Yamaha FG-160

Nothing fancy. no extra sexies.

As others have said, the sound is inexplicably good. Why should a $120 dollar 37 year old garage sale beater from Japan kick the butt of an $1100 acoustic?

Ask the guitar gods 'cause i don't know.
The sound is full, warm and loud. You can "feel" the low notes rising up through your playing arm like a fine old Martin. Also records very well.
When i play out (through a mic) I also play my fg 335 (not a bad guitar in its own right) but the sound of the 335 drops off dramatically compared to the 160.

Mine is old ('72-green label) The action is higher than i'd like at the 12th fret but the bridge has been taken down as far as it will go....The action is where it will have to stay though because as much as i love this thing i am NOT shelling out $550 for a neck reset (which is what it needs). As it is i play it with the tuning dropped a full step (DGCFAD) and capo up or down.

i just bought another 160 ($150) on ebay as well as an fg 300(!). We'll see if it's in any better condition

I play 4 hour sets in bars/lounges. I may end up killing it off but i haven't managed to yet.

I've been playing for 30 years. I also own, or will soon own, a yamaha FG 335SB, a yamaha fg 300 and another fg 160, a Mountain (strung up as a baritone) and a newer Martin 12 stringer. I play through a Fender Acoustasonic Junior (highly recommend)

I bought this because i thought it was the model Elliott Smith played. (i now think it was an FG 180)

The sound of the 160 is the reason for owning this guitar. Like others i sold much more expensive acoustics because they couldn't compete with my fg 160.
I only wish the neck had another 30 years left in it but i'm afraid it doesn't.

I had to call Yamaha about this as I don't have an eye for wood types - laminate spuce top, mahoghany back and sides, rosewood fretboard, etc. My guitar was made in Taiwan in 1976. Tuners were factory installed and I have no complaints. Definitely all standard features, standard looking, a few minor dings. If you were just looking at the guitar at the shop you probably wouldn't buy it on appearance alone. But, standard as she is, I think she's a gem.

I started playing on a classical and soon tired of the muffled sound it produced - what a revelation when I picked up the Yamaha. Now I know why my classical stayed in the closet for so many years. My used FG 160-1 came strung with electric strings (per the local shop owners opinion)- and to me it sounded like heaven. I took his advice and put some phosphor bronze acoustic strings on and now it really sings. It has a rich full sound from end to end. Makes me sound like I know what I'm doing. I play every night now instead of once every couple of years.

No major flaws, I can't believe someone would let this guitar go. Action is what I would call medium. Very playable at the lower end - however as you get higher up the fretboard the action gets increasingly higher making it more difficult for me to get a clean sound (mostly due to my limited abilty). I don't have much need to go very high up anyway so it doesn't affect my playing at all.

Seems to be durable enough - it's 32 years old with only a few minor dings in the finish - it stays in tune forever - I keep it standing in the bedroom corner behind a chair and have a padded gig bag for travel. If I was good enough to play gigs - this would be the only guitar I would use. Strap buttons are solid - I had a second installed on the underside of the neck.

I emailed Yamnaha once to check on the wood and received a telephone response within 2 days.

I bought my first guitar in 1972. I bought a classical because it seemed that it would be easier to learn on. I soon got tired of the muffled sound it produced and it spent much of the next 30+ years in the case, in the closet. I started fiddling with an FG 730 in the local music store recently and decided I had to have a Yamaha. Since my classical would only bring in $100.00, I had to look for a used Yamaha. After I got outbid on ebay several times, I came across this FG 160-1 (thru the internet) at a music store (45 miles away). I checked the Harmony Central reviews and decided this was the one. My repetoire consists of songs from Jimmy Buffett, James Taylor, CSN, John Prine. My guitar fits the bill for all of these very well, finger pick or just strumming. I love my guitar and if it broke or got stolen I would try to replace it with another. And if money was no object I'd get a $2000 Martin as a backup.

