Product: Yamaha CG201S
Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted
02/05/2009
at
04:37pm
by
Bob MacLean
Features
:
8
Top of the line Yamaha factory-built classical with some higher end appointments.
??? Fabulous spruce top ??? clearly a better grade selection,lots
of cross grain silking, nice consistent grain.
??? solid sapele mahogany back & sides,
??? bound ebony fret board with position markers at 5 & 7,
??? neck is a more select of nato (catches the light like mahog)
??? Very playable broader U-shape neck,
??? Upgraded tuners (from Yamaha GC line)
??? Beautiful rosette and purfling,
??? Excellent workmanship.
Compared with other Yamahas in the CG line, they obviously are using better materials in this model and it shows. The guitar is flawless!!! You just don???t find such quality of materials and workmanship at this price point!
Sound
:
9
Mahog & spruce can be expected to produce a brighter, snappier sound and this is certainly true here. Mahog is often used on cheaper ???student??? guitars because it costs less ??? however there are those of us who put all that Student/ Teacher/concert level snobbery aside and simply say ??? I like the sound of Mahog; "Student" guitar this axe is NOT! The tone is rich and even. Very reasonable volume. Hard to use words to describe it. I auditioned lots of cedar/mahog and cedar/laminate mahog. (Almansa/Alhambra/ Prudencio + others) ??? nice punchy sound and good volume from those ??? but the Yamaha has an evenness and richness in tone that others do not have. There is a clarity in the trebles that really makes the 201S stand out. Intonation is right on. I played many axes at three times the price that did not compare with this.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
10
Most impressive ??? very clean, nicely set up. Made in China likely in 2007. Yamaha had to cut costs with plastic nut & saddle. Will change nut/saddle and add a pickup. Nice action, very playable from the get-go. Straight neck with a hint of relief. Am experimenting with strings ??? put on Pro Arte Extra High Tension which has worked well on my Alhambra C3 n Godin Multiac. Certainly better sound than what the guitar came with but am beginning to think that normal tension may be best. We???ll see .
Reliability/Durability
:
No Opinion
Like others have said, I think it will be a playable axe for a long time.
Bought at Waterloo Music in Waterloo Ontario. Very good service and helped me out a great deal
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Not had long enough to have an opinion
Overall Rating
:
9
I shopped for months trying everything in sight. At double or triple the price, I would still rate it high. If you like the sound of mahog and spruce ??? you will need to source out one of these to try. Yamaha is setting a quality standard that few can match ??? reasonable cost, consistent build quality, consistent sound, clean. Almansa/Alhambra come close. Aria, Prudencia a distant third, Rodriguez was just disappointing! This is a delightful , very playable classical guitar ??? a keeper!
