Review : The Yamaha FS820. Is this the best 000 acoustic under $1,000?
YAMAHA FS820 Natural - Image Courtesy Peach Guitars
Hello friends. I expect that the nice people at Yamaha and at my amazing supporter, The Arts Music Store, might not agree with this premise, given that there are other fine Yamaha acoustics all priced under $1,000, including the FS800, FS830 and FS850 if I ignore all non 000 sized bodies without cutaways. This FS820 has a MAP price of $399 CAD, WAY BELOW $1000 and is better than most anything that I have played that is priced higher up to a grand.
There is nothing wrong with the less expensive FS800 (about $300, solid spruce over Okoume/Nato) or the FS830 (about $500, solid spruce over rosewood), but I take the position that a nice spruce over mahogany 000 sized guitar for about $400 is a perfect guitar for the beginner up to strong intermediate player..
Specifications
We’ll get this stuff out of the way quickly.
The top is solid spruce over layered mahogany back and sides. The neck is made from Nato and my example came with a rosewood fingerboard although Yamaha states that Walnut is also available. I happen to like the rosewood because it reminds me of the top of the line FS9, as well as other famous 000 designs. Yamaha describes the body as small concert sized, which if one was being particularly picky would indicate a 00 body size, while this guitar is more akin to the size of the 000.
Contrary to common myth, a well designed 000 will be as loud as a dreadnought sized body, but perhaps not have the same very low frequency response.
The tuners are smooth with no binding and the nut and saddle are made from Urea., This is not as nice as bone or Tusq, but it is a solid and reliable material and superior to the generic plastic used in guitars in a similar and greater price point.
The body size accommodates all human sizes. it readily fits the body of a physically smaller player, and I would propose that anyone over the age of 10 could handle it without issue. The pinched waist will make it more accommodating of the female body as well. It is a very light instrument and suited to be played sitting, or standing using a good strap.
In this model and those above, a recent enhancement was made to the bracing system, providing a stronger voice and I would say improved high and low end. Mahogany is commonly a very balanced wood and produces a nice tonal range without a specific niche fit. There are models that include a pickup but this one does not. I think that this helps keep the price inline and most pickups that come installed in guitars are of the piezo under saddle type and to be blunt, sound terrible and feel like icepicks in your ears. A third party pickup could be added after the fact for not too much money if needed and would sound better than most all factory piezo pickups.
The strings installed by the factory are either Yamaha’s own FS50BT or D’Addario XT acoustic strings. Neither are bad strings, a significant step up from what you will find factory installed out of the Fender group of companies, or Gibson group of companies. Strings are a big deal because they are the primary point of interaction between the player and the instrument, and so if the strings suck, then so will the guitar from the player’s perspective generally.
First Impressions
The guitar came out of the box in good setup. It tuned up quickly and stayed in tune. I would personally recommend a string change if the player is new or has smaller hands. The factory strings are not labeled but I believe that they are 12-53 sets, and a lighter gauge will be more comfortable and easier to fret. I would be inclined to recommend D’Addario XS acoustic strings in the 10-47 gauge set. There is a popular myth that heavier gauge strings produce a better tone, but the science doesn’t back up these claims at all.
The fit and finish on this instrument is superb. Gloss finishes are much harder to do well than satin, and contrary again to mcmarketing foo foo dust, all finsihes limit airflow so the statement that a satin finish “breathes better” most closely resembles that which falls from the rear end of the male cow. Moreover, gloss just looks better and certainly more valuable. The back of the neck is not glossy which is good, but I found that an application of guitar wax improved the feel significantly.
The fretwork is very good, and the bound fretboard shows no sign of fret sprout. I’ve seen guitars at five times the price with lousier fretwork. The action from the factory was acceptable, but be sure that your guitar shop checks your instrument and gives the neck straightness and action a look before you take the guitar home, or wrap it up as a gift.
As with so many instruments these days, the FS820 does not include any kind of case. Given the junk often passed along as a viable gig bag, i applaud the decision to not increase the price by including a floppy gig bag with no neck support and questionable padding. As you will see later on, I do recommend a gig bag and you can get a really nice one for about $75 that will last for years, make transportation easy, and provide actual protection.
While the body is small, the voice of this guitar is huge. If one was playing at home, whether singing along or not, it is plenty loud enough. You could even do a small coffee house gig with the guitar as is. If the venue gets larger to the point where a PA is required, put a microphone in front of the guitar, and one in front of the singer’s mouth and you will be good to go.
The sample recordings that you will find below were all recorded with a single microphone. While that’s not what I would typically do in a studio, I wanted to go as simple as possible, because that’s how most regular folks would anyway.
Playability
The guitar plays wonderfully, but again, I would recommend lighter strings. The voice is great and there are no dead frets. You can play readily up to the 14th fret, which most folk players refer to as the dusty end. As there is no cutaway, access above the 14th becomes more work.
The guitar is well balanced on a lap and when hanging on a strap. Personally I always use a strap because gravity always works. Yamaha does not include a front strap pin, and while many straps come with a string to tie the strap off at the headstock, I will recommend that you have your guitar shop install a strap lug on the underside of the neck. This will be less likely to get in the way.
