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The acoustic guitar rarely gets a makeover. There’s just no need. The intimate distance between good wood and an appreciative ear is all that’s required. But for the polished effects we hear out of the studio, like reverb and chorus, acoustic guitarists have to route their sound through effects pedals.
Yamaha’s TransAcoustic is the first to naturally re-create those effects, no wires required. An actuator—a moving metal membrane seated in the base of the guitar’s body—vibrates due to the movement of the strings, delicately disrupting the sound naturally carried out of the guitar. Let your “Wonderwall” wail.
This article was originally published in the September/October 2016 issue of Popular Science, under the title “Turn The Reverb To 11.”