Introduction
I have not done a product review since I wrote about a pair
of hiking shoes.
Link below here.
However, I recently look back into my bucket list and I have
set out on doing a special blog about my first guitar.
These are the things, which I hope will be useful to
beginners, who are seeking their first musical experience with a good ol’ set
of six strings.
F310P Yamaha Folk Guitar
In the world of guitar pedigree, we classify F310P as an acoustic guitar.
Yamaha makes good guitars. They make good low-end guitar
that sound much better it really should.
This axe (slang for guitar) made in the Indonesia factory
has the following specs
- Top: Spruce Laminated (non-solid top wood)
- Back/ Sides: Meranti (unusual species of wood to use on a guitar but in this case it works as a wonderful substitute for mahogany)
- Neck: Nato (good substitute for rosewood)
- Finger board/ Bridge: Rosewood (no specific species)
 |
| In the box |
 |
| Out of box |
Finish/ Rosette/ Inlay Finish/ Pickguard
This one had a wonderful tobacco brown sunburst on the
topwood with high gloss finish.
Yamaha also makes one with natural yellow topwood with high
gloss finish.
The rosette and inlay on the fingerboard is pretty basic.
 |
| Rosette is just decal |
 |
| Fingerboard inlay |
The pickguard is also just a black plastic strip. Nothing
special here.
Tuning Machines
Very beautiful covered chromes tuning machines, which keep
this axe tuned for a long time.
If you have any reason to mods or upgrade this axe, you
probably want to keep the tuning machines.
 |
| love the headstock especially the chrome tuning machines |
Play Ability
Honestly, when I first played guitars back in the day, there
was this cheap brand called Kapok. The strings were so hard to press down and
after a few minutes, you probably never touch the guitar again.
This axe is not hard to press down but it may not be the
best for a beginner player.
As the store was not doing customized setup, I decided to give
the guitar a good month of playing before I do anything.
The next week of playing proved to be difficult. As a
newbie, I wanted to be able to practice as much as I can. However, as per
factory setup conditions, I was only able to play a good 30 minutes before
fingers became too painful.
I noticed the low E bass strings had significant buzz, this
may be unappealing to intermediate players.
After a week and half, I decided to see a guitar luthier who
lowered the guitar action, making it more playable. This is of course out of
pocket.
Post setup conditions, guitar is very playable and I could
easily play up to 2 hours straight.
The buzz on the low E bass string was still there.
What it sounds like?
- As I was searching online, the 2 things guitar pros recommended:
- Buy a guitar, which looks good. Each time you look at it, you want to play more. Hence, the tobacco sunburst.
- Buy a guitar that sounds nice to you. This one really did.
It has a mellow sound. Nice for picking and does wonderfully
well when you strum.
As compared to the higher end models solid wood Yamaha axes,
this one can really hold its own.
I believe it is really down the laminated Spruce used on the F310’s.
Another thing you will notice, is that they are loud.
What else you get for SGD229 (on offer price)?
The “P” behind the 310 means it is package set. You get a
guitar and
- 3 pieces of Yamaha picks (Useful) ($3)
- Guitar strap (Yes its useful) ($10)
- A simple non-padded bag without a sling. (This means you need to carry it in your hand) ($15)
- Alice brand pitch pipe (not very useful as beginners you are better of using a digital tuner) ($5)
- String winder (Yes its useful) ($3)
- Set of gauge 12 (light) Yamaha folk strings ($6)
Final Words
This a decent guitar that weights about 3kgs, the package
itself is loaded with things not really needed by a newbie guitar.
As a newbie, a few extra dollars is probably needed to setup
the guitar especially to ensure the setup is low enough to make it easy on the
fingers.
I recommend brands like Epiphone, which has great playability
off the box.
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