Any suggested modifications that might make this inexpensive guitar sound better?
Yamaha FD01S
It's not a bad guitar, even though inexpensive. Your guitar has a solid spruce top -- that may age and mellow the tone over the years (if you could only wait!). Yamahas also are considered good value for $$ in terms of tone/timbre and build.
For an acoustic, there are only a couple things to consider: Primary are
1. Set-up This may improve tone if the guitar is prone to fret buzzing and/or string are too low. Getting a set of strings that work for you should be part of this -- though the strings can be changed without setup and if you continue to use the same gauge. A set-up should optimize the playing and feel.
2. Bone bridge and bone nut These may clean up your tone a bit. However, there are no guarantees. If you have these changed, do it as part of a set-up.
Again: Not a bad guitar! Stick with it.
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Thanks for the reply, I am a beginner what exactly do you mean by set-up? I recently put some new Elixir Nanoweb strings on it. Are those good ones? It definitely made it sound a lot better.
Where do you get the bone bridge and bone nut? Are these things I can do myself?
Yamaha FD01S
Acoustic guitar set-up is a general term encompassing as required some or all of
*nut adjustment -- for string gauge, spacing and height,
*bridge saddle(s) - usually for height, intonation if possible (not typically on acoustic)
*neck relief -- neck "curve" adjusted via truss rod
fret dressing -- leveling, shaping of tops and edges, NOT usually done on new guitar unless frets are badly installed or have sharp edges
*new strings
As a beginner, I recommend you visit your local guitar shop and ask about the cost of bridge and nut replacement. You can buy these on line (e.g., stew-mac.com), but most bone or good synthetic pieces will be only rough cut and require custom shaping.
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