“You may feel that the whole TransAcoustic thing is a novelty… we’d urge you to put aside your preconceptions”: Yamaha TAS3 C review

What is it?

Yamaha will shortly be celebrating 10 years since it introduced its first TransAcoustic guitar at Summer NAMM in 2016, back when the guitar world circled the new technology with great suspicion.

Was this a novelty? A passing phase? Or could it be seen as a serious instrument that might find space on a professional stage? After all, an acoustic guitar that could generate its own reverb and chorus without any external effects being called into play seemed like some kind of a bizarre magic trick.

But it worked. And the sound it produced was simply uncanny. That same guitar world listened and ultimately nodded in approval.

Since then, the technology that was turning heads a decade ago has been reworked to include more onboard effects in the shape of delay and, unbelievably, a fully functioning looper.

Furthermore, the effects are now all editable via an app – the TAG Remote – that connects to your guitar via Bluetooth and enriches the nature of the effects by offering control over parameters and reverb types.

So how does it work? Is there some sort of dark art at play here? Let’s let the boffins at Yamaha explain: “Two actuators installed on the inner surface of the guitar resonate in response to the vibrations of the strings,” they tell us. “The vibrations generated by the actuators are then transmitted to the body of the guitar and to the air in and around it. This results in authentic reverb, chorus and delay sounds that actually radiate from within the body.”

We’ve encountered TransAcoustic guitars in the past, and spending time with the technology won us over. It really is something that you need to hear for yourself to appreciate – and a good place to start is by watching the video that Yvette Young did for Yamaha, demonstrating the TAS3 C’s looper. We’ll eat our hat if you’re not impressed.

But, of course, this clever stuff is all well and good, but what about the guitar that’s playing host to Yamaha’s cunning? It’s clear the company knows a thing or two about making top-notch guitars and so expectations here are very high before we’ve even played a chord.

The guitar just has that look about it, with a subtle sunburst to its nicely figured Sitka spruce top. And the rest of the construction details spell out a quality build, too, with mahogany for the back and sides, the grain of which is all but obscured by the dark finish. The mahogany theme continues with the TAS3’s neck, which is topped off with some very nice-looking open-backed tuners.

Turning the guitar over, the fretwork on the ebony ’board is right up to standard with an expertly cut nut and very well-finished frets. The face of the fretboard is left plain, without any position markers, but pearloid dots along its edge will aid navigation more than adequately.

If you’re curious about what the circular inlay below the soundhole is, it’s all to do with the looping function – and it’s time to start exploring that and the other onboard effects right about now.

The inner workings of the instrument that generate the effects are hidden inside. And instead of the usual volume and tone controls that would be mounted on a standard electro-acoustic, there is a port for the rechargeable battery on the upper bout near the neck joint and a control panel to take command of the effects. These comprise reverb, delay, chorus and looper around a central on/off button.

However, a couple of the controls have a secondary function – for instance, you hold the reverb button to put the looper into standby mode, then begin playing and tap the circular inlay to stop recording. Pressing the chorus button will stop playback.

This might sound like a faff for an acoustic player who may be used to just plugging in, setting a volume level and getting on with it, but electric players will feel at home as plenty of effects units on the market have similar multi-functional controls. And while it may not seem intuitive, spending a short while with the helpful – and delightfully clear – manual will set you straight.

Apart from the effects, the TAS3 has a built-in tuner and a battery level indicator to ensure you know when you need to top up the power. Another thing that is common with much of today’s guitar tech is Bluetooth connectivity.

Once you’ve downloaded Yamaha’s TAG Remote app, you merely press-and-hold the looper button to get connected.

Once again, this might deter a few technophobes, but the benefits of connecting to the app are, by all accounts, worth it because it gives you the opportunity to customise your effects levels, swap reverb types, recall loops and so on.

It goes without saying that investing a little time scaling the slight learning curve involved here will lead to exploiting the instrument’s capabilities to the full. And that sounds like time well spent to us.

Specs

• PRICE: $1,899/£1,393 (inc hard gig bag)
• ORIGIN: China
• TYPE: Concert cutaway
• Top: Sitka spruce with ARE treatment
• Back/Sides: Mahogany
• Max Rim Depth: 115mm
• Max Body Width: 380mm
• Neck: Mahogany
• Scale Length: 650mm (25.6”)
• Tuners: Open gear Champagne‑Gold
• Nut/Width: Urea/44mm
• Fingerboard: Ebony
• Frets: 20
• Bridge/Spacing: Ebony/54mm
• Electrics: TransAcoustic (System 76) with reverb, chorus, delay, looper, line out vol, tap sensor. Bluetooth audio facility and downloadable iOS/Android compatible TAG Remote app for parameter editing
• Weight (kg/lb): 2.6/5.9
• Left-Handers: No
• Finish: Natural (as reviewed), Sand Burst – gloss with matt neck
• Contact: Yamaha

Playablity and sounds

Returning our attention to the instrument, the TAS3 feels good straight out of its Yamaha-badged custom hard bag. The only thing that would lead you to suspect that the guitar itself is not the full story is the slight increase in weight – a tad more than you’d expect from a standalone acoustic.

The neck is a plentiful C profile and very comfortable in the hand and, despite the heft of the body, balance is good, both sitting and standing. Exploratory chordal strums reveal a sweet sound with a good mix of treble and bass.

Concert-bodied acoustics tend to avoid an inclination towards the boominess sometimes found on their bigger-bodied counterparts and that’s very much the case here. Fingerpicking sounds good, too, and so we were particularly interested to hear what the electronic side of the guitar adds to the picture.

Navigating through the effects is a simple task. The reverb is an immediate favourite for what it adds to the sound-picture, giving it a very professional, produced sheen.

Chorus on an acoustic is very much a Marmite situation: you either love it or hate it. Yet here it offers additional depth and shimmer to strummed chords.

Delay does exactly what it says, layering even more production value to the overall output, and the looper (once you’ve acquired the knack of hitting the circular sensor on time to switch off record mode) provides even more functionality.

Employing the app means that the reverb can be switched between Hall, Room or Plate, delay settings can be fine-tuned, and so on.

In fact, everything here is set for a player to either sit in the living room with a wonderfully produced-sounding acoustic or even attend an open mic night and play in front of a mic and achieve a similar pro effect.

Verdict

Verdict: ★★★★½

Whereas you may feel that the whole TransAcoustic thing is a novelty item and not aimed at being a serious performance tool, we’d urge you to put aside any of the preconceptions you might have and try one.

Yamaha has really thought the whole situation through admirably with an acoustic that sounds and plays really well on its own, with the electronic side of things adding a functional bonus on top.

Guitar World verdict: A fully produced pro-sounding acoustic in your living room without having to daisy-chain effects or lug amps about all for a smidge under £1,400? As a practice tool alone, that’s well worth the ticket price. But master the magic within and the sky’s the limit.

Hands-on videos

Yamaha

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