Query failed: connection to localhost:9312 failed (errno=111, msg=Connection refused). Cheap fingerstyle guitar (yes, really) - Acoustics Discussions on The Fretboard
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UNPLANNED DOWNTIME: 12th Oct 23:45

Cheap fingerstyle guitar (yes, really)

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  • MellishMellish Frets: 945
    @Tannin ; that looks OK for £101, solid top at least.

    I assume the nut, saddle and bridge pins are plastic?

    :) 
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  • Dave_McDave_Mc Frets: 2022
    Nice, that sounds like a score for what you want! I got a Yamaha FG720MS (I think... they're nearly as bad at naming things as Ibanez!) for my first acoustic, and it's pretty nice full stop (solid sitka top, laminate nato back and sides). For what I paid (admittedly several years ago before prices went crazy, and also I got it in a January sale at a pretty attractive price even for then) it's silly nice. If yours is anything like it, it's probably perfect for what you want. I agree with you, Yamaha's making incredibly decent instruments for very little money deserves credit.
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  • TanninTannin Frets: 4394
    @Mellish, yes, plastic giblets. Cheers @Dave_Mc One of the reasons I was keener on Yamaha than other brands in this price range is that the company seems to make a genuine effort to use responsibly sourced timbers. 

    One thing I am enjoying, in a strange sort of way, is the narrow nut. Now I hate narrow nuts. A 12-sring player for many, many years,I'm most comfortable in the 46-48mm range. All of my best guitars are 44mm which is too small for me and although I have more-or-less got used to that, I still notice and appreciate the extra room on my Guild (45mm) and make fewer mistakes. 

    If I had a 43mm guitar at home I'd probably not play it much - but this one is my only choice for the next few weeks so it will get played. And my fingers are adjusting to it, at least a bit. (But to tell the truth, I seem to be playing up the neck more than I usually do. No harm in that either.)  So I reckon that when I get home, those little-bit-too-tight nuts on my Matons and Cole Clarks will feel luxuriously roomy. :)
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  • thermionicthermionic Frets: 8909
    Take up the ukulele.
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  • bertiebertie Frets: 12145
    thermionic said:
    Take up the ukulele.

    just because you don't, doesn't mean you can't
     just because you do, doesn't mean you should.
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  • bertiebertie Frets: 12145
    Take up the ukulele.
    .
    just because you don't, doesn't mean you can't
     just because you do, doesn't mean you should.
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  • Dave_McDave_Mc Frets: 2022
    edited October 2022
    Tannin said:
    @Mellish, yes, plastic giblets. Cheers @Dave_Mc One of the reasons I was keener on Yamaha than other brands in this price range is that the company seems to make a genuine effort to use responsibly sourced timbers. 

    One thing I am enjoying, in a strange sort of way, is the narrow nut. Now I hate narrow nuts. A 12-sring player for many, many years,I'm most comfortable in the 46-48mm range. All of my best guitars are 44mm which is too small for me and although I have more-or-less got used to that, I still notice and appreciate the extra room on my Guild (45mm) and make fewer mistakes. 

    If I had a 43mm guitar at home I'd probably not play it much - but this one is my only choice for the next few weeks so it will get played. And my fingers are adjusting to it, at least a bit. (But to tell the truth, I seem to be playing up the neck more than I usually do. No harm in that either.)  So I reckon that when I get home, those little-bit-too-tight nuts on my Matons and Cole Clarks will feel luxuriously roomy.
    Yeah I think my Yamaha is 43mm. I used to think I liked wide nuts- but that's on electric. I definitely prefer 43mm on electric (though I can play on narrower if I have to), but my Dowina is 45mm, and I was thinking I'd like the extra room, but if anything it's slightly too wide! It's not a massive problem (I prefer too much room to not enough), but I do have to concentrate not to hit the wrong string, especially if I've been playing the electrics more.

    (Ironically, a bit like you, I actually tried to get more used to narrower electric nuts, since only liking 43mm like I did when I started playing limits the guitars you can enjoy and buy, and I was actually pretty successful at doing that... but it's working against me now with acoustics!)

    LOL @bertie ;;
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  • TanninTannin Frets: 4394
    Well, it ended up being a nice guitar and a successful experiment. I don't think I'll do it again as I didn't get all that much time to play it, just a short while most days, plus a couple of extended sessions on days where outdoor activities were curtailed by afternoon downpours as the monsoon season started to bite.

    Before I left, I gave it to a young lad of about 9 or so, the son of my friend's sister. As chance would have it, he had begun his first guitar lessons just a few weeks previously so with any luck it will be a useful instrument for him. It's a bit big for his nine-year-old fingers and a bit of a stretch for his small frame, but he will grow into it. 

    The guitar could use a set-up. There is a bit too much neck relief and the saddle could use a slight shave, no more than a millimetre. It is perfectly playable as-is but those little tweaks would make it excellent. I looked up a Colombo-based luthier (yes, luthier, not just a tech in case anyone remembers that thread :) )  and made arrangements for my friend to take it to him. Most labour-based services are very cheap in Sri Lanka, I'd be surprised if it cost more than Rs5000 (about ten quid) for the set-up.



    The top wood is very interesting, it is such a wide grain that it looks like Red Spruce . It won't be, of course, Red Spruce is far too expensive for a guitar in this segment and in any case it doesn't sound anything like adi. 







    On the last picture you can see one of the flaws on the top (bottom edge near the centre). 

    What about the tone? How does it compare with my usual all-solid fancy timber premium-grade instruments? 

    Pretty well, actually. The biggest difference is the bass. The little Yamaha has plenty of bass - quite remarkable really - but it has a one-dimensional thud to it which becomes boring after a while, a bit lifeless. (Not unlike a Martin dread, though the Martin thud is richer and easier on the ear.) The top end and mids are better, streets in front of the various other cheap guitars I sampled in the shop. Obviously they don't match the balance or subtlety of the instruments I have at home, but considering that they range between 10 and 30 times the price, the difference is small. 

    It would be interesting to compare the little Yamaha to them side-by-side, in the same environment - either the Yamaha at home in the (more-or-less) constant temperature, 50% humidity living room, or (a scary thought!) a couple of my beauties in 30 degrees and constant 99% humidity. How long would they last in that climate? My guess is that the plywood body of the Yamaha would stand up for longer without trouble.

    So, a good experiment and a nice guitar. I particularly liked the slightly-smaller-than-usual dreadnought body. It was very comfortable to hold. But coming home to my little collection of fine instruments with full-length scales and not-so-bloody-squeezy 44mm and 45mm nuts was a joy. 

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