Yamaha AC3M ARE Concert Cutaway - Vintage Natural Review

Amazing Sound!

Pet peeve: 2xAA batteries NOT included. Okay got that out of the way, I had a somewhat of a long wait of 3 months for this guitar, so order yours pronto if so inclined. Feels light the weight compared to my all koa Takamine, forgot the model model, but it's $ at the time of this review. This is my first all solid wood guitar, the guitar sounds very articulate. The hard gig bag is… read more cool. The action is nice and low, thanks Sweetwater! I inspected this guitar upon arrival and couldn't find one blemish on it. The SRT pickup is to die for as I just started singer songwriter stuff. If you fingerstyle alot and have big fingers like myself and just want one guitar this may not be for you. The LL16D might be a better fit. Or stretch to an FSX5 Red Label. I'm more of a koa guy, so the Washburn koa or the martin 12e think 000 body for the wider nut of 1.75.Final thoughts, the neck is satin so it plays fast with the factory coated strings. Hardly had to tune the guitar when it arrived. The spruce top and mahogany back and sides sounded well with my voice when singing. I don't have a rosewood guitar to compare it to. I'm very happy with my purchase and Sweetwater, this my 10th guitar purchase from Sweetwater and a happy customer (5 are electric).

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Yamaha Concert Cutaway

A very pleasing instrument. Beautiful appearance. Crisp, controlled sound. As soon as I strummed the first couple chords, I knew I made the right choice.

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What a sweet sounding guitar

I'm not sure what I was expecting from this guitar but it surprised me a little bit at how good it sounds. I think I was a little worried that it might not have the sound of a bigger body guitar. But it really holds its own. I think it must be because the body has a deeper depth to it than most OM or triple 000. This guitar really has a nice sound and projection to it. I have to… read more say the price that I paid for this guitar is a steal. I have played other guitars that cost twice what this guitar cost and this actually sounds better to me then some of those. If any one out there is looking to find a great sounding smaller body guitar, do yourself a favor and play one of these before you spend a whole lot more money on another guitar. I think you will like what you hear. And to top it off the pick up system sounds really good too.Thanks Sweetwater and you too Nick. You have done me right again.

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Wonderful Guitar

I'd like to start out by recognizing the excellent service I've gotten from my sales engineer Brian Kerns. He did not steer me wrong on this guitar. I wanted something to contrast to my D-35, which can be difficult to record due to the larger-than-life bottom end and overtones. The Yamaha A3M is just what I was looking for. It has a very articulate sound that excels for finger… read more picking. I'm glad I went with the mahogany back and sides. It's a bright but balanced guitar, and it's inspiring to hear all those chord inversions cleanly. It's a good strummer too - it has a meaty neck that feels good in your hand. If you're looking for something dainty, this is probably not your guitar. The tuning stability and intonation are top-notch. It was almost in tune when I took it out of the box. The cutaway shape makes a lot of sense when high chords and notes are perfectly in tune. Speaking of which, I never was much of a capo guy, but with this thing you can capo anywhere and the guitar is still in tune. Outstanding. The concert body shape sounds bigger and deeper than what I had expected, and this was a pleasant surprise. The electronics give you everything from a straight piezo sound to microphone emulation, and the blend control lets you nail the sweet spot. The tuneable electronic feedback suppression works like a champ, and the included feedback buster soundhole cover is a nice touch. In a lot of situations you won't need either. The guitar is beautiful to look at, build quality inside and out appears to be excellent. The fret job is great. They weren't as finely polished as I would like as they definitely had that new fret feel, but that all straightened out with some playing time and a lot of note bends to smooth out the frets. Out of the box the action was high at the bridge. I wound up taking a lot off the saddle, but had no trouble getting it where I wanted it. The nut height and string spacing were just about right. To sum it up, this guitar is an excellent sonic choice for pretty much everything, looks great, plays in tune, stays in tune. I have several acoustic guitars, but I play this one the most. Outstanding value in an acoustic guitar. Thanks Sweetwater!

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Yamaha got it right

I was looking at Taylor's in the 1500. Dollar price range when I went with my instinct and purchased this magnificent guitar. The builder really paid attention to detail. This guitar is just so luscious sounding and fun to play. I'm a luthier a pro club player with 50 years experience with every make and model. You can't go wrong on this sleeper. Ready to go right out of the box.… read more Way to go Sweet.....

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