Yamaha AEX-500

as my previous review

An update of my previous review. I've found a new set of string that give a better response (for now) from this guitar.
The set is by GHS the Eric Johnson signature Nickel Rockers 011- 052 with unwounds G string (019). The string are partially flatten and tone is warm.
I've use this guitar for recording and the sound engineering was amazed about the mixed sound of the two pu.

as my previous review

as my previous review

as my previous review

As my previous review on 01/03/2007, this guitar has got an important place in my gear. I've extended my review becouse I believe in this guitar and I use it every day.

Piezo (Yamaha) plus mini humbucker (Johnny Smith). Eq for the piezo, pot to mix the two and one volume. Excellent tobacco sunburst, golden tuners. Acoustic type bridge with intelligent trapeze to let install heavy strings without compromising the bridge.
Bolt-on neck, with an easy to play 20 frets fretboard.
Lacks a tone control for the mini humbucker.

Playing blues, acoustic blues and easy jazz, often in duo with a female singer, this guitar produce the right sound I need a kind of old semiacoustic blues sound ad in some old recordings.
Sometimes used on a Laney VC 15 or normally in pa system. I've tried jazz strings (D'Addario Chrome 011) or normal electric (Ernie Ball 011) but without satisfaction. I've tried Ernie Ball Earthwood (011 - 052) an acoustic bronze string set with good response.
Has a nice unplugged sound too.

As used guitar, I can't tell about factory settings. Mine is easy to play, in every neck position. Only a fast truss-rod adjustment due to the change of strings.

I've bought this guitar for Christmas, so I've no gig with it but for my experience this is a well built guitar and I believe it is solid.

No experiece.

With piezo and mini humbucker is the guitar I need for studying, teaching and gigging in small clubs. The sound is ok, it's light and small and easy to carry.
I'm playing since 1974, fist bass the guitar. I own a lot of electric guitar (Fender, G&L, DeArmond) and acoustic (Guild, Dayon, Dobro) and this complete my setup (if a guitarist can be satisfied).

Black flat top semi. Piezo bridge pickup plus mini humbucker in neck position. Trapeze tailpeice. 3 Band EQ

I used this guitar for about four years and was initially attracted to it becouse of the hybrid nature of the instument - cross between a jazz guitar and an electro acoustic.I used it with a Laney GC 80A amp. Sound wise, I think it is more successful on the jazz end of things with some nice bottom end. The 3 band EQ helped in getting a decent electro acoustic sound, but was a bit thin sounding for my liking. It is quite a slim guitar though.

This guitar was set-up reasonably well at the factory apart from the action being too high - with no easy way of adjustment. Frets were ok, maybe a bit scratchy. A great guitar to look at - this one was black. Visually pretty flawless. On looks alone id rate it as a 9 but the high action and lack of adjustability brings it down to a 7.

I didn't gig this guitar but played it reasonably reglarly, but had no reason to think that it would cause any durability problems if properly looked after

N/A

I've been playing for twenty years and have owned a few guitars in my time - fender, ibanez, amongst others. This is one of the more unusual of my purchases, but i certainly dont regret buying it. I just feel that it doesnt do any one sound as well as it could. I sold my Yamaha about a month ago and replaced it with an Ibanez AS103 NT (which is fantastic) because I'm concentrating on Jazz guitar. Maybe the strength of the Yamaha would be in a live situation and its ability to switch between generic sounds.

No need to repeat the features again. What I will say in this section is that the most irritating thing about this guitar by a long way is that fact that it's only got 20 frets - though I suppose that was done in order to get a mellower tone from the mini HB.

I very rarely plug this guitar in. It has an unusual acoustic sound, loud enough to play unplugged, but not so loud it would p!ss people off if you sat around the house playing it all day, as I often do.

Plugged in it's okay - not screaming with personality, and pretty unsuitable for gain but what do you expect from a jazzy design?

Mine was sold to me very cheaply as shop soiled. It took me a month to find the single scratch that was on it. Perfectly well made I think. Set-up ws fine - I've never had to alter a thing. The neck is fantastically comfortable.

