As a beginner, getting an acoustic guitar is all about getting something that’s comfortable, quality, yet affordable. All of these qualities are included in the two guitars we have today. However, we would be pitching one against the other just to find which one is better for you. Today, we have Ibanez V50NJP Vs Yamaha F310.
If you do not have the time to read through this whole article, it’s very detailed by the way, we’ve still got you covered.
Here’s an overview of the whole article which highlights everything talked about in the article. The overview also includes a brief comparison between the two companies who created these guitars.
Here’s the overview:
Ibanez V50NJP Vs Yamaha F310 – Comparison Overview
Because these are made by different companies, there aren’t many similarities. The few similarities include: steel strings, full size, batteries, and the biggest one, spruce top.
The spruce top has to be the biggest similarity as the spruce top vs cedar top has been a cause for numerous debates between guitarists and even luthiers.
Characteristics Of Spruce Top Guitars
Spruce produces a really bright and clear sound. Each note produced by the spruce top is heard individually and is distinct. Also, the sounds produced by the spruce top are known to have a longer sustain than the sounds produced by cedar tops.
As for the differences, there are quite a few, all of which you can see in the comparison table below. The biggest of the differences has to be the tonewood. Ibanez uses the Agathis for the Ibanez V50njp, while Yamaha went for Mahogany for the Yamaha F310.
For this, we have to say Yamaha did it better. Mahogany is a far better tonewood than Agathis. It produces better bass, better treble, and an overall tone coloration.
Ibanez V50NJP Vs Yamaha F310 – Comparative Brand Advantage
Both Ibanez and Yamaha are Japanese companies that have been in existence for a really long time. Both of these brands are well respected in the instrument-making business because of their massive wealth of experience.
Which is better – Ibanez V50NJP or Yamaha F310?
Ibanez V50NJP |
Yamaha F310 |
| Full sized | Full sized |
| Agathis back and sides | Mahogany body |
| Spruce top | Spruce top |
| Pine fretboard | Rosewood fretboard |
| Bronze strings (core made of steel) | Steel strings |
| 2 AA batteries required | 2 AA batteries required |
| Alkaline battery type | Alkaline battery type |
Ibanez V50NJP Vs Yamaha F310 – What Situation Is Best For Each Of Them?
Ibanez V50NJP |
Yamaha F310 |
| Both of the guitars are entry-level guitars. What that simply means is that they were created for beginners. That factors in their price, build quality, and of course, sound. Being an entry-level guitar does not mean that these are poorly made, no. It only means that they are made basic enough for anyone to understand, even if you’ve never picked up a guitar before. Also, the packaging in which this guitar comes is really handy for beginners. It comes with all the necessary accessories you would need, even a change of strings. | The Yamaha F310 is also an entry-level guitar. The reason people really like Yamaha is because they seem to have something for everyone. There are beginner level guitars, intermediate-level guitars, and of course, pro-level guitars. The price and build quality, reflects this guitar’s entry-level status. The neck is not to wide, so even if you’re small, you can pick up the guitar and handle it well. Finally, the packaging on this guitar is also really great for beginners. It comes with an instructional DVD, extra strings, open chrome tuning machine, and a strap. All of which, plus the guitar itself, come in a gig bag. |
What Features Do The Ibanez V50NJP and the Yamaha F310 Have In Common?
i. Full-sized
ii. Steel Strings
iii. AA Batteries Required
iv. Spruce Top
Let’s shed more light on these features:
How Long Is A Full-sized Guitar?
A full-sized guitar, otherwise regarded as a concert-sized guitar, is about 40 – 41 inches long.
Both of these guitars are full-sized guitars.
This is really good for a beginner as it will enable you to get used to guitar sizes quickly. However, if you’re getting it for your child, you’ll need to check how small he is, and how small his hands are. If he below 10 years, you might want to get him a smaller guitar as these would be really difficult for him to handle.
On the other hand, if you have teens, this works great for them. From teens through to adults, even for yourself, a full-sized guitar is great.
Another thing to consider is also the style of music you want to play. Certain music styles prefer the sounds from smaller guitars.
For example, if you want a Spanish feel from a guitar, you’ll need a Spanish guitar, which is quite smaller than a full-sized guitar. However, for the main music styles, a full-sized guitar would suffice.
Does The Ibanez V50njp Really Have Bronze Strings?
Although the Ibanez V50njp is described as having “bronze strings” it is important for you to know that the core of the strings is made of steel and is only coated with a bronze alloy.
With that said, let’s discuss the ups and downs of steel strings, and highlight the edge that the bronze strings have.
Steel Strings
When picking any guitar for yourself, the first advice that any professional would give you is to pick one that aligns with your musical interests. Before you pick a steel-string guitar, make sure that the type of music you want to play sounds better with steel strings than with nylon strings.
