Musikmesse 2010: Yamaha unveils SRT pickup system

FRANKFURT MUSIKMESSE 2010 PRESS RELEASE: The holy grail of acoustic guitar tone is a great guitar recorded using great microphones in a great sounding room.

But modern players often forgo the perfect sound in return for the convenience and reliability of an internal pickup system both when recording and on-stage when there is limited time, less than perfect conditions or where the use of high-end studio microphones is simply impractical.

The result of an intensive program to combine the Yamaha's class-leading DSP technology, as used in cutting edge products like the PM5D digital mixing console and industry standard SPX studio effects processors with Yamaha's legendary guitar building skills to get the most natural electro-acoustic tone possible, Musikmesse 2010 sees the launch of Yamaha's all-new Studio Response Technology (SRT) pickup system.

Available on 3 models, the LJX26C and the new APX and CPX1200, SRT combines an all-new undersaddle pickup with a preamp featuring exclusive mic models to create the most natural electro-acoustic tone of any system.

Getting a great mic'd acoustic sound is no easy task - and to ensure the mic models for SRT sounded perfect Yamaha's engineers traveled across the world to record in studios like NRG and East West in Los Angeles and Oceanway and Warner Chappell in Nashville.

Using the mic placement techniques of engineers and producers responsible for some of the finest recoded acoustic guitar sounds, together with the best sounding studios in the world, each SRT guitar model has it's own SRT mic models - so the mic model for a CPX1200 is created from a recording of a CPX1200 using a vintage studio mic in Warner Chappell, Nashville. And if you select the distance mic setting, you're hearing the guitar, the mic and the room sound of the live room at Warner Chappell. Direct from your guitar's jack socket, with no mics in sight and on any stage or in any studio.

Of course, along with making the system sound great, making it usable for guitarists was always a priority. So Yamaha's new System 62 preamp offers simple, easy to use controls - 3 band EQ, choice of 3 mic models and 2 mic position settings (close and distant) together with a blend control that effortlessly sweeps from the powerful, direct tone of the new SRT pickup to the natural, sweet sound of the breathtakingly realistic SRT mic models - perfect for use on stage where some extra presence from an undersaddle pickup helps reinforce the natural mic sounds.

System 62 also features a new 'resonance' control to dial in an even more realistic sound, emphasizing the natural tone of the guitar, ultra-stable chromatic tuner and 5-band Auto Feedback Reduction.

SRT marks the start of a new era - the sound that acoustic guitarists have long dreamed of is now a reality. Anywhere and for anyone.

APX/CPX1200 Key Spec

Top - solid spruce

Back & Sides - solid rosewood

Neck - mahogany

Fingerboard - ebony

Binding - rosewood/mahogany & ivory ABS

Position Markers - MOP & abalone (APX), MOP & paduak (CPX)

Headstock Logo - MOP

Case - Semi-hard case

LJX26CSRT - £1219rrp, available May

APX1200 - £1219rrp, available May

CPX1200 - £399rrp, available June

Information taken from official press release, for more visit Yamaha

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