Yamaha FGX5 II Red Label Acoustic Guitar

For Modern Singer-Songwriter

FG/FS Red Label guitars are designed for the modern singer-songwriters who are driven by creating something new from authentic roots. Vintage aesthetics enhance players' individual expression, while arm sound supports the song.

Heritage

The Nippon Gakki Red Label FG acoustic guitar is one of Yamaha's most iconic instruments. The reintroduction of the Red Label invokes Yamaha's history of over fifty years of building guitars. The result is a modern Folk Guitar with a clear heritage of Japanese craftmanship and innovation.

Classic Headstock

The guitar retains the original FG headstock shape, adorned with the iconic "Tuning Fork" logo. The traditional truss rod cover is emblazoned with "Since 1966" to make the launch of the first FG models.

Design

Solid Sitka Spruce Top

Commonly sourced from Canada and Alaska, solid Sitka spruce offers a rich midrange and low-frequently response. The sound is tight and focused, working particularly well for chordal strumming or rhythmic fingerstyle performance.

Solid Mahogany Back and Sides

Mahogany has a slower transient response than many other tonewoods, contributing to a warm and woody tone with strong midrange.

Ebony Fingerboard and Bridge

Ebony is a stronger and more durable material than rosewood. The Made-in-Japan 5 tier instruments also feature ebony bridge pins.

Bone Nut and Saddle

The made-in-Japan FG(X)5 and FS(X)5 instruments feature a bone nut and saddle. Bone is a harder material than urea, providing a more efficient transfer of energy from the strings to the neck and body. The result is a louder and clearer sound.

Classic FG Shape

Yamaha was the first Japanese guitar brand to develop an original body shape instead of simply copying previous designs. The differences are subtle, measured in just millimeters, but the slightly wider lower bout than a regular dreadnought contributes to the warm FG sound that players have loved for generations.

Bracing Patterns

In defining the sound of FG/FS Red Label, our intention was to offer a warm tone that would be ideal for modern folk music and singer-songwriters. With careful measurement and experimentation, we made several refinements that would enhance low-frequency response without compromising durability. These changes are optimized for the natural characteristics of the tonewoods and each body silhouette. The resulting tone is full and powerful, bot acoustically and through the Atmosfeel pickup and preamp system.

Acoustic Resonance Enhancement (A.R.E.)

The exclusive Yamaha A.R.E. process utilizes heat, humidity and atmospheric pressure to accelerate the aging of the wood and give the instrument a rich, vintage-quality tone as if you've been playing it for years.

Atmosfeel

The Atmosfeel 3-way pickup and preamp system uses a piezo sensor in the bridge to capture low frequencies, a microphone for the low and midrange and our proprietary, thin synthetic sheet sound-board transducer for high frequencies. The result is a full, natural sound with simple controls that make it easy to get great plugged-in tone.

With the Microphone Blend control fully clockwise, the signal is approximately 50% mic, and 50% the combination of the piezo and contact sensor. When fully counterclockwise, the mic is removed from the signal.

The microphone sound particularly complements solo performers and chordal players, while a lower blend may be preferred by fingerstyle players and guitarists who need to cut through a full band.

The bass knob controls a peaking EQ. The center frequency rises when boosting and lowers when attenuating, so that low frequencies, which could be problematic on stage, can be removed but never added.