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Yamaha CG142CH
Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor
VS
Playability
73
Sound
79
Build
60
Value
81
Score
71
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Playability
78
Sound
85
Build
77
Value
85
Score
80
FIND IT ON:
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Yamaha CG142CH vs Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor

Reasons to Get
Yamaha CG142CH over Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor

Nut Width
2.047'' (52mm) vs 1.693'' (43mm)
Less likely to mute strings by accident and more space for fingerstyle
Body Shape
Classical vs Jumbo
Compact body with soft nylon strings
Scale Length
25.6'' (650.2mm) vs 24.75'' (628.7mm)
Lower action and brighter natural tone
Fretboard Radius
Flat vs 12'' (304.8mm)
Flatter fretboard makes it easier to play single notes and bend

Reasons to Get
Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor over Yamaha CG142CH

Release Year
2020 vs 2013
From a more recent year
Pickups Brand
Fishman vs None
Pickups from a renown brand
Nut Material
Bone vs Plastic
Good quality nut with rich tone
Nut Width
1.693'' (43mm) vs 2.047'' (52mm)
Favors small hands, easier bar chords and other shapes
Body Shape
Jumbo vs Classical
Large body with a tight waist for more top-end
Scale Length
24.75'' (628.7mm) vs 25.6'' (650.2mm)
Easier bending, shorter fret separation and warmer natural tone
Fretboard Radius
12'' (304.8mm) vs Flat
More curved fretboard helpful to play chords without muting strings
Value Score
85 vs 81
Better price/quality relationship

Other Key Differences
Yamaha CG142CH vs Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor

Back Material
Nato vs Ovangkol
Different Back Material
Sides Material
Nato vs Ovangkol
Different Sides Material
Saddle Material
Plastic vs Bone
Different Saddle Material
Bridge Material
Rosewood vs Pau Ferro
Different Bridge Material
Body Wood
Cedar vs Spruce
Different Body Wood
Neck Wood
Nato vs Mahogany
Different Neck Wood
Fretboard Wood
Rosewood vs Pau Ferro
Different Fretboard Wood
Nut Material
Plastic vs Bone
Different Nut Material

Shared Features
Yamaha CG142CH vs Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor

Headstock
3-3
Same Headstock
Strings
6
Same playing style
Body Type
Hollowbody
Warm tone, lighter and acoustic sound
Switch Positions
0
Same pickups versatility
Volume Knobs
0
Same volume control
Tone Knobs
0
Same tone control
Number of Frets
20
Same maximum octave
Paint Finish
Poly
Resistant paint that ages well
Bridge
Fixed
Good sustain and needs no set-up
Neck Profile Type
C
Comfortable neck that works for most people
Type of Frets
Medium
You'll feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings

Common Strengths

  • Solid Top Wood
  • Expensive Wood

Common Weaknesses

  • Solid Side Wood
  • Solid Back Wood
  • Pickup Alter Switch/Knob
  • Locking Tuners
  • High-Quality Frets
  • Compound Radius Fretboard
  • From a High-Quality-Standards Country
  • Luminescent Sidedots
  • Strap Lock
  • 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • Active/Passive Preamp

Table of Contents

Price History Comparison

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Which One is Better Overall?

After going through our comparison algorithm, the results show that the Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor is probably the better product overall with its final score of 80 compared to the Yamaha CG142CH's 71 score, although not by a lot.

The Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor wins when it comes to sound, playability, build quality, value for the money. This means that it wins over the Yamaha CG142CH in every aspect.

If you got small hands, you'll probably feel more comfortable playing the Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor.

Which One is Better for Beginners?

If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, the Yamaha CG142CH is the better choice.

The Yamaha CG142CH meets 5 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor meets only 3. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players.

New Player Friendliness

Yamaha CG142CH
  • Comfortable shape
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Tall frets
  • Comfortable neck
  • Soft Strings
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Narrow nut
  • Short scale
  • Locking tuners

New Player Friendliness

Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Tall frets
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable shape
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Narrow nut
  • Short scale
  • Soft Strings
  • Locking tuners

Nevertheless, when it comes to choosing an instrument, you should pick the one more compatible with your personal style. Still, below we'll try you to give you our results as objectively as it's possible to help you decide.

