Yamaha FG800 Natural Deep Dive

Well, here is the deep dive I promised. This is probably the most underrated guitar I have ever played. I think it will be a classic in 20 years and some people might disagree but if I make it that long they can tell me then whether or not I was right LOL!!

[@susanroycroft89]

Yes, Yamaha make beautiful guitar's, I have a '74 FG - 180 and it's absolutely fantastic, high quality tuners ( their own brand ) I put bone nut and saddle on it and oh wow 😊😊😊 just my opinion though. Don here from Hamilton NZ on my Wife's tablet Susan R..t

[@guitarbobification]

Thanks for watching! Glad you enjoy yours. I actually left it at a place I go occasionally instead of home and missed it so much I picked it up and brought it home this week LOL!! All the best mate!

[@HI2LIFE]

Thank you so much for sharing your story! It’s stories like this that makes us viewers who are on the market looking amongst all the choices of guitars that makes our final decision a good one! A big thank you from Australia!

[@guitarbobification]

Thanks for watching the channel! It's comments like these that keep me going! All the very best to you!😊

[@chuckjines67]

I had my wife and two other people turned around in the guitar room. I went back and forth between the omaha f g eight hundred and a twenty-eight hundred dollar martin. Everyone picked the fg yamaha. I now have the f g eight thirty as well. I'm waiting to get the fg3x

[@guitarbobification]

LOL very cool!! I love stories like that - proves guitar snobs are just plain wrong sometimes. I have gone back and forth about an FG830 but for the price I just need to do it! All the best to you

[@chuckjines67]

With Martin these days, you are paying an extra 1,800.00 for the brand name. I'm not part of the top 20% income earners, so I can use the extra money in my gas tank. The Yahama FG 3 and 5 smoke Martin....

[@chuckjines67]

@guitarbobification Change the plastic pegs with bone... even better. The rosewood is louder than the FG 800, and you get a few more extras like a strap peg on the neck. Fot 1,100.00 you can get the FG 3. No need for a Martin. The red label Yamaha guitars are BETTER than the Martians. My guitar store does not stock the red label Yamahas because they would not be able to sell the Taylor or Martians... let that sink in.

[@guitarbobification]

Thats funny - I did put a bone saddle and pins in my FG800

[@guitarbobification]

A buddy of mine has a red label and it is SWEET!!!!!

[@mckindo64]

I completely agree. I have a Yamaha FG 720s I purchased in 2007. I also have the FG800 and recently purchased the FG850 Mahogany. Similar thing happened to me going to guitar center and picking up these Yamahas. Now it's the only acoustic I play. I plan on purchasing the FG 9R in the future. I always tell anyone that is just starting out or even someone that is looking for a cheaper guitar to travel with to look into these incredibly underrated Yamahas..

[@guitarbobification]

Thanks for your feedback - great to know other people feel the same way. I'm checking out some other "sleeper" guitars right now in the affordable price rage. I may post something to the channel if I pick one up (good, bad, or otherwise). All the best!

[@marielamoore3335]

Bob, good to see you're still playing and doing well.😊

[@guitarbobification]

Aww thanks so much!! Miss you guys like crazy 😊

[@ztienapm]

Great 2 cents. A few years ago I got a Yamaha LL16 used for around $500 from GC. All solid wood. I love that guitar. Yamaha make great instruments.

[@guitarbobification]

Nice! I am always interested in what people have that they love. I will definitely check one out!

[@WicksMusic1]

Yamaha guitars have a nice balanced and clear sound, yours is a fine example.

[@guitarbobification]

Thanks! Yes, I am becoming a convert. I may try another higher end one at some point

[@domdimensions9219]

It seems when you setup your acoustics, you like to have very little relief in the neck. Why is it that some players prefer more neck relief, and others prefer less neck relief? (In acoustics specifically).

[@lhvent]

The FG800 has a solid sitka spruce top with laminate Nato Eastern Mahogany Wood back and sides with a Nato neck. Great guitar for the money. I have the FG830 that has laminate Rosewood back and sides with a Nato neck. An amazing guitar. The laminate material actually 3 plys of Rosewood. With the FG800, it is 3 plys of Nato Eastern Mahogany.