If you want to play rock, country, or any other musical styles that require striking sounds, you need a guitar with steel strings.
On the other hand, if you want to play classical or folk music, you might want to look into getting nylon strings instead.
Taking into consideration the musical styles we’ve just pointed out that are good with steel strings, you can easily tell that steel strings produce a more striking sound.
That is as opposed to the warmer sounds made by nylon strings. The notes from steel strings are bright and sharp. The notes also are sometimes coarse and crisp.
Upsides Of Steel Strings
First, steel strings are not affected by humidity. Nylon strings are affected by humidity a lot. Too high or too low humidity can destroy a nylon-string guitar.
It’ll first damage the string, then the woods because the wood used in making nylon-string guitars are not as hard as the woods used in making steel strings. This is because of the higher tension created by steel strings.
With nylon strings, you would have to tune your guitar way too often. While on the other hand, you can keep your steel-string guitar tuned for a really long time, as long as it’s not tampered with.
The final benefit of steel strings is that they are a lot more affordable and available. As a guitarist, you would need to replace your strings from time to time.
Steel strings are a lot cheaper than nylon strings and as such, will save you a few bucks, especially as a beginner who hasn’t made much from playing yet.
Also, depending on where you are in the world, nylon strings are not readily available. This is because steel-string guitars are a lot more popular than nylon-string guitars. Which means that there is more demand for steel strings, therefore, more supply.
Downsides Of Steel Strings
They rust. This is biggest bust about steel strings, they rust over time. Yes, you can be careful to always keep it covered and away from moisture, but can you really be careful enough? With rusting, you would have to replace your strings fairly frequently.
Another downside to steel strings is that they hurt the fingers. Yes, nylon strings also hurt the fingers. However, nylon is a lot softer than steel, which means that it will hurt your fingertips a lot less. Especially as a beginner, you would need to begin to learn to endure the hurt. Nothing good comes easy though, the pain is something you’ll get used to in no time.
2 AA Batteries Required
An AA battery, or double A battery, or Mignon, is the standard size cylindrical single cell dry battery. Did you know, Mignon is French for (“adorable” or “cute”).
So, if you don’t want to call these AA batteries, you can also call them cute batteries. We’re sure you know the ones we’re talking about now. Yes, those pinky-sized batteries.
These two AA batteries are also required to be the Alkaline type. There is a lot of science jargon behind that, but we suspect we’re talking to a musician, so we wouldn’t bore you with the details.
Just go to your nearest electronic store, ask for AA Alkaline type batteries, fix into your guitar, and start strumming away.
Here’s a video describing why your acoustic guitar might need batteries, where they are located, and how to care for them:
Spruce Top
This is probably one that causes a lot of divide between guitarists, the top of the acoustic guitar. There are numerous different woods that can be used to make guitar tops.
However, there are two that have gained popularity over the others, and a certain rivalry against each other. These are: spruce, and cedar.
In comparison with the cedar top, the spruce top has been in existence for longer as cedar top only began to be used in making guitar tops in the mid-1960s.
The spruce top produces a bright clear sound, a striking sound that resembles the sound that a bell makes. With the spruce top, your notes are clear and distinct, each sounding as its own.
Apart form the tone, the sound produced by the spruce top has a longer sustain time than the sound produced by the cedar top.
At the end of the day, choosing a guitar top, as well as every other thing concerning the guitar, should be determined by the type of music you want to play.
If you want to play a music style that is dependent on the individuality of each notes, prefers a bright, striking sound, and a longer sustain, you want to go with a spruce top guitar.
On the other hand, if you want to play a music style that is dependent on the fullness of the chords and prefers a much more mellow and warm sound, you want to get a cedar top guitar.
What Are The Differences Between The Ibanez V50NJP And The Yamaha F310?
Tonewood (back and sides)
Fretboard
Features Unique To The Ibanez V50NJP
Agathis Back And Sides
Well, Agathis is not a very likable tonewood, this is a turn off for a lot of guitarists out there as many believe the tone from the tonewood doesn’t have enough quality. This is a really fair argument as you do not see many pro-level guitars using Agathis as their tonewood.
The only reason why we can fathom Ibanez used this is for price. Just like we said earlier, these guitars are extremely affordable, this is one of the reasons why they are so.
Although not liked by many, there are a few people who do not mind an Agathis tonewood. These people are of the opinion that the tone produced by the guitar is not 100% down to the wood used in making the body of the guitar.
However, we cannot completely dismiss the fact that some percentage of the tone produced by the guitar is down to the wood used in making it, especially for acoustic guitars like this one.
Do not get us wrong, we are not saying that Agathis is a bad tonewood. What we are saying is that it is a good tonewood, for its price.
However, what we would advise is to use this first as it is good, but not hesitate to change it once you get better.
