Yamaha APXT2 3/4-Size Acoustic-Electric Guitar - Black

I bought this for my 10 year old son that has been playing guitar for 2 years. He loves it! We needed something he could play on stage, and it is great! It is not super high-end. Yamaha is a name you can trust for quality, and this product delivers that with clear sound, it stays in tune, and we didn’t even do a professional setup and it’s playing well right out of the box. It is much smaller than we expected, as it has a thinner body than most acoustic guitars. He especially loves the built-in tuner since he’s always losing his. If only there was a built-in pick holder!

First, this is a great little guitar and good value for the money. As a beginner guitar, it's very good as is (but check your saddle ... read on). I've been playing for quite a few years (I'll just say 30+) and I felt it was lacking in a few key areas. But those areas were easily covered. I had a problem with tuning, and intonation was really bad. I discovered the problem was the saddle. It was so loose on the bridge that it would lean forward in the groove rather than stand straight and secure. So I knew that needed changing. While I was at it, I decided to change the 14:1 tuners to new Grover 18:1 locking tuners. With upgraded tuners, new strings, new bone pegs and a bone saddle that actually fit, the tone improved and the intonation problem was gone. The family is always saying to bring my guitar on vacation. I've been reluctant to do that with my Taylor. But this 3/4 guitar is perfect for travel. Small size, easy to handle in so many situations. And now I'm happy to take it anywhere. I still want to work on the action a little; but it's getting there and I'm enjoying my time with this little beauty. Oh, one more thing. As an accoustic, don't expect it to sound like a full size Martin or Taylor. But it's still pretty good for what it is. But plugged in ... I'll just say you're gonna love this guitar.

Really happy with my purchase. Lower price range and plays accordingly. Well built very tough. The fret board/ frets are a bit rough as expected for the price range. Electronics work as they should. Sounds really good through an amp. The body is small so expect a smaller twangy sound on the high strings, almost mandolin sounding. Gets much fuller through an amp. For a guitar I bring with me everywhere it suits my needs. Don’t expect little Martin or baby Taylor sound out of this thing but it does make the sounds you should expect. Would give a 5th star if the action was a little better, barre chords can be a bit tough, and if the neck and frets were smoother.

I love the size of this 3/4 guitar compared to my other full-sized acoustic guitars. It's amazing what companies are creating to make their customers happy. Not only is the size just perfect (adult woman), it is easier to store with it's small size, I hang mine on the wall with my ukuleles. This guitar has a righteous, beautiful sound, although with less volume...I have to strum or pick slightly harder to really hear the acoustics. I must say though, the lower volume helps, especially when I'm playing at night, and don't want to disturb everyone. Yamaha thought about volume in their design, and included an excellent, built-in pickup, AND a built-in tuner. The action is perfect, low to the fretboard, so no strain on the fingers when pressing. The strings are slightly closer together than my full-sized Yamaha guitar, but it's not a problem, because like any instrument, you just have to get used to it...and now that I'm used to it, I love it. I put on a Baritone ukulele strap, which is the perfect fit, width/size, and I find that I'm enjoying standing, walking around, and playing this new Yamaha...the standard sized guitars are too bulky for me to walk around with. A word of advice, if you intend to use a strap, buy one that will not slip around your neck. This guitar is terrific for travel, taking to the beach, campsites, whatever. I have made many good purchases on Amazon, and this is one of the top three. Thank you to all the people who took the time to do reviews on this guitar, and convinced me decide to purchase it.

This is an astonishingly little guitar! We did understand that a ¾ size is less than full, but speaking as a 5'1" woman with smallish hands, it's tiny! It's the body, not the fretboard, that's especially small. I'll have to learn how to hold it without doing any weird clamping with my right arm. It will probably be best with a strap, but I didn't realize I hadn't added one to my order, so unless I go all crafty and make one I'm temporarily out of luck. This guitar has amazing sound given its size - it is definitely a real guitar. You have to assume that an itsy bitsy $200 model is not going to sound like a $2000 dreadnought. It can't. Anyone who expects that is delusional. Nevertheless, this guitar is a real musical instrument and it sounds far better than we anticipated. I expected that it might have some rough fret ends - nope, they're comfortable, no filing or sanding needed. Thought from other people's reviews that the strings might be crap, so I bought a set of D'Addarios just in case, but the strings that came on the instrument sound fine for learning and practicing. They are also surprisingly easy on the fingers, so the factory didn't set them too high. I will ask a couple of experienced people if they think the guitar needs a setup, but my initial impression is that it's probably pretty good. I was ready to pooh-pooh the built-in electric tuner, as many years ago I was accustomed to tuning a violin by ear and have a quality piano in the living room - but dang, the thing is handy. It can be surprisingly fussy to tune a guitar. It's been holding its tune reasonably well since day one, which is a relief. We expect some variability as the strings relax and stretch with use and weather conditions and so on, but I don't have an impression that there's anything wrong with the tuning machines. Basically, the only surprises have been pleasant ones so far. And this thing is adorable. Truly, it is so cute! I didn't expect to coo over it like it's a new baby, and in fact I haven't been that pathological, but it still tickles me to look at it. The one we bought (via Amazon) came from Sam Ash, and they packed it well. It shipped in its gig bag (a decent bag, too, as others have mentioned), in Yamaha's sturdy cardboard box, and that box went into a shipping box with ample cushioning between. That was a huge relief. I read another review which said that one of these guitars smelled of chemicals at first. I'm also highly sensitive to chemical offgassing, so was ready for some unpleasantness there. In our case, it's the gig bag that smells to a disturbing degree. The guitar itself has only a slight vestige of stain or varnish or whatever, not enough to worry me, though everyone is different (and the guitars themselves may vary). The bag, though, is going to be hung, unzipped, in our entryway for a while. Even after reading all the other positive reviews, I didn't expect to be quite so happy with this instrument. Given that I really do want to learn to play guitar, and didn't want either to overspend or to get something that would turn out to be a crappy waste of money, this feels like a wise purchase - and that's a good feeling!

