Yamaha GL1 Guitalele, Natural, Baritone

69 year old guitar hack here. Played electric, and some acoustic guitar in three bands way back in the 1970's. Played acoustic at a wedding. My neighbor bought a Yamaha GL-1 "guitalele" A few years ago, and told me recently that he loves it! A GL-1 is basically a very compact 6 string classical guitar, but, instead of being tuned Eadgbe, it is tuned 5 frets up on each string, so the low and high e's become a's. This means that all the chord shapes I know on a regular guitar can be played in the same positions, but the name of the chord will be different. Example, an e major chord shape on a guitar, will really be an a major on the Yamaha. If I am just playing by myself for myself, there is no problem. If I was to play along with a regular guitar, we would have to work out what key to play in. Also, if I sing and play, then depending on what key I play in, I would have to sing in higher notes.This thing came quicky to me in Hawaii, and it is in perfect condition! Since it had nylon/classical type strings, it is going to take much longer for the strings to settle down and stop sretching. Way longer than my steel stringers. So, don't write a review after a few days complaining about this. All classical style nylon string guitars do this! Pick it up,tune it, play it, and keep tuning it. The tuners on mine seem just fine. It is a total blast for me to play. It sounds great, especially for the small body size. It has very good volume and sustain too. A bit stingy on the fret markers, both on the fingerboard and side of the neck. If you have big fingers, some chording might be a bit crowded. It doesn't have a truss rod. But, many classical guitars and many other guitaleles don't have them either. I have yet to read a review, or watch a video review, where the owner had a neck warp. In short, I should have bought one of these long ago.Update after more than a year now. I still love this little 6 stringer! I have been selling some of my amps and ukes etc. I had considered selling my Yamaha, but cannot do it! It is just such a great insrument. Mine is still perfect. Drawbacks? Few. The 17" scale is a bit tight for me. One string started unravelling after not too much playing. I was able to buy the one string and replaced it. I read a review somewhere where the writer returned his due to various flaws. Looking at mine it's hard to believe. I think Yamaha should make an option of the GL-1 that would come with an under saddle pickup with tuner and volume/tone controls. Great price, great instrument, great FUN!!2/28/2025 update:Just wanted to say my estimation of this instrument has gone up if anything. I am taking super good care of it. It us holding up great. I had one of the wound strings start to unravel early and replaced it. Zero problems. After break in it holds tune as good or better than my other string instruments. That alone is saying a lot. The climate here in the Puna District on the big island plays he'll with stringed instruments. Most go sharp sitting overnight, and flat sitting during the day. This little guy is built very well. I wish it had come with an active pickup with tuned and equalizer, but it's still a keeper!

I've played for nearly 50 years, and am very fond of Yamaha nylon string guitars. This little guy is no exception. The quality of the materials and the precision of construction are surprisingly good, for so inexpensive an instrument. It performs well, with consistent action and clear intonation up the full length of the fret board. I'm a finger-style player, very much into experimentation and improvisation, and am really enjoying the varied colors and delicate variations of tone that can be coaxed out of a GL1. Somewhere in there is a woody, banjo-y voice, completely unique to a guitalele. You'll know it when you find it. These things are called by various names: guitalele, guitarlele, guilele, and kīkū (kee·koo). I'm going with kīkū. As others have noted, it requires higher tuning than a guitar, and more frequent tuning. A E C G D A does seem optimal.I've got a Guardian CG-020-UT Tenor Ukulele case on order for this. I haven't received it as of this writing, but a number of reviewers say it's a good fit for their GL1. The free carry bag that comes with the instrument doesn't really provide adequate protection.Addendum #1: The case mentioned above arrived today. It is, indeed, a very good fit for the GL1.Addendum #2, regarding replacement strings: The strings that came installed on the instrument wore out in short order. (I do a lot of note bends, hammer-ons, vibratos and the like, which tend to burn through the windings of the lower strings rather quickly, particularly when the fret wires are brand new.) Anyway, strings packaged specifically for the guilele can be a bit hard to find when you need them quickly. I generally use D'Addario EJ45 Pro Arte Normal Tension NYLON strings on my classical guitars, so I put a set on the guilele. They sound great in A E C G D A tuning--better than what came with it out of the box, in my opinion. The diameters are so similar that I can't tell the difference, nor do I notice any significant difference in string tension. Bear in mind that nylon strings ALWAYS take a day or two to stabilize, and frequent tuning even after that goes with the territory.