Yamaha FG-300

I bought mine used in 1970 from a friend who needed money. He bought it new. Not sure how much he paid, but he wanted $75. I bought it from him to help him out. I can tell you it's the only acoustic I've owned and I play alot. I've window shopped for all these years, but could never find a better playing, better sounding guitar for the money. The only guitar that comes close is Taylor for alot more money in my opinion. The pick guard did come off and I replaced it. The handle on the hard shell case came off which I replaced, but other than that the guitar is all original and still plays and sounds great.

The multi adjustable bridge lets you set up just the way you like. I did install a fishman pickup / mic assembly which sounds great when going electric. Even without electronics, highs are bright, lows are resonant and harmonics are brilliant. Elixirs (light gauge)are best.

Action is as good as any. After almost 40 years of playing, the guitar might need to be re-fretted and I did have to replace the nut several years ago. The tuners do need to be oiled, but still function well.

This guitar has been played mostly at home, but I did use it on stage for many years in the 70's and it has always held up well. I use it for home recording now and I can get all types of sounds using mic / pickup thru an EQ or just the pickup thru a Line 6 POD. For some reason, the neck did not have a strap button on my model, not sure why.

I use my local music shop to work on my Yamaha. They take good care and I think its important to support them. I don't mind paying a little more for their service and friendship.

Very happy to own this guitar. I thought I wanted to buy a "heirloom" guitar I could pass down to my kids, but I realize now I already have one.

satin finish with a wood finish on top no electronics it is a gakki

sounds really good, sounds better than any taylor or martin i've played

action is absolutely perfect i can play almost the same things on this guitar as i can on my electric guitar

awesome

im so lucky to have this guitar, its not in oroginal condition, the previous owner that i didnt know sanded off the top for a wood finish and put a new pick guard on it

The FG 300 was made in the famous Gakki plant in Japan. This dreadnought guitar features an adjustable bridge for height and string length to get the perfect pitch. Adjustable neck too. Spruce top and mahogany body. The pick-up is a stylized version of the Gibson Dove pickup. This was considered the flagship Yamaha acoustic guitar of the late 1960's. It also comes with a custom-sized hardshell case for a perfect fit. There is a built-in electronic pickup which sounds very good but I don't know what type or name brand. It is probably an after-market pick-up. I bought this guitar on Ebay last year for $750 and I plan to keep this one!

This guitar has a solid bass, a smooth midrange and a crisp treble. I love to pick and strum through bluesy songs. It sounds really good and my guitar friends always remark about how good it sounds and then they get freaky when they learn it did not cost $2000 like a Taylor or Martin.

This is a late sixties guitar and there are many finish issues of course but the neck, bridge, tuners and top are all performing well. The pickguard is showing wear too.

The word "workhorse" applies to this guitar. It is very solidly built. That is probably an advantage of a guitar built when craftsmanship played a more prominent role in the late sixties than it does now unless you have the cash to hire a luthier.

Don't know. I do know a guitar tech who used to work for Yamaha and he said that the guitars were so well built that they sold them with a lifetime warranty. Corporate re-selling and re-structuring has long ago ditched the lifetime warranty concept but it does indicate the confidence that the company had in this guitar.

I have been playing guitars all my life and have owned many vintage acoustics including Gibson, Guild, Martin and Taylor. This FG 300 sounds great for the price. You can really spend a lot more dough without getting better sound. If I find another one, I will buy it to give to my son who currently plays a Martin but always picks-up my Yamaha when he comes home!

This a review of my Yamaha FG-300
serial number not recognised on Yamaha web site , however info points to it being made between 1968 and 1972 ,features have been covered elsewhere in other reviews, debate over solid or laminated top, seems no one sure , Yamaha advertising brochure from that era says select spruce top (meaning ?).
No one seems to comment on similarity to Gibson Hummingbird , i think this guitar was Yamahas take on that guitar.
As this guitar is in good shape i would rate it highly on features

This guitar has quite a unique voice , low end very defined and rounded top end not as loud but sweet.
Nice for pretty fingerstyle stuff , handles other styles well also

Fit and finish must rate highly , guitar still highly playable after so many years .Action can be adjusted also intonation, a great idea !

