Best Yamaha Acoustic Guitar

Best Yamaha Acoustic Guitar

Whether you’ve been playing the guitar for a few years or you’re new to the industry, making sure that you have a high-quality guitar is one of the most critical factors for your playing experience. There are endless guitars on the market, each representing a different style, design, body and overall construction.

Each of the features that a guitar has is why they’re all able to deliver various sounds. Yamaha is one of the most well-known brands of guitars on the market, so they’re highly recommended for you to consider purchasing.

But it still may be challenging to find the guitar that’s most suitable for you, since Yamaha itself contains a wide variety of guitars that each have different styles, designs and overall appearances that affect the sound.

Not only does this guide contain the best acoustic guitars produced by Yamaha, but it also provides you with some of the most vital information you may need to reference for your buying processes.

8 Best Yamaha Acoustic Guitar Reviews

Make

Model

Rating

Price

Full Review

Yamaha

FS850

Cell

Yamaha

NCX700C

Cell

Yamaha

C40

Yamaha

FD01S

Yamaha

FG800

Yamaha

AC1M

Yamaha

FG820

Cell

Yamaha

F310

Review of our Top Picks

Yamaha FS850 - Best Overall

Important Features

  • Body: Concert
  • Wood: Mahogany
  • Strings: Steel
  • Top: Solid

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Die-cast tuners
  • Produced with two different types of wood
  • Made from mahogany that presents a deep and rich colour
  • Top: Solid

Cons

  • Not suitable for beginners, since it’s more expensive and the strings are steel

Brief Review & Star Rating

Review


The Yamaha FS850 is classified as the best overall acoustic guitar produced by Yamaha. It’s constructed with a mahogany wood that’s able to not only produce a beautiful sound, but it’s also a deeper colour that gives a classic and modern look. It’s presented in a concert body design, featuring a solid top.

It’s even able to produce a different tone than other guitars made with a mahogany wood because the fingerboard and the bridge are composed of a rosewood material. Having a rosewood fingerboard is highly beneficial because it produces complex overtones that even have a ringing effect.

Because of that, having a mahogany body and a rosewood fingerboard guitar undoubtedly produces sounds that can’t be mimicked with any other construction. In addition to these benefits, the Yamaha FS 850 is the most suggested for you because it contains diecast tuners and even comes with an adjustable truss rod.

Yamaha NCX700C - Best Value

Important Features

  • Body: Classical/Cutaway
  • Wood: Cedar
  • Strings: Nylon
  • Top: Solid

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Features a 2-way pickup system
  • Acoustic-electric classical guitar
  • Produced with a solid cedar wood material

Cons

  • More expensive than some of the other acoustic guitars produced by Yamaha

Brief Review & Star Rating

Review


If you’re an experienced guitar player and you’re looking for a more high-quality guitar to play on, then the Yamaha NCX700C is the most recommended for you. It’s classified as the guitar with the best value because it’s composed of a cedar wood material that can produce a beautiful tone.

The whole guitar is made with Cedarwood, so it offers a durable and consistent construction. Additionally, it’s presented as a solid top acoustic guitar with a cutaway for the convenience of reaching the higher frets.

Furthermore, this guitar features a 2-way pickup system that’s responsible for amplifying the sound of the guitar. Given that, you can use this guitar for performing shows or merely playing for a larger group of people.

Yamaha C40 - Best Appearance

Important Features

  • Body: Concert
  • Wood: Spruce
  • Strings: Nylon
  • Top: Solid

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Comes with soft nylon strings for a classical tone
  • Produced with three different types of wood
  • Has a gloss finish for a slick appearance

Cons

  • Presents a smaller concert construction, so it may be more challenging to play

Brief Review

Review

The Yamaha C40 is known for its ability to release a sound that’s very distinct to its name. Given the fact that this guitar is made from several different types of wood throughout its whole construction, all of the qualities of each kind of woodwork together to produce a beautiful sound, while also giving the guitar a durability that not many others have.

