See the video review of the
 Yamaha CPX-500

Yamaha first started making acoustic guitars in 1941 at its facility in Hamamatsu, Japan. Originally a spin-off of the company’s piano department, Yamaha’s guitar division soon garnered its own independent space and became known as the Yamaha Custom Guitar Shop.

Through various collaborations with builders like Spain’s Eduardo Ferrer, the company became known for its line of GC guitars and gained even greater notoriety with the introduction of the famed FG- and L-series steel-string flattops—winning the favor of players from Bert Jansch to Paul Simon. In 1998, Yamaha introduced the Compass series, a set of small jumbo-size guitars with onboard electronics. The CPX500 is the most affordable Compass-series guitar yet.

ATTRACTIVE, WELL BUILT

With its dark cherry sunburst (it’s also available in black and natural), compass insignia headstock, abalone rosette, and dot fret inlay, the CPX500 exudes a simple yet elegant visual aesthetic. Side-mounted electronics, which include a tuner, three-band EQ, and volume control, are visually unobtrusive and make this one clean-looking and pretty guitar. The spruce top has a medium-tight grain which shows through in the lovely sunburst, and the darker nato back and sides complement this visual display.

The construction of the CPX500 is immaculate. I could not spot any flaws in the craftsmanship, inside nor out, save for a few glue drops around the kerfing. And the fret work on the slim neck is precise and clean.

FEELS FAST, SOUNDS RICH

The CPX500’s C-shaped neck is slim and easy to navigate—especially if you have small hands. And though my hands are a bit bigger, I was able to play fast flatpicking solos with relative ease, thanks in part to the medium action of the guitar’s setup. The CPX did buzz a bit when I dug in or strummed more aggressively, but a quick truss-rod adjustment to add a little neck relief alleviated the buzz without any significant affect on the guitar’s playability.

The CPX plays a lot like an electric guitar and that became more apparent as I worked my way up the neck, which maintains a slim profile even as you play across the higher registers to where the neck joins the body. This might feel awkward to flatpickers who favor chunky, vintage-style necks, but no doubt holds vast appeal for a rangier player with smaller hands.

The Yamaha sounded crisp across all six strings, yielding searing highs and a responsive, even snappy, low end that would benefit players seeking a more contemporary acoustic sound. Light picking attack produced a quiet, shimmering tone, while hard strumming sparked a brassy snap, and the well-rounded tonal palate demonstrated just how good a well-built, laminate-top guitar can sound.

I tried the CPX in a few different styles ranging from strummed folk, to hard-picked blues, to some Django-style rhythms, and a few fingerpicked tunes. Overall, I felt that the CPX500 works best for strumming and flatpicking lead lines. Gypsy-jazz moves and percussive strumming revealed a sharp, focused, and compressed sound, and digging in with a pick, I was able to get some cool artificial harmonics à la Billy Gibbons and to create some nice bluesy solos.

I plugged the CPX, with its System55T piezo pickup system, into a Fishman Loudbox 100, and with minor tweaking was able to achieve a reasonably natural, if somewhat bright sound. The three-band graphic EQ enables you to adjust bass, mid, and treble frequencies—lending excellent tone-shaping versatility—and the midrange boost/cut slider dials out frequencies that can cause feedback. The onboard tuner activates with a push of a button; however, this does not cut the pickup’s signal, so you are still “live” unless you turn the volume down. The tuner also turns itself off after a minute or so to save batteries, though it would be helpful if it stayed on slightly longer.

THE WRAP

Yamaha has produced a well-made, lovely, and very playable guitar in the CPX500. It is especially suited to electric players and players with smaller hands, and its modern sound fits well into a rock or folk-rock combo where its shimmering high end would stand out in the mix. Combined with the plug-and-play versatility of its onboard electronics and a price that’s accessible to even the most cost-conscious picker, the Yamaha CPX500 represents an exceptional value.