Havent yet gigged with this guitar but plan to , i think it would be fine , no pickup so will likely just do the soundhole thing through my AER alpha amp .

Have heard of lifetime warranty on Yamaha guitars , they seem to build a solid instrument

Been playing 35 years own another Yamaha acoustic DW-5S which i also like a lot , several electrics etc. and a Yamaha Les Paul style v. heavy.
would replace with another same if lost ,what i like most about this guitar is that when you pick it up you want to keep playing .
would like to add that i swapped a Seagull mini jumbo for this guitar
it was dead as a dodo , i would not write that brand off, perhaps i just got a dud . am very happy with the Yamaha FG-300 .

I bought this guitar used about 2 months ago (Dec 08) from a music teacher in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. I think it was made in 1972, as the serial number starts with "I". I believe it's Yamaha's knockoff of the Gibson Hummingbird. It's an old guitar, has some minor surface dings and scratches, etc, but plays beautifully. The pick guard looks like it's been re-glued, which I hear is very common for this model of guitar. The neck is nice and straight, without a lot of wear on it.

I love this guitar. I don't have a pickup or anything built into it, but that's ok, because it has a huge booming sound. I've tried newer more expensive guitars at my local music shop, and they don't sound nearly as nice. I have silk and steel strings on it now (I'm switching from a nylon string classical and I needed something a little easier on my hands.) My music teacher said it was one of the nicest guitars he's heard. It's also very pretty. I love the flowery pick guard. (What can I say? I'm a girly girl. :)

The action is good, not too high, but no fret buzz, so not too low. It has an adjustable bridge if I ever wanted to change it.

This guitar has lasted 37 years, I think it'll probably last another 37 easily if taken care of. I think if I was playing a gig, the only thing I'd need is extra strings and picks!

No customer support what so ever. Everything I found out about this guitar I had to look up online.

I've only been playing guitar about a year. So I don't really have a lot of experience. However, I went to shop after shop looking for a folk guitar that I liked. Tried probably about 30 guitars. The ones I thought sounded great were all very expensive. When I saw this one, it was in a crappy old case, and I was a little dubious. But when I saw it, and strummed it, I was in love. I think this is the only folk guitar I will ever own. If it was lost or stolen I would be heartbroken. I can see replacing my old classical guitar, but this one, never.

I bought it at second hand in 1976 in Canary Islands and no info about year made, but must be before 1975 (probably 1973)It has no serial number or be deleted, so it was impossible for me to get more information. It's a japanese unit.
Dreadnought acoustic without amplification devices.
Laminated top mahogany back and neck, 20 fret, Tune-O-Matic style bridge,
Glossy transparent natural finished.

I only use it to play in parties with friends and some others in recording in my studio, and it has a very rich sound that many people compare with Martins! even in some music stores. Is very loudly, if you are singing without micro you may go hoarse trying to stick out your voice. The best sound that I have got in this guitar was due to the use of Elixir 011 cords. I have to say that I redicover this guitar, just after restore it and replace cords for that brand. WOW!

Very strong made and durable even in my hands... and my damn friends ones.
The plastic made strap button mades me have some doubts at first sight but 30 years later it stills being there so... but being honest pickguard glue fell down some years ago and I had to stick it again.
Hardware, rollers -in fact- have being tuning the guitar decades and now, only one started having some problems, a stiff touch.

Yamaha in Canary Islands gets you a very good service, in my opinion.

Start playing 32 years ago.
Also I have 3 electric solid body guitars (brands: Yamaha Rgx, Epiphone LP & Fender Tele) and an electric bass (Yamaha Rbx) Efect pedals, PA system, and some more...
I particularly love its strong sound and beautiful shape, aspect, finish, fretboard inlays, picguard design, bridge calibrations.
I bought it because the guy who was giving me lessons of guitar in the seventies, recomends me to do it after test it and compared with sound and features of others in that price ratio, it was a budget.
I only wish it have a cutaway, in order to make easier fretboard work and it's impossible to change the bridge to instal a piezo because of design.

Major feature of this guitar is it's adjustable bridge/string setup. Very handy for configuring to taste. Mine was new in '73 I think when I got it with hardshell case.

