Yamaha FG730S

After playing a laminate top Yamaha for a year to see if I would stay with guitar and doing tons of reading I ordered a FG730S. Upon arrival I was very pleased with the quality. The top is beautifully bookmatched and has an almost irridescent quality to it. The back and sides are okay for laminate. The binding, detail work and tuners are excellent for this price range. Mine did arrive showing signs of dehydration, (slight buckling in the lower bout). After a week in the case with an Oasis humidifier things came back into shape nicely. The satin neck finish is superb and makes for effortless movement along the fretboard.

Just what I was looking for. Nice clear tones, well defined on the mid to high strings. A little subdued on the E and A strings but I expect that to open up over time. Moderate volume level. Breaks up a little if you strum hard but if you back off a notch it offers up beautiful harmonics.

Action was too high from the factory. A Bbm barre chord required a vice like grip. Replaced the nut, saddle and bridge pins with Tusq and set it up for a relatively low action. Much easier to play and a bit of improvment in sustain and tone from the Tusq parts. The finish is glossy, (except the back of the neck), and seems durable. The pickguard is a little rough around the edges but that's the only thing I can criticize as far a workmanship and finish goes. The bookmatching was better than I saw on guitars retailing for over a grand. Fretwire installation is evenly crafted with no sharp edges or early roll off, nice and shiny. Neck is true and responds very predictably to small truss rod adjustments.

Looks to be solidly constructed. It's noticeably lighter than my old laminate top Yamaha. Tuners are dependable but have a slight backlash. Tuning up to pitch as is customary negates that flaw. Mine is in the case when not being played due to kids, a big lummox of a dog and wood heat so it's unlikely to be tested for crashworthiness but it's as tough as a box made of thin wood can be expected to be.

Not needed so far, (2 months).

I've been playing about a year and also own a Tele Thinline clone. This FG730S gets most of my playing time. If it were lost, stolen or damaged I'd get another one without hesitation. I just love to pick this instrument up and play. I played a Seagull S6 and a Washburn in the same price range. Both nice guitars but the Yamaha tone was more to my liking and the craftsmanship is a level above those. Value is the main measure here and for 300 dollars it deserves a 10.

Yamaha FG730S dreadnought. Took my a few weeks after buying this Yamaha before i got sound to the review will explain later. I wont bore you with the details of construction apart from, solid spruce top, rosewood back and sides (not solid) rosewood fingerboard. Mine is the tobacco sunburst finish, all gloss apart from neck. 9 for features as it is a straight acoustic.

I play john mayer stuff, blues rock and anything else i can pick up on radio or CD. Now the reason i took a while to get to writing a review. I put elixir strings on it, now if you like a bright/mellow tone put them on, if you like the Martin tone get 80/20 uncoated bronze strings. Then the guitar will come to life. It doesn't have the comical bass of a Martin it's more balanced, dont get me wrong it has bass aplenty but you can still hear the G B E strings. Good body resonance, and none of the tinny B and E strings you sometimes get with guitars of this value. With Yamaha to me you cant go wrong. Call this one a balanced D28 90% the sound 20% the price.

This guitar is build wise like a Taylor big baby. You know what you paid for it but the build and sound says Yamaha made a mistake left a digit out of the price. No flaws stunning to look at pleasure to play. Action is medium i filed bridge down a tad just a few mm. String spacing is spot on for me not too wide, but not the narrow spacing like some cheaper guitars aimed at small hands. I think my hand span is 7.5in

Reliability? Yamaha know what they're doing. I plan on buying a vintage FG. The originals from the late 60's are still around today and making a pretty penny, they are made from plywood but give high end martin's a run for their money. So i plan on keeping this one for many years give it a chance to open up. Plus wife paid half so i don't want her chasing me using it as a bat if i mention selling it. Live without back up hell yeah.

No idea. But i'd say reliable.

