THE LONG ROAD

Yamaha’s new NX guitars are more than a refresh

When you have a range of state-of-the-art instruments, redesigning them is no quick fix.“The first thing we did was redesign the top’s fan bracing using the Yamaha Acoustic Simulation technology,” explains designer Yoshihiko ‘Yoshi’Tambara.“We wanted to increase the acoustic volume of the original NX guitars, and with a warmer sound, but also to keep the longterm stability of the guitar so the top won’t move over the years.”

Another change is that the new guitars use walnut instead of rosewood.“It was an environmental decision,” says Yoshi, and one also influenced by the CITES restrictions on rosewood while the guitars were in development.“So we chose walnut, which is more sustainable. It’s a little more focused-sounding compared with rosewood, a little less low frequency. It’s a little lighter in weight, too, which is good for the nylon-string. The strings have a lower tension than steel strings, but the wood still needs to vibrate.”

But the new Atmosfeel pickup system (which initially appeared last year on the FG Red Top) is where most of the development time resides.“It has three elements: an under-saddle piezo, a newly developed contact sensor that we call a C-Sensor – it’s very thin and lightweight and it captures the sensitivity and high frequency range – and, thirdly, there’s a tiny microphone on the preamp PCB itself.”The preamp is digital so each model has individual voicing: “We have a different EQ voicing design for each model, even the NCX3 with its cedar top.”

The top-level NTX5 and NCX5 have been fined-tuned, respectively, by NX users Rodrigo y Gabriela.“Working with them as co-designers rather than signature artists was actually more meaningful,” adds Yamaha’s Julian Ward.“They’re not just putting their name on something, they have actually worked with us on the NX – in fact, through the whole life of the line – and they certainly did a lot of work on these new models.”