Yamaha JR1 FG Junior 3/4 Size Acoustic Guitar, Natural

I am basically an advanced beginner, having started out about a year and a half ago on the Yamaha 3/4 Size Classcal Guitar (with nylon strings.) Also taking lessons. I recently purchased this Yamaha FG 3/4 Size Accoustic Guitar.In my opinion, it has good intonation, has a more than decent rich sound to it. It is definitely not a "toy" guitar. After about five tunings at the beginning, it has held its tune well--only very few tweaks. The action is low without buzzing, which is good for tender finger tips, and just plain, overall fretting. I have to agree with some of the reviewers who believe this to be smaller than a 3/4 size guitar. This one is pretty small. I don't think it's 3/4 size--more of a half-size. I am only 5 feet tall, female, with small frame and fingers, and I find the distance between the strings to be a bit of a tight squeeze. Distance in frets is okay for my stature.I was worried that going to a steel string accoustic guitar would be painful on the tips of my fretting fingers since I have nerve damage in my fingers--one of the reasons I started off on the Yamaha 3/4 size classical with nylon strings (which is a great nylon string guitar for beginners), but I don't realize any difficulty or pain with this steel string guitar. I have calluses by now, but even so, for one just starting out on a steel string, I don't think it's any more painful than starting out on nylon strings.A setup by a luthier, I don't think it is at all necessary unless you are at least an intermediate, at which point you probably own a $500+ guitar that has a louder sound (I think this one has more than average projection, and aginn, intonation). Besides a bit of a problem with the string-to-string closeness, the only other thing I can think of is the fretboard, compared to the overall size of the guitar, and the body, is more than average heavy--not a real biggie, but I thought I'd mention it.Because of its small size, if you are taller than five feet, or have average or large hands, I can't give it five stars. If you know enough about guitars and think you can handle a guitar this size, I would give it five stars, especially for a small child.All in all, if you are looking for a beginner steel string accoustic guitar, especially for a child just starting out, I don't think you could go wrong with this guitar. You get a real guitar at a very good price, that's pretty vibrant, while keeping in mind that it is on a small scale. Here, I would give it five stars.If I had a child who wanted to start playing a steel string accoustic guitar, I would not hesitate to purchase this guitar. If you are taller than five feet, or have large fingers, I do feel this good guitar would be a bit of a tight squeeze, and also possibly not as comfortable to hold. If, on the other hand, you want to purchase a very nice quality guitar without shelling out big bucks, especially for a beginner, I would highly recommend this guitar.

I have a full size solid top dreadnaught, but didn't want to take it with me to deer camp, where it would be exposed to humidity and temperature changes. Fully laminated will be more durable. Also I am not concerned with scratching, dinging or even completely destroying it, since it's a "beater". But it sounds plenty decent for those purposes. I chose Yamaha because I also own a nicer 12-string solid top Yamaha FG and have owned Yamaha electric guitars and basses before. They tend to pay good attention to fretwork and overall quality, even on budget instruments. Fit and finish is nice for the money, burst looks nice and having both strap buttons installed is unusual and a nice surprise. A guitar this size you'll probably want to play it standing up more than a full size one. I've had it for about a year. Stock strings are trash, installed a budget set of Martins and it's much better. "Vintage style" tuners seem to work so far. They look flimsier than typical full size tuners, but hopefully will hold up. Overall it holds tune. Happy with it for the money.

Great little guitar. I got it for the kids but I find myself playing it more. Good quality built and sounds great.

I have small hands. So a 3/4 guitar is a good fit. Sound is ok. Disappointed that it took ups almost two weeks to deliver. Nice looking. The back is made from a cheaper wood which may not produce real good sound for an acoustic guitar. Over happy with it.

Great guitar for kids starting to learn guitar. Nice quality and holds up well to being thrown around by kids. Stays in tune and sounds well.

Awesome little guitar, my son is totally rocking it!

Allow me to preface this with the fact that I know guitars. having played over 50 years and have a guitar collection many would covet. I did my due diligence before buying this JR2. and what arrived was nothing like I saw locally. My young grandson wants a guitar like his big brother who has an FG800 in natural which is an absolutely amazing guitar for the price. The only thing available locally was a JR2 in sunburst. It had a nice gloss finish, perfect neck and sounded great but a JR2 in natural was only Amazon had one in natural, in stock and ready to ship.The top had an acceptable gloss finish while the back and sides were satin and the back or the neck and head stock were stained but hadn't been sanded smooth. The sides of the frets were sharp and the fret board appeared to have never been treated and was dried out. Getting the thing in tune was time consuming and after playing a couple cords it was already out of tune. The the tone was tinny unlike the local store model in burst and it had a bad fret buzz on the E and A strings. The neck was okay and I probably could have adjusted it some but this thing needs a complete set up to get it even close to being playable it it's at all possible.

This guitar exceeded all my expectations, and then some. The workmanship is very good. Not one small defect after looking closely at this guitar. It even comes ready to play, with a nice low action. It is small and light, a perfect guitar for camping, etc. Why would you pay $400 for a travel guitar when you can pay a third of that and get a sturdy, good sounding instrument that is ready for the road. The included cloth case is terrible, but I fully expected that.