Yamaha FD01S acoustic guitar hands-on review

Yamaha has a very good history of making high-quality acoustic guitars in every price range. If you’re searching for an inexpensive 1st guitar, the Yamaha FD01S acoustic is an excellent option.

Its solid wood top is one-of-a-kind in the sub-$200 category. It’s inexpensive, and yet does not sound or feel cheap at all.

Build quality of the Yamaha FD01S

The FD01S is actually a full-size dreadnought acoustic guitar, so this means it’s large.

It has a solid spruce top, nato neck, sides and back, and rosewood fretboard and bridge. It has a natural finish, which is nice to the touch.

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What sets this guitar apart is definitely the solid spruce top. Most inexpensive guitars use laminate wood, but this one does not.

First of all, spruce is one of the two most popular kinds of wood used for guitar tops. The other is cedar. The difference in the quality of these two is minimal, the choice comes down to personal tone preference.

While cedar matures from the start, with spruce you’ll notice that it does not mature for a while, but gets a drastic improvement later. It has a brighter and clearer sound, which improves with time and use.

We should also talk about the nato neck, sides and back. Nato wood, aka eastern mahogany, is very similar in appearance to mahogany. Even though it is a more affordable version of standard mahogany you will probably not notice a difference in sound unless you have very sharp ears. It is also worth noting that nato is used only for the neck, sides, and back, which don’t create drastic differences in tone.

The FD01S features a thinner neck, which is great for playability. Both solos and chords are easy to play on this guitar.

The nut and saddle are made of plastic, which is to be expected at this price. You can easily upgrade those to bone though, thus improve the tone further.

The guitar is equipped with die-forged chrome tuners and a black pickguard.

Sound and tone of the Yamaha FD01S

FD01S’s solid top adds to the great sound of the guitar, the tone is bright and clear. The top of the guitar is a major factor in the sound you get from a guitar. A solid spruce top creates much brighter and clearer sound than laminated tops. It is not the higher quality sitka spruce, but still solid spruce. Most people will not be able to differentiate the sound anyhow.

Tone projection is also good, thanks to the large body of the FD01S. You essentially get a great-sounding guitar for half the purchase price as other guitars that sound the same.

Video review of the Yamaha FD01S

Yamaha Gigmaker Deluxe Acoustic Guitar Package review

For $50 more, you can get the FD01S in the Gigmaker package.

This will get you several guitar accessories a beginner will need:

• Qwik Tune QT-11 guitar tuner – a clip-on tuner that works well.
• Guitar strap – plain black guitar strap, nothing special.
• Extra set of strings – always useful.
• Yamaha DVD lessons – covers basic things, but will not teach you to play guitar.
• Picks – always useful.
• Gig bag – the bag is not padded, so it will not protect the guitar well. Also, it does not have a strap, just the carrying handle.

Is the Gigmaker Deluxe Acoustic package worth it?

It depends.

If this will be a first guitar for somebody, yes, it is worth it.

But if this will be your traveler guitar, no. You probably have all of the accessories already, and should get a padded gig bag separately instead.

About Yamaha Guitars

Most people don’t know it, but Yamaha has been making instruments for a very long time. Yamaha was established back in 1887, making organs and pianos. They applied for the famous tuning for logo trademark in 1916, over 100 years ago.

Yamaha is actually a big name in the music industry, though not a high-end name like Martin or Taylor. They build quality instruments at an affordable price point.

Opinion of the Yamaha FD01S beginner acoustic

Yamaha has been very consistent with the quality of their lower cost guitars, such as the FD01S Solid Top Acoustic Guitar. If you are looking for a first guitar with a bright sound, good build and comfortable playing characteristics, you found it. Not to mention the cost.

I would recommend this guitar as a first guitar or a travel guitar. It would also make a great gift to someone you know would want to learn to play the acoustic guitar.

Yamaha does not disappoint and brings quality you would not expect at under under $200.