Yamaha FS311 7/8 Scale Acoustic

Finish is typically yamaha gloss. .. good coverage without being flash! Ply top, covered tin tuners/unbranded. Standard scale (same as the jumbo yamaha we have too) This machine is out of Taiwan, which is a rarity in my part of the world now that we all cosy up to China. No electrics. Going to put a fishman mag passive in soon... This is no expensive instrument, but it has the sort of 'olde worlde' charm that used to be on all Yamahas... good integrity of neck and body, the neck join is a nice scarf (Seagull do this too), which I prefer to the nasty 'dead reckoning' join often seen on Gibsons [seen a few apart]... General construction makes me feel it would be possible to own this for many years without worry.

The ply top works well - nice tone, with even spread of power thru all strings. Neck is pleasant [you do know it is an acoustic tho'].
Enjoy the neck feel/profile too.

Got this second hand from first owner. Looks original. almost nil wear on frets, tension = authority in the notes...NOT a solid top, but sometimes [cheapos anyway] a solid top just exposes flaws imo.
There was no nasty workmanship obvious inside. Good gat, cheap.

This is a yamaha... they always last [judging by the dozen or so I've had]...
this guitar could be used for gigs. The machine heads are NOT that flash, but the almost identical ones on the jumbo also in the school cupboard is over ten years old [ and living the life of a taxi!] still tune fine.

Second hand. I did have trouble with the master agents a few years ago with a warranty claim... this is second hand so there won't be one.

I've been playing since 1968...this joins the telecoustic, the Cort M520, the squier strat w/wilkinson m/heads+pickups+gk3+Gr33/Gr20. I have owned [could say have had pass thru my hands] various guitars, tahitian ukes, baby martins J15, etc... currently really liking my 00X1... and a couple of basses, Fostex 16tk is Ok too.

It's nice, good color, white. Its plain, not too many features or whatever.

Sounds good, clear sound.

By the way, thats funny how the last guy mentioned Elliott Smith. :)

The action needed to be set up better.

Normal guitar.

I got this puppy thanks to the wonders of alcohol...
as far as I can tell from mooching around the internet, it is now discontinued.
A friend of mine decided to sell it for very little and buy a new electro acoustic, leaving me with a groovy Yamaha FS 311 semi- jumbo.
It is a nice looking guitar.
Like all beautiful things, its made in Tawain!?- "in accordance with the specifications of the Yamaha corporation"... everything looks solid and well made (spruce top) and it looks and feels almost indestructable. I was attracted to this guitar due to the body style (a nice and curvy 'jumbo' style body) that is small & comfortable (it's a semi- jumbo), and the thin neck.
Gotta love drunk friends... all it needs is a soundhole pickup, which I'll fit at a later stage, but for the moment I'm using it to write songs and play outdoors in the sunshine. I'm very happy with this guitar- I normally have little or no affection for acoustic guitars, but this one will be around for a while.

this is a pretty loud guitar, great for fingerpicking and a lot of fun... I intend to buy a cheap soundhole pickup for gigs- Elliott Smith used a cheap metal soundhole pickup on his Yamaha and it worked for him ;)The neck feels pretty good- thin and 14 frets off the body- the tuners look a little plain - basic, metal tuners that I may replace later(just for aesthetics), but they do their job and the guitar stays in tune

my only problem with the guitar is that the action is a little high, but I found this to be the case with several other Yamaha's that I tried and it's not such a big deal. I'm gonna get the plastic part of the bridge replaced,(excuse the lack of technical jargon), by a pro and have the action set quite low as I usually play electrics- this will be a cheap and easy solution. Overall the guitar feels and looks good and for the price I paid it's excellent.

I first saw her being played at a gig and she held her own...
after commenting that I liked the look of the guitar, my friend told me that he was thinking of selling it as he wanted a shiny new guitar as a birthday present to himself and I jumped at the chance to buy it- the guitar has a DIY strap button at the neck - but I'm not interested in using straps with acoustics as it never feels right- this is a 'sit down and attack' guitar

groovy

It's a bit smaller at 7/8 Scale, mainly thinner. Top: Spruce, back/sides/neck:Nato, fretbrd/bridge:Rosewood, 20 frets, hardware chrome, natural finish. No idea where or when it was made and can't look since it's being set up. bought it May 2K. Not really many features, but it's perfect for what I was looking for. Cheap re-entry level guitar, but not so cheap you spend your life retuning it.

The factory strings aren't great. After 3 weeks I wanted heavier strings. So far that's my only complaint.

I'm a Ani DiFranco wanna be, but still very beginner. I might not know the difference in sound, but people who do know, who've picked up my guitar said it has a really nice sound. And not the "nice for a smallish guitar" remark, jsut that it has a good sound. I've picked up other guitars and for this price range (under $250)I have to say my Yamaha FS311 sounds way better than the other guitars for the same money by Fender, Alvarez, etc.

Factory set up was ok. The action was really high near the 12th fret, and b string developed strange twang. My instructor said the weather in NY has beeen wreaking havoc on all guitars, so not sure what to blame. Again my instructor said with a few corrections it will fine (no he doesn't work where I bought the guitar). Set up was free within 30days of purchase. I have faith in the setup fixing the minor issues I have.

Only had the guitar barely a month so can't comment on reliability. It does stay tuned, which was my only concern about buying a low end guitar. Nothing on the guitar looks or feels really cheap or loose. Would I use it for a gig??? LOL I'd fall apart before this guitar would right now.

Haven't dealt with Yamaha.

I'm a skinny female and took Classical lessons as a kid, then switched to electric. I never got outa lesson bookI, still a real beginner. Now xx yrs later I decided to take lessons again but not classical, and most big folk guitars felt overwelming. I picked up the FS311, and it just felt right, instead of like I was climbing the damn guitar. This guitar is perfect for what I wanted. Something smaller like my electrics, but with a decent sound like my old classical (Takamine that was my brothers). I picked up a few other "entry level guitars" but most felt cheap, or just sounded bad. This one just felt right from the first time I grabbed it. A guitar I could have fun playing and not fight with, so far I think that is what I got!

I've held on to 2 electrics although I rarely played them. Hopefully after a few lessons I can dust them off again. Gibson CorvusII, and an electric I built in 8th grade woodshop.