Yamaha CSF series

[BusDriver]

Anybody has any thoughts on the Yamaha CSF series guitar?

[YamahaGuy]

I own the laminate b/s model in tobacco burst. The Zero impact pickup is better on this than it was on my LL16M A.R.E. The guitar is small, has surprisingly good bass response unplugged and has a pretty good sound plugged in. The neck is thin and narrow. The gig bag is very well padded. I'm well pleased with mine so far. I have upgraded my nut and saddle to Tusq and swapped out the tuners for some open gear ones and installed ebony bridge pins mainly for aesthetics. Is there something specific you wanted to know?

[YamahaGuy]

Here are some pics. I got mine from a music store that had already set it up. Of course, I had a little work to do when I swapped out the nut and saddle.

[Beakybird]

They do have these in the stores, and you can probably compare them to the Taylor Mini and the Baby Martin.

My CSF3M is very expressive with fingerpicking, flatpicking, and soft strumming, but doesn't perform well with hard strumming. I can really convey my feelings with it. Great for noodling on the couch or in bed.
I had a luthier craft me a bone saddle. I don't know if the improvement was placebo or not, but I thought it sounded better afterwards. The luthier told me that the factory setup was very close to perfect. He widened one nut slot a tiny bit and made a minor adjustment to the truss rod.

The Taylor Mini is real nice too. I haven't played the Baby Martin. If you put the Taylor and Yamaha side by side, you'll see that the Taylor is the same length as the Yamaha, but has a slightly bigger body. They're in the same ballpark as far as quality, and it just has to do with your preference.

[Cool555]

Originally Posted by Beakybird

They do have these in the stores, and you can probably compare them to the Taylor Mini and the Baby Martin.

My CSF3M is very expressive with fingerpicking, flatpicking, and soft strumming, but doesn't perform well with hard strumming. I can really convey my feelings with it. Great for noodling on the couch or in bed.
I had a luthier craft me a bone saddle. I don't know if the improvement was placebo or not, but I thought it sounded better afterwards. The luthier told me that the factory setup was very close to perfect. He widened one nut slot a tiny bit and made a minor adjustment to the truss rod.

The Taylor Mini is real nice too. I haven't played the Baby Martin. If you put the Taylor and Yamaha side by side, you'll see that the Taylor is the same length as the Yamaha, but has a slightly bigger body. They're in the same ballpark as far as quality, and it just has to do with your preference.

I own a CSF3M and agree with the feedback given by Beakybird. Value for money guitar that is worth trying out.

[AndrewG]

See, I'm torn now. I've been dancing around buying either the 3 or the 1 for a while now, but then I spotted this going for a very good price:
https://www.kennysmusic.co.uk/yamaha...th-hard-gigbag
I already have an LL16 A.R.E. Decisions, decisions...

[Nick84]

Originally Posted by AndrewG

See, I'm torn now. I've been dancing around buying either the 3 or the 1 for a while now, but then I spotted this going for a very good price:
https://www.kennysmusic.co.uk/yamaha...th-hard-gigbag
I already have an LL16 A.R.E. Decisions, decisions...

I’d take that LS6 if you were after a smaller body guitar! Tempted myself at that price!

[roylor4]

I played both the laminate and all solid version of these this past weekend. If they had a wider and thicker neck i would buy one, no doubt about it.

Not as much bass as the D Jr or GS, but crazy resonant in a way the other two are not. I did find the bass to be thin on them, but not enough to detract from the guitar and pretty well balanced overall.

The body is smaller than the D Jr and GS, so you can't get but so much bass in a small package. Overall, I preferred the feel of it to the Martin and Taylor and the build quality, finish, etc. was impeccably done.

I did find the all solid one to have more HP and to be more resonant but they were all surprisingly good.

[Beakybird]

I think that comparing the CSF parlors to the LS6 is really apples and oranges. They're different sizes, one is A.R.E. and the other isn't. One has modified non-scalloped bracing and the other has scalloped bracing. One has laminate rosewood back and sides and the other has mahogany (laminate or solid depending on the model).

If already owned the LL16, I would be concerned that the LS6 would be a little too close in sound signature while the parlor would give me a completely different sound.

[Cool555]

Originally Posted by roylor4

I played both the laminate and all solid version of these this past weekend. If they had a wider and thicker neck i would buy one, no doubt about it.



Not as much bass as the D Jr or GS, but crazy resonant in a way the other two are not. I did find the bass to be thin on them, but not enough to detract from the guitar and pretty well balanced overall.



The body is smaller than the D Jr and GS, so you can't get but so much bass in a small package. Overall, I preferred the feel of it to the Martin and Taylor and the build quality, finish, etc. was impeccably done.



I did find the all solid one to have more HP and to be more resonant but they were all surprisingly good.

The above is very close to how I will describe my Dread Jr, Gs mini and CSF3M. And I own all three.

The Dr Jr has good bass and sounds like a typical dreadnought. The Gs mini has good trebles. The CSF3M is very resonant and very balanced but with neither strong bass or trebles. It is more suitable for finger-picking and non-aggressive strumming. When strummed aggressively, it may sound a bit “jarring” with 12-53 Elixir Nanoweb PB strings.

The standard IMHO and YMMV applies...

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by Nick84

I’d take that LS6 if you were after a smaller body guitar! Tempted myself at that price!

I agree! By the way shouldn't that be an LJ16BC in your sig, or have I missed an LL somewhere?

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by Beakybird

I think that comparing the CSF parlors to the LS6 is really apples and oranges. They're different sizes, one is A.R.E. and the other isn't. One has modified non-scalloped bracing and the other has scalloped bracing. One has laminate rosewood back and sides and the other has mahogany (laminate or solid depending on the model).

If already owned the LL16, I would be concerned that the LS6 would be a little too close in sound signature while the parlor would give me a completely different sound.

You make a good point, although a friend bought the LS a few years ago on my recommendation so I had a chance to play it. It did have the signature L-series tone, but overall it had a different response to the bigger LL; less bass and stronger mids, both of which I would expect from the body size and style.

[Beakybird]

Originally Posted by Cool555

The above is very close to how I will describe my Dread Jr, Gs mini and CSF3M. And I own all three.

The Dr Jr has good bass and sounds like a typical dreadnought. The Gs mini has good trebles. The CSF3M is very resonant and very balanced but with neither strong bass or trebles. It is more suitable for finger-picking and non-aggressive strumming. When strummed aggressively, it may sound a bit “jarring” with 12-53 Elixir Nanoweb PB strings.

The standard IMHO and YMMV applies...

Owning all three, very cool. You're opinions on these little guitars carry some authority then. I use the same strings, btw on my CSF3M. They sound fresh for weeks.

[Nick84]

Originally Posted by AndrewG

I agree! By the way shouldn't that be an LJ16BC in your sig, or have I missed an LL somewhere?

Your right (autocorrect)

[Blueser100]

I love Yamaha from way back but I was underwhelmed by the CSF when I played both models. I have a D Jr and much prefer it.

You could always wait and try the new Transacoustic version of the CSF. I absolutely love my Yamaha FS-TA and will give the new CSF-TA a whirl when it shows up at my local GC.

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Yamaha/...tric-Guitar.gc