Price or brand name is certainly not a guarantee of a good instrument. I have had at least 500 Fender Stratocasters in my hand over the years and only a few played really well.

I bought an acoustic guitar in a pawnshop for $35 dollars that played and sounded better than any high-dollar acoustic I have played. I gave the guitar to a well-known singer-songwriter friend of mine.

Large improvements in guitar making have been a function of high-quality computer numeric control machines being used in their manufacture. That is the reason cheap guitars play well nowadays. The main issue is if the wood stays put.

The only way I know to get a guitar that you will really like is to go play them until you find something that fits your hand. Then hope the wood does not move around more than can be easily adjusted.

It is common for people to go buy the make of guitar their guitar heroes play. I guess they hope that will be the key to their playing well...good luck with that.

The guitar manufacturers have to compete with one another so Yahama will always try to make the best they can within the budget.

I have had the good luck to be lifelong friends of the owner of one of the biggest vintage guitar shops in the country. That let me play hundreds of guitars both inexpensive and guitars that cost over $200,000 dollars.

At the end of the day, it is more about the player than the guitar, to begin with. We all spend way too much time talking about guitars than playing them...lol

Billy

“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig?
“Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”