Yamaha A3M ARE Dreadnought Cutaway - Vintage Natural Review

Stunner

I've had the instrument for three weeks now and I have (what I believe is) a good idea of what we have here. This guitar is absolutely amazing. Especially (but not exclusively) considering it's price. For $900 you get all solid back and sides with REAL ebony (not plastic pretend wood) for your fretboard and bridge and a beautiful piece of Sitka for a top. Mine was particularly… read more well silked! As a woodworker myself I know good wood when I see it. This is nice stuff. Lovely shimmering mahogany, nicely chosen tight grained jet black ebony. Sitka with great medullary rays indicating it was perfectly quarter sawn. The raw mahogany binding is really nice and the inlay around the tone hole is really nicely done too...I actually prefer this look to a more overstated abalone. Its wood embellished with wood. Classy. It sounds stunning. Rich, deep with great depth and projection which after three weeks is still just beginning to improve and will continue to do so for years. My first impression was "She has a beautiful voice" I still shake my head at the sounds this guitar is producing nightly for me. Then you plug the thing in...Holy cow. It sounds killer plugged in. I cant believe how faithfully the tone is reproduced, you "hear the wood" as they say. Every nuance comes through your amp. The tone controls are nicely placed, not obtrusive and the battery pack popping out the "Bum" is clever.. The neck is fantastic, its matte finished and so very smooth all the way. That straight profile makes upper fretwork as easy as the first five frets. Wow. I would describe it as a chunky Flat C shape. The rolled fingerboard edges make it so comfortable to play and the fretboard is actually bound here its just bound in black rather then white. Fit and finish are first rate, I even got the mirror out and looked up at the top bracing (where lesser manufacturers skimp) and its beautiful. No stains, no sloppy glue work, just perfect. Its immaculate up there. I would NOT trade this guitar for a D-18. I've played D-18's that didnt sound this good. I might trade it for a D-35 but I'd steel it back from you. If your on the fence here, act you wont regret it.

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This guitar should cost three times what it does!!

I have no idea why the A series of Yamaha does not feature more prominently in the catalogs of Sweetwater. I own an A5CR as well as this A3M-which I recently purchased for playing out. I tend to keep guitars that cost over $1K at home when playing for scale at bars, restaurants, and jams. Thus the impetus for the purchase. The guitar sounds on par with my far-more expensive… read more Martin's and Taylor's- and has electronics that absolutely crush! Especially, if you happen to use an L-1 type system!! If you play with a larger PA, it comes with a rubber plug for the sound hole, and the SRT2 system has a feedback-buster feature! The action is similar to a Taylor, but the neck is somewhere around a mid 70's Martin D-28. Not nearly as loggy as the Yamaha FG series, but still a bit thick by modern standards. The sound is incredible!! The torrified top and scalloped bracing make it miles above any guitar in this price-range!!! Put an X/Y pair of small caps on fret 12 and you will hardly use any EQ to make it sit nicely in a mix. Or, you can do that and use the SRT2 system to add a direct sound using a couple of killer Mic models when recording. It comes with a Hard-Soft case. Which, I have to say-is really clever. It's basically a really nice gig-bag with some ABS(plastic) reinforcement on the sides and top. Perfect if you're just hauling it and a small PA and not flying. I would buy this case over and again, if they were sold separately! I own a lot of really expensive acoustics. This is not expensive by those standards, but is definitely in that class. It's the perfect guitar for gigging with! You don't need to worry about it, but is sounds and looks killer!!!! Again, the electronics CRUSH!! If you can get over the fact that these are made overseas- there's no reason not to be an owner of one!! As always, the standard set-up was great and "Dan the Man" did his usual awesome customer service on the deal! Get one before they get more expensive!

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Amazing guitar!! I love the tone

My bridge split on my acoustic guitar during this covid 19 pandemic . Decided it was time to buy a new guitar but was worried about not being able to play it and compare . I decided to buy from Sweetwater because of their excellent customer service . Picked out my guitar based on woods used , size , pickup and price point. Received my guitar 3 days later and it's amazing !!! Easy… read more player ! Brilliant tone . Unbelievable for under 1k . Would buy it again .

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Great!

Looks sounds and plays great. very happy with purchase sounds better than expected

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How sweet it is

I already own the Yamaha A1M and I liked it so much I decided to give the A3M a try. I am very happy with it. I think these are some of the best guitars on the market. I honestly think to get the same quality guitar from Taylor you have to spent a much higher price. I actually sold my Taylor 414ce after buying the A1M because I actually prefer the sound of the Yamaha over it. The… read more pick up systems on these guitars is really one of the best factory systems I've heard. Acoustically or plugged in these guitars are hard to beat.

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