I HAVE A FG 160 THAT I BOUGHT FROM A BLUEGRASS SHOP IN HOLLYWOOD FLORIDA IN 1992.I DID NOTKNOW HOW OLD IT WAS UNTILL I READ SOME OF THE ARTICALS ON THIS SIGHT.IT IS A GREEN LABEL MADE IN TAIWAN.THE FINISH IS NOT TO GOOD AS IT IS SANDED DOWN ON THE SIDES AND BACK.SOME OF THE SIDE BINDINGS HAVE BROKEN OFF.NOW FOR THE GOOD STUFF STAYS IN TUNE FAIRLY WELL FOR BEING IN FLORIDA IT WAS A LITTLE MORE STABEL WHEN I LIVED IN NEW JERSEY.THE SOUND IS SIMPLY GREAT AND THE THING I LOVE ABOUT MY FG 160 I HAVE HAD ALOT OF PEOPEL THAT HAD FENDERS AND OTHER ACOUSTICS BUT PREFERED THE SOUND OF THE FG 160SO ITS A 10 FOR SOUND.PLAYABILITY IS GOOD FOR ME ACTION IS SET ABOUT MEDIUM FOR A ACOUSTIC NOT LOW.FRETS HOLDING UP EXTEREMLY WELL FOR THE AMOUNT THAT I PLAY THIS GUITAR.SINCE I ONLY PAID 80$ FOR THIS GUITAR IT HAS BEEN A FAVORITEOF MINE FOREYEARS AND MORE TO COMEAS IWILL NEVER PART WHITH IT.

SOUNDS GREAT IT HAS SUCH A TONE THAT I CAN USE IT FOR ANY TYPE OF SONG.ITS GOT A GREAT SOUND FOR ROCK JAZZ AND BLUES.ITS AGREAT GUITAR TO WRIGHT SONGS WHITH AND I HAVE USED IT FOR THAT FOR YEARS.I LIKE YAMAHA GUITARSSO MUCH THAT I HAVE BOUGHT A COUPLE YAMAHA BASSES.RIGHT NOWI HAVE A 5 STRING BB MODELBUT A HAD A FRETLESS BASS WHITH A P BASS PICKUP.

FINISH IS KIND OF OLD AND LIKE I SAID HAS BEEN SANDED DOWN TO BARE WOOD.TOP STILL LOOKSOK FOR AGE HAS SCRATCHS BUT THATS IT.TUNERS STILL IN GOOD SHAPE AND TIGHT STAYS IN TUNE WELL.BRIDGE STILL NICE AND SOLID.FETS GOOD AND NO WEAR.

ITS OLD ALREADY SO RELIABILITY HAS BEEN PROVEN TO ME.PLAYING LIVE IT HAS A GOOD SOUND BUT WOULD NEEDTO BE MIKED OR HAVE A PICKUP TO PLAY WHITH DRUMS.I HAVE USED IT TO PLAY WHITH OTHER ACOUSTICS AND IT HOLDS ITS OWN NO PROBLEM.

NEVER HAD A NEED TO. HAS NEVER NEEDED TO BE REPAIRED.

I HAVE BEEN PLAYING FOR 25 YEARS.I ALSO PLAY A IBANEZ 7 STRING BLACK WHITH FLOYDROSE 2 HUMBUCKERS 5 WAY SWITCH MADE IN JAPAN SIMPLY A AWSOME GUITAR.I USE AMPEG TUBE AMPS I HAVE A VT 22 2 12 COMBO AND A 4 12 CABINET IT HAS THE SOUND OF THE FIRST KORN ALBUM BY JUST PLUGING IN AND TURNING UP.IF I EVER HAD ANY THING HAPPEN TOTHE FG I WOULD DEFINETLY LOOK FOR ANOTHER ONE.I AM LOOKING IN TO PUTTING A PICKUP IN IT AND I AM THINKING OF USING A SEYMOUR DUNCAN ACOUSTIC PICKUP.

This model has been documented quite well since 2001 below. I encourage you to read all the entries below. I simply want to add a few comments about my 1974 Taiwan-made FG-160.