Of all my guitars, this is the one I play just for fun. I play it all the time, and have had it for 5 years. I play heavy blues on it, and I bend the neck quite alot for tremolo effects. It has withstood all this with no complaint. I've worn some pretty deep grooves in the frets, but this has not effected to tone or the pitch. It's almost impossible to break strings on this thing. I've only ever broken one in 5 years. Because I play it more for fun than anything else, I leave sets on strings on there sometimes for the best part of a year and still without breakages. The gold finish on the hardware is still in very good order too.

Only very recently has it started giving me a little tuning trouble on the top E and B strings, which I am totally puzzled by, as thiese stings keep going SHARP! I've never experienced that before, they normally go flat. There's nothing worng with the nut, so I think perhaps the strings are moving latterally across the bridge, which does not have any grooves on it for the strings to rest in, as it is an acoustic type bridge.

I dearly love my AEX500.

Never had to use it

Not versatile, but great player.

wen i first playd this guitar, i dide'nt really nodis it. but, the looks and the handeling got stuck in my mind, and after a few weeks i playd it again. the sound on a 15 watt marshell was inpresive and, the acoustic sound was just what i needed.

wen i bought this guitare, i knew it was alreadyy there for 2, maybe 3 years, and so some oncarefull person playd it with jacket on and slichtly damaged it. i got discount for it, and i hardly even nodis it. the wide neck provides me with the room i need to play with my eyes closed and the weight makes it easy hold.

i don;t know much, just have it over a year. the tuning stays on pretty well.

for me, it's the ideal guitar, it can handle rough sounds, grunge or even metal are no problem. the acoustic is warm and clear. i have a yamaha acoustic to. and it sounds just as good.

The AEX500 has a Spruce top and Nato back/sides. It has a bolt-on Maple neck, Rosewood fingerboard, 20 frets, Rosewood bridge and gold hardware. There is 1 mini humbucker at the neck and a piezo bridge pickup. Controls include volume and blend control knobs, and a 3-band EQ control. The Particular model I have is a black one with gold hardware. I purchase it on the net. The piezo unit did not work when it came. Soundland has sent a new one and did not charge the transport cost.

Guitar sounds good if you play it clean. Forget about overdrive even if the sound is a funny grunge. Two main criticism : the piezo sounds a little bit crispy and you can not control the tone color of the humbucker. Two adjustments that I've made dramatically improve the guitar :
(i) I strongly advise to change the strings for half round : I've put some 11/50 D'addario chromes and it did all. The piezo sounds far more natural and the humbucker gets darker. Your fingers will slide smoothly on the strings without noise.
(ii) Just install a tone control pot : the easiest is to install a 25 k-ohms potentiometer with a capacitor right just after the volume knob(try several capacitor to find the best to your ears : it does not cost a lot). You'll get that dark jazz tone and it allows you to mix the tone of the piezo and the humbucker together. The installation is very easy : see on stewmac.com for tone control installation scheme.
(http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics,_pickups/Components:_Control_pots_and_knobs/5/Control_Pots.html)
Pick it through an acoustic amp and you will get the best of it. For more flexibility, try to pick it through a V-AMP or a POD.

The action of the guitar was suitable even if a little bit high for my taste. Easy to play. The finish is correct (the edge of the frets needs to be polished). The gloss of the neck is very woody : I would have rather preferred it more satiny. Be carefull : the gloss of the guitar is very fragile : I will install a pickguard.

Don't know but I experience that you should be cautious if you want the guitar to last.

Don't know. Please note that the guitar is no more available. Find it used or after stock rebate.

