Yamaha APX 500
A Best Selling Favorite
The Yamaha APX 500 is one of Yamaha’s all-time best sellers. Can’t believe it? Me neither! To be honest, I never heard of the APX 500 before I picked it up for this review. The APX series was in production for about 30 years, and Yamaha had plenty of time to sell as many of these acoustics as possible. This little guitar is very cool, and for around $200 is quite a bit of fun too play. It’s a thin-bodied acoustic/electric guitar and is a workhorse.
The Overview
Yamaha built the APX 500 using a spruce top with nato back & sides. It’s all laminate construction which explains the low low price of $200. The body comes with a white binding on the top and sides. There are a couple of color options out there, and the guitar I demoed happened to be red. The neck is nato wood with a rosewood fingerboard featuring dot pearl inlays. The bridge is rosewood and comes with plastic pins that have dots. And the soundhole has a unique oval shape with a plastic protective ring. The ring has some nice looking inlays too. It also comes with a piezo style pickup with Yamaha’s 55T preamp system.
Made for Electric Guitar Players
When Yamaha designed the APX 500, the intent was to build an acoustic guitar that electric guitarists would fall in love with. When you pick up an APX 500, you’ll notice the thin acoustic body right away. In the playing position, this guitar molds to you and feels very comfortable. The neck has a thin profile which immediately feels good in your hands and is easy to play. A lot of $200 guitars don’t play well or feel awkward, but not this one. The thin body gives it that electric guitar feel, especially so when it’s plugged into an amp.
The headstock is fairly simple and the color is usually black or matches the color of the body. The tuners are closed-back, and I didn’t notice anything too special about them. Despite not being special, the tuners work, and this guitar stays in tune fairly well. A bonus, the compensated saddle does a decent job of keeping her intonated.
A neat accessory they include is a rubber plug for the soundhole. This plug is very thin and relies on friction to keep the plug in place. If you play this guitar live with a band you’re likely going to have feedback issues, and this plug solves the problem quickly. If you’re looking at a used APX 500, make sure you get the soundhole plug. I’ll talk a bit about how this plug affects the sound in the next section.
How Does it Sound?
What I found most interesting when researching this guitar is that lots of people say this is one of their favorite guitars! I kept thinking, “No way.” “I don’t believe it.” “You’re just saying that to boost your web traffic.” Here’s the verdict…
I was not overly impressed with the guitar’s acoustic sound. The oval-shaped sound hole accentuates the mid-range frequencies. This could explain why so many guitarists, especially electric players, gravitate towards the Yamaha APX 500. I found that the bass notes don’t come through well, and the highs don’t seem to shimmer or sparkle as they do on other acoustic guitars. Those of you more accustomed to a dreadnaught will find this guitar sounds boxy and quiet. All that said, the sound is tight, controlled, and consistent. The plus for the Yamaha is, if you like the sound, it’s going to deliver. Take a listen to some chords:
Time to Plug It In!
Compare the acoustic sound to the APX 500 plugged in, and you’ll start to understand why so many guitarists rave about this guitar. The piezo pickup is bright and responsive and delivers a decent acoustic guitar tone. This guitar comes equipped with Yamaha’s System 55T preamp. The preamp gives you volume control, 3-band EQ, and a mid-range frequency slider. This system gives you the ability to have a lot of control over how the guitar sounds. There’s also a built-in tuner, which is super helpful when you need a quick tune-up. Take a listen to the guitar plugged in. I left the volume straight up at 5. The 3-band EQ flat, and the mid-range frequency slider in the middle. The goal was to record a middle of the road sound that could be adjusted to your liking:
Next, I’ll play this guitar with some fingerpicking. You’ll hear the guitar acoustically on the first recording. Pleasantly surprised at the fingerpicking sound, I enjoyed this much more than strumming chords. The second recording is also acoustic, but this time I inserted the soundhole plug that came with the guitar. The resulting sound cut some of the mid-range frequency and gave the guitar a more rounded tone. Listen for yourself:
Next, I want to show you how this guitar sounds plugged in when fingerpicking. I did two recordings again. One with the soundhole open. And a second with the soundhole plugged.
I recorded these audio clips using Presonus Studio One Artist 4, Presonus’s AudioBox iTwo, and a Shure SM7B microphone.
The Wrap Up
Action – 7
The action on the Yamaha APX 500 is very good for a budget-friendly guitar. Also, the thin neck makes it feel easy to play, and the action feels right the second you pick it up.
Intonation – 8
The intonation on this guitar is actually very good! Everywhere I played, it sounded in tune, and the notes blended together well. Whether you’re just starting out, or an experienced guitarist, this guitar won’t let you down when you begin to explore the neck. Also, the guitar seems to stay in tune very well. It comes with a built-in tuner, but I found that once new strings stretch out and settle in, there’s no need to keep fiddling with the tuners.
Overall Sound – 5
The Yamaha APX 500 sounds alright. You should rethink your budget or look at other guitars if you’re expecting the Yamaha to blow you away. But for $200, the sound and features you get are a pretty good value. It’s predictable and dependable. The Yamaha will deliver a classic piezo sound when plugged in. Plus the System 55T’s 3-band EQ and mid-range frequency slider give you the ability to modify the sound to your liking, making the Yamaha a very versatile acoustic-electric guitar. Because the electronics give you access to a large spectrum of sound at a low price point, the APX 500 is a tough guitar to beat.
After completing this review, I can understand how some guitarists fall in love with this little guy. If the natural acoustic sound was better, I would give it a higher rating. But for the overall sound, this guitar comes in at a 5.
Modifications
The guitar I demo’d had no modifications to it.
Final Thoughts
My excitement level for the Yamaha APX 500 dropped when I first began researching. The price tag was low and the guitar was built in Indonesia mostly from laminated wood. I anticipated that the pickup and pre-amp would be terrible. Where the Yamaha APX 500 struggles acoustically, it makes up for it in the pickup system. For a $200 guitar, I don’t think there’s a better sounding instrument. The mid-range slider and the 3-band eq gives you a lot of control when plugged it into an amp. And because it feels so much like an electric, it feels natural when it’s plugged into an amp. I do wish that the tuner muted the output when turned on, but this is a pretty minor downside.
After playing this guitar for a while, I started liking the sound and I realized what a great value the Yamaha APX 500 is. It looks like the 500 series is no longer available new, but if you can get your hands on one of these and you’re on a tight budget, I would recommend it.
Other Guitars to Consider in the Same Price Range
Higher End and Better Sounding Guitars
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