YAMAHA FG800 Solid Top Acoustic Guitar,Natural,Guitar Only

The Yamaha FS800 deserves all of its accolades. It's a great guitar. I consider myself on the low end of intermediate and I just love this guitar. I give it a five-star rating, but with the caveat that I needed to take it to my local guitar shop to have it professionally set-up and replaced the factory strings with Elixirs. It was playable, but the action was too high, and the neck needed some modest adjustments. But with those updates it sounds and plays amazing. While this is positioned as an entry-level guitar, it's a great guitar for anyone at any level. Your first guitar, a second guitar for an experienced player, etc. I love the slightly smaller size, the look. It's definitely a worthy investment. Guitar strings and guitar tone preferences are very personal. For me it took a few rounds of trying different strings to get the sound I like. I loved the guitar from the start, but my string choices led the guitar to sound a bit too twangy and boxy for my taste. Part of that is the function of a slightly smaller body. But I still wanted a bit more depth to the sound. After many experiments, I ended up using Martin Retro Monel Light guitar strings. They really make the guitar have a bit more depth to the sound but also lend a nice brightness. While my sound preference is personal and may not apply everyone, I wanted to share my string journey.

Thank you, Yamaha and Sam Ash for a great instrument at a reasonable price. I bought this guitar as a bang-around instrument. I own a very nice, twenty-year old 00-17 all mahogany Martin that I don't like taking to gigs or even out of its case on very dry, hot or cold days. At this price point I wasn't expecting much, but was I ever pleasantly surprised! The guitar is practically flawless. When I first unboxed it there was a bit of paste left on the body from the polishing process, but it easily wiped off. The finish around the base of the neck is not quite as smooth as the rest, but the frets are well filed and polished so that none are protuding. The set-up is great. The action is nice and low with no buzzing frets. This guitar projects sound nicely too. The solid spruce top is a HUGE plus, especially at this price. The guitar has a bright and full sound, which I anticipate will continue to improve with time. This guitar definitely is louder and brighter than my moody mahogany Martin. When it lacks the depth and warmth of my well-seasoned more costly guitar, it has it's own beautiful voice. It is perfect for finger picking but also sounds great with percussive playing as well. I love the size too. I'm so glad I found a solid top instrument at a great price that isn't a dreadnought. I'm a five-foot woman, and the concert size works very well for me. My twelve-year old picked it up and was also comfortable playing it. It would be a great beginner instrument, but even seasoned players can appreciate it. I'm certainly looking forward to dragging this little gem around with me!

EDIT: After I have set this guitar up (which involved mostly lowering the nut height, lowering the action overall and polishing the fret surfaces and ends) this guitar won me over. It just became mine. I put Eric Clapton strings on it which are slightly warmer and less bright and this guitar sings! I’m adding not one but two stars making it a perfect five! Original review: I've read a lot about how this guitar is a great value and a surprisingly good instrument at this price so maybe my expectations were too high, but I'm somewhat disappointed. First of all, the guitar arrived poorly set up. The action was extremely high due to, both, a very high nut and very high saddle. While updating the saddle I realize the original one was too thin: it fell out of the slot right away when I removed the strings. This caused it to lean forward in the slot, which affects the sound. It also affects intonation as it shortens the scale just a few micrometers (intonation was pretty good out of the box though but not perfect). After the saddle upgrade the intonation is perfect. I don't understand how it is possible that Yamaha does not care to install a saddle of a correct thickness, it does not cost more to simply install a matching saddle. The nut had a poorly cut slots, there was a lot of strings binding. The fret ends are quite sharp and not properly finished. The middle of the frets are very poorly polished: if you try to bend a note you will feel grinding. Very sloppy! I have no idea what Yamaha is bragging about when they say that the fretboard has "rolled edges" - no such thing. When changing the strings I inserted a small webcam into the sound hole to inspect the interior of the guitar. The bridge plate has lots of splinting and rough edges around the string holes, it's as if a 4-year-old drilled those wholes with a dull drill bit from a toy set (sad thing is that maybe it was ?). Lots of glue squeeze everywhere, bracing not being of correct length - don't look inside if you want to love this guitar! After the upgrades and a basic common sense setup the guitar is very easy to play. Not the most inspiring guitar to play as it does not have what one would call a character, but very playable. The sound is quite decent actually but lacking in bass response for sure. Also, in my sample, the low E string sounds thudy, as if made of rubber. I tried several strings and now have a good quality bone nut and saddle - unfortunately it has more to do with the resonance of the guitar and/or the neck's ability to transfer vibrations. It just sounds thudy with no sustain on anything other that open string. It is not a very nuanced guitar, does not respond to dynamics in playing well. However, somehow, I still like it. It is a very honest guitar. Very sincere. Does not pretend to be anything else that it is - an entry level guitar. It is not flashy, pretentious, fake. I still think that at $200 it is a great buy. Great as an everyday instrument that will not make me too precious about it, instead I will just play it without too much reverence towards it.