[@guitarbobification]

Larry thanks for the details - that's my weak spot LOL. I know what I like but can't always quantify it! All the best

[@lhvent]

@@guitarbobification I have been studying the history of the Yamaha acoustic guitar, hence my data dump. I love my FG830 and have thoughts about an L Series amd yet, my FG830 plays so good.

[@guitarbobification]

A guy locally (in Florida) has an FG830 for sale. I tried to buy it but it took a while for him to respond so I didn't get it. But its still listed so if I get back to Florida before its gone I might pick it up. Thanks again for your feedback. Its important to me when I decide to get something I am on the fence about. All the best!

[@lhvent]

@@guitarbobification It is just a deeper tone than the 800 with a little bling. White binding around the fingerboard and headstock with rosette around the headstock. All in the eye of the beholder. To me, this is a poor man's Martin. Fantastic guitar and mine actually sounds better than the D-28 I tried at the Martin factory. Yamaha has the secret sauce.

[@PemaWangchuk12]

​@@lhventI know the feeling. I still have the FG800 I bought after a long hiatus from guitars. But it's when I'm playing my "higher-end" guitars I acquired since that I realise how good these Yamaha's really are. Every single time.

[@Dan-58]

I have a few Yamaha guitars and once you set them up to your standards they are great guitars they stay in tune and sound really good I’m glad you’re happy with your fg800 ✌️

[@guitarbobification]

Still love mine. Also looking at an FG830 to keep at my friend's house in Florida so when I go to visit I have it to play. Thanks for watching! All the best to you.

[@user-ev9qw3om1g]

What is the Yamaha 800?

[@adityaparik6260]

Thanks a lot for sharing your story! I would really appreciate if you could do a comparison video of FG800 and FG830

[@guitarbobification]

Yeah, I'd love to get an FG830 - just been crazy busy lately but definitely on my radar! Thanks for the idea for a comparison. All the best!

[@domdimensions9219]

I am seriously considering buying one of these. I tried one at the music store and to my ears it sounded better than many 1000 dollar guitars I tried (1000 dollars canadian so perhaps around 700 usd). I think the scalloped bracing has a lot to do with the great sound. I believe from what I have heard that martin uses scalloped bracing in their guitars (I think it is a newer thing, and the older martins don't have scalloped bracing). I have an epiphone all laminated guitar which has a pretty nice sound for what it is, but I think the yamaha is far above it. I know that scalloped bracing does weaken the top of the guitar a bit, so it might not last as long as a heavily braced guitar, but who cares I guess haha.

[@guitarbobification]

Thanks for sharing. I kept my eyes open for the Yamaha and got it used in perfect condition from Guitar Center for $120. Funny thing - I bought an all laminated Epiphone (Pro1 VS) recently for $50 (will try to do a video with it this week). It has a completely different sound than my Yamaha - not better, just different. It is very bright and reminds me of a Gibson J45 Studio I had a few years ago. I was chasing that Martin sound when I bought the Gibson but didn't really like it so I traded it for a Martin. I really like the Epiphone though - maybe because I expected the sound to be different and it is. All the best to you!

[@domdimensions9219]

​@@guitarbobification Awesome! I look forward to seeing that epiphone on your channel. I think epiphone make pretty good guitars for the most part. The one I have has a tone I would describe as boomy. Like more bass heavy, and it doesn't have such sparkling/ringing highs like some other guitars might have. Has a pretty balanced tone. Good tone for strumming. I know that solid top guitars are praised as being far superior, but some laminated guitars can sounds pretty good too. One nice thing is that laminated guitars don't seem to move around much in high humidity. But with solid wood guitars it is best to store them in a climate controlled environment. In high humidity the wood of a solid wood guitar tends to expand a lot, which changes the setup and can cause problems.

[@guitarbobification]

Yes, I agree that the laminated guitars can sound great and are excellent for withstanding tough conditions. I noticed that my Epiphone pickguard was lifting a little after sitting for almost 2 months in a place where I don’t leave the AC on. When I got there the other day it was 95 degrees but everything else on the guitar was OK - was almost in tune a ½ step down LOL. I tried to do a video but my arthritis was acting up so I didn’t publish the one I finally ended up with. I am going to try again next week. All the best to you

[@user-zz8hl8se6t]

My fg800 is my martin, its a great guitar when you put a bone saddle it blows away anything out there, no need to pay a grand for a fancy guitart because its called martin taylor,, well i would pay a grand for a cole clark but that is about it

[@guitarbobification]

Nice! Agreed! Have a GREAT Day!