This is a very usefull guitar : good for jazz tunes, acoustic and even rock tunes. Good value for any player that needs to play chord melody behind singers. It can improve a lot if you make the adjustments I mentioned above. It does not cost a lot and it is a good value for money. However, if you have the extra-cash for it, try a Duesenberg Starplayer Chris Whitley : this is a fantastic piezo/magnetic guitar (only in red :-(( costs ? 1,500)

Ymaha made in Taiwan - not sure what year but late 90's/early '00's. Now disocntinued in 2003. Replaced the former model which was a conventional hollow-body electric. 1 neck floating mini-humbucker and 1 under-bridge piezo. Master volume, pickup blend, and piezo (only) EQ on top. A very dark/subtle tobacco sunburst finish. Flat hollowbody, "gold" hardware, 21 frets.
My only complaint here is that it seems maniacal not to include a simple tone pot for the magnetic pickup. It doesn't complete ruin everything, since as long as it is possible to EQ the piezo (which it is), you can EQ the two pickups *relative* to each other and then EQ the entire guitar at the amp. (Notwithstanding the fact that the EQ on the guitar is only a simple 3-band model with no sweepable mid). But it sure makes things a lot more difficult than they had to be. I can't imagine why Yamaha didn't include this (maybe there's some subtle technical reason?)

Well, I have read complaints and to be honest they are somewhat founded. The humbucker sounds good but is not naturally jazzy - it tends to be bright and clear. It also has a significant hum to it (ironically). However, before you complain make sure you string it with flatwound jazz strings! This made all the difference for me...
The piezo (which is the same as on the BEX bass at least) is *extremely* brittle and scratchy. (On the upside, however, it captures all the acoustic frequencies pretty well underneath it all).
I'm not complaining at all because I happen to own an amp (Tech 21 Bronzewod 60 acoustic amp) with an *excellent* EQ built in. All from the amp, I'm able to dial in an excellent acoustic sound (not a scratch on a real acoustic, but very genuine and nice nonetheless) as well as an excellent magnetic sound - either clear and bright *and* (with drastically different settings) jazzy (though I admit I'm not yet an expert on the latter). Most importantly, I'm able to mix the two pikcups together very nicely without altering the amp EQ based on the mix.
The upshot: guitar in general: average; guitar with my amp: wonderful.

Excellent action (this guitar has a non-adjustable acoustic bridge, so this is very important!). Excellent finish - the guiatr is gorgeous. I especially like theminimalistic brass bridge brace, the f-holes, the simple, elegant cut... well, just about everything really. I love the frets - they seem big and fat (which is great), but it might just be a shorter scale to the neck. One of the knobs did not fit correctly - it sat too low on its pot and was scratching the wood underneath it. Not much excuse for this, but I fixed it in a few seconds with a hex key and some kleenex.

No clue. Just got it.

Dunno.

As with all Yamaha instruments, this is outstanding value for the price. It's serving me great as an intro jazz guitar. Make sure to string it with flatwounds! PS I heard the brass brace at the bridge is necessary to electrically ground the strings, and so one should not be tempted to remove it for cosmetic taste. No big deal for me, since I think it looks cool anyway.

Yeh you've probabably got the features by now.

As a few others have noted it's a guitar best played through an acoustic amp (a Trace Elliot in my case). The sound can be a bit painfully bright and thin at times. I suppose the main draw back with the guitar is that it's a bit of a jack of all trades. The piezzo sound is a bit thin and the humbucker just gets a bit muddy. In short it doesn't sound like a jazz guitar and it doesn't sound like a well amplified acoustic - but it does get close. And that I guess is the point - it's a functional guitar rather than one you will fall in love with.

For the money not bad. I had a bit of a problem with the pick up select nob initially but this was easily fixed.

I have also had a few intonation problems when using a capo - I think this is to do with the height of the frets.

I've been playing it live for the last year with no problems at all and with no back up.

no idea

Despite the slightly negative tone of what I've said above this is one of the most useful guitars I've ever owned. What I was looking for with this guitar was a way of rationalising the gear I used on stage. I also own a Ibanez Lee Ritneour and a Yamaha acoustic both of which I used to use live. The AEX is not a patch on either of them in many ways and I certainly wouldn't use it for recording work. But for live work the AEX does the job and it means I don't have to lug around two guitars.

And that's the main thing about this guitar - it performs a function It's the guitar equivelent of a small Japanese car - reliable and it does the job. I can't imagine anyone falling in love with it or feeling passionate about it in anyway but what would you expect from what is a pretty cheap instrument.

