I bought this guitar (my first)at a local music shop for $160. After trying out several different brands, I settled on the Yamaha because: it was cheap, I liked the fret spacing, and it was easier to play fingerstyle than others in its price range. It's a nice compact size (I'm not a real big guy), so it sits comfortably when I play. The factory sound was okay, but imporved dramatically (especially the bass end) after I replaced the strings with something that has a brand name. The tuners hold well, even under duress (I have 2 small kids who like to "help" Daddy play), and it has proven to be relatively durable, although the dark finish on the headstock seems a bit brittle. Well, it's pretty much the cheapest Yamaha acoustic on the market, so I can't really complain too much about it. My main beef with the F310 is its rather wimpy bass. The low notes don't seem able to make it out of the sound hole really well (maybe they're stuck in all the extra glue in there....) As already stated, the F310 is a low-end guitar, so it won't hold up to comparison with more expensive instruments. It has a laminate top, and I'm not sure of the wood used in the rest of it. The finish is really dark everywhere but the top, and as mentioned above, rather brittle on the upper neck and head. The high-gloss finish is fairly thinkly applied, which makes it hard to hurt, but doesn't improve the sound quality at all. A quick look inside reveals a lot of rough edges and extra glue squished out from behind the bracing, too. All that being said, the F310 is a decent beginner's guitar. It is easy to play, and therefore easy to learn on. In my opinion, it's not a guitar to hold on too much past your novitiate, though. I bought mine 5 months ago, and I'm ready to move up to a better-quality instrument. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
I bought it off samedaymusic.com for 155 bucks or so. it was my first guitar, I wanted to learn electric, but I started off with this one. It came with a pitch pipe, 3 picks, a thin gig bag, strap and some strings. I upgraded to better strings, got a stand, and after losing one bridge pin outside(don't ask) I ordered new bridge pins. i like that it is my first guitar, and it has a deep sound when played. It also it very loud, with a good bassy sound. This guitar has extremely high action. I can only play for 5 minutes at a time. I have been playing for 15 months(electric and acoustic) and I have substantial caluses on my fingertips, but this guitar cuts right through them. I cannot barre on this guitar. I would take it in to get the action lowered, but frankly, I don't even know if it would be worth the money(40 bucks!) I play mostly my electric now, but i play my acoustic many times too. I bet that if I had bought this guitar in a music shop,(it was 50 bucks more expensive) its action would have been perfect. The acoustics in the shop had action as low as my electric! So I rather can't say. The guitar also buzzes somewhat on the bass strings. This guitar is made very well. I have banged it and dropped it (all accidental!) many times, and it barely has a mark on it, except fingerprints. All in all, it is a good first guitar, but I would buy it in a local music shop. The extra price is worth the low action they set it too. Other than that, this guitar was a good deal. I don't plan on upgrading it (i just keep entering contests on music123.com and musiciansfriend.com to win a new one! I know, i am such an optimist. :-) Hey, Vegas does that to you!) This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
The Yamaha F 325 is an acoustic guitar designed for beginning players. However, the guitar is definitely better than your average beginner's guitar. I don't know where the guitar was made, but it's got 21 frets in total and the fingerboard is made out of rosewood. The top is laminated spruce while it's also got nato and meranti in it as well. It's not an acoustic/electric, so there aren't any pick ups or setting controls found on the guitar. UTILIZATION Playing the Yamaha F 325 is overall pretty comfortable. I've found it to be a pretty easy guitar to play, especially for one that is supposed to be for beginners. If you are a beginner who is looking for a guitar, it's especially important to get a guitar with playability as it's going to be the place where you form all of your habits. Having a guitar that feels good is sometimes half the battle for a new player, and you'll definitely get a nice feel with the F 325. SOUNDS The sound of the Yamaha F 325 isn't really anything to write home about, but it's not awful by any stretch. It has a good enough sound to get the job done for simple playing and practicing, but it isn't the type of guitar I'd do any real recording with outside of demoing songs. It's more or less full bodied in terms of tone, but if you were to play it side by side with a higher end guitar you would notice the difference pretty quickly... OVERALL OPINION Overall, the Yamaha F 325 is pretty much the perfect guitar for the player who is just starting out and is definitely useful for more experienced players as well. It's more than playable and has a pretty good sound for a beginner's guitar. Yamaha is the largest instrument manufacturer in the world, so it's definitely not surprising that they can offer a guitar of this caliber for such a cheap price. If you're in the market for a guitar to get started with, the Yamaha F 325 would be a great choice.
