Anyone got a Yamaha FG 410 ???

[sixty4fairlane]

I read the label it's made in Taiwian, so I won't give more then 50 for it. I think I can get it for 25 though. I think it has a pickup in it, I'm not certain. What I know about acoustics you could put in a thimble. Anyone happy with this model or is it just another cheap guitar ?

[simplygoodmusic]

I have it, and its not a bad guitar. Beginners could do much worse. It doesn't have a pickup, though.

[Knuckledragger]

I have a Fg 420 -12 that I lowered the action on.plays like an electric alot of fun outdoors at fires

[timmer]

I had an FG 330 (335?) at one time and as simplygoodmusic posted above you could do worse. I paid 100 for it and got 100 when I sold it several years later.

[Flashy]

I also have an FG410. I payed 150 for it and I don't regret it. It's the guitar I can bang on, it's built pretty solid. It's fun to play and it's a guitar I'll keep forever. I actually found this message because I was looking it up randomly to see what other people thought of it and here I am. Post number one in telecaster forum. Telecaster is my dream guitar and someday I'll get one. Keith Richards plays one all the time that's all I really need to see.

[Mid Life Crisis]

I have an FG-410E that I bought in 1987, made in Taiwan. It's a fine guitar. I lowered the action to an electric-like level by filing down the saddle and it is buzz-free. With new strings on it is a great sounding acoustic. It is also impeccably finished, quite surprising at that level of guitar. My son plays it mostly these days as his school band guitar.

Even at 50 (dollars?) it'd be a great deal.

[studio1087]

I think that Yamaha builds the best budget guitars in the world....this comes from a guy with 4 Martins, 1 Taylor, 1 Larrivee and 1 Rainsong. I play acoustic and electric about 50/50.

I used to have a Yamaha FG700S (solid top) that I took on Scouting and camping trips with my kid's school and I recently bought a laminated top F725 to leave at my parents lake house. I wouldn't hesitate to buy that Yamaha. If the neck is straight you have no worries. If the action is high, lift out the saddle and sand it down on the bottom 1/16" and put it back in. You'll have a campfire guitar for life. $50 is a deal. $50 is pizza and a movie! Go for it.

John

[Gareth John]

I have a yamaha fg400a, it has plastic tuner buttons and it was my dads. He got it second hand in about 1990. Came with a cardboard hardcase and I stuck a sticker of Dino from the flinstones on it when I was 5. I learnt on that, and did some recording with it. It sounds quite dark but I think the intonation is a little out now. It's help up quite well but I haven't played it in a while.

[LDM]

Mine's an FG470SA, also made in Taiwan, and it's great! If there's one company that really controls the quality in their offshore manufacturing, it's Yamaha. I'm not sure where the 410 you're looking at fits in the line-up quality-wise, but I think you can go to the Yamaha website and key in a model and/or serial number and find out when a guitar was made and what it cost new.

[RickG501]

"I think that Yamaha builds the best budget guitars in the world"

+100, I can certainly concur with that statement, they are a value.

Back in the early 70's, I traded some stuff for a Yamaha 360.
Just like this one: http://www.schryver.us/guitars/yamaha/

I played it for 25 years mostly just at home, but there was a period in 78-80 that I played regularly with some friends, parties and stuff. Hell of a guitar! My buds guitars were a J-200 and a Alvarez/Yairi fine guits in their own right, but the Yammy took a back seat to no one. It was loud and proud. Served me very well, if I hadn't been in a serious big hurt for money I would have never sold it.

I sold it for $125, since I only gave about $300 for it new I'd say I definitely got my moneys worth, and certainly a lot of pleasure from it over the years.

[Gareth John]

There was a magazine article in the uk about yamaha's pacifica range, and it mentioned how good their quality control is and also how much work is still done "hands on". Aparently there's moroe hands on work on yamaha guitars than some leading usa brands.

[BrianF]

Funny you mention Yamaha...
I bought this 12 string acoustic guitar in 1971 when I was 17 for $108...had just enough money left to get home on the subway in NY. ;-)

For years it was my only decent guitar, but for a much longer time now it's been sitting in my closet all dusty and un-played.

Today I cleaned it up and strung it up with Martin strings... all I can say it WOW what tone this guitar still has....the neck is a veritable telephone pole in girth and the action is real high....but it sounds great. I'm going to have to see if I can get the truss rod adjusted to lower the action...

Here's a pic of it...I've never seen offical specs of it but it looks like it's a spruce top, mahogany back and sides, rosewood fretboard and bridge..