Would I buy another one? Probably not, but this is becasue I have an AEX 1500 on order. Now that guitar is class and I am fully expecting to ask it to marry me when it arrives.

i've had this guitar for 3 years. it's been my primary road guitar for most of that time. black finish, lam top, very thin body like everyone else has said. the reason why i keep it around is it features the piezo/humbucker combo and the fluid mix knob. i think that's totally great and I haven't seen it anywhere else.

i agree with the "good for not waking the baby" comment i read here. unplugged it's basically a good guitar for writing in the dark when someone is sleeping in the next room -- i would never mic it. but that ain't what it's for, fortunately. i think the two pickups and their distinct personalities give an incredible range. i've played this guitar in jams, bands and solo, in styles ranging from indie rock to new orleans jazz. it holds up extremely well in all counts, because if you don't like something about the sound for the situation you're in, you have some really effective tweaking options; the mix knob with the eq on the piezo really does it for me.

umm. the body is basically not worth mentioning, except that i have dropped it and banged it and it's still here. like any guitar it's taken a while to really get it where i want it to be. it's a funny guitar because it's essentially electric, but with an acoustic bridge and without the option of tweaking the intonation really. but luckily, it's never given me any problems. the neck is wonderful, i think -- a bit wider than some, but action isn't hurt by it at all. works just as well with flat or nickel-wound strings. not a lot of action noise. the complaint i have is the parts in general have a tendency to be a little loose and wonky -- i've had probs with the knobs, the cable jack, and the electronics wires bouncing around inside. i just recently had the bright idea to take off the weird useless tailpiece that yamaha puts on there to make it look like an archtop

it'll withstand some gigs, like i said. i've pretty much been playing it out at least twice a week for the past year, and it's been cool. stays in tune admirably well. i don't have a backup that would match this guitar, and as long as you take care of it and don't play like a total maniac there's no need for one.

donno haven't needed em.

if this guitar was stolen or sat on or anything like that i would cry, especially because it's discontinued. in my opinion and experience every guitar has some flaws that are more like personality traits. this guitar's been essential to me in the last three years and i wouldn't give it up for anything.

Acoustic/Electric Jazz style guitar. Piezo and single Johnny Smith pickup. Knob that fades between the two, EQ for piezo, volume knob. Both of these knobs have a center detent for the half way point. The bridge is an acoustic style but still has a trapeze tailpiece.
The top is laminate spruce with alder back and sides. Single binding on the top only. The neck is maple bolt-on and has a satin smooth finfish to it. I changed the tuners to a gold Serzel that I had and it stays in tune much better. The fingerboard is rosewood and has small dot inlays. The scale is 24 3/4 like most Gibsons. The frets are medium round like an acoustic. My guitar is black and is not the best paint job but who cares.

The guitar is light but neck heavy so I attach my strap at the headstock. The sound acoustically is enough for playing around the house but sounds like a cardboard guitar. When plugged in, it has a tone of it's own. The magnetic pickup more treble than you'd want an does not have a tone control. As you mix in more piezo, the sound gets more round. The piezo though has a 3 band EQ which works very well. The battery is very easy to change, no screws to undo. I play through Polytone amps and sometimes direct into a PA. I've tried a Peavey Ecoustic amp and that sounds very good. I have used a Boss EQ pedal and I can can some full and jazzy tones to it. I also have a Tech 21 bass DI and that also can give you a sound you may like. I play hawn, folk, James Taylor and light jazz tunes. I play in a hawn show and surprisingly this guitar has pulled it off. I can get a real nice stringy acoustic tone and yet play some jazzy solos. It has an acoustic ring to it, probably cause the top is spruce. So here's my suggestion for others. Change the tuners, attach your strap to the nut and use some outboard EQ pedal. My Polytone amps might contribute to the sound I have cause I don't use distortion and all. I just play good.

