Yamaha Electro-Acoustic Guitar APX600

The Acoustic That Feels Like Your Electric.

The Yamaha APX600 exists for one specific player: someone comfortable on an electric who now has to play an acoustic on stage. Yamaha is explicit about it — “every element was tweaked to be an easy switch for an electric player on-stage, from the stylish finishes to the cutaway body and the slim, electric-guitar style neck”.

The body is a thinline at just 80–90 mm deep, roughly two-thirds the depth of a normal acoustic. Yamaha's own description is that this “thin-line body offers incredible comfort, top-fret access, and a sound perfect for on-stage use”. It sits close, it doesn't fight you standing up, and it is far less prone to feeding back through a loud PA.

Plugged in you get the SYSTEM65 preamp — three-band EQ with a sweepable mid control and a built-in chromatic tuner — over a piezo pickup with an individual element under each string. Available in Black, Natural, Old Violin Sunburst and Oriental Blueburst.

Designed Around the Player, Not the Tradition

Most acoustics are built to a shape that has not changed in a century, and the player adapts. The APX was designed the other way round — Yamaha started from what a performing guitarist actually needs and reshaped the instrument to suit.

Thinline cutaway body — 80–90 mm deep

384 mm across and only 80–90 mm deep. The comfort difference is immediate if you are used to an electric, and it is the single biggest reason players choose an APX for gigging over a full-depth acoustic.

Slim neck, 43 mm nut, narrow 10.0 mm string spacing

A full-size 634 mm scale on a slim, electric-style neck with an R400 mm fingerboard radius. The tighter string spacing makes chord shapes less of a stretch and keeps the neck feeling fast rather than wide.

SYSTEM65 preamp with tuner and sweepable mid

Volume, bass, middle and treble, plus a mid-frequency control that moves where the mid band sits — so you can hunt down a boxy or feeding-back frequency and cut just that, rather than dulling the whole guitar. A chromatic tuner is built into the same panel.

Piezo pickup with an element under every string

Yamaha specifies a piezo system giving an “ultra-clear, ultra-wide bandwidth signal with far better dynamic response and tonal accuracy”. Reading each string separately keeps the balance even across the neck instead of letting the bass strings dominate.

Spruce top over non-scalloped X bracing

A spruce top with a round soundhole and decorative rosette, braced with Yamaha's non-scalloped X pattern. Keeping the braces unscalloped holds the top stiffer — less booming, less feedback and more clarity when you are amplified, which is what this guitar is for.

Locally sourced tonewoods, rosewood fingerboard and bridge

Yamaha lists the back, sides and neck as “locally sourced tonewood” — timber selected near the factory rather than shipped across the world, which keeps the price down and the transport footprint smaller. Fingerboard and bridge are rosewood, with urea nut and saddle.

Gloss finish, ivory binding, four colours

Ivory and black body binding, an abalone-style rosette, a decorative headstock inlay and die-cast chrome TM29T tuners. Gloss body in Black, Natural, Old Violin Sunburst or Oriental Blueburst — the blueburst in particular is not a finish you see on many acoustics.

Q. Does the APX600 have a solid top?

No. Yamaha's specification lists the top as “Spruce” rather than solid spruce, so it is a laminate top — a few retailers state this incorrectly. On a stage guitar that is a fair trade: a laminate top is more stable in changing humidity and less likely to feed back when amplified. If you want a solid top, ask us about the L Series or the CSF1M instead.

Q. Does the thin body make it sound weak unplugged?

It is honestly quieter than a full-depth acoustic — there is less air inside, and no bracing design changes that entirely. It is perfectly pleasant for practising at home, but if most of your playing is unplugged in a room, the CPX600 or a standard-depth acoustic will give you more. The APX earns its keep the moment you plug in.

Q. I mostly play electric. Will this feel strange?

Less than any other acoustic will. That is the entire design brief — the slim neck, the narrow 10.0 mm string spacing, the cutaway and the shallow body all exist to shorten the jump from a solidbody. Steel strings still need more left-hand pressure than an electric, but the geometry will not feel alien.

Q. Does it need a battery?

Yes — SYSTEM65 is an active preamp, so it runs on a battery in the control panel. It only draws power while a lead is plugged into the jack, so unplug the cable when you have finished and a battery will last a long time. Carry a spare for gigs.

Q. Is a case or gig bag included?

No — the APX600 is supplied without a case. Its slim body also means a standard dreadnought bag is a poor fit. Ask us and we will pair a bag or case that actually suits the APX shape before it ships.

Q. Is it comfortable for a smaller player?

Very. The shallow body and narrower string spacing make it one of the easier full-scale acoustics to get around, and it is a common recommendation for players who find a dreadnought physically awkward. The scale is still full-size at 634 mm — for a shorter scale as well, look at the CSF1M.

Q. Which colour should I pick?

All four are identical instruments, so it is taste alone. Natural shows the spruce grain against contrasting darker sides; Old Violin Sunburst is the traditional warm burst; Black is the most understated on stage; Oriental Blueburst is a deep teal-to-black burst and by far the most distinctive of the four.

Q. How does it handle feedback on a loud stage?

Better than a deep-bodied acoustic, which is one of the main reasons to choose it. If you still get trouble in a loud room, roll the bass back slightly and use the mid frequency control to find and cut the offending note. A soundhole feedback buster is an inexpensive extra fix — ask us and we will sort one that fits.

Why Buy from YMS?

• ✓ Authorised Yamaha Premium Retailer: Buy a genuine India-market Yamaha instrument with official manufacturer warranty support.
• ✓ Set up before it reaches you: We check action, relief and intonation, and confirm the preamp and tuner work, so it is stage-ready on arrival.
• ✓ Expert guitar guidance: Our team can compare the APX600 and CPX600 with you and advise on amps, DIs and feedback control.
• ✓ Support beyond the guitar: Ask us about bags that fit the APX shape, spare batteries, strings, capos, stands and cables.
• ✓ Pan-India delivery: Order from anywhere in India, subject to serviceability for your location.
• ✓ Physical-store support: YMS teams in Bengaluru and Mangaluru are available for product enquiries and after-sales guidance.