Yamaha F325D Vs FG800 – Which One Is Better For You?

Is this post we are comparing the Yamaha F325D Vs FG800. We will look at key features, differences between them and also discuss sound quality, design and of course price.

Whether you are a beginner or an expert guitarist looking for a practice guitar, your search for a guitar and the piece you pick will be defined by its quality, the features it boasts, as well as the price.

Yamaha is one of the leading guitar brands on the market today, and looking at the acoustic guitar models by this brand, it’s clear that the guys at Yamaha understand all too well what their clients need, and they do their best to deliver.

Yamaha F325D Vs Yamaha FG800

One of the features that stands out from these two guitars is their price tag. The Yamaha F325D and the FG800 are both affordable acoustic guitars, which means that if you are a beginner or a pro looking for a practice guitar, you won’t have to spend too much money on either guitar. The F325D and the FG800 guitars do have some differences, though.

For example, the F325 is regarded as an old guitar even though it doesn’t really look old and has a nice classical aesthetic.

But as a beginner guitarist, it lacks a cutaway, which means that this F325D might not be the best pick for you if you are looking for a guitar that allows you to play songs with high notes.

But even with this limitation, this Yamaha F325D isn’t an inferior guitar, and it would be an excellent investment for a beginner.

The FG800 (Check Price) also boasts top-notch sound features; it’s durable and quite affordable. Its big Dreadnought body promises a loud sound with a good, natural projection.

One of the most impressive features of this Yamaha FG800, however, has got to be its scalloped bracing.

The bracing of a guitar refers to the bracing that goes into the soundboard at the back surface of the guitar’s top body.

Thanks to the bracing, the struts created will break down the energy that is exerted from the strings, hence a reduction of sound distortion, which is expected when the guitar’s body resonates along with the vibration of the strings.

Bracing also affects the guitar’s tone, and since the scalloped bracing feature is something that you see more of in the high-end guitars.

This FG800 promises great value for money, even as it enhances the responses in the mid and low ranges, leaving you with richer milds and warmer bass. The sound of this FG800 is even more sustained as a result of the scalloped bracing.

In addition to the scalloped bracing, the FG800 also has a scalloped fretboard, a unique design feature that relieves pressure from fretting on your fingers and hands. Thanks to this fretboard scalloping, you’d only have to press the string slightly.

The best bit, however, has to do with the fact that the scalloped fretboard makes it possible and easy for you to perform different techniques such as bendings and vibrato.

All the advanced features make the FG800 the ideal guitar for professionals and intermediate-level guitarists who are learning or trying to perfect different techniques.

But these aren’t the only differences between the Yamaha F325D and the Yamaha FG800. The other differences are covered in the features.

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Yamaha F325D Vs FG800 – Features

Sound Features

The Yamaha F325D is made of layered spruce tonewood, a stealth design feature, and the reason behind the guitar’s resonant and bright tone.

So, despite its affordability, this Yamaha guitar will give you the most reassuring and fuller strumming sounds with just the right amount of low-end tone and warmth to fill out a room with great sounds.

As a Dreadnought acoustic guitar, and this F325D means that you get to enjoy the best of sound projection, low end, and volume.

So, if you like strumming out to rock, pop, or folk songs, then this F325 would be a good fit for you. Unfortunately, you cannot enjoy more nuanced or fingerstyle playing techniques with this guitar.

The FG800, on the other hand, matches and exceeds the high sound effects of the F325D, primarily because of its scalloped bracing and the fretboard bracing mentioned above.

Keep in mind that with a scalloped fretboard, the guitar is actually a high-action fretboard, which means that the strings will not touch the entire fret, but only the top section of the fret.

As a result of this design of the guitar, the FG800 boasts a clear, non-distortion sound that’s fret-buzz-free.

With the guitars that lack the scalloped fretboard, such as the F325D, you will have to do deal with the Fret-buzz, a feature common with most low-action guitars because of the super-short distance between the fretboard and the strings.

In addition to scalloping, this FG800 guitar also has enhanced and quite loud sound effects of holding down a live performance, all thanks to the Dreadnought body type.

Playability

For the most part, budget acoustic guitars are a tad difficult to play, and even beginners are forced to spend more money to find a friendlier guitar.

That isn’t the case with the Yamaha guitars, though, especially because they have been designed in a way to meet the needs of beginners.

The F325D is relatively easy to play with even for beginners (but not children because it’s fairly chunky), but for adults learning how to play the acoustic guitar, the chunkiness is an advantage because it means more room for one to figure out how to work the complicated chords.

The only issue is that its high action takes a lot of effort and getting used to because your fingers need to muster more strength for fretting the strings.

As you learn how to work with the high action, the guitar allows you to adjust the bridge easily for lower action.

The Yamaha FG800 (Check Price Here) will also give a higher level of playability because of the excellent fret length, which allows for the production of more accurate and desirable sound frequencies. Your arms would reach the first and the second frets with ease.

To avoid discomfort and fatigue, the frets of this guitar are just the perfect length, and you don’t have to worry about too long frets which overstretch your arms and cause fatigue or the overly short frets that also feel uncomfortable.

Material

F325D is made of the high-quality bridge made of rosewood, a feature that enhances the resonance and the intonation of the guitar. Along with its classic Dreadnought style, this guitar has a meranti back (as well as sides).

Since meranti is a low-cost tonewood, the guitar will offer an excellent and well-balanced tonal character. The nato neck and the well-built body are also designed to enhance the sound effects of this Yamaha F325D.

The FG800 is made of the solid Sitka spruce, which is dense and tough. Spruce is also great for the top body because it will absorb all the extra and the unnecessary vibrational energy from the string.

The other materials that make up this FG800 are nato (Eastern Mahogany), which offers an excellent smooth, soft, and warm sound with a woody, overtone effect.

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Conclusion – Yamaha F325D Vs FG800

At the end of the day, choosing between these two Yamaha guitars will largely depend on what you need.

The F325D is ideal for beginners who don’t have money to blow but need a good quality acoustic guitar.

While the FG800 works better for individuals who have some experience with acoustic guitars, and also professionals – a FG800 would do well in a live indoor performance as it offers a wider range of sounds and tones.

I hope this post comparing the Yamaha F325D Vs FG800 was of some benefit to you and it gave you a better understanding about how the are different.

If you have any questions or feedback, please leave a comment below.

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