Yamaha C40: Meet Yamaha’s best-selling classical guitar

The Yamaha C40 has been Yamaha's best-selling guitar for over a decade. This is no coincidence, but the result of a solid construction, with excellent finishes and a sound that does it justice.

Among its original features was a standard size soundboard 10 cm deep, 43 cm from base to neck heel, 103 cm long and a traditional scale of 65 cm. The frets were made of chrome-plated brass and the tuning keys were very precise. The strings were medium tension strings created by Yamaha String, while the neck and bridge saddles were made of ABS plastic.

Today, several things have changed. It has been praised by music professionals, intermediate musicians and students because it has a lot of features worth mentioning. So, let's take a closer look at the Yamaha C40 classical guitar.

Yamaha C40 Woods

The top is made of laminated spruce, a wood with good resistance to breakage and excellent acoustic properties. The sides and back are made of laminated meranti wood, one of the few woods that can compete with mahogany and maple.

The neck is made of nato, one of the woods used by Yamaha due to its high resistance and durability. The fingerboard and bridge are made of rosewood (Dalbergia latifolia), a traditional wood.

Yamaha C40: Design

The Yamaha C40 is a traditional classical guitar. Its measurements are: 100 cm long from the base to the tip of the blade, 11 cm deep and 47 cm long from the base to the heel of the mast.

The saddle width is 52mm. The scale is 65 cm, from the neck saddle to the bridge saddle. The hardware is chrome plated with 19 nickel silver frets and YTM-01 series tuning keys with white knobs.

The Yamaha C40 traditional Spanish guitar has a natural color finish with a high quality glossy polyurethane top.

Yamaha C40: Ergonomics

It weighs 2.7 kg and is quite comfortable to play sitting down. If you want to play on your feet then it's best to invest in a strap.

The feel is very good thanks to its 65 cm scale, together with the height of its guitar strings. Phrases and chords with capo are easy to achieve in the first five frets, but require a little more strength after the 8th fret.

Techniques such as bending are difficult to achieve, but this is true of most acoustic guitars. Slurs do not require more effort, because the height of the strings benefits their execution.

Yamaha C40: Sound quality

The sound of the rasgueados is loud, with a great volume and is maintained when you make picados or alzapuas. While the sustain is medium and we would have liked more presence.

Now, reverb is also medium. We did find good vibes, but it's not what many comments suggest. The response of the woods to low frequencies is pleasant and improves with medium sounds. In the treble, it's not very subtle.

We also noticed a fragility in the natural harmonics. In the black and natural color versions we find that these sonic fragilities are overcome and we like them much better.

Yamaha C40 versions

The Yamaha C40 traditional classical guitar is excellent value for money and ideal for students. However, there are several versions of the Yamaha C40. They present differences that seem minimal, but influence the sound.

Yamaha C40 BL

This version has the same woods, scales and measurements, but has a black finish. This makes a difference in the sound, which is warmer, with less brightness, a little less volume, but very good harmonics.

You can buy just the guitar or the beginner pack: Yamaha C40 BL Bundle 2.

Yamaha C40M

This guitar also has the same characteristics. The difference is the satin natural color finish. This produces a difference in sound, as it's perceived to have more volume and shine. It also has better gain and sustain than the other yamaha C40s and the harmonics have more presence.

You can choose to buy the guitar only, but you also have an excellent bundle for students: Yamaha C40M Bundle.

Yamaha CX40 II

This is the same as the traditional yamaha C40. It has the same wood, scale and glossy polyurethane finish. The difference is that it has a passive preamp that consists of only one fader for gain and one for tone.

To be honest, we consider this version a total waste because the amplification system is lousy. But if you are interested it can be found at thomann.

Yamaha C40: Conclusion

The Yamaha C40 traditional is a very good guitar for young beginners who want to get started in the world of guitar playing and offers great value for money. All that remains is for you to make a decision and choose the sound you like best. If you want it warm, with less brightness and good harmonics, the C40 black is ideal. If you want better brightness, more volume, great sustain and gain with good harmonics, then the natural is the one for you.

We also recommend you check out the Yamaha F310 and our comparison of the best Yamaha guitars on the market.

Yamaha C40 technical characteristics