I have had this guitar since the mid-80s, around 20 years. For much of that time it has stood in a corner and rarely been played. I never liked it much for most of that period. My main axe was an original Telecaster Thinline (F-hole) w/ humbuckers I bought new in 1974. I mainly played electric and seldom picked up the FG-160. A few years ago I bought a Martin D1 from a neighbor, the lowest-end Martin, sold new on Internet for $700. Anyway, I started tweaking the Marting, trying to improve the sound: bone saddle, compensated properly for the dried out action and bridge shifting which resulted from the dry Nevada climate. I finally got about as much out of the D1 as I could, and I would compare it to the Yamaha at times, and always noticed how the FG-160 had such a warm, deep, friendly tone compared to the Martin. The lighter D1 speaks louder, and has a cutting, brittle sound when strummed and flat-picked, but does not respond to more nuanced strumming or fingerstyle playing as the Yamaha. Still, the latter seemed to lack something, it seemed muted. I noticed that in order to lower the action to a reasonable height, there was very little saddle protruding above the bridge, and that the string break angle behind the saddle was extremely shallow. But lo and behold, there was plenty of bridge between the bridge pins and the saddle, so I followed Dan Erlewine's suggestion about extending the string slots in the bridge towards the saddle, thus cheating to get a sharper string break angle. Since I did this, the volume and tone improved markedly. Now I am really excited about this old guitar, it no longer sits in the corner! I plan to replace the original plastic saddle with compensated bone, and it needs comensation badly. This will cure the intonation problems above open position, and always does wonders for a guitars sound and chord chemistry. It also needs a fret job, but it is not so bad yet to warrant taking it out of action. I plan to do this myself after I acquire a few more tools. To summarize, I wish I had discovered my own gem 20 years ago, it has been wasting away in my own home. What a shame. However, having experienced some of its hidden potential by working on it a little, and having read the glowing comments below, I can't wait to see what else I can set free in this guitar.

Well made especially for the price. (I paid $75 to a friend who needed some cash, a struggling trumpet player!) It has the typical Yamaha quality and no-nonsense virtues.

The neck and top have shifted, typical for any acoustic this old, especially in my dry climate, but the laminated construction and heft make it practically indestructable.

They do have the serial number DB, which is nice, but I have no actual support experience.

Read these reviews, I agree with them all, an unbeatable value as long as it doesn't need a neck reset, these Asian guitars typically were made with epoxy glues and are nearly impossible to disassemble for repairs.

I am not even sure what these are made of, probably mahogany neck back and sides and spruce top.

This is a basic acoustic guitar, no neck binding, rosewood fingerboard, no headstock binding. This one is a light colored label made in Taiwan.
On the other hand, it gets a ten for features because it has exactly the features needed to be what it is supposed to be, a well made cheap acoustic that sounds and feels like an expensive workhorse.

This is a medium sized guitar, not as big as a jumbo but not a ukelele or backpacker either. It has a rather beefy neck but the fretboard is not uncomfortabely wide.
I like the beefy neck, the more wood in the neck the less likely the action will change.
Nice tuners, this is likely a mid-late seventies model and the tuners are not only still intact, they still work very precisely.

I had one of these since I was a kid and have been kind of half keeping my eye out for one. I seen this one on craigs list for sixty bucks and jumped on it.

I love this guitars sound. It simply sounds the way an acoustic guitar should sound. It does not have a real bright sound, which is good because it has more of an acoustic sound and the tones across the spectrum are very well balanced.
There is something about these old FG 160s sound that just makes it nice to play. The notes ring out, but not too much. The guitar just reacts well to playing it, very hard to describe but it seems to resonate, sustain, and have the exact right amount of attack.
This is not a loud guitar. It does not project like a Taylor. Which, unless you play in a bluegrass band without a mic doesn't matter.
These 160s are very consistant and all pretty much sound alike.
And the sound they have is as good as most of the so called "hand made" guitars out there. In fact, one of my favorite hand made guitars is an Yairi, which these guitars remind me of.

A guitar that originally sold for 200 bucks just shouldn't sound this good.

