27 Jul 2022

Yamaha APX T2 Electro Acoustic Guitar - REVIEW

Moving on to another midweek look at a small guitar that might appeal to ukulele players. Despite being a guitar fan this one seems to have passed me by until now. This is the Yamaha APX T2 Electro Acoustic.


Yamaha APXT2 Electro Acoustic Guitar

As ever with these the review is in the video below, but some general comments here. These are based on the insanely well selling APX shaped acoustics from Yamaha (which I seem to recall are on of the best selling guitars of all time), only with a ¾ sized body. They are actually marketed as travel instruments. It's a shorter scale than most bigger guitars too at 22.8 inches. It's a 21 fret model joined at the 14th so more neck real estate than the trad parlours like the Jim Dandy I looked at last week. That said, this has a narrower nut too so bear that in mind. A real hybrid kind of thing.

The body is a laminate spruce top and all laminate back and sides and what sort of wood I can't tell you as Yamaha only say they are 'locally sourced tonewoods'.. Whatever they can get their hands on I suppose!  But it's a cracking shape I think, and really small to hold and a perfect 'corner of the sofa' picker. It comes in a range of colours and not just this red and is finished in gloss. It's all very nicely finished bar an annoying 'ding' on the soundboard. That's the thing with buying what are, in guitar terms, 'cheap' instruments - the finishes are usually a bit iffy I find. It's a minor thing and more a gripe with the Yamaha dealer than the brand I guess.

This has a rosewood pin bridge with a plastic saddle and more rosewood on the fingerboard.  I think the bridge is a bit ugly and large, but there you go..

What is certainly a bit different here is the pickup system. I read a lot of reviews of these saying they were a bit lacklustre in acoustic projection, but that the real gem was the plugged in tone with many semi-pro players using them to gig with. I think that praise is the fact it uses the Yamaha 'ART system' which I believe avoids the saddle slot and mounts a more microphonic sounding pup on the inside attached to a brace. 

All told though this one has really grabbed me. I think it's pretty remarkable in fact. Hey - that's the thing with Yamaha - they tend to get overlooked by many (and by many snobs), but they've been making superbly reliable guitars used in studios by some of the worlds greatest players for many years.

I shouldn't have been surprised! Worth a look!


GUITAR VIDEO REVIEW




GUITAR SPECS

Model: Yamaha APX T2 Electro Acoustic
Size: ¾ APX shape
Scale: 22.8 inches
Top: Laminate Spruce
Body: Laminate locally sourced tonewood
Bridge: Rosewood pin bridge
Saddle: Plastic
Finish: Gloss
Neck: Locally sourced tonewood
Fingerboard: Rosewood
Frets: 21, 14 to body
Nut: Plastic
Nut width: 41mm
Tuners: Sealed chrome gears
Strings: 12's
Extras: ART based pickup, gig bag
Weight: 1.34kg
Country of origin: Indonesia
Price: Circa £200





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4 comments:

  1. I recently bought a Yamaha red label guitar. Truly phenomenal for the money. So
    Much that my Martin dreadnought will probably get sold on.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I bought this exact same one in black just days before your review and I was very pleased with both this small guitar and your review. This little APX with a Yamaha THR5A, reminded me of the Eastman, Martins, & Gibsons that I had owned.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Would love to hear your take on the Yamaha JR. Don't really want or need on-board electronics.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I’ve been looking for a small electro-acoustic with a comfortable slim neck for my weedy fingers. Do you think this would fit the bill? Or do you have any other suggestions?

    ReplyDelete

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