Change of plan: Yamaha FG800, Guild D240 and such

Jetsam1

Well,

My particular nature strikes again. I am determined to order something but car going pop again puts paid to more expensive options. I am selling my Tokai ES335 but who knows how long that will take and whilst I try to ringfence that for putting back into music stuff it has not been happening all that well!

So I would like a dreadnought again and was perusing the Thomann website within a fair price range around the £300 to £350 mark.

What I want is a solid dreadnought that I won't cry if it gets scratches etc and maybe later on can give it to any of the kids if they get into playing. I already will give my daughter a cheapy parlour I picked up ages ago and maybe one day she will like to trade up.

Decided to not be picky about laminated backs and sides and only really bothered about the solid tops and material. I think it is as much about having something different from the Furch in terms of sound and feel.

The Harley Bentons at this sort of price for accoustics seem an unknown quantity as in aiming for a price point higher than the "names"? Yamahas are usually good and worth the risk of buying remotely. The newer Chinese built Guilds seem to be decent in spec terms as well.

Choices are hard and I am instinctively looking towards the Yamaha.

TTony

Jetsam1 said:

 and I am instinctively looking towards the Yamaha.

I'd say that's always a safe bet in terms of sensible quality at any specific price point.

DavidR

Yamaha FG830 Acoustic Guitar (yamahamusiclondon.com)
I have one. Pretty. Great tone including mids. Light. Solid Spruce top. Well made. Everyone thinks of them as student instruments, and they are, but fine for the committed amateur like me too! Yamaha fan but great value. Would recommend a try out. All FG's are dreadnoughts. I don't know why Yamaha don't just call them dreadnoughts. It would be a lot easier. Look around other shops because for some reason Yamaha London are more expensive than other Yamaha stockists. FG 830 typically less than £400.

Vintage65

If you can up your budget a little bit the Eastman's are pretty good, and you get a solid back & sides.

Soupman

@Jetsam1 look for pre-owned. Even better value! 

Winny_Pooh

If you have a Furch I'm not sure what you want from a £300 guitar. It won't sound as good. Your kids already have a guitar.

300 could buy you some fun pedals or a bass though.

Jetsam1

Soupman said:

@Jetsam1 look for pre-owned. Even better value! 

Where I live the used market is essentially tat and anything decent is priced at essentially new prices. Shops never seem to have much used stock.

I generally prefer new these days and I buy so infrequently the residuals are largely not really a worry! And with the likes of Thomann it is easy to return as I am in the EU.

Having said that the local Budapest shop has a discounted Eastman PCH dreadnought. But as ever I have no idea what to do with myself.

Jetsam1

Winny_Pooh said:

If you have a Furch I'm not sure what you want from a £300 guitar. It won't sound as good. Your kids already have a guitar.

300 could buy you some fun pedals or a bass though.

I am bored, frustrated with work etc and wanting something different and that I don't cry if it gets a scratch as with the Furch. Increasingly I am not that fussed with pedals and effects and have a little collection that is enough and covers most of what I am interested in. I have some wriggle room and want to use it before the house and "life" takes it away!

I have always quite liked a decent budget guitar and miss not having a dreadnought. The accoustic has been getting played more as it doesn't have pedals/amps etc to set up and I can have a play during work breaks.

Soupman

As has been stated already, Yamaha has a good reputation for build & value, as long as you're happy with a narrow 44mm nut or whatever it is.
I much prefer 45mm nut width, and it's totally personal. There's threads on that subject as long as your arm!
Good hunting.
 
 

guitarjack66

Soupman said:

As has been stated already, Yamaha has a good reputation for build & value, as long as you're happy with a narrow 44mm nut or whatever it is.
I much prefer 45mm nut width, and it's totally personal. There's threads on that subject as long as your arm!
Good hunting.
 
 

With the couple of Yamahas I've tried there seems to be something amiss with the string spacing in relation to us slightly sausage fingered players. They seem even narrower than 44mm in my limited experience.

GoFish

To see the upside, the Furch will feel like the wide open yonder afterwards!

Jetsam1

GoFish said:

To see the upside, the Furch will feel like the wide open yonder afterwards!

I am quite adaptable when it comes to guitars, only the Gibson electric scale length and LP has ever given me a problem.

I have just seen the existence of Sire Accostics, interesting. Still wondering about the Guild, as well it says Guild on the headstock.

These days there is far too much choice I think.

BigPaulie

Soupman said:

As has been stated already, Yamaha has a good reputation for build & value, as long as you're happy with a narrow 44mm nut or whatever it is.
I much prefer 45mm nut width, and it's totally personal. There's threads on that subject as long as your arm!
Good hunting.
 
 

44mm is not a narrow nut.

Sure, it's narrower than 45mm, but 43mm or 1 11/16" is still the standard for dreadnoughts, and the width that is on the Guild D-240 in the OP.

In fact both guitars in the OP (Yamaha FG800 and Guild D-240) have standard 1 11/16 nuts.

Soupman

^yes, I couldn't remember if they were 43 or 44mm and was too lazy to look it up....