Yamaha FS9M

A brand-new concert size flattop with high-end appeal.

August 7, 2024

Yamaha is the world’s largest manufacturer of musical instruments, with a history that goes back to 1897 (the Yamaha Motor Company was originally a spin-off from the music division created in 1955). As anyone who has seen Yamaha’s massive exhibit at the annual NAMM trade show can attest, the company makes nearly every common musical instrument, from guitars and violins to wind instruments, drums, pianos, keyboards, etc. Most acoustic guitarists think of Yamaha as a builder of instruments that offer great quality at affordable prices, and the company’s reputation for high-value is well-deserved. But, while mass-producing affordable, high-quality guitars of all kinds is a major part of Yamaha’s mission, the company has long maintained a number of high-end lines, including classical guitars with list prices around $18,000, high-end solid-body and archtop electrics, and custom flattops that have been used by Bert Jansch, John Denver, Paul Simon, and many others. Most recently, Yamaha launched a new line of high-end FG9 and FS9 series flattops that aim to deliver pure acoustic tone. We recently had a chance to check out the concert-size FS9M, which I demo in this video, as well as the FG9M dreadnought, which we’ll feature in the near future.

The new FS9 and FG9 are the result of a collaboration between Yamaha’s California-based senior acoustic guitar builder Andrew Enns and the team at its flagship Japanese manufacturing facility (for a great introduction to Andrew, check out this podcast episode by the Fretboard Journal, as well as the Tone Story video produced by Yamaha). Though they take their cues from classic American flattops, the guitars retain the modified body shapes Yamaha has long used for its FG and FS guitars, and they include several appointments inspired by traditional Japanese woodworking.

The FS9M is built with an Adirondack spruce top and African mahogany back and sides (a rosewood FS9R is also available), and it includes Yamaha’s familiar pickguard and peghead shapes. The mahogany of our demo guitar has a very attractive reddish appearance, and the spruce is wide-grained and even in color throughout. Yamaha has tapered the top’s edges to enhance its ability to vibrate freely, and traditional scalloped X-bracing creates both stability and tonal character. In a departure from past Yamaha FS and FG models, which had glued-in necks, the new guitars have a bolt-on neck system for precise construction and future adjustability. The guitar’s most striking appointments are the wood fingerboard inlays inspired by the Japanese Kumiki tradition. Eliminating the need for separate side dots and position markers in the face of the fingerboard, these narrow rectangular inlays are placed on the bass side of the fingerboard: a perfect combination of form and function. Though familiar from other guitars, the “rope”-style inlay used for the purfling and double-ring rosette is also rooted in Japanese woodworking styles.

The FS9M is very light weight, and its nitrocellulose finish looks like what you’ll find on other high-end guitars. Both of these factors contribute to a highly responsive and “open” tonality that is apparent from the first strum. The guitar’s neck has a slim contemporary profile, but its width of 1¾ inches at the nut makes for a fingerstyle-friendly feel and easy playability that is aided by the short 25-inch scale. I played the guitar in standard tuning as well as a variety of alternate tunings, and in each it displayed a lovely tonal balance with enough volume to keep up with a dreadnought and jumbo during a jam with two other guitarists.

Overall, the FS9M is an impressive guitar. Its street price of just under $4,000 puts it into a highly competitive section of the market, but with its dynamic sound, great playability, and original appearance, it should have no problem attracting players.