I have had several Takamine's through the yrs. For the money they are really good guitars. The higher end Yairi's are excellent especially the GY1's. The GY1 was developed by Jerry Garcia. I am not a dead head but it is an excellent guitar pricey but great. I would put it up against any custom made guitar out there and though it might not measure up to all it will not be blown away. It is a great guitar by any standard.