Yamaha APX1000

July 2011 Guitarist 99
YAMAHA APX500II, CPX700II & APX1000 £320, £515 & £778
ELECTRO-ACOUSTICS
Yamaha APX500II,
CPX700II & APX1000
£320, £515 & £778
Yamaha offers even more reasons why its mega-popular
APX and CPX electros will be be flying off the shelves.
We test out three new arrivals by Jim Chapman
S
ince their introduction
nearly 25 years ago,
Yamaha’s APX stage
electros have undergone
periodical revamps, as have the
larger-bodied Compass Series
CPXs, first unveiled in 1999.
2011 sees another stage in the
evolution of both, embracing
not only cosmetic updates and
new colours, but also revised
electronics. The new models
are the APX/CPX500II and
APX/CPX700II (replacing
their un-suffixed predecessors)
and the APX1000, a new model
to succeed the ART-powered
APX900, that incorporates SRT
(Studio Response Technology)
mic-modelling similar to that
first used on the APX1200.
One change common to all
these debuts is the replacement
of the near-ubiquitous PP3 9V
battery with two 1.5V AAs.
Within the circuitry, Yamaha
has somehow managed to boost
the batteries’ voltage to 11V to
give, it says, a wider dynamic
range, more stable operation
and reduced distortion, even
when the batteries are running
low. In short, the claim is better
tone for longer: no bad thing at
all. Presumably a spin-off
benefit is that rechargeables
can be used – as long as they’re
alkaline – so you won’t need to
keep forking out for batteries.
The 700IIs continue to
employ the one-way ART
system with a contact sensor
under either side of the bridge,
while the 500IIs and the
APX1000 receive a new piezo
under-saddle pickup. Rather
than a single, narrow ribbon,
this comprises six individual
elements on a wider strip that,
says Yamaha, offers improved
clarity, definition and balance.
The preamps in the 500II and
700II retain their predecessors’
facilities of a three-band EQ
and wide-range mid contour,
but the control panels have
been physically redesigned
(akin to APX1000’s preamp),
and the EQ is said to have been
“reviewed for optimum sound
and balance”. The auto-
chromatic tuners, with a new,
clearer display, are apparently
now more accurate (though we
don’t recall a problem with the
old ones), but they still don’t
mute the output when engaged.
For discreet mid-performance
tuning tweaks this is a
significant omission. Happily,
the APX1000’s tuner does mute
its system, and can also be
recalibrated in 1Hz increments
between 438Hz and 445Hz:
very handy for accompanying
off-concert-pitch instruments.
As for cosmetics – extended
colour choice aside – the main
changes are black-faced
headstocks (translucent on our
CPX700II and APX1000), and
truss rod access via the
soundhole, where previously
one or two models had theirs on
the peghead. On all but the
500II, Yamaha has replaced the
APXs’ raised soundhole ring
with inlaid rosettes: rosewood/
mahogany on the 700II and
rosewood/abalone on the 1000.
CPX rosettes are unchanged;
they were inlaid anyway.
APX500II
Despite being the entry-level
model this laminated spruce/
nato APX500II is attractively
The Rivals
APX500II
Takamine’s EG260C (£275)
carries the three-band TP4T
system. Tanglewood’s
TSF-CE (£279) uses
Fishman’s Isys preamp. Both
come in choice of five
colours. Ibanez’s AEG10E
(£279), in three colours, has
a three-band SST system
including shape and phase.
All three guitars are spruce/
mahogany; the Takamine and
Ibanez include a tuner.
The APX and CPX guitars now come in a wider choice of colours
GIT343.rev_yamaha 99 5/20/11 3:08:20 PM