This guitar will open up over time. The solid spruce top is critical, laminated back and sides don’t need to move (and shouldn’t) the way a top needs to. There is a nice pick guard to protect the top. As the guitar is played, the back of the neck will smooth out. If it were me, I would play it for a month or so and if it still felt a bit gritty, I would spend about 10 minutes going up and down the back of the neck with a 2000 grit Scotchbrite pad. No big force required and you would have the feel of a neck played regularly for ten years in minutes. A lot less expensive than buying a higher priced instrument.
Players may choose to play with the fingers, with a flatpick or with fingerpicks. The guitar responds well to all. Obviously the sound output is louder with picks of some type, but it is still great sounding when played just with the fingers.
Sound Examples
I recorded the samples using a Universal Audio SC-1 condenser microphone with its Hemispheres plugin plugged into a Universal Audio Apollo interface. I did not do any other modification to the recording other than the final mastering before outputting to an MP3 file. Again, my goal was to keep things as simple as possible.
After recording the audio clips direct to Logic Pro using the UA SC-1 Microphone, I auditioned a number of microphone emulations and decided on the LD-47K which is Universal Audio’s excellent reproduction of the sound of a late 1940’s Neuman U47. I just really like the warmth and headroom. Then I tried out a few channel strips and settled on UA’s implementation of the Avalon VT-737, a channel strip that I find works really nicely with acoustic guitars. Finally I used the Precision Maximizer for the final polish before exporting the clips to MP3.
Universal Audio’s emulation of the Neumann U47 is brilliant.
The Avalon VT-737 is one of my favourite tube channel strips offering both compression and EQ
If your tracks are clean, a simple polish is all you may want, and the Precision Mastering Maximizer is very subtle but creates space and liveliness
What Should Go With?
When buying a guitar, especially a first guitar, some items are really necessities.
If you are going to lessons, taking your guitar to play with friends, or to an open night, you need a gig bag. I recommend the Profile PRDB906 gig bag that sells for about $75. It has very good padding and proper neck support.
Every player needs an electronic tuner. The Snark tuners at about $25 are fast, accurate, easy to read and easily fit in your gig bag. Playing out of tune is a bad thing. Ask any employee in a guitar shop how often a shopper takes a guitar off a hook and starts wailing on it without tuning it. BTW, tuners on your smartphone are rarely sufficiently accurate and are lousy at consistency. Avoid migraines.
Acoustic guitars are particularly sensitive to drying out. It doesn’t matter where you live. If it’s hot and there is air conditioning it is taking moisture out of the air. If it’s cold and the heat is on, most modern furnaces put out dry air. Both are bad for instruments. You can get an inexpensive guitar humidifier with replaceable humidification packs that just go in the gig bag. My friend Shane at The Arts Music Store recommends the D’Addario Humidipak system. It maintains the humidity in the goldilocks zone for guitars of between 40% and 50%. When the packs become hard, you just replace them. A lot less messy than what I used to do which was humidifiers that I canstrantly had to check and refill with distilled water.
Get a comfortable strap and have that strap pin installed. Vinyl or vegan straps make you sweaty and cheaper straps have rough edges. There are all kinds in the market so find one that is comfortable and fits your aesthetic. I have to be honest, that’s not a word I use, but my daughter does. I like harness leather straps, so I probably don’t have an aesthetic.
If this is a first guitar, some picks are a good add-on. Get a small bag of semi-heavy picks, about 1mm in thickness. Thinner picks are lighter and can be more forgiving but can also allow for the development of sloppy technique.
Don’t forget lessons with a face to face teacher who will teach you, or the player if not you, what the player wants to learn. Nothing against the Conservatory model, but I haven’t met anyone in a very long time who was enthused by what they had to learn..
Grab a cheap microfibre cloth and put it in the gig bag. Develop the good habit of wiping down the strings after each playing session. it removes detritus and slows corrosion. Most guitar shops sell these as single units. Get a bag from Walmart or Amazon. You get the same thing but get 50 instead of one for about the same price.
Wrapping Up
I love the FS320 and recommend it highly. The size and shape is usable by most all body sizes and types, The 000 body design combined with a spruce top over mahogany back and sides produces wonderful tonality. It is the smaller body alternative to my favourite dreadnought in a similar price range, the Yamaha FG800J. Yamaha has been building instruments for a VERY long time, and while not all their instruments are built in Hanamatsu Japan, their focus on quality and attention to detail shows in their instruments built in Indonesia and in China. It’s not where an instrument is made that matters, it’s how much attention to detail the builders are permitted. I cannot think of a good reason to spend more on a simple and effective acoustic guitar for the beginning to intermediate player. Put the savings into lessons.
If you want to this guitar, please consider buying from The Arts Music Store, either live in person or via their online store. They help me get units to share reviews with you and I would appreciate it if you choose to support the store. If the Art’s is not convenient, please do transact with a real guitar shop near you if possible. You can get a level of service and personal attention that cannot happen in a bulk online web store. Please know that I receive no compensation for my work here.
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