The Yamaha Guitar SA503TVL
a super model

The Yamaha Guitar SA503TVL is indeed a super model.

From the modern SA15 of the early 60s to the SA2200 of the 70s, the Yamaha semi-acoustic line of guitars has won many credits for its great and varied number of guitar designs produced. The latest on the market is the Yamaha SA503TVL.

Design and Features of The Yamaha SA503 TVL

The Yamaha SA503 TVL has an American type body mixed with Japanese and European type design.

Troy Van Leeuwen, the former guitarist with "A Perfect Circle" and also a sideman with Korn and Limp Bizkit, and currently playing with "Queens of the Stone Age", helped design this model.

It has a dual cutaway on the laminated maple body and comes with a mahogany center block.

The color of the guitar is a light wine red color.

The maple neck has a 22 fret rosewood board that is joined at the 20th fret.

The hardware details fitted on the guitar are
* three single coil pickups,
* Diecast Grover tuners,
* Bigsby licensed vibrato tailpiece
* and a modified bridge.

This instrument was designed with slotted swept wave soundholes and on the control plate were fitted with two 3 way switches which were put on the lower side of the bottom horn.

Though Yamaha had made many soundhole design guitars, it was the Yamaha Guitar SA503TVL that was taken in a different perspective from the other Yamaha guitar designs.

One feature called the All Acess System, the switch configuration, which gives every possible combination from the three pickups. The rear switch gives the standard selections from the neck to the bridge and the forward switch deals with the middle pickup. The other pickups are combined with the center or up pickups.

Yamaha makes their own pickups, using the alnico II magnets and wound, to a DC resistance of about 8.5ohms, a standard P90 spec.

The Yamaha Guitar SA503TVL also comes with three volume controls and has a master tone knob. The thick neck and 14" fretboard gives plenty of grip and the volute behind the nut strengthens the joint at the headstock. The rounded medium frets and the medium action setup gave the instrument a twanging, rich tone. The TVL's neck provides easy access from the lower frets right to the 22nd fret.

The mahogany center block at the bridge does cause the guitar to be a little heavy when one is sitting, but the balance is good when the guitar is strapped to the shoulder.

With the Bigsby unit, the guitar functions very well and the tuning functions are great. The SA503 TVL can produce a semi acoustic tone when it is played in that context and the volume is decent. In fact, the sustain is much better than a lot of archtops. The tone sounds a little honking like a slightly compressed midrange gut sound, producing a little nasal and punchy pickup tone to the fatter neck tone.

With all the variety from the switching system, it is easier to go for different pickup selections and choose different tone colors. Experimenting and fiddling with the pickups gives a lot of variety in terms of sound. The PAF styled humbuckers play a part in providing more cutting edge power at different settings. The Yamaha guitar SA503TVl is a versatile instrument which can provide a lot of different sounds.

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