Yamaha FG5

review
98
YAMAHA FG5 & FGX3
Guitarist sEPtEMBEr 2019
are urea. The 5’s pickguard is designated
as being ‘wooden type’, the 3’s is some sort
of black plastic material – we told you the
differences were subtle. The bridge pins
on the FG5 are ebony, the FGX3’s white-
dotted ABS – and, of course, the latter also
has Yamaha’s Atmosfeel fitted, whereas
you’d have to step up a little in price to have
that luxury on the FG5, the electro-acoustic
FGX5 retailing at around £300 more. One
thing that strikes us as odd is that the FGX3
has the extra strap pin on the heel, whereas
the F5 doesn’t. Just because it hasn’t got a
pickup doesn’t mean you would want to
play sitting down all the time, so we’d like to
have seen a little parity in this case between
the two models.
Apart from those minor discrepancies,
these two are virtually twins – although,
cosmetically speaking, the FGX3 top and
back/side timbers look a little lighter in
hue, but this could easily be something
that varies slightly from one individual
instrument to another and is, therefore,
of little significance.
We’ll take a look at which build features
the FG5 and FGX3 share before we start
exploring the subtle variances between
them. To begin with, both have Sitka spruce
tops, which Yamaha tells us is sourced from
either Canada or Alaska, and both have been
subjected to Yamaha’s Acoustic Resonance
Enhancement – ARE for short – which is the
company’s take on the practically universal
torrefaction process where the wood is
heated, and, in the company’s own words:
“The ARE process gives the instrument
a rich, vintage-quality tone, producing a
sound like you’ve been playing it for years.”
Both guitars have solid mahogany backs
and sides and it must be said that all-solid
wood construction at this kind of price
point is something we’re seeing less and
less today, so kudos to Yamaha on this alone.
Necks continue the mahogany theme, both
are scarfed just under the Gotoh tuners and
finish with the slight V-shape at the top of
the headstock, which was a characteristic
of those early FG models. In fact, reference
is made to the red label lineage via the
truss rod covers, which bear the words
“Since 1966”. In both cases, the fretboards
are ebony, with 20 well-seated medium
frets with pearl dot position markers in the
accustomed places.
So, apart from the fact that the FG5 is
made in Japan and the FGX3 hails from
China, what are those subtle differences we
referred to earlier? On the FG5 the nut and
saddle are both bone, whereas the FGX3’s
Feel & Sounds
Both guitars come fitted with Elixir
Nanoweb Light Gauge 80/20 strings –
weighing in at a perfectly adequate 0.012 to
0.053 – and so the next thing is to hear what
these instruments sound like.
Picking up the FGX3 first, we notice that
the action has been set on the high side of
medium and, while this might not be of
any concern to someone who just wishes
to bang out their rendition of Wonderwall
at the local open mic night, fingerstylists
who often trespass up the dusty end of the
fretboard might want to fettle things a little
to make such manoeuvres a little more
comfortable under the hand.
The onboard electrics make the guitar
feel a little heavier than the FG5 – around
0.45kg heavier, in fact – but the general feel
is good. The finish on both instruments is
referred to by Yamaha as being ‘semi-gloss’,
but, by all accounts, could easily be dubbed
‘satin’ to our eyes. It gives an appropriate
played-in feel, nonetheless. A few initial
noodles reveal a good combination of treble
The Atmosfeel pickup
system uses a three-
source combination
for the very best
plugged-in voicing
The FGX3’s stage-
readiness is enhanced by
the presence of an extra
strap peg on the heel
GIT450.rev_yamfg.indd 98 08/08/2019 14:26