Yamaha CG142CH Overview

  • From Yamaha's 2013 CG & CGX Classical Guitars series
  • Made in China
  • 6 strings
  • 25.6"'' scale
  • Flat Fretboard Radius
  • Solid western red cedar top
  • Nato back
  • Nato sides
  • Nato neck
  • Rosewood fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: (/)
  • Rosewood bridge
  • Acoustic C Set neck
  • 20 Medium frets
  • Chrome tuners
  • Compare Specs >

Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor Overview

  • From Epiphone's 2020 Modern Acoustic series
  • Made in China
  • 6 strings
  • 24.75"'' scale
  • 12" Fretboard Radius
  • Solid Spruce top
  • Ovangkol back
  • Ovangkol sides
  • Mahogany neck
  • Pau Ferro fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: Fishman Sonicore (Preamp/Active)
  • Pau Ferro bridge
  • Acoustic Rounded Set neck
  • 20 Medium frets
  • Grover Mini Rotomatic; 18:1 ratio tuners
  • Compare Specs >

Sound Quality Comparison

The most important thing that will determine the tone of an acoustic guitar is the wood. Let's take a look at the differences between both .

Woods Used in the Yamaha CG142CH

Nato wood pattern used for guitar building
Nato
Rosewood wood pattern used for guitar building
Rosewood
Cedar wood pattern used for guitar building
Cedar

Nato a hard and dense wood similar to Mahogany, but cheaper and not quite as hard. Tone-wise, it's also similar, but it doesn't have quite the same attack as Mahogany.

Rosewood is an almost purple-looking wood that is used mainly for fretboards since it's heavy, rare, and expensive. It's sometimes used on acoustic guitar bodies to create stronger warm tones. Find out more about Rosewood.

This is a softwood that is commonly used for acoustic guitars. It's known for its warm tone with strong overtones. However, there are many species so the tone and look can vary a lot.

Woods Used in the Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor

Mahogany wood pattern used for guitar building
Mahogany
Pau Ferro wood pattern used for guitar building
Pau Ferro
Spruce wood pattern used for guitar building
Spruce
Ovangkol wood pattern used for guitar building
Ovangkol

Mahogany is a fairly rare wood nowadays. It's used mostly for bodies due to its relatively lightweight. Gibson popularized it with their Les Paul guitars during their golden years, so this wood has a lot of good reputation behind it. The most expensive type comes from South America and it's still used by Gibson even today. Find out more about Mahogany.

Pau Ferro has a dark, chocolate-like color with straight dark grains that is being used as a replacement to Rosewood due to the regulations. It produces a warm tone that is somewhere between Mahogany and Rosewood. Find out more about Pau Ferro.

Spruce has a light color with tight grain patterns. It's very stiff but relatively light. It's known for producing a well-rounded tone with a broad dynamic range. Find out more about Spruce.

Ovangkol is a beautiful wood that's popular for acoustic guitars. Its tone sits somewhere between rosewood and mahogany, meaning it has a punchy low-end and nice mid-range. Find out more about Ovangkol.

Winner: Tie.

Electronics

The Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor comes with a preamp that allows you to connect it to an amp, unlike its competitor. This allows it to have more versatility and sound quality if you want to record with it or play live.

Winner:Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor.

Final Sound Quality Scores

Yamaha CG142CH
Sustain 70
Versatility 80
Tuning Stability 65
Sound 79
Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor
Sustain 85
Versatility 85
Tuning Stability 70
Sound 85

Build Quality Comparison

When it comes to build quality, we like to take into account everything used to build the instrument. This includes materials, hardware and the quality control expected depending on the country where it was built. Let's see how the Yamaha CG142CH compares to the Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor.

Country of Origin

The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. Both in this comparison where made in China.

