Yamaha FG-400

My FG400 was made in Japan in 1988, which was the year that I was given it. Mine was special bcause they had forgotten to put the pick guard on it. This was my first guitar and I played it so much that the fretboard had grooves worn into the second and third frets. I sold it just before I joined the Army in 1993 and have missed it ever since. I have continued to play and have recorded a few albums since and I have had many very expensive guitars since. But my FG400 will always be special because it was a well built great sounding guitar that took alot of traveling very well and always sounded great.

Originally belonged to some gal who scratched "RL+TN" and a heart into the back...when it was given to me by a really good friend, it had two strings on it and looked like hell; but a few hours of clean-up and maintenance (r&r all the tuners and de-corrode them, and slice about 1/16" off the bridge piece to make the action workable) it actually looked pretty good for a basic, Ford-Focus guitar. Nice golden spruce top (laminated), nato back (judging from the other reviews here by people who know what the hell that is...), and the faux-ebony fingerboard, brass frets.

Astoundingly GOOD sound for such a cheepie! I was shocked; when I stuck on the new set of Martin strings (came in the case with it!) and "fired 'er up", I was absolutely blown away by how sweet it sounded. And I'd been spoiled rotten -- the similar 6-string dreadnaught Takamine (22 yrs old...) I'd had stolen was one of the warmest-sounding steel-string guitars I've ever been around; this Yamahauler ain't as good, but still a nice surprise, fairly bright with decent sustain. The only thing I don;t like is that the neck is a wee bit narrow for my liking, but for the price I paid...

hard to answer, since this poor thing spent the last 15 years stuck in a closet up near Santa Cruz, CA -- but it is apparently built like a tank, 'cause the wood's still flat and it isn't coming apart. The tuners are basic al junkers, but hold tune (probably all the corrosion I couldn't Dremel off!) and the neck is a little ragged out, but it's easy to play.

Like I said above, built like a tank. I haven't tried beat anyone with it or anything, but it feels and sounds well-built. (I used to have Yamaha for a client years ago, and know their build quality to be very good).

No personal experience, but others I have known have spoken favourably of Yamaha's customer service.

For a banger, I'd rate this beastie as very good for basic playing. I'm a finger-style player (ragtime, Jobim, my own wretched creations) and find it very pleasant to play, not requiring a lot of thinking to get clear sound out of (unlike a borrowed Epiphone I tried first...). I think the best thing about this particular guitar is why I have it: a very good friend unearthed it for me to help me get though the depression of losing my five guitars (one of which I'd had since I was 14) from a break-in....

Built in Taiwan in 1988. Dreadnought-style acoustic guitar. Original mfg. list price $249. 20 frets. Spruce top, nato back and sides. Fretboard might be ebony, not sure. No-frills open tuners. Plastic nut, plastic bridge. So, it has all of the features of an acoustic guitar, with a couple of points deducted for the basic hardware.

It's got a nice bite to it, bright enough to stand out in recordings with a band, but rounded enough to make a good accomaniment for singing. For the price, it's a great sound.

It looks great to me, though the action is almost high enough for me to think about getting the neck reset. (It's a 14 year old guitar, after all.) It has a poly finish, so it looks almost as good as the day I bought it, except for the scratches in the pickguard.

Yes, this guitar withstood live playing including getting dropped onstage a couple of times, though now that I'm older and wiser I would invest in strap locks. The finish appears to be bulletproof.

I did gig without a backup. I wouldn't recommend it, especially if you're a hyperactive rhythm player who uses a silver dollar for a pick and feels a burning need to pretend to be Pete Townsend ever though you're playing an acoustic into a mic.

Never dealt with them.

This is my first guitar, and my only acoustic. It's a nice one, but Yamaha doesn't make them anymore (though they do have an FG403 model that's basically the same thing.) If it were stolen, I woul buy something different, mainly because this one looks pretty bland and (as we all know) it's always fun to try a different guitar.

Features are nothing special; this is a very basic, no-frills instrument I bought at a pawn shop. Tuners are pretty cheap but seem to work ok.

For the price an amazingly excellent sounding instrument. I was surprised at how good it sounded. I play a lot of open tuning songs and it is pretty loud and responsive, very balanced tone, good bass response and nice treble tones. Overall good sound for the price (I paid $70 used).

The action needed adjustment when I bought it and now seems to be fine. I put some lemon oil all over this baby and it looked like new.

Strap button was cheap plastic. Remember, this is a no-frills cheap guitar so your not going to get very much.

