7 Amazing Yamaha Acoustic Guitars For Musicians of All Levels

For musical instruments many artists know not to look farther than the very successful Yamaha brand, especially when choosing a new acoustic guitar. For beginners, mid-level learners, and intermediate musicians, the Yamaha company offers some of the highest quality instruments at a lower price for better the value than you’d get walking into your local guitar store – it’s safe to say, Yamaha acoustic guitars rank in the all-time favorites. In fact, some of the names of musicians who’ve played these guitars might rank in your personal all-time favorites, names like Peter Hayes, Chris Henderson, Michael O’Neal, the Osbornes, Glenn Pearce, and many others. Although each of these artists used different Yamaha guitars, it’s our hope you’ll have no trouble choosing the best Yamaha acoustic guitar.

Our review covers the best of these guitars pulled right out of the Yamaha collection; we’ve taken a hard look at their features including wood type, scale length, and overall sound so that you don’t have to. Some very important features included body type and how that design/shape works to influence each musician’s sound, the number of frets, and even overall price for you starving musicians on a budget.

In researching these guitars, we reached out to Yamaha’s guitar designers as well as many of the verified customers for these instruments, asking what design aspects influenced certain sounds or which guitars had the capability to play certain songs where other instruments didn’t. Our findings are organized below in a comprehensive chart listing product details, as well as a buying guide included at the end to provide further insight into these wonderful instruments. It’s our hope that armed with this information your buying process will be greatly simplified and just as fun as making the music you love.

Top 7 Yamaha Acoustic Guitars Review 2024

Change your music for good – play Yamaha

One of the reasons artists are swayed toward Yamaha acoustic guitars is because this brand is probably one of the most well-known names out there, meaning it reliable and consistent with the quality of the instruments it produces. Yamaha is an experienced name with an amazing understanding of the pulse and rhythm of their customers and what it takes therefore to make a market an excellent guitar.

Not to mention, this also includes a wide range of guitars; Yamaha perhaps has the largest guitar collection of any musical instrument brand, and this means that when they say they have something for everyone – medium player, beginners, intermediate musicians, and even kids – they really do have a massive offering with all kinds of guitar designs and styles.

Overall the value of their guitars can’t be beat and they end up beating out all other competitors in their market. These acoustic guitars are highly affordable without sacrificing parts or design to be that way, making the guitar itself the most valuable part. Each instrument goes through rigorous custom handling and shaping for a great sound that equals an even greater field of performance – not to mention the added accessories that Yamaha offers for all their instruments.

Acoustic guitar cleaning tips

First off you’re going to want a soft cleaning cloth; there are specialty cleaning clothes, but these are fairly expensive and not actually always that good for a particular guitar. Your local music stores will typically offer cleaning cloths or ‘polishing cloths’ for free, otherwise you can use any scrap of cloth made of 100% old cotton tissue – do not use paper towels as many can actually scratch a delicate finish.

As little moisture as possible is best for a guitar, because on the off chance your instrument has tiny cracks, getting moisture into those breaks will cause swelling and therefore change or otherwise effect the sound. This is why you don’t want to directly spray your guitar with water or Windex cleaner; but once you’re done dusting it never hurts to use a light wood polish.

Price tag

The Yamaha brand is known for its affordability, you really won’t find other competitors on the market which can compare. For their guitars, Yamaha has an excellent price point which rarely rises or falls below its sell-by value, and for the materials and hardware used the price is often a steal you wouldn’t be able to find anywhere else.

Consider following features to choose your ideal Yamaha acoustic guitar

Many of the following features you’ll have seen listed in the product reviews above. In this section we further elaborate on these features and how they change the dynamics of an instrument.

Inspecting the body

Obviously, you won’t be able to inspect the guitar body of an instrument purchased offline, but for when you do or if you’re able to somewhat with images, here is some information which will help make that good start. The body of an acoustic guitar is composed of the top – usually called the soundboard – and the top is typically supported by internal bracing which honestly makes one of the largest differences when it comes to sound. For instance, the unique internal bracing used in the Yamaha FS850 gives it that excellent bluesy sound.

Next, it’s the sides and back of the guitar forming together which creates the hollow chamber, where the body curves help create a part of the instrument known as the upper and lower bout. The bout greatly influences the shape or waist of the guitar and likewise both the sound and playability of an instrument – the dreadnaught shape is a clear favorite for this reason. Guitars like the Yamaha FG-TA and Yamaha FG800 greatly illustrate how guitar body can affect sound. Finally, the sound hole through which sound projects, should be aligned with the waist at the base of the fretboard; the sound hole is often fitted with a protective pickguard made of plastic or other materials.