I wanted a lower action on the guitar without shavind the saddle. So what I did was to shim up the neck with a heavy triangle shaped pick. Also tighted the truss rod to where its nearly straight. Not bad for a cheap guitar, $250 w/o case. I bought it used from a store where it hung unsold for 3 yrs. Everone said it's a piece of junk. I bought it and I've made about $3000 with it in 3 months. This is a hybrid guitar with different sounds. This sounds better thatn the Parker Fly or Godin Acousticaster that I've owned.

Spruce top which is thin, be careful not to crack it. Bring an extra battery with you. It's as solid if you are not an abuser musician.

I bought it used and have done all modifications on my own. Don't ever expect to talk to the factory. This model may have been discontinued but I still see it on Gbase.

40 yrs, and I've owned almost any guitar you can imagine. Even had some expensive Gibson L5's and Johnny Smith's. PRS archtops that were way more expensive than they were worth. This is a cheap, diretic guitar that makes money for me. When I look at it I hate it but when I go to the gig I forget about what it is and just play. It gives me the sound that I want onstage and the next morning I go to the bank and cash my check , put some gas in my car and my me a nice lunch. What more can I say! It does what it's supposed to do. Do I love it? No

Acoustic/Electric Jazz style guitar. Piezo and single pickup. Knob that fades between the two, EQ for piezo, volume knob and that's it. Very simple guitar that attempts to do a lot.

Currently this fits perfectly with the range of sounds I'm after. I wanted a good accoustic/jazz sounds and a clean electric sounds I could then put through FX. Does this quite well. Could be warmer.

Looks good and plays increadibly well. It felt exactly right as soon as I picked it up - and this was compared to much more expensive guitars. Does feel a bit light. Also the internal wires can be seen through the F holes.

I'm not sure how many knocks this thing is going to take. Already the knobs have come loose - I had do a fiddly nut tightening excersice.

It's been doing good service. When it breaks I'll be looking for something a bit more solid that does the same kind of job. I like it's unconventional nature and know of few guitars that offer what this guitar offers.

i bought it back in 00' i wanted a gretsch but i dont have that much cash and finding one of those is rare in Erie PA. I wanted a hollowbody after listening to groups like the stray cats and Living End. Well i found the Yamaha AEX-500. Cost me 699.00. Which was a good price for the gold hardware and the electronics. I dont like the mini humbucker cuz i dont like bass tones for the punk that i play. the piezo though is sweet since it has the treb response yet it has the warm hollowbody sound. Ive had trouble with the tuners they seem to slip very easily so im always out of tune on the D string. Its got a wood bridge with a nylon strip for the string to rest on... doesnt cut my hand when i muffle. World of Music was nice enough to give me a nice gig bag to go with it.

It has the punkabilly sound i like when it comes to the piezo pickup.. i dont like the 9volt thing though ... i have pedals as it is i dont need to spend more money on the guitar as it is. i hate the humbucker..im getting a seymour duncan invader to replace it and i getting it rewired so the 9volt only runs the internal pickup. I use an Ibanez ts7 tubescreamer with it... it gives me a little more crunch and click that i like. Over all the guitar has multiple uses and sounds depending on where you set the active EQ and tone controls.. it can get really dirty or cut through with clarity.

its well constructed i must say.. very smooth although a little neck heavy on the weight distribution. The pickups sound good and are set well so they get the tones and its not muddy sounding. The gold hardware has some oxidizing on it but its only noticable from up close. but everything is in great shape.

ive never used it live cuz i use my strat and tele for that.. i would like to use it especially after i get my invader in it. If i had to though it would last through a show without a back up, its solid and reliable when i need it to be. im waiting for a real gig to use it since my group has only played parties. But im confident in the guitar

never had to get the company for anything except the 1/4 input. that was because the jack had been loose and people were plugging into it causing the wires stripped while at the store.

its my most expensive guitar ive had it over a year and its been great to have.... really great acoustic tones. I have Squier Strat got in 96' and a new squier tele just from dec. they are my main use guitars... cheap in price but get the job done never had a prob with those either. i would like to use my yamaha more but havent had the chance to.

