Yamaha FG700S – Working Man's Acoustic Guitar

Body And Neck:
Hardware:
Sound:
Value:

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Yamaha's FG series has become the stuff of legends by now. It's among the oldest and most popular families of acoustic guitars out there. For decades, Yamaha FG was the model you could afford no matter where you were, and what your budget was. And you knew that the performance you got for your money was well worth it. Yamaha FG700S offers that type of experience in a modern package. It's without a doubt one of the most competitive acoustics you can pick up for around $300 right now.

Body And Neck

Dreadnought has been titled the guitar of the people ever since the second part of last century. It's no wonder that one of the most popular affordable acoustic guitars out there features this very same shape. Yamaha went with a combination of Sitka spruce for the solid top on the FG700S, along with nato for back and sides. While everything about it tells you it's a mass produced guitar, the fit and finish you get is about as good as it gets in this price range, and maybe even one above. The neck is also a nato piece, fitted with a rather sleek rosewood fretboard. All in all, it's a relatively standard package, but one put together well.

Hardware

As for hardware, Yamaha kept things simple. We are talking rosewood bridge with and a set of die-cast tuners on the other end of the business. One of the biggest issues many guitars in this price range have is questionable hardware. The action is often too high or too low, or the guitar simply can't retain intonation. Neither of these are the case with Yamaha FG700S. This thing is rock solid from top to bottom. As long as your playing style is not too aggressive, you will find that this guitar holds tuning just fine.

Sound

Combining a solid Sitka spruce top with nato back and sides gave the FG700S a very interesting tonal signature. Being a dreadnought, you know that volume and projection are simply not going to be a problem, but the definition is something that is often the issue with this body style. FG700S has you covered on this as well. The instrument's tone is warm, with a slower response, but very well defined even in the lower end. Whether you are looking for a good strumming guitar or one for finger picking style, Yamaha FG700S easily keeps up with you.

Conclusion

The secret behind the FG series lies within Yamaha's no-nonsense approach. They've implemented a strong function-over-form policy that has been paying off ever since first FG guitars left the shop. In a modern context, FG700S brings rock solid build quality, good materials, and reasonable pricing. All of these combined make for a
rather capable acoustic guitar which is more than suitable for beginners. With that said, this is one of the models which can easily keep up with the requirements of higher skill levels as well.

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