Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I got this guitar about a year ago as a birthday present from my girlfriend. Because ears are so subjective, we went to Guitar Center to try out a whole slew of makes and models. Pretty much anything they had in the sub-$500 range. I tried Martins, Fenders, Epiphones, Gibsons, Taylors, Ovations, Yamahas-- you name it, I tried it. Most sounded pretty good, but you could tell they were budget guitars. Just no balance. Some had great deep tone but no treble. Others were very bright but had no bottom end. I was about ready to settle on a $350 Yamaha (which looked BEAUTIFUL) and had a decent balance, but then my girlfriend found this FG700S hiding behind some boxes. I played it and...WOW. Rich lows and bright highs. Needless to say, that's the one I picked. My fingers hurt at first from playing it so much, but I got used to it pretty quick. I kept the same strings Yamaha had originally put on it for about 6 months before they started to turn dark with corrosion. I don't know how long the guitar sat in their showroom for, but my guess is about 6 months based on the build date (I got from calling Yamaha). Get one of these brand new and I bet the strings will last you a year. I played and still play my FG700 more than my $500 Epiphone Les Paul, even when practicing. I just like the sound that much. Then after doing some research in March I had a guitar shop put in a bone saddle (the white part that the strings bend over right before they go into the body) and I couldn't believe my ears! What was already a great sounding guitar now sounds as good as anything up into the $800 range, easily. All for roughly $270 ($180 guitar + $90 saddle). To me, this thing is an investment. They say that guitars age kind of like wine. You take good care of it and it will just sound better and better the older it gets. My father's got an FG110 from the 70's and it sounds amazing now. I figure that give this thing 20 years and it will sound as good as anything out there. Pro's: Great sound especially for $200, nice finish, easy playability, very good factory strings. Con's: Action can be a little high if you play a lot at the higher frets (you can have that adjusted), it's a jumbo acoustic: so for smaller people the body can be a little oversized.