Yamaha brand began manufacturing guitars in 1940, for over 60 years since 1966 Yamaha has introduced an enormous amount of guitars to the world. The year 1966 was a revolutionary year for Yamaha fans when they took a massive leap from the Nylon thread Classic guitars to manufacturing Electric guitars & FG steel-string acoustic guitars.
The FG series has been one of the most popular in Yamaha history. In 2017 they also launched the new generation of transacoustic guitars, a new hybrid acoustic guitar offering onboard reverb effects for a more engaging and inspiring playing experience. They have added their own patented A.R.E technology to develop and enhance the sounds. So, you may be a beginner, a traveler, an intermediate, or a professional, you can easily find your ideal acoustic guitar under one roof of Yamaha.
Yamaha is also well-known for its affordable prices, unlike those high-end brands such as Taylor, Fender, or Martin. But, is your money worth it? Affordable or sheer cheap? Let’s dig a little deeper… We’ve taken a deep look at their acoustic guitar features including wood type, scale length, and overall sound so that we could finally get the answer you are looking for.
Are Yamaha acoustic guitars good?
Strengths
-Affordable price
-Clear sound with good bass
-Guitar is of superior quality
-Own patented A.R.E technology
-Series of guitars to choose from
Weaknesses
-More focused on the student market
-Lamination issues
-Limited repairs offered
Top-Rated Products
Yamaha Acoustic Guitar FG-TA Series (Transacoustic)
Four different colors and four different sizes are already so much to ask for, but not impressed quite yet?
F-TA series guitars can produce electric sounds acoustically through a small device hidden inside the guitar so that as soon as the strings vibrate, the actuator vibrates as well. It ends up producing two distinct sounds “Reverb and Chorus” which means that you don’t need any additional amplification or effects.
Body Style: Classical, parlor, concert, and dreadnought
Colors: Vintage Tint, Black, Ruby Red, and Brown
Material: Top- Solid Sitka Spruce, Side & Back- Mahogany
Material: Neck- Nato, Fingerboard- Rosewood
Sound: Bright & Powerful
Starting Price: Around $600
* Electronics: SYSTEM70 Transacoustic + SRT Piezo Pickup
Yamaha Acoustic Guitar FS Series
Award-winning FS series offers superb craftsmanship and design in a full-size concert type body. FS body is 10mm slimmer than the larger dreadnought FG body providing no loss of volume or bass but extra comfort to the player.
Body Style: Concert type
Colors: Natural
Material: Top- Solid Spruce, Side & Back- Nato/Okume
Material: Neck- Nato, Fingerboard & Bridge- Rosewood
Scale: 25.0″ / 634.0mm
Sound: Strong
Price: Between $250 to $700
* Accessories: Hex wrench
*FS800 utilizes a newly developed scalloped bracing design, resulting a powerful and balanced acoustic sound with stronger lows and mids than its predecessor technology.
Yamaha Acoustic Guitar LL16 – 12
Yamaha LL series has been a very successful approach to acoustic guitar fans. Superior in quality, effects are just amazing and come with beautiful natural finish. A little pricier it could be when compared to general Yamaha acoustic prices, but this certainly is high quality, hence worth the money I’d say..
Body Style: Jumbo or Dreadnought types
Colors: Natural & Tobacco sunburst
Material: Top- Solid Engelmann Spruce, Side & Back- Solid Rosewood
Material: Neck- Mahogany – Padauk (3 ply), Fingerboard & Bridge- Ebony
Body Depth: 100-125 mm (3 15/16″-4 15/16″) / 12 strings
Sound: Big & Bold
Price: Between $800 to $1200
*A.R.E. technology
What People’s Reviews Say
Design
The wood is an essential turning point in any guitar. Most Yamaha acoustic guitar fretboards are constructed with Rosewood and body mostly of Mahogany or Spruce. The sound these woods together produce is very unique to all those guitars made full of mahogany or spruce. ANVB highlights that having a Rosewood Fretboard is particularly very beneficial as it produces complex overtones that even have a ringing effect which cannot be mimicked otherwise.
Another review states “Best sounding playing guitar ever owned” and further added, “over 2000 dollars spent on doesn’t sound as good, or even come close to a beautiful, phenomenal, craftsman made Yamaha rosewood/ spruce top guitar”.
“Simply speaking, with their special designs and high-quality materials, Yamaha guitars are capable of producing superior sound quality” says CMUSE.
Apart from a few lamination fading issues, Yamaha acoustics are doing fairly well in terms of their designs.
Support And Warranty
“Yamaha guitars have a limited lifetime warranty on the Top, Back, Sides and Neck; and 1 year on the electronics/wiring and hardware (tuners, bridge, nut, saddle pins, etc.)”
Quoted from usa.yamaha.com
As we have gone through hundreds of customer reviews we found a few minor cases where Yamaha hasn’t covered the actual damages or conducted repairs as expected by the particular customers, but other than that no major negative reviews were found.
Innovation
Spotlighting FS series and FG-TA series, Yamaha has invented their own hybrid train acoustic guitars in 2017 creating a revolution in the guitar world. Their own patented A.R.E technology can simply play electric sounds acoustically. Sounds a virtue.
Gear shared their own experience on these innovative built-in effects;
“It’s a wonderful and uncanny experience to take a spin on Yamaha’s LL-TA TransAcoustic guitar. I’m in my office and not plugged into an amp, but it sounds and feels like I’m playing in a large, warm hall, thanks to the instrument’s built-in reverb and chorus. Then with the click of a button, the guitar sounds crisp and dry like a conventional steel-string—and a nicely balanced one at that.”
Wood: Aging of their wood is analyzed by Americansongwriter “Technological advancements in wood conditioning have allowed companies like Yamaha to age their wood and give it the tonal qualities and sweet sound that make vintage guitars attractive to experienced players.”
“The lows, mids, highs, warmth, sustain is all there and balanced perfectly. “ a great review from Zzounds.com from an experienced musician who has been in the field for 34 years.
Value And Selection
Since 1966, Yamaha has been launching an enormous amount of acoustic guitars of all sizes and different series to fit almost every requirement of a guitarist. Yet, the prices have not gone up unfairly for a sheer brand name.
“Not only that Yamaha guitars are pretty good at performing, but also, their value for the cash is something that separates them from other brand names on the market. Namely, a very big number, if not all, of Yamaha guitars hold massive value for the cash.” a review says.
Amazon reviews in general show impressive feedback as well,
A customer reviewed “Fantastic reviews and ratings for beginners with great overall quality and overall sound, especially for the cost” adding further to his statement, “I will tell anyone who cares and is reading this review that it was a good buy and a good experience, no complaints, it sounds beautiful and looks just as beautiful in my eyes. 5 stars and have recommended it to others vocally as well.”
Overall Verdict
Most users have given positive feedback about Yamaha acoustic guitars in general, and about 20 to 30 years of durability is reported through experience. Yamaha is marketing modestly priced guitars focusing specifically on the student market, however, they definitely cover everyone else too.
Peter Hayes, Chris Henderson, Michael O’Neal, the Osbournes, Glenn Pearce, and many other popular musicians are using Yamaha acoustic guitars as their second guitars, that alone proves Yamaha acoustic guitars are definitely not cheap, but super affordable, high quality and beautiful six-string instruments. But I let the judge and jury be you!
How Much Do Yamaha acoustic guitars Cost
You could effortlessly find a decent entry-level Yamaha acoustic guitar for a little as $200 to $250. FG series at $300 and above, FS mostly $400 and above, and most popular trans acoustics at $500 above. If you are searching for a professional studio standard acoustic, then you are looking at advanced options which normally cost around $1000 and above.
