FG830 Solid Top Folk Guitar, Natural

I have a Martin HD28 that I play at home and take to the campground every weekend, April through October. It was the only acoustic I have had for the last few years. I've been wanting a camp guitar for sometime, so that I don't unnecessarily damage the Martin. After a lot of research, I ordered the Yamaha FG830 without ever playing it. It came from The Music Zoo. It arrived in 3 days, double boxed and just well packaged. I have had two Yamaha guitars before AC3R and my first guitar ever FG800, so I expected it to come with the action higher than I like. Just seems to be a Yamaha thing. It came with 12 gauge strings, where I prefer lighter gauge strings. I opened the boxes and looked it over. Just beautiful. Well done. Standard Yamaha Quality. Those folks are perfectionists. I tuned it up and played some chords and did a little finger picking. The sound was amazing, especially for a $430 guitar. But it wasn't set up right for me. So, this morning I did a small truss rod adjustment and sanded the saddle down to get a lower, more playable action. Let me tell you. This is a cannon. I would take this guitar anywhere. The sound is that good. Dare I say, my Martin will remain in its case for a while. I wish Yamaha would make it with a 1.75 inch nut. Man, overall, I am more happy than I should be for this price point. I was all over the map trying to select a camp guitar, and I finally decided on this because of Yamaha's reputation. They may not have the Martin or Taylor name, but you aren't giving up a whole lot for a boatload less money. Very happy. Heck, I might put a pick up in it in the future. I truly believe you could gig with this guitar.

Guitar was packaged and protected perfectly. Even a warning from Sweetwater to let it sit inside the box for 24 hours to protect finish, etc. Not only that, but it played great right out of box without a set up. It also came with a free 2-year warranty from Sweetwater. Highly recommend this guitar. I have heard this about Yamaha and it's true: they are built solidly, and that they are consistent from guitar to guitar. You are very unlikely to get a lemon.

Given as a gift to my best friend. I unboxed this Yamaha guitar and was astonished to see the build quality at this price point though not surprised at Yamaha. And then, when I played it, it sounded amazing. Only needed a slight fret dressing with a light sanding sponge ( blue tape between the frets to protect ) then a little oil on the nut, a slight polish and wipe down. She's a beauty and my best friend, a pro level player and songwriter is blown away!

Yamaha makes very nice acoustic guitars on a budget. I wanted this guitar because it was small enough for me to sit and noodle when I'm sitting on the couch maybe watching TV working on a specific technique. It sounds very nice. It looks good and is a quality product. If something happened to it I would buy again.

I absolutely love this guitar. I have played 3K and 4K guitars at the Guitar Center that hang on the same wall as an FG830. This guitar plays right with them. You cannot go wrong with this guitar! I highly recommend it.

As shipped, the action at the 12th fret (Low E) was 8/64ths of an inch, not horrible for an acoustic, but higher than it should be. Fortunately, there was plenty of room on the bridge saddle for me to shave about 4/64ths off the bottom and drop the action to my preferred acoustic action of 6/64ths. The frets are nice and level, perfectly crowned, but rough on top where the strings actually make contact. It's odd. The fret ends are the perfect length and rounded well, but the surface has so many grind marks that it looks like they completely skipped finishing them. If you bend any string at any fret, you'll hear and feel it scraping along the top of the fret. Again, not good, but easily fixable. I smoothed 'em down with some 1500 grit, then 2000 grit, polished, and they were perfect. Other than those two things, this is one of the nicest acoustics I've owned, and I've owned dozens. I've been working on guitars since the 1970's. It rings out with a beautiful Martin-ish chiming tone. Single notes sing out loud and clear with just the right amount of bass. Chords sound rich and full, with well-balanced projection from all the strings. It really is a beautiful sounding guitar, nothing muddy about it. The neck is a hair on the thin side of average, a satin finish so there's no "sticky" finish feel. The neck relief came perfectly set with .012" at the 7th fret (Capo on the 1st fret, string pressed to the highest fret). The truss rod is accessed at the sound hole like a Martin, not my personal preference, but really not difficult. The right wrench for that is included of course. The tuners are pretty good. Personally, I'll be replacing them with some Grover locking tuners, but that's just something I always do because I "Have a thing about tuning", and like the ease of using locking tuners. The stock tuners are fine really. Cosmetically, it's very nice, binding on the neck, body, & peghead. Nicely finished to give you a clear view of the grain but has a nice shine to it. Nothing amazing, but an overall pleasing look. All in all, this is an extremely nice guitar for the $300 range, but seriously, you NEED to be willing to adjust that action and smooth those frets. It sounds and plays every bit as nice as my Martins and Gibsons. I bought it as a beater, something to play around the campfire etc., but I'm finding myself using it for most of my recording. IF you know how and don't mind spending an hour or so working on a couple small, easily fixable issues, I'd say you really can't go wrong with this one. It's a great value. I'm extremely happy with this purchase. Oh, I also got the AG1-HC case for it. Very nice case, fits perfectly. Very sturdy. Worth well over the $80 Amazon charges for it.

The Yamaha FG830 guitar plays tremendously and has a beautiful rich sound. It's well worth the money spent. I have absolutely no problem with sound or looks. It's just incredible for the price range.

Meant to get larger guitar but ordered small. As soon as it arrived realized our mistake, didn't open the box and wrote to exchange for larger. Customer service was dreadful and it was a big fight to finally exchange it.

I absolutely love this guitar, it’s slightly smaller size makes is 2x more comfortable to play. I wish I didn’t worry so much about it being smaller, I would buy it again in a heart beat. Absolutely beautiful design and build quality, you won’t be let down. Packaging was very good! Two thumbs up.

Ordered this as a gift and it is loved. The smaller size is perfect for somebody with smaller hands.

I worried about ordering this online, and the delivery of it, but it arrived on time and intact. I love the sound of it as well as the looks. Would definitely recommend !!