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Yamaha A3R ARE Dreadnought Cutaway - Vintage Natural

6-string Acoustic-electric Guitar with Sitka Spruce Top, Solid Rosewood Back and Sides, Mahogany Neck, and Ebony Fingerboard - Vintage Natural
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Yamaha A3R ARE Dreadnought Cutaway - Vintage Natural
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Solid-top Acoustic-electric with Vintage Vibe and a Big Voice

In the A3R acoustic-electric guitar, Yamaha offers a vintage look with enhanced volume in the low-mid ranges, due to new scalloped bracing for the top and shorter bracing on the dreadnought's back. With a solid Sitka spruce top and solid rosewood back and sides, the guitar sounds fantastic. The A3R takes full advantage of Yamaha's acclaimed SRT2 pickup system for recording and stage performance. You get volume, treble, and bass controls (with auto feedback reduction), and blend control allows you to balance between the piezo and SRT2 preamp signals for your own distinctive tone.

Modern audio engineering with vintage style

While the Yamaha A3R has a traditional western body cutaway, its lows and highs resonate even more fully than those generated by conventional designs, thanks to new scalloped top bracing and shorter back board bracing. These modifications allow the top and back to resonate more naturally and with greater volume in the low-mid ranges. The western cutaway gives it a classic look, but an all-new brace design definitely brings the Yamaha A3R into the twenty-first century.

Quality woods plus innovation equal brilliant sound

Sitka spruce is highly valued for guitar tops — and for good reason. This select grade of stiff but elastic softwood is gorgeous and is equally suited to aggressive strumming, flatpicking, and even fingerpicking styles of play. The A3R features a solid Sitka top with solid rosewood back and sides, producing warm, balanced tones from low to high. This guitar looks, plays, and sounds great.

Studio sound onstage

Normally you can best hear a guitar's subtle nuances in the studio while it's miked, but the A3R has Yamaha's SRT2 pickup system, which brings those wonderful acoustic sounds to the stage. With blend control, you can balance the output from the under-bridge piezo pickup with the signal from the SRT preamp, creating your own unique tone with studio-crisp clarity and natural tone. Guitarists at Sweetwater love it!

Yamaha A3R Acoustic-electric Guitar Features:

  • 6-string acoustic-electric with traditional western cutaway
  • Solid Sitka spruce top and solid rosewood back and sides for a bright, warm tone
  • SRT2 system allows you to blend between piezo and SRT2 preamp signals for a personalized sound
  • Improved scalloped bracing for a more resonant, richly musical tone

Why Buy Your Guitar from Sweetwater?

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Tech Specs

  • String Type: Steel
  • Number of Strings: 6
  • Left-/Right-handed: Right-handed
  • Body Shape: Dreadnought
  • Back & Sides Wood: Solid Rosewood
  • Top Wood: Solid Sitka Spruce
  • Finish: A.R.E. treated top
  • Color: Vintage Natural
  • Body Bracing: Scalloped bracing
  • Binding: Mahogany
  • Neck Wood: 3-piece Mahogany
  • Fingerboard Material: Ebony
  • Fingerboard Inlay: Dots
  • Number of Frets: 20
  • Scale Length: 25.5"
  • Nut Width: 1.692"
  • Bridge Material: Ebony
  • Tuning Machines: Die-cast chrome
  • Electronics: SRT2 preamp with saddle pickup
  • Case/Gig Bag: Softshell Case
  • Manufacturer Part Number: A3R VN

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Customer Reviews

Write your review
Rated 5/5

Desert Island Acoustic

Ryan from Sweetwater made this recommendation after I inquired about another manufacturer's all-wood acoustic. Many praises to Ryan, as my Yamaha shall be this middle-aged dude's one-and-only desert island acoustic guitar.
Rated 5/5

Amazing guitar for the money, great guitar overall

After so much searching, I found the Yamaha A3R to be the best value out there for a solid wood guitar. The quality in construction is apparent despite being made in China and the setup was very playable right of of the box with a minor truss rod adjustment. Very happy with my purchase. I added some Graphtech Ratio tuners to mine with the money I saved and they were a drop in fit. Cannot recommend Sweetwater enough.
Music background: Beginner
Rated 5/5

Very nice guitar for an great price!

I have been looking at this guitar for a couple of years, and finally decided to pull the trigger. I am not disappointed! The workmanship is excellent IMO, and it sounds great unplugged or into a PA. I have a Taylor 310 CE that I have owned for years, this guitar sounds more full and bright, at the same time, than the Taylor. (unplugged). It came with a solid gig bag, and a sound hole plug for live use if needed.

The only thing that was surprising was the string action. I have read other reviews that stated it was pretty low, but mine was actually quite high. I know that is somewhat subjective and dependent on playing style, so take that FWIW. Neck was straight, so I lowered the action myself by sanding the saddle down. Now it plays great, almost like my electrics!

I have used the electronics on this guitar into my PA at home and it really sounds as close as possible to a mic'd acoustic. Not yet played out with it, but I am sure I will be happy with it.

For this price point, you would be hard pressed to find a better guitar. The wood, workmanship, and details on it are amazing. The pictures do not do it justice.

Highly recommend!
Music background: Lifelong guitar player, semi pro and Home studio recording musician
Rated 5/5

Killer

Amazing guitar, amazing setup from sweetwater. Setup and delivered in two days to a nearby state.

Guitar is gorgeous. I love everything about it, the nut width, scale length, rolled fingerboard, neck profile etc. Plays and sounds like an old guitar that has perfect frets, setup, ace electronics and no scratches. Electronics/pickup sound superb, like the best mic/body modelers out there, cure for piezo quack. I've never been brand loyal but this one makes me want to be.
Music background: Hobbyist
Rated 5/5

A3R Beautiful

Purchased an A3R and received it last week. The guitar was beautiful out of the box and played great. I purchased because I wanted a guitar with solid rosewood back and sides for the tone and this guitar has not disappointed, it sounds great. Sweetwater was the only site that had a new A3R all the others I found were used or returned. Sweetwater was great to deal with and delivery was fast. I have played several more expensive guitars and the A3R holds its own against them. I have played 40 years plus and several different genres, but these days I play only in church and for fun with friends.
Music background: Playing for 40 plus years
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