The action on this guitar was not terrible, but not the way I like it to be. I always set action on my guitars VERY low. This guitar was easy to do that to. Like most Yamahas, the neck was perfect and true. That made setting the action down just a matter of shaving the saddle down.
The frets are all still tight, and in spite of the fact this guitar has obviously been played a great deal, they had very little groves from the strings, which I was able to buff out. There is still a lot of meat on the frets.
The guitar is still very tight, no rattles from bracing coming unglued, the bridge is intack and down, the tuners still tight and reactive.
This guitar was well built.
The finish on it was huffed. It looked like someone had left the thing tumble around in a dryer. Dings and scratches and marrs all over it.
I like the guitar so well I took the time to ruff the old finish up and reshoot it with some uerethane. It looks quite nice now.

So, considering this is a cheap guitar with a finish that some would consider normal wear, and the fact the rest of the guitar is still , in spite of a lot of age, in great shape, it gets good marks.

This thing has gray hair and hemhorroids. That doesn't stop it. It is like an old factory worker. Tough and dependable.
The tuners still work well, in spite of the fact the finish on them is dull and the chrome is gone.
I would gig with this guitar, although I seldom use an acoustic live. This will be for studio work. And, no doubt in my mind it is up to it.

Overseas guitars don't normally need warrantees when they are new, the guarantee is in the name on the headstock. This especially applies to Yamaha.
Like most overseas products, customer service is normally not even a consideration, because it is not neccesary.

I had one of these back in about 1974. It was new, and I thought it was a good sounding guitar back then. I had no idea that this many years later this would be a sought after instrument.
I would not only get another one of these if it were lost or stolen, if I find another one somewhere this cheap I will snatch it up too.
I also intend to get a saddle piezo and EQ/preamp for it. I bet these things sound killer with a nice Fishman through a board. I intend to find out.

This guitar is all I could ever need in an acoustic. It easily rates with guitars I have played that cost MUCH more.

20 Frets

Ilike the guitar makes bright sound

Set up well from the factory

Very good Reliability and durability

Never deal with the company

I bought it from my friend in 1977 and I've been playing the FG 160 for about 30 years.
I want to know about my FG 160 when it was made and is it original from japan?. My guitar data : the Label is like yellow(hard paper) with the words(black) : Yamaha FG 160 , NIPPON GAKKI C0,LTD. , MADE IN JAPAN.
With the serial number: inside the guitar body(left side edge), the number 3. 9. 13 ,confusing about the first digit 3 because it's blur, but the number 9.13 can be clearly seen. And beside the number there is a stamped circle and in the middle of the circle there is like triangle.
Anyone can help me about my guitar?

20 Frets

Ilike the guitar makes bright sound

Set up well from the factory

Very good Reliability and durability

Never deal with the company

I bought it from my friend in 1977 and I've been playing the FG 160 for about 30 years.
I want to know about my FG 160 when it was made and is it original from japan?. My guitar data : the Label is like yellow(hard paper) with the words(black) : Yamaha FG 160 , NIPPON GAKKI C0,LTD. , MADE IN JAPAN.
With the serial number: inside the guitar body(left side edge), the number 3. 9. 13 ,confusing about the first digit 3 because it's blur, but the number 9.13 can be clearly seen. And beside the number there is a stamped circle and in the middle of the circle there is like triangle.
Anyone can help me about my guitar?

Big guitar heavy spruce top mahogany back and sides all laminate including the top although fools lots of people as solid top-it looks solid and has a good rich sound. But the luthier I know says laminate. Mine has a Nippon Gakki tan label and I purchased it in 1972 new. It s your typical Martin style dread. The keys are excellent as is the whole guitar. Through poor care I caused the neck to crack. When the luthier repaired(and very much worth repairing he said) he put in a new bone nut widened the string spacing and replaced the saddle. Recommended additions creating improved sonics!

