mtn (Forum Supporter) said:
mr2s2000elise said:
Kid likes FG800 yamaha more
That would be the more versatile of the two. Definitely a solid choice.
Support your local store, if they have one in stock, instead of the big box. I'd even pay a few $$ more.
I 100% plan to buy from our local store. They have 
beein in business 50+ years (grandson runs it), and our boys take lesson their last 2 years. Very happy with them. Due to their lower selection, wanted to try a big box. Our plan is, once kid got to see some options, pick that out from our local store.
Since you brought up the Yamaha = Toyota, and Yaris to Lexus LS..I understand that. Would a FG/FS 800 be a Corolla?
1988RedT2 said:
https://www.musictoob.com/yamaha-fg800-vs-fs800/
I don't think you can go wrong with a Yamaha.
With all the help you guys provided, and what MTN said, Yamaha was going to be what I buy.
I appreciate any FG800 vs FS800 that you guys think, which way to go. I really liked the FS800 as it was not as wide so I thought for my son it was easier to hold.
He, however, seemed to like the FG800 when we were driving back in the car.
Any other other particular yamaha model we should look at?
We plan to buy on Tuesday - when we have our appt at our local family run store.
That'll be a very solid choice.
On Yamaha. My cousin thought me to play when we were 12. His parents bought him a Yamaha for Christmas 20 years ago and he showed me the basics on that. Last I saw him was December. He still has that same guitar, kept in the case in his living room and I picked it up and played all the nirvana and linkin park and blink 182 stuff we learned together all those years ago. It's a great guitar. And it has great memories attached.
We always remember our first.
mr2s2000elise said:
mtn (Forum Supporter) said:
mr2s2000elise said:
Kid likes FG800 yamaha more
That would be the more versatile of the two. Definitely a solid choice.
Support your local store, if they have one in stock, instead of the big box. I'd even pay a few $$ more.
I 100% plan to buy from our local store. They have beein in business 50+ years (grandson runs it), and our boys take lesson their last 2 years. Very happy with them. Due to their lower selection, wanted to try a big box. Our plan is, once kid got to see some options, pick that out from our local store.
Since you brought up the Yamaha = Toyota, and Yaris to Lexus LS..I understand that. Would a FG/FS 800 be a Corolla?
Yeah, Corolla. And that may be underrating it, maybe a better analogy would be a base Camry. It has been a few years since I last looked at their catalog, back then they were in the FG-700; I think the main difference in their new lineup is the scalloped bracing (a good thing)
As far as others to look at, check out them all. I think they have 820 and 830 models, 820 would give you real Mahogany as opposed ro “Nato”. Maybe slightly better appointments. 830 would give you rosewood, which is deeper and boomier, sometimes warmer. These will be $50-150(?) more.
After that I really recommend looking at the L series and LL series. LL is probably out of the price range. L is probably at the top. It is going to have better tuners, higher grade spruce top, and it is probably an heirloom guitar. My brother (who could be a professional musician if he wanted) played one as his main guitar for probably 7 years - still is the guitar that he takes if he’s playing anywhere out of the house. I forget what model exactly, I think an LM6? These don’t have scalloped bracing, IIRC, but it is still a better guitar than the ones you were looking at.
One other note - between the FG and FS, have him play the dreadnaught (FG) for 15 minutes straight. See how his shoulder is doing. I would have the same concern as you regarding comfort. That is not to say it’s wrong, just make sure it’s comfortable.
When checking for comfortable fit, distinguish between fret hand fatigue and strumming hand/arm issues. The strumming hand is the one you need to worry about. Anything weird with the shoulder or elbow. Be sure he can have good posture and still play comfortably.
Often changing guitars (changing scale?) is different enough to cause temporary discomfort or cramping in the fret hand. Things like full scale frets, a wider fretboard, thicker or thinner neck, and different string tension will all have a pretty big effect on a young, half grown player. Any of these possible things will only be an issue for days at most. Learning to get used to differences in instruments will only help him as a player too.
barefootskater (Shaun) said:
Learning to get used to differences in instruments will only help him as a player too.
Thus, the only reasonable solution is to get at least 3 different guitars
Ended up buying yamaha fs800
With my local stores discount (since we do lessons there) it was $179
Awesome! This will be a good guitar, for a long long time.
mtn (Forum Supporter) said:
Awesome! This will be a good guitar, for a long long time.
Thanks for all the help !
what you wrote above is exactly word for word what his teacher said !