Good, full, rich sound. Lot of texture and tone potentials.

Great, light action. Can be set quite low with relative ease. Sales outlet did initial setup. Only flaw in construction I'm aware of was the eventual failure of the pickguard adhesive, a fairly common problem as I understand it.

No problems, and I used it a lot, though not out much.

Service easy and great. Supplied by local distributor, not Yamaha directly. (see below)

My Dad bought one of these for me new in '73, my first "real" guitar, on the advice of professional sales folk. I'd been playing for a couple years maybe. Mine was "lost or stolen" and I'm looking for one to replace it -- Please contact me if you've got one to sell. It's just a good all around guitar. It was a good value at it's retail price then and they seem to hold their vaue.

Dreadnought, Mahogany, Adjustable Bridge(sweet), Made c. 1970, Red Label "Nippon Gakki", Nice touches and it is gorgeous! After 38 years

I just entertain myself with simple styled folk tunes from the 60s. So I am not really any kind of an expert, but I have it set for a super low action and the intonation is soooo sweet. I get compliments from my friends who actually can play, when they try it.

This puppy was set up so-so from the factory (very High action) but it takes only a few meinutes to set-up with the adjustable bridge. The bridge has action adjustments (up and down via screws) and Intonation adjustments like (an electric) for each string.

Finish is great! Still loooks great after 38 years! They even shot a couple of clear coats on the interior (humidity control???). No buzzes, etc. Original tuners, I need to remove and refasten the pick gaurd (pickey, pickey) though.

I am not a professional and don't play enough to have an opinion that counts, but, this guitar has held up to countless basement/campfire "hootenannies" :-)

Never had a problem that I couldn't solve myself

Only guitar I own, never needed another one. Easy action, great tone, loud enough to hold it's own.

Favorite features: adjustable bridge and the thing is a beauty! Bought it new in about 1970 I think it cost about $200.00 new???? (maybe less). One owner, only played on Sunday (heh heh), If I needed to replace it, and if I could find one in decent shape, I'd do it in a heart-beat!

Yamaha FG300; gloss finish(inside, too--why?); dreadnought 'jumbo' style(according to Yamaha); tune-o-matic bridge; Yamaha tuners, thin neck, low frets, laminated top?--looks like spruce. Definitely laminated back/sides of mahoghany. 1 3/4"nut. Very lightweight instrument. Flowered pickguard, kind of translucent red/brown--reminiscient of a Gibson Hummingbird. This is my 1st of two that I had--kept this one, sold the other because this one played better. The original Yamaha case is junk, very thin---buy a stronger case.
By the way, I don't think any of them are solid wood, as some on Ebay love to claim. So what? They still sound great. This one has the "Nippon Gakki" Red Label

Has a tight, midrangy tone to it, maybe like a Martin D-18. The FG300's have a sound all their own, yet there is another model Yamaha that has an even BETTER sound yet no cult following---The Yamaha FG350W from the late 1970's. Anyway, the mahoghany FG300's sound different than the Rosewood/laminate FG300's. This FG has lots of volume to it and has that vintage tone.

I had the nut raised and the truss rod adjusted for a nice low action; very easy to play.
The finish has various marks of a 30 year-old instrument that have no effect on the sound.

I think it would withstand live playing; so many are still out there in many forms of condition.

Been playing 25+years; own many of the other major brands; they all have their own 'voice', as does the FG300. I still think the Yamaha FG350W sounds even better than the FG300. How did they do it so well? We'll never know...

I hope I can put another review in ,because I just got my 2nd fg 300.Orig. tuners missing one cover but I have the ones I took off my first one. Got this one off E-bay. She's in great shape

Red lable what can I say..

Action was a little high but a few turns of the adj. bridge fixed that..Had to adj. the truss rod also. The nut was worn tried a trick I read about...super glue(very small amount) & baking soda let it set up and sand then file in the grooves

Serial # wiz sez 69 or 70, she's still in good shape

Accually the Serial # wiz didn't work had to call yamaha. they found the info

It's my 2nd 300... Is another in the future??? My fiance would kill me ..