The sound is very nice. Rich deep lows nicely balance with the mids and highs producing a nice blend of sound with more then a touch of swirling complexity. Not as much sustain as more expensive guitars. I LOVE it for blues and slide...it has wonderful harmonics for the thumping blues muting used in country blues. Plays a song like Tom Petty's 'Free Falling' with its use of the bass E note very very nicely. Balanced sound but not that loud. Good for recording. Fantastic beginner guitar because its inexpensive but provides good intonation stays in tune very well and is a balanced sound.

action is good. have nut and saddle replaced if you get attached to the guitar for a great boost in action and fit.

very dependable guitar. very strong and durable.

never needed any support. cept the luthier I took the guitar to loves working on these guitars and did a great job on repairs.

My growing appreciation of this guitar has lead me to discover other guitars. First the FG180 model. From the FG180 I became very interested in solid body guitars like Larrivee and Taylor. I now am saving my money for one of these guitars. The queston is will I sell my 160 and 180. No I won't...because they sell for so little, noone could give me enough....ie I don't think they are replaceable. Get em while they are still available.

It's a simple- even plain- looking acoustic. All laminates, spruce and mahogany. Realy stays in tune very well with the original Yamaha tuners. The guitar is from the mid 1970's I believe. The shape is a little wider than a typical dread, giving it a different tone than most other dreads. I have several of these, all are beat up and scratched and nicked. I could care less- they just look more vintage that way. All early fg's are very solidly built, and all of mine have no cracks, lifting, etc.

Truly unbelievable, expecially for an under 200.00 (1970's dollars) acoustic guitar. It has deeeeep lows, decent mids (but not an emphasis with mids), and a very bright high end, great clarity. I have the 140, the 160, the 180, and the 200. The 140 (red label) is nice for fingerpicking, notes have great separation, but it sounds kinda weak for strumming. The 180 is LOUD, but not a nicely balanced sound, imho. The 200 is low-midrangey, a real nice counterpart to the 160, and sounds great and husky when strummed. The 160, however, has a distinct advantage when it comes to the broadest spectrum of sound from lows to highs. Recorded, it sounds magnificent.

My experience with old fg's is that the strings start lifting at some point; most fg's have pretty high action. They can be tough to play.

Just seems durable as a tank. Like, indestructable. I think my fg-160 will last hundreds of years- really. These simply do not warp or crack or separate. Amazing in all respects.

N/A

I sold ALL my Blueridge and Epiphone acoustics for the Yamaha fg's.
The 160 is my favorite, the best sound across the board. I have several, and they were always under 120.00. They seem to last forever, they sound better now than 30 years ago, they are good for stage and recording. A truly wonderous acoustic guitar.

Mine is 34 years young. As beat as this guitar is, scratches, bruses, bumps, it still plays great and sounds better than nearly any guitar I've heard. The bass notes are deep and rich, the highs are slightly dampened; I like to think mellowed. In about 1977 I had a fret job done on it, action was lowered, bridge and nut cut and a set of solid nickel tuners added; that's it. This guitar has survived college life, several bands, coffe houses and in 2007 not a buzz, rattle or vibration. The rond neck is weird and I swear this guitar wants to play the blues....featues; it don't need no stinkin features......built to last a hundred years!!!!

ES

I had lent this guitar to a newphew for a few months back in 1999. I just got it back. After a major cleaning and anew set a elixer lights this guitar sounds better than nearly any guitar I've hear. Last week I traveled to Ausin Texas to get it back (I live in Chicago) and I took it to a musivc store to get fitted for a case. I let the owner play it. He was so impressed that we played it side by sode with several Martins, Taylors, and a Takamini. Nothing they had sounded close to this old relik....crazy, but true. I watched a video on building guitars once and the narator, Jean Larravee, said after wood is bent and stretched it needs to relax. And it takes time, sometime ten years for an instrument to relx. My FG-160 is so relaxed it smells like pot.

Action is superb after fret job in 1976, befor the strings sat a little high..

Built like a tank!!!!

Huh??? It's 34 years old?

This guitar has so many memories that I wouldn't sell it for $10,000. I cannot believe after all these years it sounds so good and still plays better than most of my other guitars, Martin, Tatlor). I hope that these instrument get better with age and my son is writing a similar comment 30 years from now about my old Martin or maybe this old Yamaha FG-160..