Purchased in 2000 from MARS. BTW- those bastards won't even give you the danged box it comes in. AND they didn't sell the case. See other reviews for features. Basic vers: All hollow body, w/ 1 piezo & 1 mini humbucker. 2 knobs. Volume and pickup mix. I like it pretty much in the middle notch mix between the 2 pick ups. Finish is as thin as reported to facillatate unplugged volume . Bridge is fixed. Tuners are not that great but wil make it through some punkin' around. I ended up buying a used case on eBay.

Sounds as thin as the body or finish unplugged. Which is great because I wanted a guitar i could rock out with plugged in but would make more sound than an electric unplugged (to not wake up baby). I play it into a little 4 channel Fostex mixer to a Digitech RP100 pedal then into a Fender M80 amp. I use the mixer to make all of my synths & guitar go through the same path to the amp. With this set up I have all the sounds I need. The piezo makes for fun feedback on demand or none if you don't want it. I know this was not the design of the guitar, but I play a lot of hard rocking, funky stuff. The noise is good, and so is the control of the noise.

Everything seems to work/lool/play fine. Way better than the POS Epiphone I sent back to the retards at Musician's Friend. I also like the fact that it was like they made an electric guitar, acoustic- rather than an acoustic guitar, electric. Slim, trim and proper! I use GHS 11 guage electric strings. No wound G strings, seems to be the key. Finish is v thin. Maybe the best action I've played and many people who've picked this guitar up have remarked that without prompting or previous discussion.

So far it has lasted but I've scratched it a bunch in the last year. Watch your belt. I suggest taking it off of turning it so the buckle is on the side. One bitch, the battery compartment: The copper contacts have to be rebent (use old string to loop around it) to make contact with replacement/recharged battery. If you don't see the little LED on, then you'll know the battery's about dead when the feedback parade starts. Everything has continued to work like the day I brought it home.

N/a. They build their stuff to work so they don't have to deal with acrimonious jerks like me. I like that.

I've started playing over 20 years ago. I also own a Fender Mustang from about 1977. This guiar weighs less than that one's neck.
I'd like to hear it thru an "acoustic" amp. But since I play raging rock-n-roll, that doesn't matter. If it were stolen, I might buy another one. So many new products come out, it's hard to say.
I love the variety of sounds, the solid state reliability, the ACTION, the weight..., it's also beautiful Sunburst. I'd rather have an ES 335 but I'm not that rich. I am not sure they still make this model...

I really like the deep tone, and the sound varities...

A beautiful piece of work....

Don't know bought it today...

The mini humbucker has not a great sound...too high frequences; but the piezo is OK

Humbucker and piezo electric. With EQ and on-board pre-amp (I think).I'm no techie (More of a feel merchant).

I write a lot of songs, and this has a clean/jangly/sonorous/bell-like quality (somewhere between a warm Tele and an acoustic) - which is ideal. Preferred settings Humbucker or Humbucker /piezo split.
( Yes I know that teles are single coil guitars - I'm just following what my ears tell me).

Good action - easier to play than my acoustics ( Norman B20, and Sigma Martin copy thang). Very seductive appearance, not really a typical arch top / jazz guitar. Mine is a particularly fetching sunburst dark brown. Finish appears good.

Hard to answer - only had it a few days.

To early to say, and no reason to try as yet.

I've been playing haphazardly for years (sub standard blues cliches mostly), but much more seriously over the last year. Yes I'd buy this guitar again if purloined. I'm taken by the sound, looks and general aura...and went into a deep trance while trying it out in the shop.

My other 'axes' are: Fender Jazz Bass & Telecaster (refried Mexican models), Norman B20 Folk acoustic, Sigma Dreadnought, (cheapo) Ukulele, and papier mache jazz wonder guitar from Panjim - Goa - India (complete with warped neck and serrated frets).

Bringing the bass EQ gives a solid crunch in a distorted application, unsatisfied with Ovation acoustics this gives a much warmer acoustic tone in clean situations.