I have been playing guitar, mostly acoustic, for 35 years. I have played about every kind of acoustic that one could imagine, from cheap beaters to vintage Martins and Gibsons. My teenage son has taken an interest in developing his guitar skills, so I did a bunch of research on beginner's acoustics, and the FG800 kept getting rave reviews almost everywhere I looked. So I pulled the trigger and ordered him one. We could not be more happy with the guitar. It has a solid spruce top with scalloped bracing, laminated sides and back, and a Rosewood fingerboard, with a gloss finish. It is extremely well-crafted from all aspects, very playable out of the box, and it sounds and feels wonderful. If you are looking for something really decent for a beginner or if you want a sweet second guitar you can take camping or to festivals or wherever, I do not know of any other budget-priced acoustic which comes close to the FG800. It is equally impressive flatpicking, fingerpicking, and strumming, stays in tune well, has a killer tone and voice, and looks. I will likely buy one for myself relatively soon. A great, great value!

Great action ,set up and build materials but be aware of bridge and string spacing at just under 2 inches which makes this guitar crowded for larger hands. The bracing and resonance of the yamaha is impressive. The setups very consistent and finish and build is high in quality. I could not get along withe spacing longterm.

I started playing guitar in 1958. As a high school student I only had $13, so I bought a Japanese guitar. In a year it began to fold up into a circle! Those were the days when, "made in Japan" was a bad thing. What I learned from that experience was that, when it comes to musical instruments you don't want to buy the cheapest thing available; it needs to be of substantial quality or it will discourage you. I ended up with a nice couple of Martin guitars along the way, but was dismayed by putting n nicks and scratches in them during performances or camping trips. I ended up looking for a beater and found a Yamaha similar to this one. With decent strings medium or light gauge, this guitar can hold its head up in any group. I bought this for my 12-year-old grandson who was showing proficiency on the ukulele. This was a big step for him, since it has a dreadnought-size body. He has accommodated admirably. He was immediately able to play chords and fret them well enough to eliminate buzzing. It came in good adjustment and in good shape. This is the kind of guitar I should have started out on: it is capable of playing in a professional setting, but it comes at the lowest price you can pay for a good quality, easy to play beginners instrument. I'm now on my fourth Martin, and would happily pick this up to play if one of my Martin's wasn't within reach.

I'm not a very experienced guitar player, so I can't guarantee you that this guitar will wow someone who is a true connoisseur. However, I did look carefully into the options and found this to be a well regarded instrument. Three days of extensive playing in, I can confirm that it sounds great. What's more, I was able to take it right out the box and play it without any further "set up" than it received at the factory. Sometime down the road I might look into what a luthier could do to make it even sweeter, but for the time being I'm pleased with the action and intonation. The guitar stays in tune, has no buzzing frets, and intones with reasonable accuracy all the way down the fretboard (sometimes plus or minus a few cents). It's affordable (comparatively), good looking, nice sounding, and high quality. I'm happy. Update: After owning the guitar for 8 months and playing it for hours every week, I have nothing but good things to say. It's got a great sound, a really comfortable size, and continues to stay in tune for multiple sessions. After several months of use I replaced the original strings and opted for a lighter gauge. The guitar kept its superb playability and the tone remained excellent (though changed slightly given the lighter strings). I can now add, after developing more experience with acoustic guitars, that the neck is quite comfortable to play. That will, of course, be a matter of taste, but as a newbie I found it very easy to use pretty much right away. No regrets: this is a great guitar.

Real wood, simple, a good sound and actually playable!