Choose the shape and size

The size of a guitar and the shape of its neck varies by manufacturer, so it makes sense to search for an instrument that you find easy to play. There are many types of guitars, from classical guitars that have been around for many years, to electric guitars used to play rock and jazz. Each type has its own unique way of expressing sound based on a variety of features, the foremost being the neck length/shape and the second being the wood type used throughout the guitar.

Look at the tonewood

Spruce wood sets the standard wood use for tops because its high rigidity combined with lightweight feel make for a natural high velocity sound; it has direct tone capable of retaining clarity – meaning its ideal for sustained notes. Cedar, when used, creates a balanced warm sound and it’s a wood particularly favored by fingerstyle players for its quick and rich response.

Mahogany actually has one of the lowest response rates due to its considerable density, however its often mahogany guitars which offers than strong ‘punchy’ tone we associate with blue music. Likewise, Maple is very similar to mahogany, except as it ages it tends to be less predictable (sound-wise) and create unique tonal characteristics. Finally, Rosewood is known for its high response rate – this is why you so often see rosewood parts in addition to full mahogany bodies – rosewood offers a wide range of overtones and overall has one of the darkest tone sounds.

Frets and scale length

A guitar neck contains something called the ‘truss rod’, typically made of metal. It’s this rod that prevents your instrument from bowing and twisting against string tension and environmental factors. As you adjust a truss rod you correct any intonation issues; this can be done either at the headstock itself or just inside the guitar at the base of the neck. The fretboard runs along the top side of the neck (also called the fingerboard) and is usually a separate piece of wood glued into place and constructed most commonly from ebony or rosewood.

Thin strips of metal, called frets, are embedded in the wood along half-step increments across the 12-tone scale to show where different notes are played. Most guitar fretboards have inlaid dots or symbols on the odd-numbered frets, starting with the third – excluding the 11th and 13th in favor of the 12th, or the octave. Thus, the longer the scale, often the longer the fretboard. The shorter the neck, the shorter the scale as in the case of the Yamaha JR2TBS. As for the fretboard width, it’s pretty standard on all models, though might be a little wider on more advanced instruments, like twelve-string guitars.

Should you opt for an acoustic-electric?

For beginners wondering the main difference or which type of guitar is better to start with, you should know that an acoustic-electric guitar is not a cross between an electric and an acoustic guitar, instead it’s just an acoustic guitar with the addition of electronics that make it easier to amplify your sound. So that’s pretty much your answer: if you want a louder sound for street performances, concerts, etcetera, an acoustic-electric will allow for that and can even often be connected to an external amp (you can get a high-quality guitar amp for under 200 dollars only) for even more sound. It all depends on your needs. For beginner needs, we suggest the very affordable Yamaha LL16-12ARE.

Bridges explained

Put simply, the bridge is a piece of wood placed below the soundhole, it’s the thing which anchors the strings and transfers what you play on them through vibrations to the hollow body of the guitar. Bridge pins connect into the holes on the bridge to anchor the strings in place.

Accessories recommended

Some great accessories which will add to your guitar and your playing experience include: gold-colored bronze bass strings (preferably 80/20 rating, meaning 80% copper and 20% bronze) because they offer a bright timbre and louder volume. You might need to restring your guitar if you’re a leftie, or simply get a special left-hand acoustic guitar in that case. Clip on tuners are a must because they make tuning more exact and faster while you’re on the go. Capotastos to fit over the head of your guitar when changing the sound – though make sure the one you purchase is sized for your specific instrument. And if your guitar doesn’t come with one, then definitely consider getting a protective hard case or a gig-bag for protecting and carrying your guitar everywhere you go.

Warranty

Yamaha offers a limited warranty on their hardware and electronics for up to a year’s time since the date of purchase, however they offer a full lifetime warranty for all parts of the body includes sides, back, top, front, fretboard, and neck.

FAQ

Our Verdict

In closing we always prefer to leave our readers with our top three nominations for what our research and advice from expert opinions shows to be the best Yamaha acoustic guitar.

Yamaha FG-TA. This acoustic-electric guitar is truly a one-of-a-kind original and offers one of the most unique sounds of any Yamaha guitar with high-quality materials – including high-quality hardware – as well as dials which can pump up the volume or change the sound for whatever song you’re playing in whatever venue.

Yamaha FG830. With a rosewood body and spruce top, this guitar features a new scalloped bracing which gives it a better sounding in low and makes it perfect for both live and recording applications. Rosewood gives it a powerful tone and warmth, and the neck design adds to its smooth playability.

Yamaha FG800. For the musician on a budget or the student just picking up guitar, there is no better solution than this one. This guitar is excellently crafted with long-lasting hardware and smooth wood blends for a unique sound.