Yamaha FSX5 Red Label Concert Acoustic-Electric Guitar

Timeless design with modern inspiration

Yamaha’s “Red Label” Folk Guitar series was first launched in 1966 as their first production of steel-string acoustics, which is considered by many as the iconic Yamaha acoustic line. Yamaha’s new Red Label series retains the vintage aesthetic of the original ’60s models—with a semi-gloss finish, open-gear tuners, the original V-shaped headstock with the time-honored "tuning fork" logo and, of course, the red label inside—but uses everything Yamaha has refined and developed over their more than half-century of making acoustic guitars.

New scalloped bracing

Yamaha guitars are well known for their balanced sound. However, when defining the voice of Red Label, Yamaha wanted to add more low end for a fuller, warmer tone that would be ideal for solo singer-songwriters and modern folk music. To achieve this, new bracing designs were developed for the FG and FS Red Label guitars, which are optimized for each body shape and the natural characteristics of the tonewoods. The new scalloped bracing delivers plenty of volume and enhances low-frequency response without compromising durability.

Acoustic Resonance Enhancement (A.R.E)

As tonewoods age, they vibrate more freely and become more resonant, producing a louder, more powerful sound with enhanced high-frequency response and more sustain in the lows and low-mids. Yamaha’s Acoustic Resonance Enhancement (A.R.E.) process achieves those same characteristics by using heat, humidity and pressure to simulate the effects of time on the soundboards. The A.R.E. process of accelerating the aging of the wood gives Red Label models the same rich, vintage-quality tone and response of a guitar you’ve been playing for years.

Atmosfeel three-way pickup and preamp system

The Atmosfeel system uses an under-saddle piezo pickup in the bridge for low frequencies, an internal mic to capture lows and mids, and a proprietary flat contact sensor in the top for high frequencies. The combination results in warm and natural plugged-in tone with extremely simple controls. The Master Volume knob controls the overall volume, while the Mic Blend knob lets you blend the microphone sound into the premixed pickup sound. The Bass EQ knob is a peaking filter that raises the center frequency when boosting and lowers when attenuating. This allows you to remove boomy frequencies when you need to, but not add them when you want more low end.