Description
Review of the Yamaha APXT2 3/4-Size Acoustic-Electric Guitar in Black
The Yamaha APXT2 is a three quarter size acoustic electric guitar with a spruce top, a meranti body, a rosewood fingerboard and bridge, a nato and mahogany neck and a piezo pickup system with a built in Yamaha tuner. A gig bag is included. The listing describes it as a reduced size version of the full size APX500III, built as a travelling companion rather than as a main instrument.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Built in proprietary tuner. Having the tuner in the instrument rather than clipped to the headstock is genuinely useful for a guitar designed to travel, since there is one fewer thing to lose.
- Piezo pickup system based on the maker’s ART design, so the guitar can be plugged into an amplifier, mixer or PA without adding anything.
- Three quarter size at 3.08 pounds. That is light and compact enough to be carried without deliberation, which is the whole point of a travel instrument.
- Rosewood fingerboard and bridge. Rosewood is open pored and slightly oily, so it feels smooth under dry fingers and does not drag, and it is dense enough at the bridge to transfer energy into the top properly.
- Gig bag included, which for a guitar sold on portability is the accessory that matters most.
- Black ABS bridge pins are specified, a small detail but one that indicates the listing describes an actual production instrument rather than a generic assembly.
Cons
- The specification table gives a scale length of 25.6 inches, which is the full size long scale. A three quarter size instrument would normally have a noticeably shorter scale, so these two claims sit awkwardly together and the figure should be confirmed.
- The table lists the back material as rosewood while the body material is given as meranti, and the description mentions rosewood only for the fingerboard and bridge. The back specification is not supported anywhere else in the listing.
- The bullets call the electronics a “System 68 Pick-Up” while the longer description calls it an ART based pickup system. These are different names and the listing does not reconcile them.
- The listing states two AA batteries are required but does not say whether they are included. Without them the pickup and the built in tuner will not work.
- The listing does not say whether the spruce top is solid or laminated.
- A small body gives up bass and volume unplugged. This is a guitar that sounds considerably better through an amplifier than in a quiet room.
Detailed Product Description
The top is spruce. On any acoustic guitar the top does nearly all the acoustic work, converting string vibration into moving air, and spruce is the traditional soundboard timber because it is stiff for its weight. Whether this panel is solid or laminated is not stated, and the difference is set out in the guide to solid top versus laminate acoustic guitars.
The body is meranti, a Southeast Asian hardwood used widely in affordable instrument production as a substitute for mahogany in both appearance and density. It is a reasonable choice on a small body, where the back and sides contribute relatively little compared with the top.
The neck is nato and mahogany, and the fingerboard and bridge are rosewood. Nato is stable and moderately dense and it is the standard neck material across this maker’s affordable acoustics. The body follows the thin, cutaway APX outline rather than a conventional dreadnought, which is what makes it comfortable to play sitting down in a confined space.
The electronics are piezoelectric. A piezo element sits under the saddle and responds to pressure rather than to string movement through a magnetic field, which is how amplification works on an acoustic instrument. The listing credits the system with good sensitivity and pairs it with a built in tuner. Whether an amplifier is actually needed is covered in the guide to do you need an amp with an acoustic electric guitar.
Strings are phosphor bronze, the bridge is adjustable, the guitar is finished in black, and the listing gives Indonesia as the country of origin.
What Comes with the Product
- The APXT2 three quarter size acoustic electric guitar in black
- A gig bag
No cable, strap, capo, spare strings, picks or instructional material is listed. The two AA batteries the electronics require are not confirmed as included, and no amplifier is supplied, so a cable and an amplifier will both be needed to use the pickup.
Who It Suits
This suits a player who already owns a full size guitar and wants a compact acoustic electric to travel with, keep at a second home or take to a rehearsal. It also suits a smaller adult or a teenager who wants an acoustic electric they can comfortably reach around, and it suits a songwriter who wants an instrument that lives within arm’s reach.
It suits less well someone buying their only guitar, since a three quarter body gives up volume and low end that a full size instrument provides, and it suits less well a player who never intends to plug in, because the electronics and the batteries add cost and upkeep for no benefit. Worth comparing are the Traveler Guitar Ultra-Light acoustic electric, the Enya NOVA Go SP1 carbon fibre acoustic electric and the Vangoa three quarter acoustic electric. The wider selection sits in the travel and small body guitars section and in the acoustic electric guitars section.
How to Maintain
Wipe the strings after every session. Phosphor bronze holds its brightness longer than plain bronze but still reacts to skin oils.
Remove the AA batteries if the guitar is being stored for several months. A leaking cell inside an electronics cavity causes damage that costs more to repair than the system is worth.
Keep the guitar in its bag and out of car interiors in summer. A travel guitar spends more of its life in transit than a home instrument, and heat is what lifts bridges and softens finishes. Storage guidance is covered in the guide to how to store a guitar.
Tips and Recommendations
Carry spare AA batteries. Both the pickup and the built in tuner depend on them, and a travel guitar is by definition often somewhere without a shop nearby.
Do not judge the guitar by how it sounds unplugged in a large room. A small body is quiet by design, and this instrument was built around its pickup rather than around acoustic volume.
Confirm the scale length with the seller before ordering if the size is the reason for buying. The 25.6 inch figure in the table and the three quarter size description do not sit comfortably together, and scale length is what determines whether the neck actually feels smaller.
Product FAQ
Does it come with a bag?
Yes. A gig bag is included, which is unusual at this size.
Does it need batteries?
Yes, two AA cells for the pickup and the built in tuner. The listing does not confirm whether they are supplied.
What is the scale length?
The table gives 25.6 inches, which is a full size long scale and sits oddly against the three quarter size description. This is worth confirming.
What is the body made of?
Meranti, with a spruce top. The table also lists rosewood as the back material, which the description does not support.
