REVIEW: The Yamaha FG800 acoustic guitar is one of the best beginner guitars of 2022

Shane tried out the Yamaha FG800 acoustic guitar, available from the Fret Zealot store with the Fret Zealot system installed. 

Here’s what he thought: 

Yamaha FG800 Review! One of the Best Beginner Guitars of 2022?

“This is a favorite of mine from the Yamaha guitar line, a standard in the industry and an awesome all-around acoustic guitar. 

It comes in a natural finish and it has a nice-looking piece of wood on top with a tortoiseshell pickguard – a classic look, kind of reminds me of some of the Taylor guitar aesthetics. 

On the back of the guitar, you have a nice satin finish that makes for a nice comfortable feel on the neck, for your hand while you’re playing. I like the not-too-glossy smoothness on the back of the neck of the guitar, compared to the glossier finish on the rest of the body. Some special attention was put to the feel of the neck for the guitar-playing hand .

The fretwork along the guitar is really nice and that’s what  sort of defines the Yamaha FG800 to me – just the consistency, the quality throughout the different models. I’ve personally handled hundreds of this exact model and seen that they all play really nicely and Yamaha does a really good job of quality-controlling this instrument to make sure each one plays really well. The action is nice and comfortable, the neck is very easy to play.

 I’m finding this guitar really fun and responsive – it’s got a nice bright sound. I would definitely say this particular guitar is a slightly brighter-sounding guitar. It could be something to do with the strings, but it’s generally a bright tone. 

The headstock is painted with a darker-looking finish to give you a nicer contrast and there’s chrome hardware on the tuners. The tuners have a very solid feeling – I think the guitar stays in tune nicely. What I really enjoy about this guitar is just the consistent playability and how easy it is to pick it up and get on with a new song. 

It has a full-sized guitar body but it doesn’t feel overly big or anything. If you’re concerned about the size of your guitar, I’d say this is a comfortable shape with a nice, full sound coming from the 

Dreadnought-style FG800 guitar body. Yamaha makes it really simple with the FG800 –  just a straight-up, all-around acoustic guitar experience. I’m finding it really comfortable to play, and once again, that Yamaha consistency means I know what I’m going to get when I purchase it. 

MORE: Fret Zealot Acoustic Combo Packs 

That makes it a really fun guitar to play. I’m really enjoying the action and the feel. I imagine myself taking this guitar through its paces at home, learning a lot of different songs and I also imagine being able to take this to a gig where you’re not going to need an amp but it has the enunciation and projection to give you what you need at the coffee shop or small gig if you’re just getting started playing. Personally, if i were to look for a new acoustic guitar in this budget range, this would be one I’m considering because of what you get for the money. I think Yamaha puts as much detail and attention as possible into making this guitar feel and look and sound really great for the price you’re paying, and they’ve done a really good job of that. 

I also enjoy the shape of the neck – it’s a bit of a thinner profile so it doesn’t have as much of that thickness in the neck. Some people have preferences for more material in the neck, or not. I kind of enjoy both – this guitar is kind of giving you more of the slimmed-down neck profile – not super thin, but it definitely helps the playability and the sort of ease of play and for pushing your limits as a guitar player. 

This guitar is going to be very accommodating for trying to learn new songs, or learning for the first time as well. For players who want to have the comfort and the responsiveness of a thinner profile neck, you’re going to have that kind of playing experience with this guitar.”

Fret Zealot + Yamaha FG800 Dreadnought | Natural