Looks beautiful, sortta like a women, it's curves and f-holes were the first attracted me... we've been goin' steady for about a year now.

Live? - Yes.
Mosh? - No.
Studio? - Yes.
Let little brother play? - No.

The Taiwanese-built AEX-500 has a retro-jazzy kind of vibe. There's a single gold mini-humbucker, a rosewood piezo-loaded fixed bridge, a simple gold tailpiece and a pair of f-holes. This particular model has a brown sunburst finish, the back and sides being black, with a single layer cream binding on the top edge. The angled maple headstock, faced in black, is joined to the rest of the maple neck behind the first and second frets. The flat rosewood fingerboard (radius 13 ?") has 20 smoothly dressed and neatly fitted frets, and the neck joins the body at the 14th fret. Four recessed bolts anchor the neck to the ?alder body (back and sides). The laminated spruce top is pretty thin, comparable to a regular acoustic, but is glued to a solid block which runs from the neck joint to the bridge. The back is also thin, and largely free to vibrate, but the sides are pretty thick, at least a centimetre. The strings feed through the raised back of the rosewood bridge where they are anchored through the tailpiece. This doesn't translate the tension to the end pin, but probably helps spread the load over the whole bridge. The mini-humbucker is neatly mounted into the body at the end of the neck, but isn't height-adjustable. The piezo pickup is under the one-piece saddle, which isn't shaped for intonation. Controls are simple: two rotary knobs (master volume and pickup blend, with centre notch) on the face of the guitar, and an active EQ panel on the upper shoulder which controls the piezo tone via three sliders. The battery compartment round the back is very neat. My guitar didn't come with a case, unfortunately, and it's not easy to find a hard case that fits as the guitar is slightly bigger than your average electric, but rather smaller than the usual semis, archtops or acoustics. Still working on this!

This is quite a unique sounding guitar in my experience. Acoustically the guitar is surprisingly loud, but it doesn't compete with your average acoustic and sounds a bit thin. However, it is a whole lot better than an unplugged electric, tons louder and free from buzzes and rattles, which makes it a handy instrument for polishing up your electric licks when you can't be bothered untangling all your cables and setting up your amp. Plugging in, the neck mini-humbucker alone is pleasant enough, with a clear but warm sound. However, in the absence of any tone control to affect the pickup, the sound is fairly bright, and, since the output isn't particularly high, it doesn't really get anywhere near the mellow, thick jazz tone that is implied by the guitar's looks. On the other hand, the piezo bridge pickup does a better job of impersonating a regular electro-acoustic, though you do need to scoop out the mid range and/or boost the bass and treble using the active e.q. to get a decent tone. Besides, the class A tube combo I'm using probably isn't the best choice for a good electro-acoustic tone! Where things do start to come together really nicely, however, is in the blended sounds. Merging a small amount of the neck humbucker in with the peizo output gives a lovely depth and richness to the acoustic tones, while a small amount of piezo tone added to the mini humbucker adds a nice percussive snap to the sound. And maybe it's just this particular guitar, but the sounds really come alive when you tune down to an open D tuning; the sustain and resonance are tremendous.

Set up was about right for this style of guitar, high enough and with sufficient tension to allow a good strum in electro-acoustic mode, but a lot easier on the fingers than the average acoustic for more complex jazz/lead work. The tuners do a reasonable job, but tuning stability isn't perfect when strumming hard, and there are minor intonation problems related to the short scale length and the uncompensated bridge. As per usual with Yamaha guitars, the quality of construction is top notch, everything fits together very nicely. The only flaw I could find was that the two white plastic dots on the side of the rosewood fretboard at the 12th fret weren't quite level with each other! The finish on the top is pretty thin, as mentioned by a previous reviewer, but a thicker, more durable finish could well dampen the resonance of the soundboard and diminish both the sound quality and quantity. The maple neck feels almost as if it is unfinished, like a real chunk of wood not quite perfectly sandpapered. Personally I like this, but some players might prefer a smoother feel. Anyway, with use the feel is gradually getting smoother. The small body is comfortable to manage sitting down, being only an inch or so wider than a telecaster. Standing up the guitar feels very light, rather neck-heavy, but again generally pretty comfortable. Three hours with one of these slung around your neck would be a lot less taxing than three hours with a Les Paul.

