OK, Im after a fairly cheap acoustic. I only really play at home and usually play my electric (Gordon Smith) but fancy having an acoustic around to bash out a few chords, carry around to work etc for lunch breaks etc. I do however have a tight budget and want to get this on top of getting, at some point, a valve junior combo and a 2nd, cheaper, electric (more likely a Pacifica 112). I originally looked at a Yamaha FG700MS but the F310 looks a bargain, particularly as I probably wont play it as much as an electric, and it would leave me more money to spare towards the EVJ/pacifica. I like Yamahas as my brother has an OLD FG180 (Im sure its a red label version) which I learned my first chords on many moons ago (which, sadly, he wont sell to me!).
Anyone got a view on the F310?
Thanks
Gordon Smith GS1.5-40 Marshall VS65R
I think they are a very good guitar for the price... low budget woods (laminated spruce top and meranti? body) and materials (plastic nut, saddle and end pin) but they are built fairly well and play well for something so cheap...
If you're after a (new) beater axe and want to spend as little as possible, you would be hard pressed to find something better.
But definitely go and play one before you buy it... YOU have to like it aswell
Good Luck
J
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I wanted a beater guitar a while back and my experience was that you needed to play a few of cheaper guitars before you find one that sounds good enough to pay for, as the sound/tone varied quite a bit. I tried 15 odd guitars and ended up with a Vintage VECJ100 http://www.jhs.co.uk/vintageacoustic.html - to my ears the one I bought sounded as good as every other guitar in the shop until you reached £450+ guitars (and it sounded better than some of those). It was £160, which for an electro-acoustic cutaway that sounds like it does I thought it was a steal.
I'm not saying that Vintage is better than Yamaha, I am saying that the Vintage I tried sounded better to me than the Yamaha I tried.
Its a good excuse to go and play a lot of cheap guitars this weekend to try and find the one you think is a bargain. Good luck in your search.
Hi Noddy,
I've got a Yamaha F310 which I bought a couple of years back and play it regularly. In fact the good guitar (Martin) is always in its case and the Yamaha is on the rack so its gets played most times.When I went looking I found that the sound from these was much better that other “entry†level guitars for about the same price ($NZ300) and compared pretty well with the low end next level guitars ($NZ600). They have a very "bright" tone. I've had no problem with It apart from the fact the action was a little high for me but that was easily fixed, you could get the music shop to adjust it if it wasn't right for you. They do tend dent easily though, but if it's a beater then that's probably not an issue.
Cheers
Paul
