It’s probably not something the country legends strumming acoustic guitars at the Grand Ole Opry back in the ’40s and ’50s would have foreseen. Yet, for quite a while now, dedicated acoustic preamps, pedals and multi-effects have expanded the textures and sounds of steel- and nylon-string guitars for adventurous players.

Yamaha obviously watched the evolution of electronic signal processing for acoustic instruments and dealt with it in a decidedly “Yamaha” manner—they put the processors into an acoustic guitar.

In 2016, the company introduced its initial TransAcoustic series, which married its esteemed acoustic luthiery to onboard electronics. The next generation of TransAcoustic technology has just made the scene, and the TAG3 C is the first model to be crafted right from the start with top, back, sides and bracing devised to optimize the onboard processing.

It’s a big step forward, and Yamaha Guitar Group Marketing Manager Brandon Soriano is here to explain everything about the TAG3 C, and the benefits of its added effects, improved Bluetooth connectivity, app control and all-solid wood construction.

Could you take us through the story of Yamaha jumping up to the next level of the TransAcoustic line?

Soriano: Yamaha first started experimenting with TransAcoustic tech in the mid 2010s. It actually came about in the piano division first. The idea was for a concert pianist to feel like they were practicing and playing in a concert hall—even if they were just in their living room. The effect was accomplished by using an actuator, which is a device very similar to a speaker with a magnet and coils. However, an actuator has no speaker cone. Instead, the instrument itself is resonating, vibrating and functioning as the speaker. It’s very cool technology, and the guitar team said, “Hey, we could put an actuator into an acoustic guitar, and give acoustic players the ability to have effects coming straight out of their instrument without any pedals or cables. So, the first Yamaha TransAcoustic guitars came out in 2016, and initially offered reverb and chorus.

Pictured: Yamaha TAG3 C TransAcoustic Acoustic-Electric Guitar

How big is the actuator for the TransAcoustic?

You can fit an actuator into the palm of your hand. But this relatively small device is able to create a lot of sound.

Did you learn anything from players with earlier TransAcoustic models that informed the refinements for the TAG3 C?

We knew from the first eight years of TransAcoustic that players were excited about effects onboard, but we also learned there was a desire to go deeper. Guitarists are tinkerers by nature, and they wanted to insert their own unique voices into the technology. However, previous iterations of TransAcoustic provided limited options for customizing sounds. The newest TransAcoustic generation with TAG3 C not only offers in-depth customization over the reverb and chorus effects, but now we’ve added a delay, a looper and Bluetooth playback.

Do you have to adapt the guitar design to fully optimize TransAcoustic technology?

The first iteration of TransAcoustic guitars were existing models in the Yamaha lineup—although the actuators and effects algorithms were specially tuned to each guitar. However, the new TAG3 C is designed from the ground up to be a TransAcoustic guitar. Everything about it was crafted with the technology in mind. All of the effects algorithms for the TAG3 C are custom voiced and made expressly for this guitar.

In addition, a TransAcoustic guitar still begins as an acoustic guitar. And to get the best sound possible, you need the best starting point. For the TAG3 C, that means a solid Sitka spruce top and a back and sides of solid mahogany. The neck is one-piece mahogany with an ebony fingerboard, and there’s also an ebony bridge.

Pictured: Yamaha TAG3 C TransAcoustic Acoustic-Electric Guitar Controls

It's a very high-quality, well-built acoustic guitar—even without the TransAcoustic tech. I've had the pleasure of playing a lot of really fantastic guitars over the years, and if I picked up a TAG3 C without knowing about the technology in it, I would still feel it's worth its price. It is a well-built, good-sounding and great playing acoustic guitar.

So, outside of the technology, how would you describe the sound and feel of the actual guitar?

I like to think there's a focus on clarity and depth for all Yamaha acoustics. We really strive to have this rich, harmonic, almost bell-like sound. Even when you’re playing full chords, you can make out every individual note. It’s also a dynamic instrument that cuts through without being harsh.

Pivoting back to the TransAcoustic tech, the TAG3 C employs two actuators. What was the thinking behind adding an actuator, and how do the dual actuators benefit the player?

Previous TransAcoustic models had one single actuator carrying the entire load of effects. The new model has one actuator on the top wood, and one actuator on the back, which allows us to split the workload and the frequency spectrum. You can almost think about it like a two-way speaker with a tweeter and woofer. The top actuator is positioned just behind the bridge, and it deals with high-end sparkle and air. The actuator on the back wood is in between the bridge and soundhole, slightly shifted toward the bout on the high-E side, and it handles all of the rich, low-midrange character.

Pictured: Yamaha TAG3 C TransAcoustic Acoustic-Electric Guitar Actuator inside Soundhole

Having the two actuators in these new guitars was a major leap, as it expanded the fidelity of the effects. It also allowed us to push things, such as reverb, a little further. For example, if there was one actuator resonating in one spot of the guitar, you could overload that one spot and get feedback. But having two actuators in two different positions in the body allowed us to incorporate a hall reverb with up to a 20-second decay.