Even with the Ibanez V50njp Vs Yamaha F310, you can tell right away. The Ibanez with the Agathis tonewood is way more affordable than the Yamaha F310 with Mahogany instead. The final thing you want to note is that Agathis is quite heavy, when compared to other guitar tonewoods.
Pine Fretboard
Now, we’ve noticed a pattern with this guitar that we have to point out. It seems that Ibanez gathered together the most affordable woods they could find, not really minding too much about quality.
A lot of people argue that pine is not hard enough to be used as a fretboard, and it’s not. To make this possible, they must’ve had to treat this pine wood and toughen it up.
Running a regular janka hardness test on the most popular fretboard woods, we would see how Ibanez was looking at affordability over quality a bit.
Janka hardness puts regular pine at 750 pounds, sugar maple (the lowest end of maple) at 1450 pounds, and Indian rosewood at a whopping 3170 pounds.
However, it is still to be said that this guitar should be judged based on its price. The guitars with maple and rosewood fretboards are more expensive than this. Whether those extra bucks are worth paying for something that’s of better quality is something you’ll need to decide yourself.
Do you want to check out what the Ibanez V50njp sounds like? If yes, then you should check out the video below, it’s a review on the guitar, including a brief playing session:
Features Unique To The Yamaha F310
Mahogany Body
When compared to the Agathis used in making the Ibanez guitar, Mahogany crushes its competition. In the professional world, there are three woods that have the seal of quality, as tonewoods, in the eyes of many. These three are: ebony, rosewood, and Mahogany.
However, it is to be said that Mahogany sits at the bottom of that hierarchy, but at least it’s there, compared to the Agathis that is hated by many.
First, Mahogany provides better quality, so it is no surprise that it is slightly more expensive than Agathis, which makes this guitar slightly more expensive than the Ibanez.
Mahogany is considered good tonewood because it actually creates a good tone, cliché, right? Well, Mahogany would create thicker basses and lighter trebles. It also creates an overall tone coloration which in turn creates better sounding harmonies and melodies.
However, there is one downside to Mahogany. Unlike something like rosewood, Mahogany would produce a woody sound than a metallic sound. If you intend to play things like rock music, this might be a downside. Otherwise, it might be really great for you.
Last, and maybe the least, Mahogany just has a nice feel. While this is not the most important thing on your list when looking at tonewoods, it’s definitely not bad to have a tonewood that produces great sound, and also feels nice at the same time.
Rosewood Fretboard
The most important part of any guitar is the fretboard. Because the fretboard is the part of the guitar that you interact with the most.
If you have a great sounding guitar that doesn’t feel right, it’ll be difficult for you to enjoy what you’re playing. And as musicians, we’re sure you know that enjoying yourself while making music should be your greatest priority.
First of all, there are two types of rosewoods, there is the Brazilian rosewood, and there is the Indian rosewood. The one that was used for this guitar is the latter, the Indian rosewood.
Brazilian rosewood would have been a great choice, a better choice in fact, but it’s way more expensive than the Indian rosewood.
The price of the Brazilian is so high because it’s not as available as the Indian rosewood and it’s more exotic.
Whether the exotic nature of the Brazilian rosewood does a lot to the tone of the guitar, we do not know. However, Indian rosewood is a very quality alternative.
Rosewood has a really natural feel, which brings us to the first point we talked about which is “enjoying yourself while playing”. With the natural feel of the Indian rosewood, that is something you are guaranteed.
Finally, this tonewood has a really nice acoustic consistency to go with that natural feel.
Do you want to hear what the Yamaha F310 sounds like? Check out this brief review of the guitar below:
Ibanez V50NJP Vs Yamaha F310 – Unique Pros
Ibanez V50NJP
- It is really affordable. There are few guitars in the same price range that this Ibanez comes in, and for the quality too, we have to say this is really a steal.
- The bronze coated strings are the best metallic strings you can find.
Yamaha F310
- Mahogany tonewood is really good and helps in the overall sound and tone coloration.
- The rosewood fretboard has a really natural feel and produces a very nice sound.
What Cons Should I Know About Before Getting The Ibanez V50NJP?
The body, back, and sides are made with Agathis wood, which is not considered great quality.
Pine is not a very strong wood, which makes us doubt the durability of this guitar’s fretboard.
What Cons Should I Know About Before Getting The Yamaha F310
It’s slightly more expensive compared to the similar Ibanez V50NJP.
The steel strings are good enough, but definitely not the best.
