Newbie needs advice. Alvarez AD60 or Yamaha FR830

[jschmitz54]

I’m a 63 year old who wants to learn to play guitar. I want to spend about $300. on a guitar. The research I’ve done has me narrowing it down to a Alvarez AD60 or a Yamaha FR830. Which one should I buy and why? Is there something else I should consider. They both seem very well rated and cost the same. All advice appreciated.

[AZLiberty]

In general I think the Artist Series Alvarez guitars punch well above their price point. No experience with the Yamaha.

Only thing you might consider is whether a Dreadnought is the right size guitar for you.

[Rpt50]

I would recommend the Yamaha, but suggest you trade "bling" for set-up. The FG800 (full size) and FS800 (smaller) sound fantastic--better than much more expensive guitars. They are essentially the same as the 830 models, but lack the fancy appointments, and only cost $199 (and I got mine for $159 on sale). Use part of the money you save for a set up to make it easy to play for a beginner (mainly getting the action (string height) good for a beginner).

I do not know if Alvarez offers similar models to the 800 Yamahas, but they are fine guitars. You probably can't go wrong either way.

Finally sir, I commend you for a sensible approach to learning guitar. I am often astonished on this forum by folks that want to spend $1000 or more on their first guitar, and others who encourage them. People are certainly entitled to spend their money as they see fit, but I think the point that often gets lost is that we are in an age where excellent guitars can be had for peanuts! When I learned back in the 70s, "beginner" guitars were truly dreadful instruments, that could often not be tuned, and had action that was unplayable. Today you have an incredible number of choices of excellent guitars at you $300 price point.

[lowrider]

Both are very good choices. The biggest difference is that the Alvarez has 1 3/4 nut and the Yamaha has 1 9/16. If you read around this forum, you'll see that most prefer 1 3/4. Twice, in Florida, I've rented an Alvarez dread and it was a great playing guitar.

Also, a lot of us here prefer the smaller body guitars.

I started with a Yamaha dread with 9/16 nut. Then I got a MartinX dread with 1 9/16. Then my wife bought me a smaller Martin GP with 1 3/4. I liked the slightly smaller guitar and the wider spacing and I sold both dreads.

I now have the Martin GP and a Sigma 0M, which is a little smaller again. I'm also having a 000 built and it should be ready in a couple of months.


If you sit and play, you will probably prefer the smaller bodies and being an older player, I think you'll want the wider string spacing.

Good luck! I started playing around 16 months ago. I practice every day and I'm having a ball.

[Steadfastly]

The Yamaha is a decent guitar but not quite in the Alvarez league. As someone else mentioned, the Alvarez also has the wider neck making it easier to play unless you have really small hands and short fingers.

[Ozark]

Yamaha has a 1-11/16" nut. Love my FG800. Very easy player and sounds fantastic.

[Gmountain]

I started with an AD60. I quickly found out it was too big to be comfortable sitting down. I switched to an Alvarez AF60 and found it was much more comfortable and easier to play. Give one a try- I still play mine.

[Speedwagon]

I agree with what others have said. Both Alvarez and Yamaha make fine guitars. The only thing I would reconsider is the size of the guitar. I started out on a dread snd pretty quickly learned that I prefer smaller guitars. Go out and play as many as you can before you spend the money.

[DCCougar]

Originally Posted by Rpt50

....Use part of the money you save for a set up to make it easy to play for a beginner (mainly getting the action (string height) good for a beginner).....

Good advice. I'd also suggest getting the frets polished. Makes a difference.

[grasser]

Both nice guitars but I prefer the smaller neck on the Yamaha. It's best to try them out first. You can try out an FG or its smaller relative, the FS800, at any Guitar Center. Not sure about the Alvarez. I owned an AD60 briefly and the neck was too meaty for me (it also could have probably used a setup).

[Tony Burns]

Originally Posted by jschmitz54

I’m a 63 year old who wants to learn to play guitar. I want to spend about $300. on a guitar. The research I’ve done has me narrowing it down to a Alvarez AD60 or a Yamaha FR830. Which one should I buy and why? Is there something else I should consider. They both seem very well rated and cost the same. All advice appreciated.

I understand the money situation -but for 300 bucks the quality will be lacking .
Solid wood tops would be where Id start - and at that price a guitar can be either Bad to OK -so buy in person not on line.
stuff like solid sides is prefered as well - Im not a Chinese guitar kind of guy -typically in the long run their resale value is poor.
Brands like Bluridge , Guild Gads or Eastman ( orient made guitars ) are better brands , thou their are allot of Yammies that are great.

[Gmountain]

Originally Posted by Tony Burns

I understand the money situation -but for 300 bucks the quality will be lacking .
Solid wood tops would be where Id start - and at that price a guitar can be either Bad to OK -so buy in person not on line.

Alvarez is a solid wood top. The Alvarez line is really nice.

[Goodallboy]

Don’t buy a guitar unplayed. Take the time and make the effort to play the guitars before deciding. Someone else’s opinion is not always helpful in choosing something so personal. Get the opinions and then measure them against your own experience.

[Rmz76]

Originally Posted by jschmitz54

I’m a 63 year old who wants to learn to play guitar. I want to spend about $300. on a guitar. The research I’ve done has me narrowing it down to a Alvarez AD60 or a Yamaha FR830. Which one should I buy and why? Is there something else I should consider. They both seem very well rated and cost the same. All advice appreciated.

Both are great guitars at their price points... I've played the Alvarez AD60, but have not played a Yamaha FR830 (did you mean FG830?) Between FG830 and AD60, my preference would be the AD60 for two reasons:

1.) I think Alvarez is doing a better job with factory setups. Every Alvarez I've tried in a retail store in the past five years has had a very good out of the box setup. The two I've purchased were so good out of the box I haven't had to touch them. This is not the case with the Yamaha's I've played. I'm not saying Yamaha acoustics are unplayable out of the box. Indeed, they are very playable but they are not as spot-on and comfortable (in terms of string height/action) as the Alvarez models that I've tried.

2.) This one boils down to personal preference, but I like the wider nut width on the Alvarez (1 3/4").

Play them both if you can. With either choice you aren't getting a bad deal.

[Riverwolf]

Originally Posted by jschmitz54

I’m a 63 year old who wants to learn to play guitar.

Amazes me how many folks will tell a complete newbie to play before buying...???

I strongly suggest your first guitar to be a 000 or OM model with a solid sitka top.
(Unless you happen to be a giant.)

Brand is unimportant. If you stick with this then you will know what you want in a year or so.

https://www.justinguitar.com/index.php (a great place to start)

Good luck.