Yamaha FS800 Concert Acoustic Guitar - Natural Reviews

I have only had my FS800 for a few weeks, and I'm a total novice player. I'm starting late-just turned 65. The Yamaha is a terrific, well made starter guitar. It feels solidly made and I find it very easy to tune and STAYS in tune. I did change the original strings to the Silk and Steel strings. I find them easier to fret notes and hurt my fingers less (as a total beginner). I found changing the strings very easy to do.

For the price, you just can't go wrong. Sweetwater has always been great with fair pricing, fast shipping and secure packing.

Great looks, feel, and sound. I recommend for anyone who wants to play.

I did a lot of research and considered almost everything before buying this guitar. So I thought I would share my findings, and maybe it will make your buying decision easier.

The first thing I considered was concert size vs. dreadnought. Although I'm a 6'4" male I still like that the concert has a smaller more comfortable body. I think the concert is a better "everyday guitar", and it's more balanced from low to high notes for fingerstyle. The dreadnought is useful if you really need extra volume for your chords, and boomier bass notes.

I briefly considered the cutaway acoustic electric models, but decided against them for a few reasons. People online said that the cutaway makes the tone more "nasal" like and less full. I could also hear the difference. Plus I noticed on the Yamaha cutaway models you are really only getting better access to 3 more frets (15 to 17) while frets 18 to 20 are still blocked by the body. I also realized that I could always add a soundhole pickup later to go electric such as the Seymour Duncan Woody HC.

Now for the big question, is there a sound difference between the 800 (this guitar) versus the 820 (mahogany) and 830 (rosewood). I watched a video on YouTube where the guy speaks Chinese, but then plays every Yamaha model 800 to 850 for both concert and dreadnoughts. I did not hear any significant difference between the spruce top 800 to 830 models. The 850 mahogany models sounded a little muffled in comparison though.

I personally really like the look of the 800, with its black binding it looks like a Martin standard series (the 18 and 21 models I think) you know, the less ornate ones. But if you prefer the looks of the 820 or 830, there's no reason not to get one. Tone wise there isn't much difference, which I think is good news for the base model 800.

I was wondering before I bought it how the walnut fretboard would be. I honestly wouldn't know it's not rosewood, the looks and feel are so similar. It's also not a cheap wood as I noticed there is a Gibson Hummingbird acoustic with walnut fretboard and walnut back and sides.

The neck is great and I love the matte finish so it's not so sticky as with a gloss finish. I also previously purchased a PRS SE Standard 24 in transparent blue from Sweetwater which has exactly the same 25 inch scale lenth, and 1.6875" nut. I wouldn't mind if the Yamaha had say a 1.75" nut for fingerstyle, but the neck is great and it was setup well.

Before this guitar I had a cheap acoustic sitting around that I wasn't really playing. It was a Rogue RD80 from a different music retailer. I went to tune it and it broke the high E string. Then I ordered a set of strings, got them all on and was fine tuning the strings when the G string broke. I figured that guitar wasn't even worth trying to fix, so I needed a guitar that wouldn't break the bank. The Yamaha FS800 was a great choice.

It seems with Yamaha you get tons of value and quality instruments at every price point. Other companies seem to charge about double to get similar quality. If in the future you (or I) want to spend a little more, Yamaha makes some all solid wood acoustics, as well as the really cool Transacoustic guitars which feature chorus and reverb effects without the need for an amplifier.

I hope my review helps you choose a guitar. Happy picking! :)

I bought this guitar strictly for open 'D' tuning. I knew it was a smaller guitar than my Taylor. This guitar is a 7/8 size guitar. The Taylor scale is 25 1/2" and this guitar is 25". Also the body, across the lower bout is a full inch smaller than the Taylor and is also thinner front to back. If you're a smaller person this is a guitar that might be perfect for you. Also, because of the smaller size it doesn't have as big of sound as full size guitars. That said it has a sweet sound and, because of the shorter scale, it plays nice. Yamaha is known for quality instruments and, for the money, this is a good guitar.

I recommended this model to a student to get as their first acoustic before we started lessons. When I got to try it out I was truly impressed with it right out of the box. Was very happy to report to the student that they didn't need to do any additional setup to make it great. Already was. I often play much more expensive Taylors/Martins, etc, but playability and sound on this FS800 is lacking nothing in my honest opinion. It just sounds and plays great and the concert style body is super comfortable. Now I want one for myself! Worth nothing the family was also very happy dealing with Sweetwater as well, so thank you SW!

After a quick string change to Martin Medium Phosphor/Bronze I couldn't believe the sound coming out of this guitar. Now that they are scalloping the bracing on these, they sound even better. I prefer the skinny nut width and 25" scale. Truly a special instrument. I started getting rid of my expensive designer guitars and I'm just focused on playing again, just like back when this was all I could afford in the beginning :)
It blows away my AC3M. That guitar is a bit more refined sounding, but doesn't project or have the clarity of the FS800. I think the laminate back and sides actually sound better, the don't absorb any of the sound and just refract it all. If I would have known these sounded so good I probably would have got the 820 or 830 for a couple bucks more.

