Epiphone J45 or Yamaha FG830?

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Hi I’m thinking of upgrading my guitar. I’m around level 3 on the beginners course. I’m fairly limited to what I can purchase where I live in the Middle East so I’ve got it down to the Epiphone J45 or the Yamaha FG830. I think the FG830 is worth the extra over the FG800 as the tone seems warmer to me and the action even better. Anyone got any advice on choosing between these two? Thank you.

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Even though you have limited access, these are a nice choice you have. :slightly_smiling_face:
Hopefully you can try them both out. Yamaha can have a narrower nut width, which can make fretting the “cowboy chords” towards the head more of a challenge.
I am not familiar with the J45 Epiphone, but the Gibson J45 neck is not for everyone, feeling “bigger” in the fretting hand.

I hope you can try these, both companies give a decent ‘bang for your buck’ , and whichever you choose should give you years of pleasure … until you get GAS again … :upside_down_face:

Don’t forget to factor in a decent gig-bag or hard-case, and managing humidity if the guitar will be in a low RH environment.

Have fun … :sunglasses:

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Michael @Mlynes
I am very happy with the FGX830C I have which is very similar to FG830. Like you I pondered on whether to get the 800 or 830 version and in the end I decided that the extra cost was worthwhile and have not been disappointed.
Michael

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I have the Epiphone J45. I really like it. I really like the tone and the feel of it. I tried out several guitars and Epiphone was the one that did it for me.

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For me, having a slightly wider nut width, as I have with my Epiphone EF-500 made a huge difference when I was starting out over 10 years ago. Everything that seemed impossible was now just a little challenging. The wider neck made it a lot easier for me to learn.

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The only way you can decide is by playing them, we are all individuals and have different tastes, so you have to choose between them.
Both are of decent quality but there are subtle differences, how they feel to play should take priority over appearance, the sound from them the way you play - both with a plectrum and with your fingers is important also. The real question is - which one pleases you most, if they are both equal then price and appearance will give you your answer.