Review: Yamaha RGX A2 Solidbody Electric Guitar ($500 street)

But in any case, the pickup selector and pickups work perfectly without the LEDs (and the battery that powers them), because the pickups are standard passive humbuckers. So the battery and attendant circuitry are there only to light the LEDs. A little frivolous, perhaps, because the LEDs, battery power supply and housing, and body routing all add to the manufacturing cost, but it’s a design flair that I appreciate and end up using on stage (and the battery lasts a long time).

The RGX A2 features a lightweight body construction called Alternative Internal Resonance, with a bolt-on maple neck and rosewood fingerboard. (Click To Enlarge)

Other features of the RGX A2 include low-gear tuners with small, knurled, cylindrical tuning keys, which give the headstock a very modern, unobtrusive look (see Fig. 1). Because the gear ratio is low and the knobs are small, you have reduced leverage and so have to apply a bit more hand strength to tune up. While this slows down gross movement, like tuning up completely slack strings during a string change, I found it to be an advantage for fine-tuning, as the resistance allows you to make small adjustments in the rotation, preventing you from overturning in one direction or the other. This is especially helpful in drop tunings, where the strings are harder to tune precisely at lower pitches. The only downside of the cylindrical tuners is that you can’t use a standard string winder.

Light ’n’ Fleet

Fig. 1. The tuners are low-gear, knurled cylinders that present a modern look.

The guitar is quite light (about 5.5 pounds), owing to its shallow depth and body construction, which Yamaha calls Alternative Internal Resonance—a light wood sandwiched between two thin, harder woods. “Sound tubes” pass through all three layers, facilitating the transfer of vibrations from the bridge to the body. I liked the lively, resonant response, because this acoustic property seems to yield more character from the guitar (more vibrations are taken from the string and transferred to the body), and the string-through-body design and sound tubes help to enhance the resonant properties of the body as well. The RGX A2 also sounds good in an acoustic setting.

In addition to its lightness, the guitar is well balanced. I would sometimes forget I had it on, not just for its lack of heft, but because it wouldn’t dip or swoop in either direction when I took my hands off of it. This is not only one of the lightest guitars I’ve ever played, but also the most comfortable.

Speaking of comfortable, the neck is also a dream to play on. The bolt-on maple neck is shallow, and has a very fast feel with low action. The guitar came set up with light strings, so it will probably appeal to rock players looking for a guitar that will support fast, virtuosic leads as well as full-form chords. The playability is excellent throughout all regions of the neck. There’s no buzzing, and the action is consistent from low to high. What might take some getting used is that there are no fret markers on the fingerboard, but they are on the side.

There’s a thin gray pinstripe that leads your eye right to the output jack location (helpful), but a corresponding, perpendicular line leading from the bridge pickup to the upper bout is just there for aesthetic balance. I like the visual subtlety these pinstripes add to the otherwise basic-black and silver color scheme. There’s a painted silver binding on the sides of the body, which can’t be seen in full frontal view, but are visible when the guitar is on an angle. It’s a subtle but classy touch, as are the hair-thin pinstripe graphics on the guitar’s top.

The three-position rotary pickup selector is stiff and hard to change quickly, plus you’ll need both your thumb and index finger to grip it firmly (and without sweat). No “flicking” here.

Electronics

Fig. 2. Two soapbar pickups are controlled by the volume knob (with status LEDs) and a 3-position rotary selector.

The RGX A2 is outfitted with two Yamaha alnico soapbar humbuckers. There are two controls, a volume knob and a 3-position rotary knob controls the selection between two pickups. Blue and green LEDs in the volume knob ring indicate pickup selection (see Fig. 2).

There’s no tone knob, so this guitar will probably appeal to players who like to work with wide-open-throttle situations and prefer to get their tonal variations through amp channel and pedal settings. Certainly the pickups’ tone support this: the Alnico soapbar pickups are quite bright and nasty, in a good way, but don’t “quack out” in non-distortion settings. The treble is bright and powerful, but not over-the-top searing. The neck pickup is quite strong in the bass frequencies, and is conducive to low-note riffing. This quality is enhanced with altered and dropped tunings. Keep in mind that if you plan to go to a heavier set of strings to facilitate drop-D and drop-C tunings, you’ll have to adjust the neck and action.

In Play

As I suspected from playing it acoustically, the RGX A2 is fast, comfortable, and versatile (you can hold it up, or let it sling low at will) when you play it on stage. The power from the pickups belies the instrument’s light weight, and the liveliness that the Alternative Internal Resonance imbues to this guitar makes it great for high-energy rock. I played it through a Fender Deluxe Reissue amp, as well as the new Marshall JVM410C, and the guitar especially roared through the Marshall.

Conclusion

If you’re in the market for a lightweight guitar with a slim profile and plenty of bite and growl in the pickups, the RGX A2 provides an alternative to chambered-body guitars that is powerful, resonant, and has a unique construction that really works. You can use the guitar with or without the lights (but I liked them!), and the two alnico humbuckers yield a bright and powerful sound. This is a light, fast, and modern-looking guitar that could very easily be your top choice in a stage or touring axe.

SPECS

Jon Chappell has written five books in the For Dummies series (Wiley Publishing), as well as The Recording Guitarist: A Guide for Home and Studio (Hal Leonard), Digital Home Recording (Backbeat Books), and Build Your Own PC Recording Studio (McGraw-Hill).

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