of my Ibanez electrics just wasn’t practical. I have owned a few small travel guitars in the past but they have all suffered from fairly terrible playability. Not so here. This little gem of an instrument plays beautifully, whether finger style or picked. The action is perfect. It has a full, singing tone. Highly, highly recommended, and cheap enough to not worry about too much when on your travels!
Great little instrument very pleased very payable good size fretboard viable substitute for my classical guitar when away fits in my suitcase!
After changing strings for Aquila strings it’s a great little guitar for practising on the sofa.
I highly recommend this instrument. It holds its tuning and stays in tune all the way up the neck and it has a very playable action and the strings aren’t too close together.
A lovely little guitalele, will be super handy for travelling. The only thing I’m concerned about is that it doesn’t stay in tune, has to be retuned very often. Not sure why, it could be because it’s new maybe.
Great quality & brilliant sound. Comes in its own travel bag too, great for storage
This ones for my daughter it’s a lovely little bit of ki
Yup, fits my guitarlele. Could do with some pockets but hey, good price, can’t complain.
Just received yesterday and have not been able to put it down since. Definitely worth 60 quid, absolute bargain, came well set up and plays like a dream. Huge fan.
Wonderful little instrument.Totally great value! I can’t stop playing it!
Brilliant for guitar beginner, can sit on sofa and practice chords.
Nice instrument
just a bit hard to play down the neck if you have big fingers
Every guitarist should have one, just fantastic to pick up and play. I may even be able to sneak it on holiday…….
Good service. The guitarelle was actually in tune when is arrived! It has excellent intonation and a great action. I am very pleased with it. Highly recommended.
Takes a bit of getting used to as it is so small and if you’ve got big fingers like me. However, with a bit of persistence it’s possible to get quite a good sound out of this instrument. Tuned A to A so it’s like playing a normal guitar with a capo on the fifth fret. With the strings it came with it took about 3 weeks for the tuning to settle down. I like it though, better than not having a guitar to play!
This is a fantastic! A brilliant practice guitar on a smaller scale, portable because of its size…and excellent quality.
My grandson loves it and will hopefully learn from it as it’s a high quality, genuine instrument and not just a toy.
I’m a beginner on guitar and always wanted one for myself ! The size is slightly bigger than ukulele but it’s is perfect! light and easy to take it out around. The finished is beautiful , out of my expectation. Sound is pretty good for what you pay 🙂 definitely worth buying it. I’m very happy of the product !
These are especially useful for the ‘stuck in bed’, it’s a bit odd that they are travel guitars 🙂 . At least next time you have a touch of the flu you can look forward to it! 😉
Yes,just as described and good value for money.Can’t play over the rainbow yet though.
I’m amazed at how it stays in tune, even if when I go back to play it after months with no use.
The body is the size of a tenor ukelele, with the same string arrangement of a guitar tuned up 5 semi-tones to A.
Great fun, but quite tricky to play barre chords on, given the tiny frets!
Excellent. Learning to play the guitar, but it’s difficult when I don’t have it wherever I am.
This size overcomes that!
This was a gift to my girlfriend around 4 years ago. Still perfect and she really like it.
A great little guitar for the price. needs a bit of adjustment to make it more Guitar than Yuke though. i.e. bone nut and saddle,plus DDarrio extra high tension strings, plus nut adjustment and saddle filing, plus decent tuners, al from Amazon, make this a Really Great Fun Travel Guitar. !!!!
A must have for anyone that loves playing the guitar for beginners to experts. 5 stars no problem
Arived extremely quickly and we’ll packaged. A beautiful instrument with a good action would definitely recommend.
Amazing quality and a pretty amusing and handy instrument to play.
Bar far the cheapest 6 string instrument made by a reputable company. I use it as a Ukalele and my Daughter tunes it up as a Guitar. Comes in a nice bag too.
brilliant little instrument. so much fun to play and its perfect for touring about with. would recomend finding a hard case for it. i found a kinsman mandolin case that fits perfectly.
Unbelievable sound from such a small instrument. Can’t wait to take this on my travels with me
A great little instrument for the price. It was far better finished than expected and travelled well as carry on hand baggage. Yamaha have come up trumps with the guitalele.
Don’t expect a great tone from a tiny body made of cheap wood, but this instrument is ideal for travelling. An accurately made fretboard and serviceable tuners are a good basis, but you need to lower the action as it gets progressively sharper in the higher positions. A couple of hours work with a new nut and saddle cured this. (I’ve set up two of these guitaleles now,) None-the-less excellent value for a travel guitar.
For its price this is an excellent buy. It is “true” i.e. I played a scale up every string and it was accurate. It is tuned like a guitar with the capo on the fifth fret.
A great little portable guitar, sounds good, do not expect A full size guitar sound. But for the money it is great, comfortable to play, the fret board is almost full width. I LOVE it. Been playing for 40 years and have several full size acoustic guitars with amazing sounds, but this little chap is fun.
It’s a treat to play, sounds full and lush and really can’t be beaten at this price.
Holy hell! This thing is so much fun to play, well made, sounds sweet and looks real good to!
