Yamaha AC1R Concert Cutaway - Vintage Natural Reviews

I chose this guitar after comparing (playing) a Taylor and a Martin. Very rich and full sound, which is my preference, I play mostly rhythm with occasional finger picking. Even though I'm a bigger guy the concert series fits me comfortably. Beautiful fit and finish, quality materials throughout. Looking forward to many years of enjoyment. Also, I took advantage of the "B" plan, which has a minor cosmetic flaw that doesn't affect the sound. I still haven't located it. Used the savings to pay for a new case(jackpot). The item arrived in short order and perfect condition. I am now a Sweetwater fan!

WOW!!! This guitar is awesome! It sounds great both acoustically and plugged in.
It is set up very well. The intonation is perfect...right out of the box. The action is very comfortable.
This guitar is beautiful and well built. I stays in tune....no need to re-tune when using a capo. I am fussy about the guitars I play and must say this is really, really nice!
Thank you Mike Wright for answering all my questions and for your expert assistance picking out this guitar.

love the clean, crisp sound of this acoustic. and love the size. Not the dreadnought but equally big sound

Plays well. Low action thanks to the tech crew. Thanks to Mason Hunter team for making this happen. Viewing the pics before receiving the guitar was really nice. Can't say enough about the folks at Sweetwater......Even the phone operator is wonderfully polite.

Love it. Has many built in features that a more expensive guitar has. Good tone qualities like an expensive guitar has. Really like fret marks also. Good looking guitar.

If you closed your eyes, you might think you were playing a much, much pricier acoustic. This thing sounds amazing! And, the harder you strum it the more it comes to life. Sounds good when finger picking too. I've only plugged it in a few times and the pickups sound good if you're into the acoustic electric sorta thing. I mainly use it to record with in the studio where it definitely holds it's own! Enough said. This is a great work horse that won't let you down. Stop shopping around and grab one of these before they run out!

I have had this guitar for four months now so it's time for the review. I started playing guitar at 29 and I'm now 73 and still play almost every day. I was looking for a concert size cutaway, I needed something smaller than my 50 yr. old dreadnaught due to arthritis in my shoulder. I went to two large music stores in Denver and played every guitar they had at this price point. This Yamaha had everything I was looking for. In this review I am reviewing the AC1R that is in my living room and I am aware I did not buy a $3000 Taylor. I felt this was the best guitar for what I could afford. And I do understand this is a mass produced guitar.
When I received the guitar I followed Sweet Waters instructions, rest time etc. to a tee. I got it unpacked and looked at how nice the fit and finish was. Started playing and here's what we had. First off the action was so high it was hard to play. Second, it had a terrible buzz. Thinking it was maybe a brace that was loose or the pre-amp loose I started checking and found the tuner washers and nuts were not even finger tight. They had two more turns to even touch the peghead. The truss rod is backed out all the way, a bit disappointing. I put a set of 12-54 strings on and can barely get a slight curve in it, which is how I like the neck. After adjusting the neck best possible the low side is good, but the high side is straight. So, slight warp in the neck. So at this point I can't believe the 55 point inspection means much. I am not suppling the techs name! It say's a hex wrench is provided. Not with mine which is not a problem, I have all that. I bought a Tusq compensated saddle, sanded it down until I had the action I wanted and did not need to do anything with the nut. The fret ends are a little sharp but not as sharp as the other guitars I played and not a big problem. The pre-amp works good. I have tried it thru a Fender practice amp and a old Fender Vibrolux reverb. This guitar does NOT like 80/20 Bronze strings but is quit happy with the 12-54 Phosphor Bronze set. They did a good job with the laminated rose wood. Even the unfinished inside wood looks nice. No way you can tell it is laminated. The intonation is now almost dead on. The low E is slightly flat, but my old ears can't hear it. The biggest problem I see with this guitar is if a total beginner got this guitar they may have ended their guitar journey early just because it was noisy and hard to play and they thought that is how it is. Learning any musical instrument is hard enough. Playing a guitar is better for you than any Therapist could ever be!!! Many say this is an entry level guitar. I feel this is way more than an entry level guitar. After making the necessary repairs this is a great playing guitar at this price point and I would buy it again. For a mass produced guitar it does deserve 5 stars. If you can't, I would recommend having a qualified tech set your new guitar up so you can enjoy it for years. This is a true and honest review meant to help new guitarist enjoy a life time of playing fun. Well, hope this helps but it's time for me to go do some Pick'n and Grinn'n!!!!!

My husband and I bought this for my first guitar, so that I could learn how to play alongside my husband and his Taylor 614ce. We both are blown away by the quality of this guitar and how it sounds. I think it has a rich and bright sound, and the tone of this specific guitar is very pleasing to the ear. I played several different guitars, in a few stores, to find one that had the type of sound that I liked and this one was a perfect fit! I also bought this because the fret board is a tad bit more narrow than our Taylor, so my small hands can do bar chords more easily. It is an extremely comfortable guitar to hold and play. I love the rosewood back and the color of the wood, too. It is asthetically pleasing to the eyes and plays great, beginner and well-seasoned players alike. My husband has been playing for almost 20 years and he is in love with it, too! I would highly recommend!

I write on Acoustic as many also do. But I had always been an electric player onstage, since I prefer heavy genres of music.
But I also am a fan of acoustic styles like Bluegrass and Classical.
I had started picking up gigs with an acoustic act, that has picked up more gigs.
My main acoustics are aged and vintage Gibson's and 000's.
Age has made them a little temperamental to winter gigs. I picked up this Yamaha to be my gigging guitar.
I am now recording it and writing on it as well. It has songs in it. If you understand that.
I am now considering an AC5R from my experience with this one.
Worth double it's price in play-ability and tone, both plugged and unplugged.
Great neck, stable, easy to use preamp for live tone.
Win Win!
Thank You Aaron Tremain and Sweetwater

Awesome sound! Don't even think twice. You'll love this guitar!

I've been in need of a new stage guitar for a few months since my preamp died in the Greg Bennett that I've worked for the past 5 years. It's been repaired but lost its mojo .
While shopping for a replacement... I tested the AC1R yamaha. Off the wall hanger it was playable,comfortable, and had a strong full voice . As usual a sales person was not to be found so I left. Some weeks later I took a trip from Detroit to Fort Wayne to get a better visit with the Yamaha's, I played a number of the A series as well as the red tag models thanks to the sale team at Sweetwater. This made for a great environment to find the perfect replacement stage guitar. I have sense played 25 solo shows on the instrument and only changed strings. Its stable and the preamp is natural and warm .
Hats off to Yamaha and of course Sweetwater .Jimi-k

Love it, sounds great, easy to play, Sweetwater had it set up perfectly, big thanks to Jason my sales engineer who helped me with questions that I had and gave me great advice, had my guitar in 3 days. Enjoying every time I pick it up to play, you won't be disappointed with it.

Love my new guitar, sound, playability, size, everything I was looking for, want to thank Jason, my sales engineer, he was spot on in helping me find the guitar that fit my needs, will definitely use Sweetwater again when it's time to upgrade and buy new gear.

I purchased an older model with non scalloped bracing. Very happy with it. Has nice tone and very comfortable to play. Came with a hardshell case:)