john stanley
September 19, 2009

Rating: 10/10

I took the nylons off, lowered the bridge insert, and put on martin light steels. Its fantastic, sounds like a national guitar, all the resonance you could wish for. Lets you play anywhere and when you go back to full size it seems easier. good to sing to as g becomes d. i can\'t put mine down, its the best thing you can have for home or travelling.

Clive Wray
August 15, 2009

Rating: 8/10

I originally bought the Yamaha Guitalele as a travel guitar and to use to teach large mixed guitar and Ukulele ensembles. I also have used it for Wider Opportunities whole class (Primary aged pupils) instrumental tuition for Ukuleles.
It works great as an acoustic instrument and in the Ukulele environment it gives extra volume and bass with the addition of strings 5 & 6. It has a sweet tone and good natural projection. It generally plays like a classical guitar capo\\\'d at the fifth fret.
Its only downside is that it takes some turning up(pre-amping) to get the volume out of the pick up system when plugged in. I would recommend it to any one needing a Ukulele to teach with (providing 6 strings suits your needs)and as a travel guitar. It has good acoustic qualities and is well made.

richard woodcock
December 21, 2006

Rating: 8/10

This is a great little hybrid acoustic instrument - essentially it's a quarter-sized guitar with the bottom string tuned to A rather than E. It comes supplied with nylon strings - as usual with a new guitar, it's a good idea to replace these with a new set as soon as you can.

The short distance between the frets on the guitalele takes a little getting used to, and you might run out of room if you use your full arsenal of six-string chord shapes. You might find it easier to use fewer fingers and strings for your chords - this will instantly add dynamics to your playing. The bottom three strings sound like a guitar; the top three sound more like a ukelele. If you're careful with your fingering, and you use a bit of string damping with your right hand, you can coax some great mini-rock sounds out of this little beauty.

The Guitalele comes with a carry case (no padding, so be careful) and it's so small you can take it anywhere, whip it out and put on an impromptu show. It's really good fun - go and get one now. Better still, follow in George Harrison's footsteps and get two, then you can indulge in mini-jams where and whenever the opportunity arises - wonderful!