Average Reviews:
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Why this is a good guitar
Thinline acoustic-electrics are not known for their acoustic tone, but the APX900's tone is acceptable for at-home strumming and practice and even light sing-along duty. It sounds a little dull acoustically and it's not particularly loud, but that's an acceptable compromise to limit feedback when plugged in. The amplified tone is bright--or it can be whatever you want it to be, from dark and thumpy to incisive, from a laid-back tone to jangly with the mids cut and the bass and treble turned up. Like any acoustic-electric, it feeds back if you get in front of the amplifier or your PA speaker, but a provided heavy rubber soundhole plug reduces feedback.
It's hard to find a mid-priced acoustic-electric thinline guitar that doesn't sound thin or brassy, but Yamaha's unique multiple contact pickups sound better than the typical under-saddle piezo pickups found on most competing guitars. The APX900 is especially nice because it has two additional pickups, one on the bass side, one on the treble, each with a level control on the preamp. So you can customize the bass and treble response to your liking. The onboard tuner is accurate and the electronics package is well thought out. The preamp controls adjust through a very wide range of cut and boost.
The materials and finish of the guitar are beautiful--nice woods, deep gloss finish. The plastic soundhole ring is perhaps a little cheesy, but it prevents damage to the edge of the soundhole from enthusiastic picking. The neck is nicely shaped and the cutaway gives access to the higher frets. The gold hardware is pretty, but superfluous.
Why this guitar needs work
I've sampled enough of these guitars to believe that they all come through with essentially the same setup. The strings are too high at the nut and at the bridge and it's impossible to play anything intricate or fast. Most every guitar in this price range has the same flaw because manufacturers won't take the time to do a proper setup and they can't be sure that a low, comfortable action might not wind up too low once the guitar has been shipped, stored, and finally sold. You generally don't find good setup until the price goes over $1000.
I'm fortunate to have the special files to create deeper string grooves for the nut and the tools to lower the height of the bridge saddle. A proper setup on this guitar makes a world of difference in playability, but it needs more: The frets have a matte finish instead of a mirror finish, and they're somewhat flat-topped. Again, this is common in the price range. A guitar repairman can put the proper rounding on the frets and bring them to a high polish, for another major stride in playability.
The final step is to simply throw away the provided strings and replace them with high-quality strings such as Martin MarquisMartin Acoustic String Combo 3 Pack; M2100 Light Marquis Phosphor Bronze, MSP4100 Light Phosphor Bronze and MSP3100 Light 80/20 Bronze or Elixir Elixir Light Nanoweb Acoustic Guitar Strings. The provided strings are touted as anti-rust, but they are draggy, with much friction under your fingers.
With a good setup and strings, the APX900 competes with guitars that cost $400 to $600 more.
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