The new APX and CPX guitars draw on over 40 years of Yamaha guitar development, coupled with extensive research into new technologies.
Yamaha first began producing steel-strung acoustic guitars at the Hamamatsu Custom Shop in 1966. The first production guitars – models FG150 and FG180 – were released the same year. In 1969 Yamaha began exporting guitars to the US and Europe, and rapidly gained a reputation as a well-made, affordable alternative to Martin, Guild and Gibson.
From these early days, a huge number of leading artists played Yamaha guitars, from The Everly Brothers, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Bob Dylan and John Lennon through to legendary rockers like Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck and Brian May.
Yamaha acoustics continued to go from strength to strength in the 1970s, building on their reputation as high-quality, affordable instruments.
In 1983, Yamaha released the CWE series, the company's first electro-acoustic. With calls from artists for a small-bodied, low-feedback design, four years later we introduced the APX series, with its innovative 2-way pickup system, superb playability and dramatic shallow body design that reduced feedback and improved the guitars handling. The guitar was an instant success. 11 years on, in 1998, we launched CPX, a deeper-bodied performance electro-acoustic, that combined a bridge pickup with a condenser mic within the body to capture a new level of natural tone.
The new APX and CPX guitars from Yamaha draw on over 40 years of craftsmanship, coupled with innovative pickup and preamp design to deliver the latest evolution in the history of Yamaha acoustic guitars and the ultimate performance acoustic guitars.