Needing an affordable, basic acoustic guitar to use on unplugged gigs and guitar lessons, I bought the Yamaha FS 800 Concert Guitar. It needed the usual basic set up and new strings, but after the basic tweaks and a set of Elixir Nanoweb 12s, it's now exactly right for work applications and as a couch guitar at home. It's loud for being concert sized, bright and an amazing value based on the low price.

Purchased for the wife. She couldn't be happier with it and that in itself is all the confirmation I need. This coupled with the Yamaha hardshell case and other accessories made for a very nice package.

Sweetwater's price is well below Yamaha's MSRP. Delivery was two days from order. Guitar is a nice instrument. Doesn't respond well to aggressive play but light, smallish and relatively easy & fun to play.

This was my first Guitar had it for 3 years and I love it

I've bought a few guitars, but this is the only one I didn't have to do any set-up on when it arrived. The fret ends were smooth, action was right, neck straight, tuners responsive, everything you would expect. I really like the folk size body and the 25" scale as well. The neck is easy on the hand. With the solid top it rings like a bell and sounds great. I have more expensive guitars that spend a lot of time hanging on the wall because this is my go-to. It's just so comfortable.

I had Googled 'good, inexpensive acoustic guitars' and a list with a link to the Sweetwater site came up. The one I wanted wasn't in stock, so I called customer service. The representative was very personable and knowledgeable and helped me pick out the perfect guitar for my daughter. The instrument was shipped to her at college, and when she got it, she was thrilled; it sounded great and was the perfect size.

I bought this guitar as an inexpensive secondary instrument to take on vacation, etc. The soundboard, back and sides are well constructed but the neck is a bit rough in spots. I've played this guitar back to back with high end Martin guitars and it holds up surprisingly well. The tone is brighter and punchier vs mellower and more rounded but still very good. It lacks some of the subtleties of higher end guitars but it also doesn't cost $3000 - $4000! At $... this is an excellent bargain for a beginner or even a seasoned player on a budget.

My wife loves her new guitar. The Yamaha was a great choice. The price was awesome and the service was outstanding. I will definitely buy from Sweetwater again.

This guitar is very nice for the money. Plays very easily, was set up very well out of the box, and the sound is amazing for a guitar at this price point. Sounds as good as much more expensive models. Highly recommend this product!

This guitar is great for fingerpicking on the couch, strumming chords with friends, or intense practicing. The sound is focussed with a sweet mid-range. It doesn't have a great deal of bass but, for its size, it has more low end than you might expect.

And for the price--it's perfect.

Which means, of course, that Yamaha will stop making them soon--so go buy one before they do!

I really like playing this guitar. I had an FG800 and it was just too big. I sold it and picked up one of these out and couldn"t be happier. For a beginner you can"t go wrong.

The Yamaha FS800 is my first guitar and I've had it for about six months. Here are my main thoughts:

First, at $... this was really affordable. I didn't feel bad at all spending an extra $... on helpful accessories and tools, so I had everything I needed and wanted starting out.

Second, this sounded great right out of the box. Yamaha and Sweetwater did a terrific job making sure this got to me in awesome playing shape.

Third, this has worked great for me as a beginning guitarist. I play while seated and it's very comfortable in that position. The steel strings did wreck my fingers for a while, but after doing 20 minutes every day for about 3 months the pain's almost entirely gone. Nowadays I can play about an hour at a time without any pain, unless I'm repeatedly practicing a specific chord or chord sequence.

I'd definitely recommend the FS800 for someone looking for a beginner guitar or just a cheap, slightly undersized acoustic. I know some people recommend your first guitar be electric but I thought this worked great for me, especially since I'm mostly interested in fingerstyle.

This is the quality / price sweet spot. Sounds good feels good and won't hurt your wallet. Need a travel guitar? This is it. Need a guitar to see if it's going to be your thing? This is it. Need to buy you son or daughter a decent guitar to learn on? This is it. For many this will be all you need. Half star off for lower end tuners, but hey they still work fine.

Wanted a little acoustic to play around the house and practice with. Came with a perfect set up right out of the box. Perfect for finger style playing. I've played more expensive guitars in shops that didn't feel as good as this did out of the box with Sweetwater's setup. Pull the trigger!

This was my first guitar. I've had it for about 6 months now and it's still holding up. I play daily any where from an 1 to 8 hours a day.

I live in the midwest so I don't have to worry about climate causing issues.

It stays in tune very well and it has a respectable tone.

It's big enough to be loud, but it's small enough for a short guy like me.

The frets ends were smooth on mine.

Only con is the action is alittle high. This can be fixed tho.

Otherwise it's nice guitar.