Yamaha STORIA II - Overview and Best Prices

Yamaha STORIA II Review
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  • 3 Prices - New from $449.99 >
  • From Yamaha's 2019 STORIA series
  • Made in China
  • 6 strings
  • 25"'' scale
  • 15.75" Fretboard Radius
  • Solid Mahogany top
  • Mahogany back
  • Mahogany sides
  • Nato neck
  • Walnut fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: Yamaha Passive Undersaddle Pickup (Preamp/Passive)
  • Walnut bridge
  • Acoustic C Set neck
  • 20 Medium frets
  • Open Gear Champagne-Gold tuners
  • Side-By-Side Comparison
Show Specs
Yamaha STORIA II Specifications
Yamaha STORIA II
General
Brand: Yamaha
Year: 2019
Configuration: N/A
Strings: 6
Made in: China
Series: STORIA
Colors: Natural
Left-Handed Version: No
Body
Type: Hollowbody
Body Material: Solid Mahogany
Sides Material: Mahogany
Back Material: Mahogany
Bridge: Walnut
Neck
Neck Joint: Set
Tuners: Open Gear Champagne-Gold
Fretboard: Walnut
Neck Material: Nato
Decoration: Dots with custom at 12th
Scale Size: 25"
Shape: Acoustic C
Frets: 20 Medium
Fretboard Radius: 15.75"
Nut: Plastic
Nut Width: 43mm (1.693'')
Electronics
Pickups: Yamaha Passive Undersaddle Pickup (Preamp / Passive)
Hardware
Strap Lock: No
Hardware Color: Chrome

Our Scores and Tone Evaluation

Playability 77
Sound 79
Build quality 64
Value for money 83
Overall Score 73
Tone Evaluation
  • Heavy Metal
  • Hard Rock
  • Jazz
  • Blues
  • Funk
  • Country
Strengths & Weaknesses
Yamaha STORIA II
  • Expensive Wood
  • Electronics
  • Solid Top Wood
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • Made in China
  • No High-Quality Nut
  • No Top Brand Pickups
  • Low-Quality Material Saddle
  • Laminated Side Wood
  • Laminated Back Wood
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock

Price Overview

Its average competitor's price is $440, which means that the Yamaha STORIA II is within the average price asked for this kind of guitar. This takes into account all instruments of the same category in our database with 6 strings and Fixed bridge that are made in China.

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User Reviews & Feedback

Not all instruments are created equally. That's why it's important to have different opinions. Here's what our users who have played this instrument say. If you've played it before, help others by voting below!

Weight

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Tuning stability

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Neck speed (thickness)

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Neck access to high frets

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Neck profile shape

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Fret edges

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Pickups noise

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Pickups power

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Hand Size Comfortability

After taking into account the neck profile, scale size, fretboard radius, and nut width, we can conclude that the Yamaha STORIA II's construction favors people with relatively small hands.

Nevertheless, this comes down in the end to personal preference. Make sure you test this guitar—or another one with similar characteristics—before buying.

Big Hands
Small Hands

Beginner Friendliness

The Yamaha STORIA II meets 4 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, which means that it's not bad for beginners, but it could be better. 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 to get used to.

New Player Friendliness

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

Videos

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Yamaha Storia II

Playability

Scale Length

Scale length is the distance the strings will span between the bridge and the nut. It can tell you a lot about the overall playability and tone of the instrument. A longer scale length means longer distance between frets, brighter tone and more string tension—which means lower action, but more difficult bending of the strings.

Here's the Yamaha STORIA II's 25" scale length compared to other common sizes:

Yamaha STORIA II Scale Length Comparison
Yamaha STORIA II's scale length (at the top) compared to other popular sizes

This is the scale found in most PRS guitars, and it's right between the length of most Stratocasters and Les Pauls.

The scale length will affect the separation of the frets, the string tension, and even the tone of the guitar. The longer the scale, the more separated the frets are, which makes it a bit harder to move fast on the fretboard. Also, the higher tension of the strings will make them feel stiffer, so bending will require more strength. However, a longer scale also allows you to lower the action of the strings and make them closer to the fretboard, which makes them easier to press. Finally, the tone will also sound brighter with a longer scale.

A 25'' scale makes all of this feel right between a Stratocaster (longer scale) and a Les Paul (shorter scale).

Don't forget that you can also affect the tension of the strings by changing your string gauge.

More with the same scale length:

Neck Profile

Yamaha STORIA II Neck Profile
Yamaha STORIA II's neck profile

The neck profile tells you the thickness (neck depth) and shape in cross section. Every difference will completely change the feeling and comfortability of the neck. This is a highly subjective thing, but most players indeed prefer certain types of necks (like Cs and Ds) because they feel nice in most hands.

It has a C type neck. C-shaped necks like this have been the most popular for the last years. The reason is that they feel good in most hands. It's generally a thin neck that doesn't get in your way when playing fast, but that also has enough mass to give your hands a comfortable grip for chords if they aren't too big.

Thin necks like this make it easier to move your hand across the neck and it helps when playing fast solos, especially if you like to leave your thumb free while playing high on the fretboard. However, thinner necks are also weaker and will need adjustment more often than a thicker neck.

