Yamaha AC1R, AC3M, AC3R, AES1500, APX100-12 User Manual

Introduction

Thank you for choosing a Yamaha guitar! We know that your new instrument

is going to provide you with years of musical enjoyment.

Your Yamaha guitar is built to be reliable and easy to maintain year after
year. However there are also things the player must do to keep the guitar in
top shape. These are outlined in this booklet.

When to change strings?

All strings get old due to a number of factors: wear and tear from playing,
hand sweat, dirt, and rust. When strings get old, they start to sound dull and
their intonation becomes less reliable.

How often you change them is a personal decision. Professionals will often
change them after every show! However, most normal players would find this
an annoyance—not to mention expensive. An average player might change
his/her strings every three to six months, depending on how much and how
hard they play.

Changing strings is a fact of life for all guitar players. It is not difficult to
do once you have done it a few times. Hopefully this booklet will help you to
change your strings quickly, and make the job look professional.

Clean your strings!

You can make your strings last longer by wiping them off after you play.
Simply run a dry cloth along the length of each string. You can keep a cloth
in your case for this purpose.

String Replacement

Steel-string Acoustic Guitars

Like the name says, these strings are made of steel or other metals, such
as bronze. Steel strings gauges can vary widely, from extra-light tension to
heavy tension.

Why the difference in gauges? It depends on the player and the style.
Heavier strings will give a thicker, beefier sound. They will also be harder to
play! Extra light gauge strings will be easier to bend, but will also have a lighter
sound. It depends on the player and the style of music played.

Yamaha steel-string acoustics come strung with light gauge strings. This is
the most popular tension, and strikes a good balance between playability and
tone. A common set would range from a gauge of .012 for string 1 through
to .53 for string 6.

Because of the high tension involved in steel strings, if you change the
gauge of the strings you are using you may need to have some adjustments
made to the guitar, including adjusting the neck, bridge or nut. If you decide to
use a gauge that is different than the gauge the guitar came with, it might be
a good idea to have these adjustments made by an experienced technician.

Electric Guitars

This is where we find the most variety in string gauges. The strings are
made of metal, although the alloys used are different than those designed for
steel-string acoustics.

Once again, there is a trade-off: light strings are easier to bend and do
vibrato, but have a thinner tone and are harder to keep in tune. Heavier strings
sound thicker, but are tougher to bend. There are many different gauges avail­able, including ‘hybrid’ sets that use light strings for 1 to 3, but heavy strings
for 4 to 6. Most electric guitars today come with fairly light strings that can
range from a .009 gauge on string 1, to a .42 gauge on string 6.

If this is too light, you could move to a range of .010 to .046 which is also
very popular.

Again, if you decide on a string gauge different from that of the original
set, you may need to have the guitar adjusted by a technician.

Classical Guitars

Classical guitars use strings made of nylon. Strings 1 to 3 are made of plain
nylon, while strings 4 to 6 have a nylon core with a steel winding. Classical strings
are lower in tension than steel strings, which means less stress on the neck.

Classical guitar strings are classified not by gauges, but by tensions: low,
medium and high. The difference between these tensions is relatively small,
but players may find they prefer a certain tension. It’s best to experiment to
see which one is best suited for you.

Cleaning the Guitar

Wipe your guitar down regularly with a clean, dry and soft cloth. It’s not
necessary to use polish every time, as this can lead to a buildup of wax or
other materials. Occasionally, you can use guitar polish to bring the shine out
of the finish.

Over time, the fingerboard may get a layer of build-up on it—sweat and dirt
from your hands. Cleaning the fingerboard after you play will help to prevent this.

Setting Action and Intonation

The “action” of a guitar is the distance between the strings and the fretboard.
This can vary depending on the player’s preference. A higher action may suit
a player who plays hard, or who wants a clear, punchy sound. A lower action
may make the guitar easier to play, but also increases the likelihood that there
will be spots on the neck where the notes do no not ring clearly.

The action is determined by a combination of a number of factors: the
height of the bridge and nut, the curve of the neck controlled by the truss rod
(not on classicals), and the levelness of the frets. All of these factors must be
adjusted, and depend on one another.

Your Yamaha guitar is designed to have good action right out of the box.