More specifically, this guitar features a spruce wood top with the back and sides made from Indonesian mahogany wood. Additionally, this guitar also features a Japanese rosewood fingerboard. Lastly, there is a melamine gloss finish over the entire guitar, giving it the modern and clean appearance you’re looking for as a guitar player.

Yamaha FD01S - Budget Option

Important Features

  • Body: Dreadnought
  • Wood: Spruce
  • Strings: Steel
  • Top: Solid

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Affordable
  • Rosewood fingerboard is comfortable on your fingertips
  • Presents a dreadnought design with three different types of wood

Cons

  • Has a thicker top, so it’s more difficult for people with smaller hands to play

Brief Review

Review


Whether you’re playing country music, classical tunes or you’re merely jamming; the Yamaha FD01S is suitable for producing practically any tones. It features a solid spruce wood top with an Eastern mahogany back and sides.

Additionally, it also comes with a rosewood fingerboard construction that’s easy on your fingertips. Given that it has a dreadnought body construction, it’s suitable for practically any guitar-playing styles. And it’s even affordable, so anyone interested in playing can use it.

Yamaha FG800 - Easiest To Carry

Important Features

  • Body: Dreadnought
  • Wood: Spruce
  • Strings: Steel
  • Top: Solid

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Produces tones adequate for mimicking various music styles
  • Affordable
  • Offers a matte natural finish

Cons

  • The top is thicker than most other guitars, making it difficult for a beginner guitarist with smaller hands

Brief Review

Review


The Yamaha FG800 offers a more traditional and natural appearance that most standard guitars have on the market. It’s composed of a spruce wood material that’s been shaped into a dreadnought body, and it also offers an Eastern mahogany material on both the back as well as the sides of the guitar.

By having this combination of wood materials in a dreadnought structure, this guitar is suitable for practically any type of music. The tones are adequate for country music, classical music, pop music etc. Because of that, this guitar is excellent for anyone that wants an affordable guitar to jam on.

Yamaha AC1M - Best Extra Features

Important Features

  • Body: Concert Cutaway
  • Wood: Mahogany
  • Strings: Steel
  • Top: Solid

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Excellent for producing rich music tones and large audiences
  • Contains a mahogany neck that gives comfort for your fingertips
  • Available in mahogany or rosewood

Cons

  • Expensive, so it’s not recommended for beginners

Brief Review

Review

For those of you more interested in producing country music or playing more earthy tones, the Yamaha AC1M is highly suggested for you. This guitar from Yamaha features a solid spruce wood top that contains scalloped bracing to produce a richer sound than other guitars.

Additionally, the AC1M features an original SRT piezo pickup that can deliver a beautiful amplified tone. This feature makes the AC1M highly suggested for concerts or for playing in front of larger audiences. Not only that, but the AC1M features a mahogany neck that is easy to work with as well as a concert cutaway body that gives you easy access to all of the frets on the guitar.

Yamaha FG820 - Best Usability

Important Features

  • Body: Dreadnought
  • Wood: Spruce, Mahogany, Rosewood
  • Strings: Steel
  • Top: Solid

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Customizable, featuring different body styles, finishes and overall designs
  • Rosewood bridge and fingerboard for easy usability
  • Comes with an adjustable truss rod

Cons

  • Plays better within time

Brief Review

Review

Whether you’re a beginner or a more advanced player, the Yamaha FG820 is suitable for practically anyone looking to play the guitar. You have the option of getting this guitar produced with 12 strings, as an acoustic-electric and you can have it customized to fit left-handed individuals.

Furthermore, you can even choose between having it made in dreadnought or a concert design. The standard Yamaha FG820 is formulated as a dreadnought body with spruce wood material, giving it a more profound and richer tone.

It even comes with diecast tuners that are easy to work with, and it features an adjustable truss rod that can be altered to fit your particular needs. There are different finishes that you can choose from as well, making it the ultimate customizable Yamaha acoustic guitar on the market.