Its no Taylor but for a cheap, no-frills acoustic, it sounds amazingly
excellent.

laminate spruce top w/nato back, sides, and neck. non-locking tuners. don't look like much, but they work very well. good medium sized frets. ebony bridge and fretboard also looks ebony. it's just your basic, no frills acoustic dreadnaught (and a very nice size/shaped dreadnaught at that)

it's a bit midrangy but i absolutely love it. it's quite a full sound _great_ for rhythm. not bad for doing lead acoustic stuff, but the action is a little high, so bends and such are hard. i've been using a shadow magnetic pickup for it, which i absolutely loved . . . but then the pickup started to get really noisy . . . not cool. but it sounded really good with this guitar, i liked to match.

amazingly good intonation for a budget guitar. a couple of the strings are not as perfect as i would like but it's the best intonated acoustic i've seen for under 500, seriously. i take intotation very seriously. the sound is good, especially for the price.

also, you can beat the tar out of the thing w/out any worries. i've been doing it for quite a while, and i've never broken a string, nor have i gotten _any_ fret buzz. it's really amazing for the price. although, this is partly because the action is a bit higher than most people like. but that's cool, because i like my guitars to have a higher action. i'm really sick of this low action craze.

the finish is nice. good, even coat, not too thick, not too thin, but in really bright lights, it looks i tiny bit splotchy on the nato. that would be the guitar's only flaw. and it's not that bad, because i've had this guitar for a whole year and just noticed for the first time . . .and i tend to notice these things.

this guitar is about the most durable reliable thing i've ever touched. i'm not exaggerating. i wish my car would catch on. the only thing is that the original strap button is not so hott. it's never failed me, but there's something about plastic stap buttons i just don't like. but that's very easily remedied. also, i put a strap button just on the underside of the dove tail. that worked very nicely. i wouldn't reccoment puting it perpendicular to the wood, especially on dreadnaughts

the thing is definately not under warranty any more, considering they haven't made them for like 15 years, but i've dealt with yamaha before, and they've been very good.

i've been playing seriously for a couple years, and am starting to get pretty good. but despite my inexperience, i _know_ guitars. i've done so much research, it's pathetic. i sell the things, for goodness sake. and honest Ellen would never stear you wrong (wink, wink). why does anyone care what gear i own? but in case you do, i have a nice discontinued pacifica tele, and a peavey t-40 bass guitar for guitars. i also have a squier fat strat, but i don't like to tell people that. hey, what can i say, it was my first guitar. besides, i had to own one, the company used to be in my family until fender bought it out. turned a good, reputable violin manufacturer of quality violins into a factory to make nasty, cheap guitars to sell to poor kids who don't know any better. sigh.

for amplification, i started out with a fender frontman 15. not bad for the price. got hit by lightning a few months back. that really sucked. i lost about half the appliances in my house, and now, seven months later, the image of the lighting is still burned onto my retnas because i was standing 3 feet from the strike, looking straight at it. i'm a freak, i know. now i'm saving up for a tech 21 trademark 10. good stuff. i also have an old peavey minx from mid-early 80's. it works. 'the loudest 30 watts i've ever heard. that thing can play small venues easy. i use it with a giant 20-something piece jazz band and have the volume (gain, actually) set on 2.


anyways! about the guitar! i love it, it's my baby. if it was stolen, i'd definately buy a new one . . . except it doesn't have electronics :-(. i make due, but i've started gigging a itny bit, and it's a challenge to get good amplification for it. but i would buy it again anyway, because i love it to death. it's great stuff, i'm tellin ya.

It's an old guitar, I bought it in the mid-80's as a "comfy" guitar. I'm an acoustic-kinda guy, and I bought this just to have something I can tear up chords on. It's a good guitar to start out on, or if you're like me, it'll take good beatings while you keep your Laravee C09 in it's glass case. It's standard, Maple-Natural Finish. no cut-offs, standard everything. The neck is sort of fat, and the strings are jutted far from the frets. But that's excellent for training guitariists, because it builds stronger finger reaction and performance. Sort of a nice hand-workout. Definitely the best thing for starters. But like I said, I have about 35 accoustics in a wood-room. 14 Glass-case exhibits, including two hand-made, cat-gut stringers from Madrid. So I have my standards.

Sort of a muddy sound. The nicest Acoustic I own sound-wise is a classic Laravee, so i've been spoiled by the ear. But once again, it's the most solid trainer guitar out there. THe sound is sort of a classic-twange sound, with a rubbery finish, but good entry of chords. Don't dare try solo-stunts on this thing, it'll die out. Hammers and slides kill the sound. But you know when you're beating down on the guitar when the strings squeal when you chord too hard. I like that.

All machine made. Don't expect too much out of it. It sure ain't a Brazilian TRST original or anything. Action-wise, the nicest guitar from my collection would have to be the custom Taylor. Fit is good, it feels nice when you're sweating and you get that warm, sweaty feeling on the guitar, and you know the wood on it is soaking up. The action is hard. Like I said, this guitar is PERFECT for working out your fingers and enhancing your finger strength. Good all around trainer. (Keep in mind, my ratings are based on after i drop from my standard)

Oh, VERY durable. Very reliable. Yamaha, like a Honda. Nice, cheap, reliable. The one thing I love about this guitar is how I can just keep it around the house. VERY comfortable, casual guitar.

I never realy had to deal with customer-services on this guitar because i can rely on my friend's shop. But I'm guessing the service is good. For instance, my Kid's Honda has great service. My Ferrari servie-people are a bunch of stuck-up old farts who are grubbing for money. Hmm...reminds me of Paul Reed Smith. Anyways, it should be good from my knowledge. I've been playing for a good 29 years.

Got a Kid? Does he/she want to play? This is the perect starter-kit. Just starting to play? Here's what you can get. Don't just think you can start off on a nice guitar or anything. THat's not logic, it's premature arrogance. Put it this way. This guitar is almost everything like a nice old pair of Jeans. Rusty, cheap, rugged, but VERY comfortable. It feels like an old glove.