The small hole appears to be damage during construction. The bracing is a simple design – there are only four of these struts. The two strips of wood on either side are struts. You can clearly see the join down the middle. The inside of the Yamaha C40 reveals where the top is joined together, bracing, a small hole, and dirt (this is a second-hand guitar). The photo below shows the inside of the guitar top. Solid tops (which are made from a single piece of wood) produce a better tone but don’t exist in the beginner price range. The C40 has a laminated spruce top, where multiple pieces of wood are joined together.
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This keeps costs low (Yamaha builds its C series in Indonesia) but, without a luthier handcrafting the instrument, there’s naturally a higher number of minor faults. Beginner guitars are mass produced in factories. The sound of a guitar is limited by the quality of its construction. The overall design of the C40 sticks very closely to the classical guitar tradition. There are also no guitar strap buttons, as the C40 is marketed at classical guitar students who only play in a seated position. It’s a small detail, but adding the extra four dots would be more helpful for beginners. These make it much easier to accurately move the left hand between positions. Most guitars will have fret marker dots at the third, fifth, seventh, ninth and twelfth frets. Unusually, the C40 only has one fret marker dot on the side of the neck at the seventh fret. By my measure, the neck is about 24mm (0.945″) at the first fret. The neck of the C40 is also relatively thick compared to other guitars aimed at the beginner market. The C40 needs to be treated with a little more care than some other guitars. They provide more strength against the effects of heat and humidity and allows the action to be slightly adjusted. Truss rods are becoming more common in other beginner nylon string models. (Truss rods are standard in steel string acoustics and electric guitars because even more tension is placed on the neck). I’m a fan of truss rods in nylon string guitars because it helps combat warping or bowing of the neck.
Traditional nylon string guitars such as Yamaha’s C series are more prone to warping because there’s no steel truss rod in the neck. This has pushed the action of the strings to above 5mm at the 12th fret, compared to about 4mm for a factory model, which you can see in the photo below. The neck of the second-hand Yamaha C40 I bought is slightly warped. Heat and humidity can warp the neck, affecting the intonation, and making it more difficult to play. The neckīeginner guitars are often treated with little care and are easily damaged. A guitar tech can lower the action on the C40 given the saddle and nut are both set quite high. I’ve read Yamaha’s next models up, the C70 and C80, are set with a lower action although I haven’t had the chance to test this yet. If the action is set too low, it can cause buzzing (where the strings rattle against the frets). Setting the action high gives the manufacturer a greater margin for error against imperfections in the fretboard. The C40 is still playable, but a higher action makes pressing the strings down harder on the fingers.
I find this a little high although it is around average for many classical guitars. The action on the C40 is about 4mm at the 12th fret. Younger or smaller players may prefer the 7/8, 3/4 or 1/2 size models, which are readily available.
The C40’s dimensions are similar to other nylon string guitars in the beginner price range, with a standard 650 mm (25 9/16″) scale length.
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Playability is even more important than sound quality because it will take a beginner at least a year to learn how to exploit a higher-end guitar’s tone. If the guitar is too hard to play, a beginner is more likely to give up. PlayabilityĪ beginner’s guitar should be the right size and easy to play. So if you want the real deal about the C40, read on. I never accept “free” gear from manufacturers or retailers and any revenue from the affiliate links in this article is reinvested back into the site’s research and reviews. Unlike other sites, I only write reviews of instruments I own or have rented for months. I’ve analyzed every aspect of the instrument to reveal its strengths and weaknesses. I recently bought a second-hand Yamaha C40 to run it through its paces. It is a favorite among guitar teachers and their students.
In fact, the C40’s low price and consistent quality has made it one of the most popular nylon string guitars in the world. The C40 is Yamaha’s solution to this demanding set of criteria. Beginner guitarists need a low-cost instrument that is durable, yet easy to play.
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