Yamaha F335 Review

The F335 lives up to Yamaha’s reputation for building good quality budget acoustic guitars. However, a couple of minor playability issues mean beginners maybe have better options available to them.

Looks: 4.5/5

The Yamaha F355 comes in two colors: Natural and Tobacco Brown Sunburst. Personally, I like the natural one more than the Tobacco Brown Sunburst. Why? Because the natural version highlights the wood’s fiber which really makes the looks pop. 

Meanwhile, the gold-colored tuners give this guitar a luxurious look. Yamaha has done a good job with the overall finish. Personally, I give it 4.5 out of 5 in the looks department.

Build Quality: 4.5/5

The F335 is built with robust wood and components making it strong and tough.

I bring this guitar everywhere I go in all conditions, wind rain and shine, and it’s lasted well – I’ve even accidently dropped this guitar a few times and  it’s all fine.

The guitar has a mahogany or nato neck and the body is made of tropical tonewood – this is a popular wood for the acoustic guitar that is famous for its mid-range.

The frets are pretty standard, with steel fretwire and a fretboard made from rosewood. The Yamaha F335 exemplifies why this wood is used as a fretboard material – it gives the guitar a warmer sound than other fretboard materials.

The F335 comes loaded with standard 0.12 gauge strings. But I recommend you to use 0.11 because it’s more comfortable on the fingers. It also adds a little brightness to the sound.

The bridge is made from rosewood and the saddle and nut is urea. Urea is a good addition, as it  sounds better out-of-the-box than other materials I have tried.

This guitar doesn’t come with a built-in pickup. However, I have added a Fishman Presys Blend to mine, which includes a preamp and guitar equalizer.  The sound still sounds good quality when you do this.

I give the Yamaha F335 4.5 out of 5 for build quality – it is strong, tough and very well built.

Playability: 3.5/5

The F335 is a dreadnought-sized guitar which might put off some beginners and smaller players. However, I’m not a big guy and I’ve never had a problem playing this guitar. The guitar’s weight is around 2.5kg which doesn’t feel too heavy to me.

The action straight out of the box is a bit high and I found it a bit hard to play barre chords. I had to set mine up again by sanding the saddle until its height felt comfortable. If you can’t do this yourself then it’s a good idea to ask the shop or a guitar tech to do it for you – there will probably be a small charge involved but it’s well worth it.

 The neck is fairly normal and comfortable – so no complaints there. This guitar scores 3.5 out of 5 for playability.

Sound Quality: 3/5

The Yamaha F355’s sound hole is bigger than most other guitars. This gives it a big sound that from the factory is actually dark and warm. I don’t really like the dark sound, which is one of the reasons I reduced the string to 0.11.

This guitar is good for playing chords. Big, rich chords like Cadd9 and G major are particularly satisfying to play. The Yamaha F355 is flexible enough to use in a wide range of acoustics styles.

Value for money: 5/5

I bought this guitar in a music store which always makes it more expensive. But I paid around $200 for it which I think this is well worth it – especially when you compare it to other guitars in this price range. Unfortunately it doesn’t come with a gig bag or case which means you have to buy it yourself.

As this is one of Yamaha’s entry-level guitars it is widely available in many stores or online.

Overall Rating: 20.5/30

The Yamaha F335 has a good, warm sound for the price and with a few adjustments you’ll have a great instrument.  I’d recommend this guitar to experienced players who are on a budget.

However, I don’t recommend it to beginners. That’s because the high action means forming chords can be difficult for those who haven’t built up hand strength. Beginners might be better off with the Yamaha C315.