Yamaha FGX3

review
96
YAMAHA FG5 & FGX3
Guitarist sEPtEMBEr 2019
What We Want To Know
What’s the significance of the
red label, then?
Yamaha’s initial range of FG acoustics
was launched in 1966 and came with
a red label inside the soundhole.
Since then, the ‘red label’ Yamahas
have become quite sought after on
the collector’s market and so the
company has decided to release a
tribute set of guitars inspired by its
initial foray into the acoustic guitar
market 53 years ago.
Are these straight reproductions?
No, Yamaha has added some twists
and tweaks along the way in order to
bring their historic range into the 21st
century. There have been changes to
the bracing, for instance, and the tops
are ARE treated to simulate ageing,
but the models retain their classic
look right down to the distinctive
headstock shape.
How does Yamaha’s Atmosfeel
pickup system work?
The Atmosfeel is a three-way pickup
design comprising an under-saddle
piezo, an internal microphone and a
contact sensor for high frequencies.
The preamp controls allow the
player an optimum blend over the
three elements, giving them the
opportunity to dial up the sound they
need for live performance.
fatigue. Suddenly there was hope – a range
of guitars that not only sounded perfectly
reasonable and stayed in tune, but were
a relative breeze to play. Furthermore,
‘Yamaha’ was the name appearing on the
headstocks of some of the prime movers of
the British folk movement – Bert Jansch,
for instance, was an early adopter.
After quietly celebrating the 50th
anniversary of the iconic red label acoustics
in 2016, Yamaha decided it was time to
revisit the range, employing some modern
tweaks and upgrades along the way.
Remember Martin’s Modern Deluxe range
we took a look at in issue 447? Same idea:
iconic instrument with a lot of clever new
stuff happening under the hood.
A
nyone who went to buy an acoustic
back in the swingin’ 60s would’ve
been met with the same problem.
You either raided the piggy bank and looked
at the high end of the market, which was the
expensive imported USA ranges from the
likes of Gibson and Martin, or you took your
chances at the more affordable end of the
price range. This quite often meant sundry
anonymous torture devices from far-flung
lands or, if you were lucky, you’d discover
Yamaha’s early FG range.
Arriving in the midst of what James
Taylor refers to as “the great folk scare
of the 60s”, the Folk Guitar Range was
the perfect antidote for novitiates with
permanently sore fingers and tuning
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YAMAHA FG5 & FGX3 £1,198 & £975
CONTACT Yamaha PHONE [phone] WEB http://uk.yamaha.com
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GIT450.rev_yamfg.indd 96 08/08/2019 14:26