Fretboard Radius

When it comes to fingerboard radius, personal preference will dictate which one is better for you. However, most people seem to agree that a more curved (lower) radius will make it easier to play chords while a less curved (higher) radius is better for soloing and bending.

The Yamaha STORIA II has a 15.75" fingerboard radius.

Here's an image comparing this fretboard radius to other popular choices:

Yamaha STORIA II Fretboard Radius Comparison with Fender Stratocaster and Gibson Les Paul
Yamaha STORIA II's fretboard radius compared to others

It's a radius that makes playing single notes (and bending, vibrato, sliding, etc) easier than on a classic Les Paul guitar. However, it's still more curved than some baritone and 7+ strings guitars.

Compound radius fingerboards give the best of both worlds. Unfortunately, the Yamaha STORIA II has the same radius across the board.

Playability compared to main competitors

25'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
1.693'' Nut Width
15.75'' Fretboard Radius
25.5'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
1.732'' Nut Width
15.748'' Fretboard Radius
25.3'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
1.772'' Nut Width
15.748'' Fretboard Radius
24.803'' Scale Length
D Neck Profile
1.75'' Nut Width
14.96'' Fretboard Radius
25.6'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
1.732'' Nut Width
15.748'' Fretboard Radius

Nut Width

Yamaha STORIA II Nut Width
Yamaha STORIA II Nut Width

The Yamaha STORIA II has a nut width of 43mm (1.693''). This is within the most common range of nut widths for a 6-string guitar. It offers a good balance of string separation at the nut. It's the size that most guitarists prefer as it gives them just enough space to play open chords without muting the strings, but without spreading the strings too wide and making bar chords difficult to perform.

Frets

It comes with nickel silver frets, so they won't last as long as stainless steel frets. If you use your instrument a lot, you might need to replace the frets after a few years. But this is unlikely as most people change instruments before this happens.

Fret Size

Yamaha STORIA II Fret Size Comparison
Yamaha STORIA II's fret size (in orange) compared to other popular sizes

Finally, let's talk about fret size. Some people prefer tall frets because it's easier to press the strings and perform bends since there's less friction against the fretboard. On the other hand, some people like shorter frets because they like to touch the fretboard when playing, or because they got heavy hands and tend to press too much on the string and alter the of the note pitch accidently.

The Yamaha STORIA II's frets are Medium size. With medium frets, you can feel the fretboard more than with jumbo frets, but it's still easier to press the strings cleanly than with small frets; notes might change their pitch just slightly if you press hard on the fret. Also, if you need to do some fret leveling after years of playing, you'll have some room to sand them down without having to replace them.

Playability Score

Bending & Vibrato Ease 80
Chord Playability 70
Solo Playability 80
Playability 77

Tone

The type of wood and even the shape of the body will have a lot of influence in the final tone of an acoustic guitar. Here's we'll talk about what kind of tone you can expect from its specs.

Wood

Mahogany wood pattern used for guitar building
Mahogany Top, Back, Sides
Nato wood pattern used for guitar building
Nato Neck
Walnut wood pattern used for guitar building
Walnut Fretboard

Mahogany Top, Back and Sides: This is the type of wood found in many top-of-the-line guitars, so that's a positive point for the build quality. This red-looking wood Mahogany is found in Africa and Central America and has great sustain and a warm tone due to its high density. The downside about this type of wood is that it's relatively heavy.

Nato Neck: This wood is also known as Eastern Mahogany because it's very similar to Mahogany, although it is cheaper.

Walnut Fretboard: It's a hard wood with a chocolate color that is often used to give an elegant finish. Since it's quite expensive and rare, it's mostly used for guitar tops.

Pickups

This guitar comes with preamp pickups that will allow you to connect it directly to an amplifier and record with it, or use it live.

Sound Score

Sustain 70
Versatility 80
Tuning Stability 65
Sound 79

Build Quality

Country of Origin

Knowing where the instrument is produced is a good way to know how well it's built. Some manufacturing countries are known for having higher quality standards. For example, most expensive instruments are made in the US or Japan, but there are some exceptionally great countries—like South Korea—that are building a good reputation.

The Yamaha STORIA II is made in China. So you can expect lower build quality when compared to others made in Korea, Japan or the United States. Guitars made in this country are meant for mass production, which translates into less attention to detail and quality control. This doesn't mean the product is made poorly at all. Chinese products have a bad reputation since long ago, but they've definitely improved a lot the last few years.

Bridge

Walnut: The advantage of fixed bridges is that they don't require any kind of set-up. This makes it extremely easy when changing strings because you don't need to adjust anything besides tuning the guitar. Also, the fact that the bridge is directly attached to the body will help to increase sustain. The disadvantage is the lack of versatility since you can't create the same vibrato effects as with tremolo bridges.

Nut Material

Another important thing to analyze is the nut material, as it's one of the most important aspects that can affect the sound and playability of your guitar. A well-cut nut will make sure it stays in tune and will make it more comfortable to play.

In this case, the Yamaha STORIA II 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.

Build Quality Score

Quality of materials 61
Features 75
Quality Control 55
Build Quality 64