I've been playing for 14 years im 30. I've had Taylor's, 314Ce, big baby. Martin's, D28, 00028Ec, DR, and a few others. Untill i got this one i'd never have believed a guitar of this value would satisfy me but it does. I condensed my stock due to this baby. I have a fender strat 62 re issue which i never play but wont part with, all i need is these two.

I own the FG735S (has the gold tuners). tuners stay in tune pretty well. very nice finish/aesthetics/colors. slim neck and silky smooth to the touch.

it's an acoustic w/o electronics so not too complex here.

sounds great with a new set of d'addario strings. good frequency response with decent range and bass. jazz chords sound very pleasing to the ears. pleasure to play.

action is low for an acoustic, which I like. finish is nice as noted before. could use bone nut and saddle.

here's where the problem is. when I tried to pull out the low E peg with pliers to change the string, the peg head broke off. I couldn't get it out so I hammered it into the body like an idiot. Now it's stuck and I can't remove it with a quarter from the bottom (via the soundhole).

I only play with 5 strings now. This has never happened to me with any other acoustic before.

don't know.

decent sound and playability, intonation for the money (around $300 US). but beware, the parts are cheap. you get what you pay for and now I'm shopping for a Guild GAD-50 or similar....

Standard dreadnaught size, no electronice. I did spring 30 bucks extra for the tobacco sunburst finish and it is unbelievable nice for the overall price of the guitar. Tuners seems solid as does the rest of the guitar. Feels very light and is resonant. Features rating considers the price I paid from MF $330.

Very clear sound, lots of midrange and high end shimmer. Notes sound very well defined. The low end is good and I suspect will improve with age. Sounds like a guitar that would cost at LEAST twice as much.

Action slightly high out of the box, looks easily adjustable. I will likely tweak the truss rod and shave a bit off of the saddle to achieve my desired height, no big deal.

Otherwise fit and finish are excellent, again ... a fantastic guitar for the price. Love the satin finish on back of neck, I will only buy guitars that have it.

Seems well built, very light and resonant. Again, like a much more expensive instrument.

No opinion, have never had to contact Yamaha.

Been playing 15 years, love my Taylor 714CE, Breedlove Atlas AC25 and Garrison. I know its sounds wacky but the sound of this guitar holds up well to all. The Taylor obviously more rich and nuansed. I play Blues, Folk, Alternative style on my acoustics, lots of singer songwriter type stuff. For 300 bucks, this guitar is a steal, I don't know how they produce them some inexpensively ... you really can't go wrong. I bought this as a "bang around" guitar and of course now after "seeing" and "hearing" it I won't be doing that.

Would most definetly replace if lost or broken. I give it a 10 because it is a Fantastic Value. I just spend an afternoon at the guitar center and their was nothing in this price range that sounded anywhere near as good.

Well here we go folks.Just a little history first.I`ve been playing my D28 martin since 1970,and love the tone and volume availability.I`m also one of those people who has almost forever had a Yamaha in the house as well,for obvious reasons.For the money they are a great value and almost always have a good sound quality.This probably goes back to before I was born in 1958.The last few years I have been searching for a guitar with sound similar to the D28 but much less expensive,so I could take it out to gigs and parties and not have to worry about damage or theft.I recently purchased an FG730S to try for a while after playing one in a local guitar shop.I was impressed by the tone quality, fit and finish and I`m very happy with it now that I have had a chance to play it for a couple of months.I think that the solid spruce top and laminated rosewood back and sides will continue to develop to an even better tone quality as it gets a few years on it and is played some.It has standard features for a dreadnought,nice clear finish, no slop.No name die cast tuners,looks like a mahogany neck with rosewood fretboard which is straight and fairly well adjusted from the factory.

Again I would like to say that for the money you are going to get a great tone quality.It is not quite a D28 but I think that with a bit of experimenting with strings to suit your taste most players would be very impressed.This guitar has a ton of potential.

