On 2004-07-09, Andrew gave this Yamaha Acoustic Guitar a 5


Purchase: I bought my guitar from The Acoustic Centre in Manchester (UK) in August 2001 for £600. The model was new in the shop and had just been put out on display that morning. The price has now dropped quite a bit lower with the CPX10 now available for this sort of amount but I don't regret my purchase at all.
Pros: I find the guitar very easy to play. My favourite feature is the sound and that is why I bought it. I had looked at many other guitars in the price range including Takamines and Martins up to around £800 but none of them had the same combination of sound and features as the Yamaha. The sound is not only great unplugged (a key feature for me when I was looking) but it is fantastic plugged in. The combination of the piezo and the microphone give it a really great sound. It's very versatile and can give a great natural sound without the sparkly electro sound of an APX or Takamine although it can do that too when you want it. It's also a great looking guitar made from real quality materials with a fantastic finish.
Cons: If I had to put something then it would be the depth of the laquer on the quitar. The gloss finish is very thick giving the guitar a very rich looking top and sides/back. Some people will like this and it is very beautiful although at the time my personal tastes were looking for something more matt and natural. Again though, this is testament to the outstanding quality and value for money of the instrument as I still fell in love with it despite it being not what I was looking for.
Quality: The quality is extremely high. It is a very solid guitar with almost flawless finishing. This guitar will outlive me (and I'm not old) and probably even improve with age too as many solid tops do.

Summary: The CPX8 is a great guitar and one which I'll cherish for a lifetime. If you're looking for a serious acoustic guitar give the Compass series a try, whatever your budget. It's in a class of its own. That's not just my opinion, a pro friend of mine tried it once and went out and bought one for himself.

On 2002-09-19, Edward Ford gave this Yamaha Acoustic Guitar a 5


Purchase: I bought the guitar from a Sam Ash music store as a closeout, discontinued model. It was a replacement for a guitar that did not survive an airline trip. List price was $1200.00 - $1300.00 I paid $500.00 brand new in box with full warranty.
Pros: The action is very smooth and easy to play, with virtually perfect intonation down to the 20th fret. The sound is very full and rich. The finish and workmanship are virtually flawless. Both a friend who is a session guitarist (wants to buy one for a studio instrument) I work with, and my music teacher have been very impressed with the sound, action, appearance and overall quality of this guitar. I have not had it on an amp yet, but my friend tried a newer model, with the same electronics, and loved the sound. Of special note is that is has both a piezo electric pickup in the bridge and a condenser mic inside the body. The electronics allow you to balance out the two for the best sound from the amp. It also comes with a sound hole plug to reduce feedback for higher amplification levels. There is no name on the tuners, but they remind me of grover tuners. The guitar is very easy to tune, and holds its tuning very very well. Two other co-workers saw mine and went out and bought their own. They both love them for all the reasons mentioned above as well.
Cons: I can not think of anything I have found that I do not like, nor has anyone else mentioned any problems. Perhaps the only thing that I would have liked to see different is the width of the nut. I have fairly large hands and a 1.75" nut would be slightly easier for me to play than the 1.68" nut the guitar came with. But that is really being picky.
Quality: The guitar has a solid spruce top, with mahogany sides and back. The sides and back may be solid, but I can not find any information one way or the other. The neck is mahogany with a rosewood finger board. It has ivory binding on the neck and body with gold tuners. The fit and finish on everything is beautiful, and except for a couple very hard to find, very very minor blemishes in the finish, it is virtually flawless.

Summary: It is a beautiful instrument in playability, sound and appearance. I am just learning, but the quality of the instrument is making my efforts much more rewarding. Yamaha only changed the color and some of the wood on the newer models (not the design, construction or electronics), but that was enough to get me what I believe to be the deal of a lifetime on the guitar.