A great alternative to travel with…
Fast delivery and arrived well packaged.
Love this. A really fun and creative addition to my guitar collection. Coming on holiday with me as hand luggage this year!
extremely useful as a travel guitar – fits in my suitcase and I take it around the world. Keeps me practised up and my fingers flexible. Has a nice tone too and may even use it for recording.
Very pleased with this item. It also arrived very quickly.
very cute but very useable instrument, i love looking at it as well as playing it! strings took a while to settle before they would hold their tune but thats the same for most stringed instruments. will probably change them very soon anyway. delievery was quick and item well packaged. great item for the price.
For it’s price the Yamaha GL1 is an amazing instrument for practice and even gigging. I recommend this to anyone who plays guitar. It keeps it’s tuning well and sounds really pretty. Simply Awesome 🙂
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!
A wonderful compact small travel guitar. A brilliant buy and worth every penny, It is a shame they don’t make an electric version.
It’s worth replacing the strings with a decent classical set, but apart from that the only thing I can find wrong with it are a few not very noticeable smears of glue, but frankly for the price that’s not really a worry. The tuners are good and the frets are nicely finished, no pointy fret ends in sight.
It’s also a shame it doesn’t come with a pre-installed strap button, but having peered inside the thing I can see there is a tail block, so I’ll probably just install one myself.
It’s not the easiest thing in the world to play due to it’s size, so I wouldn’t recommend this as a first instrument for an adult beginner, but it’s lots of fun for guitarists wanting something small enough to carry around, or for steel string players who fancy dabbling in nylon without breaking the bank.
Amazing little guitar. I keep it down the back of the sofa in the lounge where it’s out of reach of my 2 year old but where I can still get to it easily when I want it. Before getting this I’d pretty much given up playing guitar as I had nowhere to put a full size guitar.
Perfect little guitar for practising in the car , comes with a fairly good quality case. Quite a professional sound can be achieved, good product for this price range.
Yes this is n i c e. For the money its just fine, really nice sound. fits in a suitcase great to take on holiday.
I looked at baby taylor and the oh so awful Martin backpacker etc, this did the job for under a hundred quid.
Not fancy but not cheap rubbish – well made and surprisingly good sound
Great little thing. Easy to pick up and play anywhere. Strings aren’t the best but it produces a nice sound
I initially bought this as a festival going travel guitar and quickly found out it was a nice addition to my collection. It is really well made and stays in tune nicely. It has quite a large projection for its size and a nice tone to it. Really happy
Superb value musical instrument. If you want a guitar that you can’t put down buy this. Great for practice and a delightful sound to jam along with your mates, in order for your keys to match a regular tuned guitar will have to sport a capo on the 5th. My only gripe is the frets are too small for my large fingers!
As a previous guitar player now converted to the Ukulele, this is a great addition to my collection, a sort of halfway house between the two.
Nicely made and a bright sound.
Very happy at the price paid.
Great little fun guitar. Really good for children who are starting out or for more experienced players to have sitting to hand just to pratice picking. Really great sound off of it.. Best purchase in years..4 stars
Good. Played a lot. Easy to just pick up and play. Small enough to just sit anywhere without worry. Fu
FIrst came across a guitalele when I was travelling through Brazil, and since encountering it I had to own one! This one is cheap an cheerful, I am very happy with it. The bag is handy too.
My GL1 arrived fast and in perfect condition. My first reaction was that I made a big mistake due to the “smallness of the frets”… But that is history. With a little perseverance and refreshingly, playing with more finesse, I soon bonded with my Guitalele. Now it is my main instrument. The sound is incredible if you don’t treat it like a ukulele… it is really a beautiful little classical guitar. A bonus is that it is also perfect for getting the kids interested in learning to play.
The shipping was quick, and the guitalele arrived in perfect condition. Sounds great straight out of box, and I was pleasantly surprised about the quality. love i
This product covers all these demands.
It is super light and portable and has a nice sound for its size.
You can play it as a ukelele only (the bottom four strings) or as you would a guitar (all the strings).
A couple of friends really liked it and were interested in purchasing one after seeing it and testing it out.
I am someone who loves musical instruments having everything from Sitar to an african thumb piano.
This is a great little addition to the collection especially if you play guitar or ukulele.
For someone who travels alot it is also a great addition as the size makes it far more convenient.
Great Fun!
Love it. Even bought one for my Granddaughters birthday. Nice bag as well. All ready for Her first lesson. Family Time
This little guy has really grown on me and has become my go to guitar while I am in the apartment. It has a light sound that doesn’t travel, which means I can practice it all the time with no complaints from neighbors. It is just simple and fun and its size allows me to take it with me or play from anywhere. I love swinging in my hammock chair with my guitalele. A bonus is that my daughter started practicing a lot more. I think the size just feels right to her.
Tuning is: ADGCEA like 5th fret on guitar, so all chords work, but in different key.
Con: Strings don’t stay in tune that well, so I will eventually switch them out and hope that improves.