Yamaha F310 - Best For Beginners

Important Features

  • Body: Dreadnought
  • Wood: Mahogany
  • Strings: Steel
  • Top: Solid

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Features a simple design for all purposes
  • Hand-finished construction
  • Composed of multiple tonewoods

Cons

  • Slightly shorter than other guitars, so it’s not recommended for more advanced players

Brief Review

Review

Classified as the best guitar for beginners, the Yamaha F310 is comprised of various types of wood materials that help to work together to produce tones in multiple different music styles. It features a hand-finished construction that gives the guitar a durable and stable structure.

Moreover, the scale length of the Yamaha F310 is slightly shortened to make the guitar more comfortable to play for smaller individuals. Because of that, this is an excellent guitar for beginners or guitarists with smaller hands and shorter arms.

Buying Guide

Type Of Body

Before you choose a certain guitar on the market, it’s vital that you figure out what kind of guitar body you want. The different bodies can produce varying tones, so you should keep in mind the different types of bodies.

The three main body types for acoustic guitars are concert, dreadnought and cutaway. Concerts are smaller and have a brighter sound than others. They’re comfortable and straightforward to use, making them great for beginners.

Similarly, dreadnought bodies have a common style that’s great for beginners. They have wide waists, and they produce a powerful and driving sound. Lastly, the third most common body for acoustic guitars is the cutaway guitar.

Technically anybody style could also feature a cutaway since it’s merely a cutaway of one of the shoulders on the guitar. They’re structured to help you more easily reach the higher frets, so they’re convenient for players that like to play on those higher frets.

Wood

Another very important factor to think about before you choose a specific guitar is the type of woods that are used to produce the guitar. They are responsible for mainly affecting the kind of sound that the guitar provides, so it may be beneficial to understand the tones that each tonewood produces.

There are loads of wood types used overall for acoustic guitars, but there are four main types, including cedar, mahogany, rosewood and spruce. Spruce is probably the most common because it’s standard for the guitar tops. It’s lightweight but also durable at the same time. And spruce material clarifies the tone of the guitar.

Cedarwood is softer than other woods, and it produces a bright tone. Mahogany wood is more dense and provides a rich tone. Lastly, rosewood is rich and commonly used for fingerboards because of its articulate sound.

Features To Consider Before Purchasing

Finish

The finish is essentially the outer protective coating that goes on the guitar’s main body. It’s usually either a matte, natural or more glossy finish. The specific type of finish that you have on the guitar affects the way that the wood of the guitar vibrates, so it can slightly modify the tone that the guitar produces.

Strings

There are two main types of strings used on acoustic guitars, including nylon or steel strings. Nylon strings are softer on the fingers and produce a more mellow tone, making them popular to use on classical guitars.

On the other hand, steel strings are more common and produce a louder and brighter tone. That’s why steel strings are usually found on guitars for rock, country or pop music.

Tops

You should also consider the specific type of top that a guitar has since it primarily impacts the kind of tone quality that a guitar has. Usually, acoustic guitars either have a solid top or a laminate top. Solid tops are more common, and they feature two single-ply pieces of wood matched together.

Comparatively, laminate tops feature several layers of wood, reducing the amount of vibration that the guitar’s tone has.

In Conclusion

Overall, each of these guitars offer you a variety of benefits that are specific to each product. Because of that, it can be challenging to choose between the best guitars for your particular needs. Ultimately, you’re most recommended purchasing product #1: Yamaha FS850 Small Body Top Acoustic Guitar.

Not only is it made with two different types of wood that work together to produce a distinct and unique sound, but it also presents a solid top and concert construction that’s suitable for practically any type of occasion. Other than the Yamaha FS850, you may also benefit significantly from product #2: Yamaha NCX700C Acoustic-Electric Classical Guitar.

Differently from the Yamaha FS850, this guitar is structured like a classical, solid top guitar that also features a cutaway structure. The overall structure is beneficial because you can more easily reach the higher frets, and it also comes with a 2-way pickup system to help amplify the sounds of the acoustic guitar.

Regardless of the specific type of guitar that you choose, each of them offers different features that can benefit different people. That being said, choosing the best guitar for your specific purposes depends mainly on your personal preference. But given all of its beneficial features, the best Yamaha acoustic guitar is the Yamaha FS850 Small Body Top Acoustic Guitar.

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