China has a bad reputation when it comes to building quality. However, times have changed and now respectable brands use China's cheap labor to build good instruments for a lower price. Don't discount a guitar only because it was built in China, but also expect more quality from countries like Korea.

Winner: Tie

Nut Material

If you want your guitar to stay in tune and sound good, you need a well cut nut. Nut quality can be inconsistent even when comparing two copies of the same model. The best way to make sure you're nut will be well done is by getting a nut made by an expert company like TUSQ or Micarta.

The Yamaha CG142CH has a Plastic nut. This is a low-quality nut that you might want to consider upgrading soon. Bone and TUSQ nuts are the best for guitars with a fixed or simple tremolo bridge.

On the other hand, the Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor comes with a Bone nut. It's a type of nut found in high-quality instruments. They sound similar to Ivory since they give a lot of sustain and a bright sound (at least when striking open strings). The only problem they can run into is that you may get a bone piece that simply doesn't sound as well as others because that's just how natural materials are.

Winner: Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor.

Fret Material

Most fret wire is made of nickel silver. This material eventually wears down after a lot of use and most instruments end up needing a complete fret replacement. However, some expensive models come with stainless steel frets. This is what you should aim for if you can afford it.

Unfortunately, none of them come with stainless steel frets.

Winner: Tie.

Tuners

Both come with regular tuners. The Yamaha CG142CH's are Chrome while the Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor's are Grover Mini Rotomatic; 18:1 ratio

Winner: Tie.

Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:

Strengths & Weaknesses
Yamaha CG142CH
  • Expensive Wood
  • Solid Top Wood
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • Made in China
  • No High-Quality Nut
  • No Top Brand Pickups
  • No Electronics
  • Low-Quality Material Saddle
  • Laminated Side Wood
  • Laminated Back Wood
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock
Strengths & Weaknesses
Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor
  • Expensive Wood
  • Bone Nut
  • Top Brand Pickups
  • Electronics
  • Bone Saddle
  • Solid Top Wood
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • Made in China
  • Laminated Side Wood
  • Laminated Back Wood
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock

Final Build Quality Scores

Yamaha CG142CH
Quality of materials 61
Features 65
Quality Control 55
Build Quality 60
Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor
Quality of materials 86
Features 85
Quality Control 60
Build Quality 77

Playability Comparison

Let's now compare their playability. Bear in mind that the instrument will feel different depending on your hand size and play style. That's why you should always test before buying. But if you can't or want a second opinion on it, we can still take a look at each of the important measurements of the instrument for you. This way, we can predict how easy a guitar might be to play, or how different it will feel compared to the other.

Remember that, even though the difference might seem small, every inch counts when it comes to feeling of the instrument in your hands. Any variation can completely change how comfortable a guitar feels in your hands.

Nut Width

Yamaha CG142CH Nut Width
Yamaha CG142CH Nut Width
Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor Nut Width
Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor Nut Width

The nut width will affect the separation between strings at the nut. In this comparison, the Yamaha CG142CH has the wider nut with 52mm (2.047'') vs 43mm (1.693''). This is a 9mm (0.354'') difference

This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Yamaha CG142CH, especially closer to the nut. However, it's also easier to play without muting strings accidently. This favors people with big hands.

Scale Length

Yamaha CG142CH's Scale Length
Yamaha CG142CH's Scale Length
Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor's Scale Length
Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor's Scale Length

The scale length is one of the things that influences playability the most. This is the distance between the nut and the bridge and will affect everything from low action allowance, difficulty to perform bends, fret separation, and even tone.

The Yamaha CG142CH has the longest scale: 25.6". The Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor is only 24.75" long. This is a 0.85'' (21.6mm) scale length difference.

This longer scale means that the strings need more tension to get in tune. This is good if you want to avoid fret buzz, which can happen when the strings are too loose and touch the frets while vibrating. This is especially important when playing in lower tunings. This will also let you reduce the gap between fretboard and strings (low action) to make them easier to press down. However, this higher tension will also make it harder to perform bends and vibratos as the strings will feel stiffer.