Ibanez V50NJP Vs Yamaha F310 – Pros Common To Both
Ibanez V50NJP |
Yamaha F310 |
| This guitar is a full-sized guitar. This means that you get the experience of playing a concert-sized guitar for a much more affordable price. | This guitar is also full-sized, giving you the same experience as the Ibanez. |
| The spruce top on this guitar is considered top quality. It produces a bright distinct sound. A sound that individual, clear, and striking. | This guitar also comes with a spruce top. Therefore, would produce similar sounds to the Ibanez, save for some other different features. |
| For the price point, this guitar is quality. | For the price point, this guitar is also quality. |
Ibanez V50NJP Vs Yamaha F310 – Cons Common To Both
Ibanez V50NJP |
Yamaha F310 |
| This guitar comes with Bronze strings. Because they are metallic, these strings are bound to corrode. | This guitar comes with steel strings. Because they are metallic, they are also bound to corrode. However, stainless steel strings are less likely to corrode than bronze strings. |
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Ibanez V50NJP Vs Yamaha F310 – General Feeling Amongst Users
Ibanez V50NJP |
Yamaha F310 |
| People who bought this guitar bought it because of its affordability. Honestly, because of its ridiculous price, this thing was pretty hard to critique, for a lot of people. However, they really liked the bronze strings. They are softer on the fingertips, and they produce a better sound than stainless steel strings. One thing people couldn’t overlook though, is the feel of the fretboard. People really didn’t like the fact that the wood used wasn’t very tough and strong. | People who bought this guitar paid quite more than those who bought the Ibanez. However, they weren’t disappointed at all for paying more. The first reason why people liked this guitar is because it’s from Yamaha. Yamaha is the biggest piano making company in the world, and one of the biggest instrument-making company in the world. So, people just went with the trust they had for the company, and bought this guitar. The strings were not so great. Yes, they didn’t corrode a lot, but they don’t produce very great sounds. Although, this is compensated by the Mahogany body which produces great tones, and the rosewood fretboard that produces really warm and natural sounds and feel. |
Which Should You Get – Ibanez V50NJP Or Yamaha F310?
We suggest picking up the Ibanez V50NJP if you have a really tight budget. Yes, it might not be the best out there, but it gives you something to start with. If you have a higher budget, we would suggest the Yamaha F310. It has better sound, better feel, and a better overall build. This will surely last you long because of its durability. In fact, in the long run, it might be of better economic value.
At the end of the day, we pick the instrument as much as the instrument picks us. Your choice between Ibanez V50njp Vs Yamaha F310 might end up not being down to the spec sheet. However, there are some things you shouldn’t compromise on.
If you’re here, we believe you have read the whole review. If you haven’t you can go back and do so, we’ll be waiting… Alright! You’re back. So, since you’ve read the review, you’ll need to use the information given to pick what guitar is right for you.
So, for the Ibanez V50NJP Vs Yamaha F310, there’s no winner, the style of music you want to play is the most important thing.
Ibanez V50NJP Vs Yamaha F310 – Frequently Asked Questions
Which is better Ibanez or Yamaha?
The slight difference between these two brands is that Yamaha has a broader scope because they make all kinds of instruments, while Ibanez has a depth of knowledge because they make only guitars. However, there is really not much between these two companies and it usually comes down to a matter of personal choice and preference.
Is the Yamaha F310 a good guitar?
The Yamaha F310 is a really good guitar. It looks good, it sounds good, and it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. It’s the perfect guitar for beginners and hobbyists who have a decent budget. It’s the best-selling budget guitar for a reason.
To get a full understanding of the guitar, we suggest you read our full comparison between this guitar and the Ibanez V50NJP up above.
What strings are best for the Yamaha F310?
The Yamaha F310 comes with D-Addario strings which work great if you’re a beginner. These strings are usually EZ910 and measure between 0.11 and 0.52. However, if you’re an intermediate player or an advanced player, we suggest you change up the strings on the guitar to the EZ920 which measures 0.12 to 0.54.
With the EZ920, you get a medium-light gauge and a full bright tone which is great for intermediate and advanced guitar players.
Is Yamaha F310 a good guitar for beginners?
The Yamaha F310 is a full-sized guitar which is great for beginners who have any intentions of going pro with their skills. Apart from its size, the Yamaha F310 is also a great sounding guitar that looks good and feels good to play.
But best of all, and probably the most important reason why this is a good guitar for beginners is its price. It’s a really affordable guitar for the quality it offers.
Where is the Yamaha F310 made?
The Yamaha F310 is sold by the Japanese music powerhouse, Yamaha. However, the guitar itself is assembled in Indonesia.
Before purchasing this guitar, ensure that you get one that’s genuinely assembled in Indonesia as there are a lot of counterfeit products that have been created in other countries. Those counterfeits to not stack up to the quality of the original, and you shouldn’t get them even if they’re available for much cheaper.
What guitars increase value over time?
Here’s a list of the 5 best guitars that increase value over time:
- Fender guitars from before 1965
- Guitars made out of Katrina wood
- Japanese “lawsuit” guitars
- Pre World War II Martin Guitars
- Guitars that were owned and played by Legends