[@cugir321]

My FS800 has the best neck I've seen in years....only one slightly high fret. (I refret so a minor thing) Tuned down 1/2 step....neck is completely flat and doesn't buzz....even capo'd. Sounds great! This neck is better then most expensive martins and taylors. No humps. I have a LL-16 that was a night mare until I leveled the fingerboard and refretted it. Moral of the story....price means nothing. Play it!

[@guitarbobification]

Thank you so much for watching and for sharing your story. I have gotten a lot of great use from my Yamaha in the short amount of time I have owned it. It is definitely one of my all-time favorite guitars. All the very best to you 😊

[@ctcards2636]

Ive gotten quite the collection of Yamahas in the past 6 months or so. I own a F310, F325, F325D, F335, FD01S, FG700, FG800 and SLG200S. Of all the guitars id say the 700 is the best overall. Ive installed bone nut, saddle and wood pins and done some other work to all of the guitars and they all sound and play really quite well. In order my top 3 would be 700, 335 and 800. I like the 700 because the rosewood FB and it has more heft to it. I dont dislike the 800, but if i had to choose between a 700 or 800, id def get a 700. Thanks for the video. Yamaha is def continuing to show what can be done for very little cost to the customer with their guitars. Find me a Martin or Taylor that plays remotely like my 700 for the $148 shipped i paid. I pickup Martins X series and they feel like toys and Taylors guitars under $1k feel the same to me. I dont feel like i have a toy in my hands with my Yamahas. I had been a life long Ovation only fan for acoustics for about 30 years. I had always wanted a cheap dred and so my first Yamaha was about 6 months ago and was the 335. From there ive been finding broken ones and repairing them or finding used ones for very little money. A lot of fun fixing these guitars up. But im telling ya right now there is no other big brand name that is making acoustics as well as Yamaha for the price. I am waiting on the mail today for my Yamaha Revstar P90 i ordered. I own about 40 guitars and this is my first Yamaha electric so this outta be fun. But if you remotely like the 800, id highly recommend you try the 700 out. You will notice there are not very many 700s on the used market, i take this as a sign of how good the guitars were made. But if your gonna do any upgrades to your Yamaha, get an intonated bone saddle and nut for about $10 shipped and buy some rosewood or ebony pins with abalone for $10. Takes a good guitar and makes it great. Even my laminate top Yamahas sound 10x better after this simple upgrade.

[@ctcards2636]

Oh and one more thing. The negative thing ive found with Yamaha is the saddles are not a tight fit and wiggle. You should be able to lift the guitar by the saddle. The bone saddle and nut that i mentioned for $10 shipped is also an intonated saddle as well. They were tight fits and immediatly made the guitar that much better sounding and the guitars already sounded pretty good. But id say that is my biggest Yamaha complaint is the saddles being loose and ive had a few that needed frets polished up. But other than that, ive had much bigger issues with much more expensive guitars in my day for sure. Yamaha has it going on ;-)

[@ctcards2636]

One last thing haha. I would reccomend wood pins over bone. Ive done a LOT of experimenting with different materials and wood sounds the best. I use Rosewood or Ebony (depending on the guitar). But i found bone to be less as vibrant as the wood pins. But i think it depends on the player, but i would try wood if you havnt. Get rid of those plastic ones, its worth the $10. As is said above, $20 and its like you have a new guitar with saddle, nut and pins.

[@guitarbobification]

Wow - lots of great info! I like the idea of ebony pins - had them on another guitar and loved them. I will definitely try out a 700 if I can find a good used one. My saddle was sung on the 800 but I definitely want a compensated bone saddle. Have fun with that P90 Revstar. I am going to break out my one and only P90 guitar next week for the first time since I bought it about 3 years ago. Looking forward to it! All the best!!

[@MelodyMaker]

When I picked mine up at the guitar store, I was struck by how easy it was to play. It didn't make sense to let anyone else buy that guitar. Your mother was right. It's evident that Yamaha puts a research team on the job looking for scientific means for improvement.