I've only had this a few months, but I've always been impressed by the build quality of Yamaha guitars, and I'd expect this guitar to do it's job without fail. It's not the most solid feeling guitar, but treat it the way you would treat a good acoustic guitar or semi (rather than how you might treat a battered old solidbody) and I'm sure it would give years of faithful service.

Never dealt with Yamaha, and I suspect I won't ever need to.

I like this guitar. It's a bit different, there aren't many other instruments out there in the stores which offer this combination of features, along with Yamaha's fine build quality, for this price. Excellent VFM. It encourages you to try a few different styles, gives sounds which you don't get from your average electric or electro-acoustic, and it looks pretty cool. In the process of acquiring this AEX500 I let go a Yamaha Pacifica 402S (fancy finish Tele-style) which was also beautifully made but let down by undistinguished pickups and, for me, a too slim neck (see H-C review). It joins a 1990 USA Fender Standard Strat and a 1997 Japanese Fender Telecaster 72 Thinline reissue in my collection, all played through a Trace Elliot Speed Twin C30 class A tube combo. If it was damaged beyond repair in a bizarre gardening accident I'm pretty sure I would get hold of another.

The AEX500 has a Spruce top and Nato back/sides. It has a bolt-on Maple neck, Rosewood fingerboard, 20 frets, Rosewood bridge and gold hardware. There is 1 mini humbucker at the neck and a piezo bridge pickup. Controls include volume and blend control knobs, and a 3-band EQ control. It appears that the production of these guitars is outsourced to Malaysia. The Particular model I have is a 1998 w/black with gold hardware. Looks-wise this guitar has a Jazz vibe. That's why I bought it. It was purchased mail-order, so looks and features were the only thing I had to go on. The f-holes, mini humbucker and tailpiece simulate that archtop look. Finally, my purchase came with a hardshell case, a nice one I might add.

When I first read about this guitar, I couldn't wait to hear it. In the end I have mixed feelings about the sound. First off, the guitar is alot thinner(and thin sounding) than I had imagined. It's amazing how loud it is when played acoustically though. There is a fairly wide range of tones when you factor in the EQ for the piezo. The piezo is a nice option. You get a really bright tone which I like for some solos and for strumming. The humbucker was a disappointment. First off, it doesn't have enough output for my tastes and you can't really get that "dark" tone(i.e. the Wes Montgomery sound that is synonomous with traditional jazz guitar). It would've also been cool if there was a tone control for the humbucker. Changing the tone with the blend control is limited too. I think putting a nice set of heavy guage strings on this thing would really beef it up. It came with a fairly light guage(.10 I think), so you'll probably need to get it set up if you want to do this. I will say that this thing has no problem sounding like a full sized acoustic.

The guitar was set up fairly well and the action is about what I expected on this guitar. Pretty easy to fret and play just about anything. I'm a little disappointed with the finish. Very fragile, one little bump and you've got a scratch right down to the wood. I'd be interested in seeing one with the brown sunburst finish. The volume dynamics on the piezo could have been set up more evenly, although, I've always had these problems with piezo pickups. The controls and cord jack seem to be of good quality. The balance of the guitar is kind of wierd becuase it's so light. It's balance reminds me of an Gibson SG(except with a lighter body).

I don't plan on using this guitar for gigs, nor have I owned it for a significant amount of time. Therefore, I'll pass on judgements at this time.

N/A

Falls into the champagne on a beer budget category. You can't expect too much for a $400-500 guitar. Promises to be more than it is, but it's a handsome looking guitar and I love the vibe. It offers some unique tones but it's definitly not the definitive Jazz box. My ES335 does a better job in this area. I usually play the AEX500 through an accoustic amp, which seems to be a good combo for this instrument. I wouldn't buy another if it was lost or stolen. I think I'd spend the extra cash and buy something different.