7 Best YAMAHA Acoustics for All Player Levels

Whether you are a beginner, an intermediate or a deeply experienced ‘lifer’ in the ways of guitar playing, I’m sure there’s one thing you all know: Yamaha make excellent guitars. They are actually one of the few brands out there who excel at every stage of the guitar market. From humble beginner instruments right through to masterful hand-made pieces, every Yamaha has a level of quality and performance that is impossible to ignore.

This means that they are a very easy brand to recommend to players across the spectrum of experience, but which acoustic guitar models are the most suitable? Which is the best Yamaha acoustic at each point in that price spectrum? 

That’s what today’s article is all about. I’ve played, used and sold Yamaha acoustic guitars for decades, and I’m constantly keeping an eye (and ear) to what they produce as a company. This, I hope, puts me in a position of reliability and trust for you. I’ll recommend a series of Yamaha acoustic guitars that I’d personally choose and buy in each ‘player level’, from beginner to professional.

So, if you’re in the market for a Yamaha acoustic, why don’t you give me a few minutes and I’ll put you on the right road for guitar happiness!

One of the areas that Yamaha dominates is in great value beginner or student instruments. The Yamaha F310 has been one of their bestsellers for years and years for one simple fact: it’s a really good guitar. Not a really good guitar for a beginner, or a really good guitar for the money. It’s simply a good instrument that totally delivers, and has zero pretension about it.

Honestly, I strummed through a number of these guitars at the same time when prepping this article, and what the F310 lacks is not huge, compared to any other acoustic guitar. It’s not a matter of being as good as more expensive guitars (which is an unfair angle, I feel) but more a case of it sounding completely fine next to something that costs 8 or 9 times the price.

If you need an affordable acoustic guitar for any reason at all - travelling, gifting, backup, budget-conscious etc etc - then I think it will take a lot to beat this dreadnought, at the asking price.

As so onto another very well-known affordable Yamaha. For lots of fledgling guitarists, the Yamaha C40 is their first experience of a nylon string classical guitar. This is good news, since it’s a well-put-together instrument with a comfy neck, something that’s not an automatic given with classical guitars!

Like the F310 we just looked at, this guitar is not made from solid timber, but layered plies of wood. At this price, that is completely acceptable, and in fact makes the instrument less susceptible to environmental effects such as temperature changes affecting the wood and so on. What you get is a comfortable guitar that gives an authentic classical guitar experience, and that is exactly what you need when starting on this particular musical path.

When it comes to Yamaha acoustic body shapes, the typical dreadnought shape is referred to as an ‘FS’, and their more rounded concert-style is called ‘FS’. So, when I recommend the Yamaha FSX 820CII today, it’s with the perspective that you can substitute the model for the FGX 830CII if you prefer a dreadnought body. The guitars are the same in specification and construction: literally the only changes are the body shape and colour options.

So, I’ve picked the FSX 820 CII because I want you to know about the concert shape, and because this guitar offers a lot for a relatively low cost. The ‘X’ in the name means that there are electronics onboard to let you plug into an amp or PA system for gigs. The ‘C’ in the name applies to the cutaway in the body: in other words, a reshaping of the top corner to allow your fretting hand to get to those higher frets more easily.

This is an excellent choice for players looking to take their songs out into the world and perform them live. This guitar is attractive looking and maintains the ethos of comfort, playability and affordability that we’ve seen established already. On top of that, this guitar is made with a solid spruce top. This not only improves the tone directly, but allows the instrument to ‘season’ the more it gets played, and achieve an even richer sound in years to come.

We saw in the previous guitar that adding a solid top to the instrument’s build significantly increases its tone, and indeed its future-tone, as it were. This is a universal thing in guitar building, so for a nylon string equivalent, I wanted a solid top guitar to recommend. 

I found this great example, the Yamaha CG192C. I chose this because it has a solid cedar top, and I happen to think that cedar is one of the sweetest, warmest and most lovely sounding tonewoods of all. It’s less bright than spruce but maybe has a little more depth happening, a little more warmth.