Just as soon as it arrived I took it to my luthier to have the bracing inspected for flaws and glue work.It passed with flying colors. No problems inside or out.The frets were very well done at the factory and the nut and compensated saddle were left alone.The luthier did adjust the neck very slightly I think to bring the action down just a bit.The solid spruce top is matched but the sawcut is such that the two halves reflect differently depending on how the light is hitting them.My luthier had an explanation for this and again it had something to do with the cutting of the wood but it was not something to worry about unless you are a fanatic about your top looking the same on both sides at all times.

I have been playing guitars for 40 years now and I would not hesitate to take this unit to a gig with no back up.I have had to snug the tuners some and time will only tell if they will hold up but for now they are o.k.

I`ve never had a need to deal with Yamaha factory people,so I have no opinion.

For the money this guitar is a great value.I`ve played a lot of them and I am a person who cares about tone quality more than country of origin.To me a second or third back up guitar with great tone for $200 used to $300-$400 new is just the ticket and something most folks can afford.If it were lost or stolen I`d buy another one.I would also recommend it to anyone looking for a great first player cheap.

Gloss finish, dreadnaught, geared grover style tuners. Regular neck I suppose, regular scale, rosewood fretboard. No accessories.........I had a strap button installed. It was made in 2006, Taiwan. Sheesh, how many frets? Its a standard dreadnaught. Solid engleman spruce top, rosewood back and sides. No electronics.

I have been playing for over 30 years and have/em,actually had nearly 20 guitars. I read about Yamaha's upgrade of their FG series, and specifically the FG730S, so I ordered one, unplayed and unseen from Musician's Friend. I haven't been sorry. For the money, this is the best guitar going. Let's just say I'm now down to three guitars because after getting this Yamaha, I sold most of them.........my Taylor, my Seagulls, etc. All I have left are my new FG730S, my Martin DM, and my first guitar, an orange label Yamaha FG151 that I bought on Okinawa (made in Japan) in 1979 for 63 bucks...............

Excellent action fit and finish right out of the box. Most, if not all of my previous guitars required work from my luthier. The FG730S was perfect right out of the box. Amazing sound, perfect action..............I couldn't say enough about it. Yamaha got it right, except I don't know why they don't charge so much for it.

I've gigged with it several times without a backup. So yes, it will withstand live playing. The hardware and finish are excellent. I had to add a strap button, but then again, you have to on most guitars. If I had the money, I'd buy another one so I could have one in the bedroom and living room so I wouldn't have to move it from room to room.

I've never have to deal directly with Yamaha, but I have no doubt that if I did, I would have any trouble................To Musician's Friend's credit................they have always been excellent to deal with.

I've been playing for over 30 years, I own a butt load of stringed instruments. If my Yamaha was lost or stolen, I would not hesitate to buy another one.

Gloss finish, dreadnaught, geared no name tuners. Standard neck/scale, medium neck, no accessories. Solid sitka spruce top, mahogany neck, rosewood fretboard and bridge, laminated rosewood back and sides. No electrics. Made in Taiwan.

This thing is freakin awesome for the price. Excellent sound and playability out of the factory box! Very deep tone, but bright too. Better than my Martin DM and Taylor 214. Excellent for fingerstyle.

Outstanding action, fit, and finish. Absolutely no flaws.

Again, absolutely freakin awesome. Already gigged with it, no backups. Won't hesitate to use it again, many times over. My first guitar was a Yamaha FG-151 orange lable, made in Japan, bought on Okinawa in 1979 for 63 bucks. I still have it, and its also one of the best sounding, yet toughest playing guitars I own. Yamaha has worked wonders with their technology and the action is like butter right out of the box.

Haven't had to use it, but I have no doubt that they would take care of any problems promptly. Limited lifetime warranty.

I've been playing for over 35 yrs and have over 20 guitars of varying quality/value. If this model were stolen or lost, I'd buy another in a New York minute. For the price, sound, playability, and quality, this guitar is a must buy!