True to Yamaha’s reputation for quality guitars at the right price, this is a wonderful instrument. The craftsmanship is just amazing and the sound produced is simply fantastic. I bought this as something to play on whilst on holiday as well as for lazy practice on the sofa. This is not a toy, it is a perfect little classical guitar and as such might well be a good starter instrument for a seriously interested child as well as an adults instrument.
This is a great sounding baby guitar – very portable. Good value for money. Neat little instrument that plays well.
If you want a small guitar for travel, or just something different, I would recommend this guitalele : just think of a guitar capoed at the fifth fret and you’ve got it. Also, its great for children on account of its size, and much better in my view than a half or three-quarter size guitar, which never seem up to much, perhaps because of the shorter scale.
Such good fun to play. Its really good quality for the money. Perfect for travel and practice. I wonder if my Taylor will get a look in for a while.
I reckon if they did a deluxe version, it would fly off the shelves.
Well…didnt expect such a small bodied instrument create such a balanced sound!
I used it for recording and it resembled a mandolin and a ukelele….
very good intonation, and even I can play some classical guitar music with it!
I recommend it for any guitar lover!!!
GREAT!!!
I’ve been wanting to join in the latest ukelele craze but didn’t fancy having to get my head around a whole new bunch of chord shapes. This is an easy way around it, although if like me you’ve been playing a ‘normal’ sized guitar for many years, then it can be quite difficult at first trying to get to grips with the small fret spaces and fairly narrow neck etc. but within a few days you do get the hang of it. For the money you’re getting an instrument from a world class manufacturer with a gig bag thrown in at a silly price.
I actually bought it for my grandson who has Downe’s Syndrome but who wants to learn to play the guitar. He is delighted with it and it has him back practising again which I was having difficulty encouraging him to do on his standard size guitar. Thank you
Of course its not 100% perfect but for the price its fantastic. Sounds surprisingly great,and really easy and fun to play (I have average sized hands.)Really easy to do lead stuff on, pleasantly bendy and the nylon strings sound really sweet. Despite being so light and portable, it can actually pack quite a punch volume-wise, and you can get quite a nice range of sounds out of it. When I received it, the D string had opened up to the core in a few places, but that can easily be addressed.
verdict: Good fun, light, portable, and definitely worth the money!
The guitar is in good quality. I like it so much and it is perfect for beginners and travelers.
The delivery is late, however I think the guitar worth to wait.
Bought this for my grandson. I have one and it is a very portable fun instrument for a guitar player as the fingering is the same. My grandson plays guitar and would always play my GL1 when he came to see me and he loved it so I bought him this one. The addition of the gig bag (although basic) is excellent.
Guitalele plays really easily and although I don’t have any hands on experience with any of the other brands of it’s style, being a regular or standard size guitar player, would recommend it to anyone looking for a travel guitar. I went by this review among others to finally settle on my decision;
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Good value for money…. a well made little instrument. I am an experienced guitarist and it is just the right size to take with me on my travels in my little camper van !. The action was a little high for my personal taste and the intonation was slightly “out” on the 3rd string but a good local music shop technician corrected these 2 issues for me for 10…so its now a little gem and plays and sounds sweet …I am very pleased with i
Absolutely love it! Perfect size for carry around house or travel with. I found the fred board easy to press and comfortable to hold. Brilliant sound from this little body. Natural non-glossy finish well crafted body. Made in Indonesia.
The sound it gives could easily cost over 200 in an Ukulele. Thanks for Yamaha for making it affordable, well done!
I would get one more for my partner.
This last week, I bought a Yamaha GL1 guitalele, having played around with a capo on my full-size classical guitar for a while, and enjoyed the higher-pitched sounds and the reduced finger-stretches. When it arrived, my first impression was of a well-made instrument, well inline with Yamaha quality, but I was somewhat disappointed with the reduced fingerboard width, at both the nut, and the bridge. There was sufficient space at both ends to increase the finger=space available, by inserting a new nut at the top, with wider spaced string grooves, and by filing slots in the bridge-saddle, to give more of a feel of a classical guitar. I replaced the strings with some decent “Aquila” guitar strings, and it now sounds great, well in tune, a good action.
Overall, a nicely designed instrument, good value for money, a pity about the completely flat back, but it has a good sound, nothing like a good classical guitar with a capo on the fifth fret, but a very unique sound of it’s own. It would be good to develop an instrument of this size, with a couple of extra bass strings, for low E and D.
Simon Duckworth
I really like this. It’s not got a great sound if you strum but if you’re a fingerpicking player like myself it’s super. It’s small enough to carry with you or leave upright on your bedside table but the fingerpicking sound is surprisingly rather nice. I got this as I like playing the guitar and a uke, but don’t like not having a guitar fretboard (as I’m originally a guitarist) and don’t like lugging around a big guitar if I want to move from room to room. It’s quite fun to play while walking up and down the stairs too 🙂
Tuned like a Uke, excellent build quality, wide fretboard of a guitar with short size of a uke – it’s NOT just a 1/4 size guitar (they have narrow impossible fretboards). Straight out the bag the sound is tight and warm. Very impressed, Can only get better with age. Absolutely perfect for back of the car gigging. An absolute no-brainer for <60. I defy anyone to not be instantly in love.