Yamaha NTX700 - When Power Matters

You don't often see jumbos in the entry level range, at least not when it comes to general recommendations. Now, add a set of decent electronics to it, and you have a borderline unicorn. Or, as we like to call it, the Yamaha NTX700. Everything about this guitar screams quality, but it also comes with a decent price. For this reason, it barely squeezes itself into our list of top acoustic guitars for beginners, but boy is it worth it. Let's do a short rundown of what this thing brings to the table.

Body & Neck

Word jumbo in the first sentence should tell you exactly what to expect. This is a big sucker and chances are that not everyone will be able to play it comfortably. Yamaha chose a solid spruce top for this model, in combination with nato back and sides. The neck is also made of nato wood and features a rosewood fretboard on top. Aside from solid materials and proven design, you also get a fair bit of nice details. We're talking a well-designed rosette, black binding all around the top and a pretty refined finish.

Hardware

In terms of hardware, there's not much out of the ordinary going on here. Yamaha NTX700 comes with a rosewood bridge that sports a compensated saddle. The material the saddle and nut are made of is your standard synthetic, although one that gets the job done. One of the most sensitive components on any entry level to mid range guitar are the tuners. In this case, Yamaha installed a set of their die cast machines, which do a great job at retaining the key of the instrument.

Electronics

Acoustic-electric jumbo configuration requires a set of electronics that can keep up with the extended lower end. Otherwise, you get a very messy tone that is hard to work with, no matter what kind of EQ you insert in the signal chain. Lucky for us, Yamaha's A.R.T system is more than capable of handling this bad boy. Tone reproduction is fairly authentic, while a great three band EQ allows for a good amount of tone shaping.

Sound

Power, projection, and volume = that's a good way to describe what Yamaha NTX700 has to offer. However, that doesn't mean that definition is absent. On the contrary, trebles are pretty well defined, along with wide mids. The kicker here is that the whole frequency range is just blended properly, giving you a lot of width, as well as clarity. Although it might not be as refined as some jumbo's out there, Yamaha NTX700 delivers what this body shape is best known for.

The Verdict

At the end of the day, many may argue that this guitar is too expensive for an entry level instrument. The counter to that argument would be that it offers an affordable way to future proof your setup in the long term. Naturally, jumbo's are not for everyone, but this guitar definitely deserves your attention if you're in the market for a first guitar. For more info on the NTX, click here. For more beginner acoustic guitars, click here.