Yamaha LP Series Lineup — LP-1000 / LPC-800 / LP-600 / LP-500 / LP-400

The Yamaha LP series was offered in the following lineup, from top to bottom:
LP-1000, LPC-800, LP-600, LP-500, and LP-400.
Of these, the LPC-800 was the only Custom model in the series.

The popularity of any guitar model is shaped by the guitarists of its era.
The 1970s were the age of the Les Paul and the Stratocaster.
By the 1980s, however, the Les Paul’s appeal had waned,
while the Stratocaster evolved and survived,
equipped with the new locking tremolo systems that defined that decade’s sound.
The LP series appeared around 1985,
but by then, the Les Paul had already ceased to be a guitar that sold on its own prestige.

The Les Paul’s tonal richness comes from combining different tonewoods
to produce a gorgeous, harmonically complex sound—
but that same design also makes it heavy.
For many Japanese players, its weight was daunting,
and compared with Fender’s simpler, more rugged construction,
the Les Paul required a kind of delicate handling that made it feel less forgiving.
Meanwhile, the rapid advancement of digital sound processing
was beginning to reduce players’ dependence
on a guitar’s natural acoustic character.

The LP series featured two types of pickups:
the newly developed Spinex pickups on the LP-1000 and LPC-800,
and traditional Alnico V pickups on the LP-600, LP-500, and LP-400.
The Alnico V units are high-output, aggressive, and prone to feedback—
strong, tenacious, and untamed.
In contrast, the Spinex pickups deliver lower output
and a more restrained, refined tone.

Weight: 4.11 kg (including strings)
(Updated August 28, 2016)