SeriesYamaha CPX

Mine is black and it's been 14 years since I have it. Spruce top C-shaped Nato neck with 20 frets. Rosewood fingerboard. Rosewood bridge Lubricated machine heads. Acoustic-electric system: piezo pickup placed under the bridge nut. Preamp with volume control, 3-band equalizer, mid-frequency control, mid switch UTILIZATION Comfortable neck Ergonomic design I glued a fret, added screws to hold the preamp, changed the battery compartment and fastened the input jack. I must say it has gotten around quite a bit. But it ages rather good and sounds better with time. SOUNDS It's fine for blues, rock and even jazz manouche. It sounds well unplugged, the sound is brilliant, percussive and, depending on the attack, smooth. Plugged: The electronics are average, it has no tuner and the pickup is relatively fragile. OVERALL OPINION Besides some minor work on the electronics, especially on the pickup, it's been 14 years and it is still hanging in there and has aged well. In the end, it's a good choice as an entry-level acoustic-electric.

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I bought this Yamaha CPX-15 at the music store I work at, we got them on a blowout price and I paid about $600 for it. I know retail is over a thousand, but not sure of the exact retail price. I love EVERYTHING about this guitar! I'm mainly an electric guitar player, but this thing is just freaking cool. I have heard several people say that it sounds up there with a high dollar Taylor. Anyway, it plays great, action is set perfect and everything feels just right. It looks good, too, I got the "Egyptian" one, with an eye of ra looking inlay at the 12th fret. It's got a piezo pickup in it, and a built in condenser mic. Not much. It's built great! I take very good care of it, and other than a few dinks that are my fault it still looks brand new after several months. GREAT guitar. If you're looking for a nice acoustic/electric, LOOK NO FURTHER. For the price, YOU WILL NOT FIND a better PLAYING, better SOUNDING, or better LOOKING guitar. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com