Yamaha FGX-413SC

This was made in the last year or two I imagine. It came out of the Yamaha factory in Yamaha. It's solid top, the cheapest solid top Yamaha you can find. It's got a very functional pickup, spruce top, nato neck I believe. Nice cutaway, easy upper fret access. Dreadnought. Good diecast tuners, stayed in tune after about two weeks in the case. Nice thin neck, regular frets. I bought the hard case separately, but for 279$ out the door on Samedaymusic, no complaints!. For the money, I'll give it a nine regarding features.

Sounds great, suits my style well. I'm mostly an electric player but I wanted a nice acoustic with a pickup for a good price and I found one here. I like the solid sound and overall value of this guitar. No major dislikes to report, though the frets maybe could be a tad smoother on the edges. Not a big problem though.

Needed a setup, action was too high. Pretty standard on new acoustics since you can lower acoustic action more easily than raising it. I also put some Martin Marquis silk and steel light strings on it which made a nice difference. The pickup and bridge was fine, as were the tuners, etc. A couple of very, very minor cosmetic imperfections on the binding but you'd have to be really obsessive to worry about them.

Should last, no worries there. High quality guitar; not many frills, but everything you need is there. Really good value. Strap button, there's only one, seems solid. I'd depend on it. Since you may always break a string, if you're gigging you might want a backup.

No idea here, but it does have a warranty. I think it's a conditional lifetime one if you're the original owner.

I've been playing for about nine years, although I had an acoustic I never learned anything on for a few years before that. I started learning once I got a Fernandes Strat copy that I wish I still had, actually. I own an Agile 3000 LP copy, a suped up fotoflame Fender Japan Strat, and a cheapie classical nylon string. I play through a 30 watt Peavey Delta Blues 2x10 all-tube combo. Great soulful amp. Glad to have this guitar for folky type songs etc. I think it's overall a great combination of quality and value. Nothing extremely flashy, but everything an acoustic guitar needs, including a decent pickup. Online sale made it cheap too. Free 2-day shipping and no tax so $279 total. Don't think you'll touch another similarly high quality, brand new solid top acoustic/electric for that price. Good wood, playable neck, good hardware. Thumbs up.

This is just an update to my review below. The preamp is actually a System 46. It is a one-way (piezo bridge pickup only) system, with volume/bass/treble/tunable-mid. Simple but affective.

As I stated below, the guitar sounds great acoustically and I expect it to sound even sweeter as the solid spruce top ages.

The electric sound is well balanced, and works nicely in a live mix. For recording I'd probably blend in a nearfield and/or room mic for added depth & ambience.

The Yamaha FGX-413SC is an Acoustic electric, 6-string guitar with dreadnought style cut-away body. Featuring a Solid Sitka Spruce top, diecast Chrome tuners, Black body binding, comfortable contoured neck, and a piezo pickup system with Yamaha System 41 Preamp (volume & three band EQ w/tunable mid). Other features include Nato Back/Sides/Neck, Rosewood Fingerboard, Rosewood Bridge, Natural Gloss Finish, & Limited Lifetime Warranty. Made in Yamaha's new Taiwan guitar factory, which is run by renowned Japanese Lutiers, with impeccable quality control.

This guitar sounds excellent unplugged. The intonation is perfect all the way up the neck. String balance is very good for a cut-away dreadnought. You really have to step up to a Taylor or high-end Martin to get a better sounding guitar than this. Any ways, this is a very respectable instrument.

The factory setup was perfect. The action is low without any string buzzing. The intonation is perfect. Frets feel nice and smooth. This is a very comfortable guitar to play. I find it very easy to go from electric guitar to this acoustic, due to the very comfortable contoured neck. The only thing I didn't like was the factory strings. I replaced them with Elixirs and now it's good to go.

The guitar seems very well built, and has a gloss finish. So I expect that it will last for many years to come.

Yamaha guitars have a limited lifetime warranty, which no longer applies since I bought this guitar used.

I've been playing electric guitar for over 15 years, and acoustic on & off for the same period. I found a renewed interest in acoustic guitar about a year ago, and have been on a quest to find a good playing instrument. I tried many acoustic guitars, focusing on $600 & under models, including:

Alvarez RD series - most had poor setups, and lack bass
Art & Luthiery Wild Cherry - sounds very boxy, highly overrated
Some Martin Imports - ok, but overpriced
Seagull S6+CW & other models - too mellow and bracing is rough
Tacomas - ok, but not very inspiring
Many Takamines - ok, but intonation & balance aren't so great
Taylor 110GB - very good sound, but no electronics or cutaway

I also tried two differnt Yamaha FGX series guitars and found that they both had great setup, workmanship, & sound. Plus I found the biggest bang for the buck on this slightly used one.

Made in Taiwan in 2002. 20 frets. Solid Spruce top, Under the saddle piezo pickup with preamp consisting of volume, 3-bandEQ and Adjustable Midrange. Natural gloss finish. Nato back,sides&neck. Rosewood fingerboard&bridge. Dreadnaught with cutaway. Diecast chrome tuners.

Iam a heavy strummer and this Yamaha can take heavy strumming wibthout losing tonal dimension. The sound of this guitar is very balanced; moderate bass and midrange and sparkling trebles. I like the way the chords compress when strummed. Sounds nice also when fingerpicked. The pickup of this guitar can still be improved ,although your can tweak it suit your taste, the sound when plugged in is typical of piezo pickups-quackiness in the treble side. However,the bass side when plugged-in very full and round.

The factory guitar set-up was a bit too high, so I had to adjust it a tad lower. I like the feel of this guitar, it is very easy to play--the neck has just the right width and length. The finish is flawless on the outside, very well bookedmatched wood. On the inside, however, there seems to be a luck of attention to detail-- I noticed some kind of mesh tape on the X-bracing and the braces were not well sanded.

The guitar can take the beating of live playing. The finish and hardware used will last for a good number of years.

The authorized dealer of Yamaha guitars here in Philippines is very helpful and very friendly.

I have been playing for 12 years. I have a Martin D-41 Shenadoah, a Taylor 410CE and the Yamaha FGX413SC can compete with this two big players. I would buy it again if it would get lost or stolen. My first guitar was a Yamaha and somehow I have some kind of attachment to Yamaha guitars. Yes, I have compared it with other guitars and Yamaha has a sound that is pleasantly unique compared with the Martin and the Taylor. I was able to do some upgrades on the FGX413SC, like replace the nut, saddle, and bridegpins with TUSQ which significantly improved the sound&playability of the guitar. However, I wish the pick-up and the preamp that Yamaha used on the FGX413SC were of a higher caliber.