Epiphone Excellente or Yamaha FGX5?

[gomespt]

I'm currently deciding between keeping a Epiphone Excellente or getting a Yamaha FGX5. Epiphone arrived with several issues (I described that on a separate previous post) that might be correctable but I'm not sure I want to go through that. I tried a Yamaha FGX5 but only briefly, on a noisy store with the store clerk staring at me from 3 meters away so not ideal. Still I did a detailed inspection and it seemed flawless. My + and - for each:

Excellente
+ sounds beautiful with strummed / flatpicked chords
+ looks beautiful, woods are very nice, ovangkol back and sides looks great (despite the finish flaws of mine)
+ electronics are totally hidden away (no visible buttons or battery compartment
- seems to have lesser definition and note separation on finger picked / fingerstyle?
- arrived with unstuck pickguard, not sure it was exposed to extreme heat that might compromise the guitar long term?


It's very flamboyant but it's the thing in this guitar, it's different and I like it.

FGX5
+ flawless build quality
+ seems to have more definition on fingerstyle
+ onboard amplification /plugged sound better than EPI
- action was very high (easily fixed with a setup)
- not so sonorous on strummed chords compared to the Epi

Aestethics are almost the opposite of the Exellente, a satin finish, very low key.

I'm torn right now, I play a bit of every style (strummed, finger picked, etc), love the looks of both though they are very different. I feel the Excellente might be harder to get in the future, maybe even discontinued or becoming ever more expensive.

Anyone with experience of playing both? What say you?

[BoneDigger]

I have owned both of these, except my Yamaha was the FG5 (no electronics). The build quality on both is fairly good. The setup on the Epi was pretty bad when I bought it and it required a bit of work to get into playable condition. Once it was set up correctly, it has great tone and was fun to play. The Epi has a 1 11/16" nut where the Yamaha has a 1 3/4" nut. The Epi is also significantly heavier than the Yamaha and had a heavier neck.

Given the choice, I would pick the Yamaha. The Epi was good, but the Yamaha is significantly better in most ways. The resale on the Yamaha will also be much better. Both are good guitars, but the Yamaha is in almost all ways better. If you do buy the Yamaha, you might want to take the faux wood pickguard off and add a standard teardrop shaped one. Just make sure you measure the sound hole diameter and get the correct one. If I remember correctly, the Martin version, which most are based on, was a different size.

[gomespt]

Originally Posted by BoneDigger

I have owned both of these, except my Yamaha was the FG5 (no electronics). The build quality on both is fairly good. The setup on the Epi was pretty bad when I bought it and it required a bit of work to get into playable condition. Once it was set up correctly, it has great tone and was fun to play. The Epi has a 1 11/16" nut where the Yamaha has a 1 3/4" nut. The Epi is also significantly heavier than the Yamaha and had a heavier neck.

Given the choice, I would pick the Yamaha. The Epi was good, but the Yamaha is significantly better in most ways. The resale on the Yamaha will also be much better. Both are good guitars, but the Yamaha is in almost all ways better. If you do buy the Yamaha, you might want to take the faux wood pickguard off and add a standard teardrop shaped one. Just make sure you measure the sound hole diameter and get the correct one. If I remember correctly, the Martin version, which most are based on, was a different size.

Thanks for the valuable insight, not had enough playtime with the Yamaha to see how I get along with the wider nut, although it has a shorter scale and slimmer neck than the Epi I believe. I generally prefere slimmer necks but also slimmer nuts.

Any particular reason for not you not having the Yamaha anymore?

[BoneDigger]

Originally Posted by gomespt

Thanks for the valuable insight, not had enough playtime with the Yamaha to see how I get along with the wider nut, although it has a shorter scale and slimmer neck than the Epi I believe. I generally prefere slimmer necks but also slimmer nuts.



Any particular reason for not you not having the Yamaha anymore?

It was a great guitar, but I was interested in buying a new D35 and had to move along a few guitars in order to afford it. I already had a D18, so my mahogany needs were already met, so I let the Yamaha go. The only issue I had with theYamaha was that it didn't respond well to a heavy pick attack. It did great for finger style and basic strumming, but if you were in a jam session, it didn't like being heavily strummed. Now, that was the particular one I owned and others may be different.

I'll be honest with you, as I said earlier, if given a "this or that" option, I would easily pick the Yamaha. However, if you already have the Epi, it's certainly not a bad guitar and it appears to suit your needs well? Don't go with the Yamaha and spend extra money if it won't net you anything. Spend the extra money on a good pickup and be happy.

As for the issues with the Epi, you could contact Epiphone and talk to a rep. They will probably send you a new pick guard and might in fact totally exchange the guitar if there are finish issues. I assume you bought this new? I would certainly talk to them. If not, any tech should be able to fix the pickguard you have. The finish issues are another thing altogether.

https://youtu.be/7Zpkmsio2PU?si=_VK5VhCannFEfGXP

[gomespt]

Originally Posted by BoneDigger

It was a great guitar, but I was interested in buying a new D35 and had to move along a few guitars in order to afford it. I already had a D18, so my mahogany needs were already met, so I let the Yamaha go. The only issue I had with theYamaha was that it didn't respond well to a heavy pick attack. It did great for finger style and basic strumming, but if you were in a jam session, it didn't like being heavily strummed. Now, that was the particular one I owned and others may be different.

I'll be honest with you, as I said earlier, if given a "this or that" option, I would easily pick the Yamaha. However, if you already have the Epi, it's certainly not a bad guitar and it appears to suit your needs well? Don't go with the Yamaha and spend extra money if it won't net you anything. Spend the extra money on a good pickup and be happy.

As for the issues with the Epi, you could contact Epiphone and talk to a rep. They will probably send you a new pick guard and might in fact totally exchange the guitar if there are finish issues. I assume you bought this new? I would certainly talk to them. If not, any tech should be able to fix the pickguard you have. The finish issues are another thing altogether.

https://youtu.be/7Zpkmsio2PU?si=_VK5VhCannFEfGXP

Thanks a lot again! I'm thinking it over, one way or another I will be happy :-)