The measurements for this guitar are very traditional (25.6” scale, 2mm nut width etc) so it’s perfect for getting serious with classical repertoire. I’ve also found it to be very nice for attempting flamenco runs and rasgueados on, though I’d not that it’s not specifically built for that style, so you won’t get that low string fret buzz sound! For most styles, that’s a good thing! If you do want more snap in your sound, try the spruce version of this guitar, the Yamaha CG192S.

In the mid 1960s, the guitars which effectively made Yamaha’s reputation in the west were their Red Label acoustics. These were simple, effective, well made guitars that offered a level of quality to players who weren’t necessarily used to getting such a good deal.

The spirit of those original game–changers lives on in today’s Yamaha Red Label range of guitars. These represent a specific grade of quality in both materials and workmanship. I feel like professional players will appreciate the Red Label since they are built with longevity and performance in mind, and though more expensive, still represent value.

I’ve picked out the Yamaha FGX3 Red Label today, since I believe most pro players need an all-solid build and will require a pickup system at some point. This guitar is made from solid spruce and solid mahogany, a combo that allows volume, projection and attack but still has plenty of midrange presence. A perfect all-rounder, basically! 

As for the pickup system, this FGX3 sports the impressive Yamaha Atmosfeel system, a combination of not only an undersaddle piezo pickup but also a body contact sensor and a microphone. This covers all potential angles for tone creation, which again sets this guitar apart from mid-level instruments.

This is a very worthwhile update of a quietly significant historical model, with enough anonymity to be able to sit at any table, as it were. An excellent choice for the connoisseur.

I’m including this as an optional alternative to my professional choice, because I realise that not every guitarist will want this, but the ones who do will LOVE it!

On the surface of it, the Yamaha Transacoustic TAS 3C is a lovely concert-sized acoustic with all-solid timber construction. The top is also treated to Yamaha’s ARE process to artificially age it (torrefied, essentially) for a more clear and strident tone.

All good, but that’s barely half of the story. The real magic occurs from an internal processor that allows reverbs, delays and chorus effects to naturally blend in with the acoustic tone as it emerges from the guitar’s soundhole! It’s quite an incredible thing to experience, particularly if you are in a small room that is unable to create such cathedrals of ambience! This updated Transacoustic model also contains an onboard looper too, and you can engage that by simply tapping a certain part of the body. It’s clever, yes, but also a very intuitive and ‘realistic’ feeling to experience.

You need to try it, basically.

At the top of the tree for me is the lovely Yamaha FS9 RX. As much as Yamaha don’t tend to do ‘sumptuous’ the way other guitar brands might - they don’t tend to pile on the abalone inlays and trims - this is quite the elegant and beautiful guitar. More than that, it’s a stunning instrument to play and hear.

Again, you can opt for an FG9 RX if you prefer the dreadnought body, but I personally think the concert is the (slightly) more effective of the two here due to a wonderful balance between cut and body in the sound. Top-tier timbers include Adirondack spruce and Indian rosewood, which are basically an unbeatable combination for an acoustic guitar if you ask me. There are nods to Japanese design culture in the inlays, and the comprehensively effective Atmosfeel electronics I told you about earlier are here, too.

Basically, this guitar rings out with depth and richness, and it responds extremely well to touch and dynamic. 

I don’t actually think a beginner or intermediate player would notice too much difference about the FS9 RX, but a musician with some experience and context will appreciate and savour the deeper sound and refined top end that this guitar delivers.

If you are looking for an example of what Yamaha can really do, then put this guitar amongst anything of a similar price and see how the others perform. It’s a magnificent guitar.

Yamaha is a brand that can grow with you. From your first tentative strums to your tenth world tour, Yamaha are able to supply you with instruments that out-perform the competition at every stage. It’s impressive, and it’s well worth knowing, but it’s hardly news to anyone, is it? We all know Yamaha are incredible! When did you ever pick up a Yamaha and not think it was punching above its weight? 

Perhaps we get glamoured by the heritage or visual fireworks of other brands, but the fact is that when it comes to the most important things - which are of course comfort, playability, feel and sound - then Yamaha over-deliver again and again.

I hope this guide has been useful! There are far more than 7 guitars available from Yamaha, so please get familiar with these ones (or whichever apply to you currently as a player) and check out what else they have to offer. The fact is, Yamaha do not know how to make bad guitars: it’s simply a matter of you becoming matched to the correct one.

Have fun! 

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