[pbenn]

I've got a late -'90s FG 420-12-E, currently strung as a six. It's a loud, good-sounding acoustic guitar (kind of a Martin sound) that perhaps could use better tuning machines. But since it holds tune well I'm not yet bothered enough to do it.

[sneakyjapan]

Yamaha? youbetcha...I got a whole bunch of em, mostly old ones that go back before the red labels, even before the light green labels...all the way back to the mid 50s...I speak of the Dynamics...heres a few of mine...all solid wood and some guys at a web site dedicated to them here string them with light gauge electric steels...I tried that but find they sound better with nylons.

on the right is my oldest...mid 50s...








even have a few of their earliest classicals...early 60s...left is a No. 85 right is a No. 45...look at that maple...all my Dynamics have this kind of figured maple, really outstanding and not cheap in the 60s when they were made. They went out of production when Yamaha introdeced their laminate light green labels mid 60s, then came the laminate red labels. If you even come across a Dynamic I suggest you buy it immediately, they are amazing little guitars....

[PureCoffee]

Just started learning how to play. Picked a "new" one up on craigslist. Paid $125. Don't regret it. Perfect for learning and sounds real good. Keeps in tune real well (had to change the strings).

I will upgrade sometime soon but again, don't regret getting this one.

[tuuur]

I got a FG420-12, made in Taiwan. Bought it for about $100. I strung it like a 6 string for a while because I needed a back up 6 string fast. Right now it's a 12 string again.

Indeed the tuners are not the best, but they sort of do their work without being too annoying, so I haven't changed them yet as well.
I'm definitely a Yamaha acoustics fan, both this one and my FG140 have a great bassy tone I don't hear too often in acoustics.

[studio1087]

Hey BrianF,
Is that a red label in your Yamaha 12 string?
John

[Frank B]

Proud owner of a fg435A I bought new in 1993 or so, not sure anymore.
I own two yamz & to me yamaha is one of the best bang for the buck out there along with Cort. They have great necks in most price ranges & are easy to play.

[casterway]

I had a 420-c with a bum neck, that I shoulda returned. Anyway, other than that I think Yamaha makes some of the best products going. I wish they made everything-toasters, cars, tv's, BBQ's, bicycles, microwaves, cameras, etc.

[SirenSilently]

I have a FG345 that was made in the early 80's. My dad picked it up for $200 which is steep steep for an all laminate? But the thing sounds wonderful nothing like laminates of today, it even competes with my Guild JF55 for playing time.

[marlinmrtn]

I have a Yamaha FG-410E in pretty good condition. Some fret wear is only condition worh mentioning and a cardboard (original) case. The guy I bought it from said it was from the 70's and he had owned it for years. Too many to remember, I guess. The electronics work great and sounds good plugged or un-plugged. Spruce top and Mahogany (whatever) sides and back makes it a beautiful "calssic".
email me at: marlinmrtn@yahoo.com if you want pics or more info.

[tonewoods]

"I think that Yamaha builds the best budget guitars in the world....this comes from a guy with 4 Martins, 1 Taylor, 1 Larrivee and 1 Rainsong."

+1 here...

I just scored an FG-200 for 75 bucks, and it's a great guitar....

Not a "great guitar considering the price", or a "great budget guitar", but just a great guitar, period...

And these things are pretty well known in recording circles. They have a nice dry tone, play accurately, and are sonically very balanced...

Total sleepers, IMHO....

[studio1087]

This is my prized craigslidt score. I was looking for a hard SKB case for my Rainsong AWS1000 (the advanced series Rainsongs ship with a gig bag.....I know that carbon graphite is super tough but I wanted a hard case). I found an ad in Milwaukee......Yamaha Acoustic in SKB Hard Case....$85.

Score!







I've had this for about 6 months. It's an eight year old FG with a solid top. It's really nice. Solid top/fake laminated bookmatched rosewood back and sides. I had no expectations and the seller said he was a mando player and he never played it. He opened the case and I thought it was Christmas in June.

John

[rangercaster]

i have 3 Yamaha acoustics including an LS-10 made in their Japanese factory that will match any Martin or Taylor in sound or craftsmanship and is hand-signed by the luthier. I also have 2 electrics. The quality of these guitars is amazing for the price. Judge each guitar on it's own merits. A guitar has no idea where it's manufactured and a CNC machine works fine anywhere in the world.

[Chill Mike D]

Mine finally came back from Iraq, where my brother had it. The case is a mess but the guitar is fine. The air over there did something bizarre to the finish on the sides and back, but that's ok, it adds to the character.

[dqami]

Yamaha proved that you can build a great sounding guitar with laminates if you know what to do.