Yamaha FG-331 from 1979. Wow.

[abn556]

I had multiple FG-335s during my time in the military. I would buy a new one every time I went to a new base and leave it there for the other guys when I would leave. I probably had 6-7 at least. I didn’t even know what a setup was back in the 80s and I certainly never worried about humidity. We played outside, inside, in the rain, snow, heat - didn’t matter. Good guitars for soldiers. Takes almost no care to keep running other than strings every now and then.

I still think Yamahas to be one of the best buys in the market at their price point. Even the cheap FS800 of today is a great little guitar for $230.

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[Mayfair]

Prior military myself and agree - these little laminate guitars are fantastic. I’d often see them hanging in the USOs, etc. Maybe one of those was yours!

I also bought a Yamaha AC5R DLX which should be here Monday. Played an AC1R and was so impressed, then found a good deal on the higher model.

[pszy22]

Another FG-331 fan. Bought my 13 or 14 years ago. It get alot of playing time since it is my keep out on the stand handy to pick up for a couple minutes of playing.

Sounds good and plays great.

[fuman]

Originally Posted by pickoid_1

Does anyone know how the FG-331 relates to the SJ-180? My first "real" guitar was a Yamaha SJ-180 that I got for Christmas when I was in 6th grade. That would have been... 1980. It's a 000-size guitar, all laminate, made in Taiwan. It looks nearly exactly like the FG-331 pictured in this thread, except the truss rod is accessible through the soundhole (no TRC on the headstock) and there is no backstripe and no binding on the neck heel. The tuners have closed backs but are not sealed. I've had it with me for all these years, and it has a ton of wear. Fret wear, fingerboard divots, nut needs to be replaced, etc. Having said all that, it still plays pretty well - no problems with the neck, and the action is great. The sound is very bright, and louder than might be expected. It works pretty well for fingerpicking (if only the neck were wider...). It's my office guitar, and it's right here under my cubicle desk as I type this. Just wondering where it falls in the hierarchy of Yamahas. It was pretty cheap when it was new... maybe $125 or so. I got to pick it out, and I remember that my choices were the Yamaha and some Hohner dread. I insisted on the Yamaha!

I bought one of these in 2021 and I love it. I never learned how to play fingerstyle properly. I'm still not very good at it, but I have some technique and can play a few songs, thanks to this guitar, which is a hoot to play. As you say, it's louder than one would expect. I have 12's on it now because it seemed like maybe the 11-gauge silk and steel's were a bit too zingy, but I think I will go back to them. It will probably need a neck reset before long, which is why i got rid of my last Yamaha "Snakehead," an FG-200. I think the FG331 is the direct ancestor of the FG 180.

[abn556]

Originally Posted by Mayfair

Prior military myself and agree - these little laminate guitars are fantastic. I’d often see them hanging in the USOs, etc. Maybe one of those was yours!

I also bought a Yamaha AC5R DLX which should be here Monday. Played an AC1R and was so impressed, then found a good deal on the higher model.

That would be awesome. I used to leave them in the company break room when I would go to a school, or TDY for a while, or PCS.

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