“Shoegaze included!”

Exactly. A 20-second reverb decay makes your acoustic guitar an ambient machine. Actually, that's one of my favorite effects on the TAG3 C to play with. I can use the reverb to drone a low E and solo over it. It's almost like a built-in freeze effect.

How did the design team come up with adding delay to the onboard reverb and chorus effects for the TAG3 C?

If you surveyed every guitar player in the world and asked, “If you could only have three pedals, what would they be?” quite a few players would say, “Reverb, chorus and delay.” So, the thinking was to have a versatile effects setup built into an acoustic instrument. Obviously, something like overdrive probably wouldn't get used as much in an acoustic rig, but the delay is really exciting.

Pictured: Yamaha TAG3 C TransAcoustic Acoustic-Electric Guitar Headstock

The first time I used the delay on the new TransAcoustic, it was almost a childlike experience—like I was discovering this brand-new thing. I see the TAG3 C as a creative tool that can help you push your boundaries artistically, and delay is like a “scene partner.” Throughout popular music, delay has become almost another instrument in the mix, rather than simply a complement to an existing instrument. You can craft an entire riff or entire song solely around a delay pattern, and you can come up with things that are quite literally impossible to play if you didn't have delay.

What are the parameter options for the effects?

Because you now have the ability to edit the effects through the TAG Remote app, you can choose from two different delays—a warm, analog-style delay and a more modern, Hi-Fi version. There are also two options for the chorus. There’s a double detune, which gives you control over two frequencies, one above and one below your source frequency. You can adjust how many cents those are deviated from the source, all the way up to 20 cents either way. Then, there’s a four-voice chorus that gives you control over the active voices—single, dual, three, or four. For the reverb, you get three choices—hall, room or plate. For those who use multiple effects and textures, you can have reverb, delay and chorus running simultaneously. The TAG Remote app provides almost complete control over all of the onboard effects in the app, and it also lets you monitor your battery, do firmware updates and gain expanded control of the looper.

Can we dig a bit into the TAG3 C’s looping feature?

It's a no-compromise looper with an infinite number of layers. There's no cap on layers, and you get a very long runtime. Effectively, you're not going to run out of time for the loop you're setting. Also, the effects work with the looper layer by layer. I could have delay on my first layer, turn it off for my second layer and add chorus to my third layer.

Pictured: Yamaha TAG3 C TransAcoustic Acoustic-Electric Guitar Looper Control via Bluetooth

Furthermore, the reverb is universal on the looper—which is great, because you can put your entire mix in the same ambient space. Something I've had fun doing is fading out loops by turning down the looper mix knob while turning up the reverb knob. It sounds like the loop is floating away. There are also ten pre-saved loop slots in the TAG Remote app that can be used a couple of different ways. If you have a writing session, you could save a loop in slot one, then move over to slot two to write something new. When you go back to slot one, your old loop is still there. If you perform live, an entire 10-song set list can be saved locally on the unit.

What about the TAG3 C’s Bluetooth connectivity?

The same technology that lets you connect to the app via Bluetooth also lets you connect audio via Bluetooth for playback. You can utilize the actuators and the guitar itself as a Bluetooth speaker. I keep a TransAcoustic in the corner of my office, and I use it as my Bluetooth speaker for casual listening. It sounds pretty awesome. However, Bluetooth playback does not run through the effects. So, for example, I can play a backing track through the guitar using Bluetooth audio, and then solo over it with delay, chorus and reverb. The backing track won't be affected, but my guitar signal will—it’s pretty amazing.

Do you have the ability to record audio coming through Bluetooth into the looper?

No. The looper just picks up what you are playing.

What’s the best way to use the TAG3 C’s Bluetooth capability for playing backing tracks at different types of gigs?

If you’re performing in a small, coffee shop environment, you can run the tracks into the TAG3 C using Bluetooth, and everyone should be able to hear the tracks and your guitar playing. That’s super easy, as all of the sounds are output from the guitar itself. It gets a little bit harder if you’re playing a large venue, because Bluetooth playback does not come through the 1/4" output jack. You’ll need to have your playback system and the TAG3 C routed separately to the house mixer.

Pictured: Yamaha TAG3 C TransAcoustic Acoustic-Electric Guitar

How do you believe the TAG3 C will most engage players?

I can speak personally to that. I've been playing for more than 21 years, and since I got the TransAcoustic TAG3 C, I've played more guitar than I have in a really long time. It has taken me back to when I was an obsessed 12-year-old. That's the feeling I've gotten, because the TAG3 C is so cool. I pick it up, and an entire pedalboard is right there. I don't have to set up cables. I don't have to plug anything in. I don't have to wait for an amp to warm up. I can just play. For any form of creativity, the fewer the barriers, the more you're freed up to just do your thing.