New guy here. A couple questions about my Yamaha

[JayBenham]

Hey Everyone,

I purchased my first ever guitar (Yamaha FSX800C) this past Jan. Been practicing with Justin Guitar almost every day. I feel like I'm making a lot of progress and enjoying every minute of it.

I feel like the strings are a bit hard to press. C chord being my most challenging at the moment on my guitar. My Mom has a GS Mini...I have no issue when I play this guitar. It is SO much easier to play all around. Its becoming a little frustrating when I go back to my Yamaha. I took it to a local shop the other day to get his opinion and he said the action was a bit high. He also wants to install some lighter DR strings. Im very reluctant to change strings as I love how this guitar sounds currently. Will lighter strings really change the sound a lot? Once set up with these strings can it be changed back if I dont like the sound? Sorry if these are silly questions. I just have no experience with guitars.

Im really considering just getting a GS Mini and being done with the Yamaha

Any thoughts?

[Elrathia]

Yes to both questions. By all means have the action adjusted to lower the action, and try lighter strings. Everything is reversible, expected, and recommended. Good on you for looking for answers.

[Charlie Bernstein]

Lighter strings and lower action will improve the sound because you'll play better.

Lighter strings are also better for the top of your guitar because the top won't belly as much over time, which could eventually require surgical correction.

I use twelves, a.k.a. lights or medium lights. No one's ever complained about not being able to hear me.

By the way, watch for this guitar student benchmark: the F chord. If you can get the hang that, you're over the hump. You'll be able to get the hang of anything.

[CharlieBman]

Sounds like your Yamaha just needs a good setup...in particular the nut slots. If they are shallow, causing your action on the first few frets to be very high, that can be finger killers (because that's where you need to exert the most pressure to make the strings meet the frets). Find a "qualified" tech or luthier, someone who knows what they are doing when filings nut slots, and I'm betting you problems will go away.

[Ps346]

The GS mini will always be easier to play than your Yamaha.

I, too, have a lower-end Yamaha – along with a GS Mini that I purchased for my wife. I often play the GS Mini simply because it's almost effortless to play compared to my custom-built dread.

All other things being equal, a guitar with a 23.5" scale length is always going to be easier to play, I would say, than one with a 25+" scale length.

Of course, you won't get the sound out of the GS Mini that you will from your larger Yamaha – although I'm amazed with the big sound that Taylor is able to produce from that guitar.

Try this:

https://www.amazon.com/IronMind-Capt...8-3&th=1&psc=1

I presently do 12 reps on the 140-pound and the 195-pound grippers a few times a week. It makes a big difference for me – and it keeps me from playing the GS Mini all the time. 🙂

[Dan Winheld]

Originally Posted by Ps346

The GS mini will always be easier to play than your Yamaha.

I, too, have a lower-end Yamaha – along with a GS Mini that I purchased for my wife. I often play the GS Mini simply because it's almost effortless to play compared to my custom-built dread.

All other things being equal, a guitar with a 23.5" scale length is always going to be easier to play, I would say, than one with a 25+" scale length.

Of course, you won't get the sound out of the GS Mini that you will from your larger Yamaha – although I'm amazed with the big sound that Taylor is able to produce from that guitar.

Try this:

https://www.amazon.com/IronMind-Capt...8-3&th=1&psc=1

I presently do 12 reps on the 140-pound and the 195-pound grippers a few times a week. It makes a big difference for me – and it keeps me from playing the GS Mini all the time. 🙂

The grip strength recommendation is fine as far as it goes- but it doesn’t address the most important issue by far concerning steel string guitar beginners; finger tip sensitivity. All the strength in the world won’t help the player who has not built up callouses and skin toughness, which can take a few months.. Even beginners on gut/nylon string instruments have to take the time necessary for proper fingertip conditioning.

In fact, the one thing that takes the most brute force is the full barre F chord (especially f minor!) in 1st position referenced by Charlie Bernstein. Any of the barre chords, (esp. in 1st position) require index finger brute force strength - and many of us go on to develop partial barre chords with the other three fingers.

Conditioning and strength are two of the three requirements- the third is flexibility, which I would personally put ahead of mere strength.

[JayBenham]

Thanks for all the input and info

Im going to drop my guitar off with the guy after Easter. He says he needs it for a few days. Looking forward to seeing how it plays after the strings and setup. I never thought about it sounding better because ill be able to play it better lol. Makes sense.

Im not up to any Barre chords yet. I would think Grade 2 would start them which I'm almost at.

Its interesting, regarding the sound of those GS Minis...My Mom just got this limited run dark sunburst looking one. I believe it's simply a Sitka Spruce top with the Sapele sides and back that's finished in a darker color. Funny thing is that it sounded SO much better than the standard Spruce model in the store. Aside from the different darker finish it SHOULD be the same guitar. Id say the sound out of hers is very close to my Yamaha. It's amazing.

