Description
What the FSX800C Is
The Yamaha FSX800C is a six string acoustic electric guitar with a concert sized body and a cutaway, drawn from the same 800 series as the FG dreadnoughts. The two letters that matter are FS, which designates the smaller concert body rather than the larger FG dreadnought, and the X, which denotes the electronics. The C at the end refers to the cutaway. Understanding that naming makes the product much easier to place: this is the compact, plug in capable member of a family that is otherwise built around large bodied acoustic guitars.
A concert body is narrower across the lower bout and shallower than a dreadnought, which makes it easier to hold for smaller players and for anyone playing seated for long periods. It trades some volume and low end for a more focused midrange, which many fingerstyle players prefer. The cutaway removes part of the upper bout so the higher frets are reachable. Buyers deciding between shapes should compare the full sized Yamaha FG800J NT, which is the dreadnought equivalent in the same series.
Electronics and Plugging In
The listing specifies a piezo pickup configuration and states that 2 AA batteries are required. Those two facts together indicate an active system: a piezo element under the saddle senses string vibration, and an onboard preamp powered by batteries raises that signal to a usable level and shapes it before it leaves the guitar. Piezo systems are the standard approach on acoustic electrics because they resist feedback far better than a microphone would at stage volume.
What the listing does not describe is the preamp itself. There is no mention of what controls it offers, whether it includes a tuner, whether it has an equalizer, or what output connector is fitted. Those details determine how usable the guitar is on stage. A buyer intending to perform should confirm the preamp model and its controls with Yamaha before purchase, and should also budget for batteries, since a flat battery on an active system means no amplified sound at all. Guitarists assembling a small live rig will find relevant options across the PA systems category.
Woods, Scale and Dimensions
Construction is listed as a spruce top with a nato and okoume back, a mahogany body wood, a rosewood fretboard, a wood neck and phosphor bronze strings, with a fixed bridge and six strings. As with others in this series the listing gives the body and back materials in ways that overlap rather than resolving cleanly, and it does not state whether the spruce top is solid or laminated. Okoume and nato are both used as mahogany alternatives, chosen for consistency and availability.
The scale length is given as 25.6 inches, which is a useful number to have and sits at the longer end for a concert body. Scale length affects string tension at a given tuning: a longer scale feels slightly tighter under the fingers and produces a little more projection. Weight is listed as 6.49 pounds with package dimensions of 41.6 by 19.1 by 6 inches. The listing dates the model to April 2016 and ranks it 34th in acoustic electric guitars at the time the data was captured.
Highlights
- Concert sized body, smaller and shallower than a dreadnought.
- Cutaway gives access to the upper frets.
- Piezo pickup with a battery powered active preamp for plugging in.
- 25.6 inch scale length with a rosewood fretboard.
- Spruce top with nato and okoume listed for the back.
- Phosphor bronze strings and a fixed bridge.
- Long running model, first listed in April 2016.
- Listed at 6.49 pounds, light enough to hold comfortably for a long session.
- Ranked 34th in acoustic electric guitars when this listing data was captured.
Things To Consider
The listing has a clear data error in the color field, which reads Conert. That is a misspelling of Concert, and Concert is the body shape rather than a color, so the field is both misspelled and holding the wrong kind of value. It is a small thing but it does mean nobody can tell from this page what finish the guitar actually ships in. The site also files this guitar under acoustic guitars while the listing itself ranks it primarily as an acoustic electric, so browsing by category will not necessarily surface it where a buyer expects.
More substantively, the electronics are underdocumented. There is no preamp model, no control layout, no confirmation of a built in tuner and no output jack specification. For a guitar whose main differentiator over the purely acoustic models is that it plugs in, that is the information a buyer most needs. Battery dependence is also worth planning around: a dead pair of AA cells silences the pickup entirely, though the guitar still works acoustically.
The usual acoustic caveats apply. No case, strap, tuner or spare strings are listed as included. The top construction is not stated as solid or laminated, which affects both value and how the instrument develops over time. And a piezo pickup has a characteristic sound of its own that some players dislike, often described as brittle compared with a microphone, so anyone buying primarily for recorded acoustic tone may prefer a purely acoustic instrument and a good microphone from the multipurpose microphones category instead.
Who It Suits
The FSX800C suits a player who wants a smaller, more comfortable acoustic that can also be plugged into a PA or an amplifier, and who values the cutaway for playing above the twelfth fret. It is a sensible choice for a singer songwriter starting to play small venues, and for anyone who finds a dreadnought physically awkward.
It is a weaker choice for someone who only plays at home and never plugs in, since the electronics add cost and a battery to manage, and for a player who wants maximum volume and low end from a strummed guitar. Those buyers should look at the dreadnought bodies in the steel string acoustics category, or at the nylon strung Yamaha C40II if a wider neck and softer strings would suit better.