[@guitarbobification]

Thanks for sharing. I definitely had the same experience a few times before buying mine. I had a lot of other guitars then and had to justify to myself why I needed another one. The answer was it is a great guitar at a great price and in the end it may be my only guitar after I move from my home into an apartment down the road.

[@Nothing-gv8mv]

I grew up with my dad listening to Hank Williams Senior while he was beating sense into me. Have you listened to Hank Williams the third? His first album sounds just like his granddaddy:-) I don't own an acoustic guitar anymore but it was good listening to your story:-)

[@guitarbobification]

Thanks!! Hank III was coming to S. Florida and we were going to try to see him but Covid hit and the concert was cancelled. Haven't had too much time for going out lately with the house stuff I'm working on. All the BEST !

[@steventregilgas5016]

Yamaha make fantastic guitars as do Eastman I have a Yamaha ls6 and an Eastman E6om great guitars I live in Australia Martins are very expensive here

[@guitarbobification]

Very cool! Nice to hear from someone in Australia! My nephew lives there. I wanted to buy an Eastman today but didn't want to do a 3 hr trip - if he still has it next week I'll get it and review it. All the best mate!

[@lawrencerasmus]

70's Guild D50 is the greatest guitar ever made.

[@guitarbobification]

No question about it!! My brother had an early 70's Guild D45?? or D40?? - One of my all time favorites!

[@jimdent351]

I bought one of these FG 800's and absolutely hate it. If I pick one string and stop that string from vibrating the other strings that weren't played in the first place are all vibrating and causing the guitar to continue resonating sound. Additionally I need to play it with an incredibly light touch or it had massive volume behind it.

[@guitarbobification]

Thanks for sharing. There are a lot of things at play here. Not everyone will like the same guitar. Not every guitar of the same model will be of the same quality. And if the volume is too loud for you maybe a smaller bodied guitar i.e. an 0, 00, or 000 size vs. a dreadnaught might be something you would like better. All the best to you!

[@jimdent351]

@@guitarbobification Here's the thing. I looked at 2 of these that day before buying. The one was a gloss finish like yours and the other was the matte finish. The gloss finish seemed to have a dull sound in the music store where the matte one sounded crisper and louder, but at home that louder tone is way too much. In hindsight the one I didn't like at the store is much more like my Gibson J-45. I bought the Yamaha to preserve the Gibson because I inherited it and would like to keep it as new looking as possible while I learn to play better. The large music store really fooled me into choosing the wrong guitar. I think the gloss finish was the instrument I was looking for.

[@guitarbobification]

Hopefully you can return and exchange it. I know its hard to find the best guitar for your individual needs. It has taken me years and playing a huge number of guitars to get the ones that suit me well. Best wishes for a good outcome!

[@kalleblomkvist4173]

D18 owner here from germany...I think if you could only have one good acoustic guitar get a D18 ;) otherwise yamaha make good guitars, aso the relatively new red label yamahas made in japan.

[@guitarbobification]

Thanks for your input! I agree on all counts. You may be interested in this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/inyXeZmjl514ea8 All the best!

[@patrickevelyn8028]

Your strings are buzzing

[@guitarbobification]

LOL - its probably way more likely that its my poor playing than the guitar setup. But thanks for pointing that out. All the best!

[@abhisheks94]

Thanks for the review....I plan to buy my first guitar and absolutely love this..but have heard reviews that its action is high which makes it difficult to play for beginners...is that true ? Or this can be fixed ..plz share your valuable thoughts

[@guitarbobification]

Thank you for your interest and your question. The guitar was not unplayable when I got it but I did file down the saddle and adjust the truss rod slightly to lower the action to my liking. As a new player, you should take the guitar to a tech (if you buy it at a music store they should either have a tech or know a tech that can help) and explain that you are a new player and would like it to have lower action to make learning more enjoyable. It should be a relatively inexpensive setup (or free depending on the music store) if the guitar is new. I hope this helps. All the best!

[@theguitarprofessionals8584]

This is Awesome!!!!!!!!!! Go for broke!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@guitarbobification]

Thanks Bro!!