[RoscoeGumar]

Jay,

Good luck. Don’t be too afraid of tweaking your own guitar. I’m pretty new myself but, I’ve already changed strings a bunch of times, carefully sanded some saddles to lower the action, adjusted truss rods and, gulp, did some nut filing. So far, I’ve not broken anything and my understanding and confidence increases with each “experiment”. Only the nut filing made me nervous as swapping out a nut seems like a significantly bigger job than replacing a saddle.

As others have said, I wouldn’t expect the Yamaha to ever be as easy to play (fret strings) as the Yamaha but, you might find you like the extra fretboard space a full size guitar gives you.

[Charlie Bernstein]

Originally Posted by JayBenham

Thanks for all the input and info

You're welcome!

Originally Posted by JayBenham

Im going to drop my guitar off with the guy after Easter. He says he needs it for a few days. Looking forward to seeing how it plays after the strings and setup. I never thought about it sounding better because ill be able to play it better lol. Makes sense.

Stick with this guy. It sounds like he knows his stuff.

Originally Posted by JayBenham

Im not up to any Barre chords yet. I would think Grade 2 would start them which I'm almost at.

Yup. The F chord will be your intro to barring. It's not all six strings, but most players who use bar shapes don't use all six strings all the time. I usually use just two or three at a time.

Originally Posted by JayBenham

Its interesting, regarding the sound of those GS Minis...My Mom just got this limited run dark sunburst looking one. I believe it's simply a Sitka Spruce top with the Sapele sides and back that's finished in a darker color.

Good ingreeds!

Originally Posted by JayBenham

Funny thing is that it sounded SO much better than the standard Spruce model in the store. Aside from the different darker finish it SHOULD be the same guitar. Id say the sound out of hers is very close to my Yamaha. It's amazing.

Sounds like you have an ear. You're on your way. Welcome, Jay!

[Wade Hampton]

By the way, Jay, get used to the idea of changing the strings on a fairly regular basis: retaining old strings won’t help you keep the initial sound you prefer. With use and age strings degrade, and get funkier-sounding the longer you keep them on the guitar.

So get used to the idea of changing the strings out every so often if you want to keep the guitar sounding its best.

Hope this helps.


Wade Hampton Miller

[thefsb]

I bought a Yamaha FG830 a couple of years ago and the action was horrible. It was very uncomfortable to play. I adjusted the truss rod, cut the nut a bit deeper, lowered the saddle, polished the frets and it was a great playing and sounding guitar.

A competent tech can do that for you but it will cost something. Adjusting the truss rod, saddle and polishing frets is easy once you learn how. Adjusting the nut additionally requires special tools. Learning to do these things is enjoyable for me.

Alternatively, swipe your mom's Taylor and let her deal with the Yamaha :P

[sinistral]

I agree that the shorter scale length of the GS Mini will be easier to play, but with a good set up and the right strings, the Yamaha should be comfortable to play. I would not recommend grip strengthening exercises. If you watch the best players, you will notice that they tend to use light pressure—the lightest pressure needed to fret notes cleanly. I would practice proper technique. Whenever possible, fret notes by pressing close to the backside of frets (not always possible with every note in a chord, etc.). You will play with less fatigue, and it will improve your dexterity and speed.

[zuzu]

Surely no need to purchase another guitar yet. Any Yamaha has a good enough fret job to be able to achieve an easy playing action, and every new Yamaha I've ever had (7 now) came with a playable, but uncomfortably high action. The nut slots, in particular, seem cut higher on a Yamaha than most factory guitars. The strings that come on Yamahas are lights, or .12's as they are often called, and are fine for now.

When you get that sorted you should have a guitar that is as easy to play as most, and as you progress and find your style as a player you can hone in the set up to custom suit your preferences. Meanwhile, you have a good guitar to start with and a good set up should be a help to your progress. Happy picking!!

[Inyo]

Interesting topic.

[Felixq78]

Originally Posted by Charlie Bernstein

Lighter strings and lower action will improve the sound because you'll play better.

Lighter strings are also better for the top of your guitar because the top won't belly as much over time, which could eventually require surgical correction.

I use twelves, a.k.a. lights or medium lights. No one's ever complained about not being able to hear me.

By the way, watch for this guitar student benchmark: the F chord. If you can get the hang that, you're over the hump. You'll be able to get the hang of anything.

The F chord can be a difficult hurdle to cross C can be a pain too but as long as you keep playing regularly you will get there. Every day is good but if the muscles in your fretting hand are cramping, or stiff or feeling pain give it a break for a couple of days. Also if you're a newbie you won't have callouses on your fingertips and I remember what that was like it's murder get some baby oil put a drop on each fingertip and gently rub it in with your thumb. I promise you that within a couple of months you'll have good strong hand and nice thick callouses and that's when the fun begins.