This also means that the frets have a longer separation between each other, so this will make it harder for people with smaller hands when playing some chord positions.

Another characteristic of a longer scale is that it makes the guitar sound 'snappier' or brighter. This is due to the extra separation between harmonics and overtones produced by the tension. This influences tone more than any other factor (except the pickups).

Lastly, remember that you can also affect the tension of the strings by changing your string gauge. You can use a thicker gauge for more tension and a lighter one for less tension.

Neck Profile

Yamaha CG142CH Neck Profile
Yamaha CG142CH's neck profile
Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor Neck Profile
Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor's neck profile

No single neck shape is better than others. However, most people tend to prefer a thinner necks because it doesn't get in their way when playing fast and most hand sizes can adapt to it pretty well. However, some people still prefer thicker necks for a better grip, especially if they have big hands.

Both the Yamaha CG142CH and the Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor have a C-shaped neck. This is what you'll find in most modern guitars. Most people feel like the thickness of a C neck is simply the less intrusive one for playing fast, while at the same time allowing you to grab the neck easily for resting if you want to.

Fretboard Radius

Yamaha CG142CH Fingerboard Radius
Yamaha CG142CH's Fingerboard radius
Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor Fingerboard Radius
Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor's Fingerboard radius

Most guitar fretboards are not flat; they usually have a curve or arc across their width. A curved fretboard will make it easier to perform chords without muting strings, while a flatter one will make it easier to play single notes, which is good for bending and soloing in general. The best fretboards have a compound radius that varies across the fingerboard, but they're not common since they take a lot more work to build.

In this case, the Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor's fingerboard radius is smaller, which means it's more curved than the Yamaha CG142CH's. This extra arc will make playing chords easier in this model. You won't be as likely to mute the strings, especially if you have big hands. However, playing single notes and bending will be easier on the Yamaha CG142CH.

Hand Size Comfortability

Everyone has a different hand size, and that's why it's recommended to try a guitar before buying, even if others tell you that it's comfortable to play. However, we can know whether a guitar favors small or large hands just by knowing its exact measurements.

And after taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that the Yamaha CG142CH favors large hands more than the Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor.

Yamaha CG142CH:
Big Hands
Small Hands
Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor:
Big Hands
Small Hands

Fret Size

Yamaha CG142CH and Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor Frets Size
Both have a similar Medium fret size

Both have a Medium fret size. If you like feeling the fretboard when you play, but also appreciate some easiness to press down the frets, this size offers a good balance for that.

Final Playability Scores

Yamaha CG142CH
Bending & Vibrato Ease 75
Chord Playability 65
Solo Playability 80
Playability 73
Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor
Bending & Vibrato Ease 85
Chord Playability 70
Solo Playability 80
Playability 78

Specs Side-by-Side

Yamaha CG142CH vs Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor
General Yamaha CG142CH Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor
Brand: Yamaha Epiphone
Year: 2013 2020
Strings: 6 6
Made in: China China
Series: CG & CGX Classical Guitars Modern Acoustic
Colors: Natural Natural
Left-Handed Version: No No
Body
Type: Hollowbody Hollowbody
Body Material: Solid western red cedar Solid Spruce
Sides Material: Nato Ovangkol
Back Material: Nato Ovangkol
Bridge: Rosewood Pau Ferro
Neck
Neck Joint: Set Set
Tuners: Chrome Grover Mini Rotomatic; 18:1 ratio
Fretboard: Rosewood Pau Ferro
Neck Material: Nato Mahogany
Decoration: Dot inlays with a Crown on 12th fret
Scale Size: 25.6" 24.75"
Shape: Acoustic C Acoustic Rounded
Frets: 20 Medium Nickel Silver 20 Medium Nickel Silver
Fretboard Radius: Flat 12"
Nut: Plastic Bone
Nut Width: 52mm (2.047'') 43mm (1.693'')
Electronics
Bridge Pickup: Fishman Sonicore (Preamp / Active)