Yamaha FJX730SC

[katopp]

 

SO another one bit the dust.

Another brick-and-mortar mom-and-pop store went down the drain. Another business gone, another place to stop and shop for musical gear gone. Not that I frequented the place that often, not that I liked their selection in general, but it's sad to see another business fade.

But, I happened to pass by just in time to nick a Yamaha FJX730SC in brown sunburst at a very reasonable price - about $150 below the advertised price at the big online distributors - and the deal was too good to pass.

 

Looks:

 

Now, I always said that I hate sunburst and I still do, but the noticeable differences have been the teaburst and now the brown sunburst that Yamaha uses. It looks good, I have to admit that. The laquer is done in the usual Yamaha fashion: thin and perfect. The wood selection (solid spruce for the top, lam rosewood b/s, nato neck, rosewood fretboard and bridge) is, as usual with Yamaha, a decent quality of even grain and done necely. The binding is cream and ok, the abalone rosette is just like on the FG730S. Nothing to fault. Beautiful in an understated and functional way.

 

Build:

Yamaha. Need I say more? Built like a tank. Possibly hugely overbuilt - as all Yamahas I've seen and played so far, but since those guitars are intended to be working guitars and not high-end case queens, that's good. I don't mind having a little less acoustic quality for a lot more mechanical rigidity and stability for a "working" guitar. Still impeccable precision. One can tune in an almost unbelivably low action because the fretboard and the fretwork (albeit with thin "vintage" frets) are of impeccable quality and precision.

 

Sound:

Yamaha, well, really. I have the FG730S to compare against and it's a close sibling. It's a bit more "woody", smooth, mellow than the FG and I say that's because a Jumbo should sould more woody, smooth and mellow than a Dread. Still, both guitars have the typically neutral Yamaha sound. Hard to describe. Possibly the best way to call it is "neutral". Not as jangly as a Taylor, not as bassy as a Martin, not as midrange-y as a Gibson, but more like all of those rolled into one. Some say it's a flat sound, I say it's neutral and flexible.

 

Playability:

 

Yamaha. Nuff said. Plays like butter. Technically it's got narrower string spacing than Martin, but when playing, it still feels right.

 

Overall:

A typical Yamaha. Well built, nice enough sounding and a good bang for your buck. Not really what I would call a relevation, but what do you expect? Would I gig with it? Sure. Would I trust it? Sure. Is it high-end? Nope! It's a good, honest, working guitar. It does what's printed on the tin and it offers good value for money. What do you want more?

[Opa John]

I've had an FG730S-TB for a little over 3

[DeepEnd]

Happy New Guitar Day. I did an image search and it does look sweet. Sorry to hear about the loss of another music store though.