What a fantastic little guitar! When I was first learning about guitars, I purchased this model (Tobacco Burst) but didn't like the PBs (phosphor bronze) that came on it, so I switched to Silk and Steel 11s. The guitar developed a buzz. I took it to three different techs, had it restrung several times, even put on higher quality nut and saddle, but nothing could get rid of the buzz. After a few months, I sold it. Since then I have learned that putting 11s on a short scale guitar such as this will make the strings floppy and can cause a buzz (I wonder why none of the techs knew this). So - I ventured forth again and purchased the "natural" version. I still don't care for PB strings, so I put Martin Monel Retro 12s (MM12) on them. WOW!!! Huge improvement over the original strings. What's so great about this guitar? It has excellent intonation, the action is low, fret ends are smooth, the tone is sublime (especially when plugged into my Fender Mustang Mini Plus set on the 3rd preset: Swirling Echoes). Playability is wonderful. It has a balanced feel, no buzz, weight is comfortable, the neck is smooth, and I love the back and sides. One thing I'm not nuts about: The top. I have another guitar whose finish is designed as "distressed", giving it a worn look. I love this on that guitar. It seems to me that Yamaha attempted to do something similar with this model by infusing smudges into the finish. However, this doesn't result in a "distressed" look so much as a "dirty" look. I'm not a huge fan of Yamaha's version of this. Not a big deal, and I knew this before I bought the guitar, so obviously, no lost points for this. I've been around the block a while with guitars and have played a LOT of them. While this little Yammy isn't anywhere near the top of the line, it punches way above its class and delivers an exceptional value for beginners, intermediates as well as more advanced players. It is ideal for shorter folks (anyone under, I'd say, about 5'6' or so). For beginners of all ages or anyone who wants an excellent inexpensive traveling guitar that isn't as persnickety with temp and humidity changes, this is the one!

Wife wants to play guitar again after a long hiatus. My full sized Takamine with fat strings is too big and heavy for her. Got her this 3/4 Yamaha and I fell in love with it. I may have to get another one for her because I've been hogging it. It has a great voice for a 3/4. The action is nice, the built in tuner is a real treat. Never had one before but it is unbelievably convenient. I don't plug it in often but I had to check out that sound too. The electronics sound decent. Can't crank it up too loud or it starts to feedback, but I'm actually sitting right on top of my small but punchy VOX amp so I can't really say how it would work for playing out. The reviews convinced me to buy this one. The best review only had one major complaint; the tuning pegs. I agree they could be better, but I don't think they are awful. I have to tweak the tuning just a little once or twice a day before I play, but it isn't like it goes out of tune when I'm playing, even when I'm beating on it hard. I think it is well worth the price and was surprised by the volume it produces. Much better than expected. If you don't find the tuning pegs worthy, I think the instrument is good enough to spend money on for an upgrade, but I don't plan to. It is solid, light weight, comfortable, nice sounding, well designed, feature rich and handy. I'm keeping it in the corner by the bed and I pick it up every chance I get. I haven't played guitar much the past few years so having a guitar at my fingertips all the time is helping me get my callouses back quickly. No matter what you play, if you lose your callouses, rebuilding them is always painful for a few weeks, but this instrument is pretty easy to play. I've gone through the process several times over the years with my Takamine. This is far less painful. Perhaps that means it will take longer, but at least I can still use my fingers to type long reviews in the meantime. No avoiding the pain regardless of what you play, but there is pain, and there is agony. This guitar hits a sweet spot somewhere in between. It's just right for young or old, big or small. (FWIW, I heard an interview with Clapton where he confessed he doesn't play much when he's not working and when he has to prepare for a tour, even he has to go through the callous building process). Well, I'm way off topic now. Again, great little guitar. Go for it.

Perfect travel guitar. Bought this specifically for work travel. Sounds great, solid construction. My 1 star deduction is the standard tuning is high pitched. Drop down to Eb tuning was thr answer. Recommend installing heavier strings for a bolder tone. Highly recommend. Love it.