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Fender CD-60 CE
by Ptsface12
I was most impressed with this stunning guitar, I fell in love with it's beautiful design. The cutaway makes it easy to get your fingers to the end of the fret.
It has 5 knobs, 'volume' (this controls the volume when plugging it into an amp or your computer), 'tuner' (this switches the tuner on, the tuner does not always seem ... accurate and can sometimes give false readings but over all it's decent) 'bass' (this controls the bass when plugging into your amp, 'middle' and 'treble' (both of those affected when you plug the electro-acoustic into the amp).
I would definitely recommend buying this guitar, it's fairly cheap and it's from a trust-worthy brand! It has steel strings which give a lovely ringing sound to it, good for Rock, Indie & Blues. In my opinion, these strings are possibly some of the best I've used in any of my guitars. The guitar is definitely a great value for money!
The tuner requires a square batter (9v) but one is provided upon purchasing the guitar! If you are just starting to get into guitars and you're a beginner, this is a great starting point! Happy buying!
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Martin Smith W-100 Acoustic Guitar Kit
by spiritwood
I am a firm believer that if you want to learn an instrument then it pays in more ways than one to buy the best that you can afford even if it means saving up. There are plenty of rental schemes for instruments that are cheap and let you sample a variety of makes in the genre of your choice and this would make more sense to me than going ... out and buying something shoddy. The main reason for buying the best that you can afford would be this- if you buy a cheap and nasty, badly crafted instrument then you will likely get frustrated with the lack of decent tone and intonation, the build quality will annoy you with sharp fret wire poking you and hard action making chords difficult etc. Cheapie mass produced instruments are usually all guilty of this.
We all know the cliche of the school kid with a nasty orange violin... the ear bleeding noises produced by such a small shaped piece of wood are truly mind-blowing. The problem here is not so much the lack of skill from the child but the fact that the instrument is rubbish. Poorly set up, badly made and covered in thick varnish. Nobody could make that sound good....
And so it is with guitars, although guitars ARE more forgiving of course.
The Martin Smith w-100 initially looks attractive. It is an incredible price and comes with a strap and online guitar instruction, tuner and stand all for under £50 quid. For a beginner not sure if they will grasp the instrument easily then this could be seen as an attractive prospect. However the disappointment in the tone and manufacturing standards of the guitar could easily lead folk to give up prematurely.
I learned on a basic 6 string Yamaha and saved for 3 months before I could afford one. It was a lovely guitar to learn on but even 20 odd years ago ( yes I am old ) it cost more than this one does.
This guitar has little in the way of tone wood. The top is made from laminate and the rest of the back and ribs are some sort of composite " wood". Obviously any box shaped object can produce a sound but for a decent sound in an acoustic guitar you want some tone wood and a decent top plate. The neck is a rosewood colour and despite looking at it, I really cannot tell if it actually IS rosewood. Rosewood does vary in quality though and can be obtained cheaply. The fret wire as expected is badly finished and sharp on the edges. The ribs inside the guitar have traces of sploshed glue around them and up the sides.
One thing I do like about the guitar is the style. It is pleasing to the eye and has a retro feel. The shape and scratchplate remind me of the old school Woolworths Audition guitars which were rubbish but are now collectable. The machine heads/ tuners are also ok with a chrome finish. They hold the strings reasonably well with no play or need to force.
PLAYABILITY:
Well the intonation is shot. The further up the fretboard you go, the more out of tune the guitar gets. This is a fault and could only be solved by adjusting the nut position and depth and also by checking out the neck. The neck on the one I have here was slightly out and that was causing the intonation issue. I bought mine to strip and remodel anyway so taking the neck off was no big deal for me. To the average consumer who wants to learn guitar though this would be a big deal and very disappointing.
I do not consider this guitar to be very playable. If a guitar has such bad intonation and is constructed from the musical equivalent of chipboard then you will not get a decent learning experience. You could change the strings, stay down lower on the frets when playing chords etc but you would be limited by the poor workmanship.
GOOD POINTS:
Thinner neck width makes it user friendly for a beginner
You seemingly get a lot for your money ( but in reality don't at all )
Decent machine heads and looks
POOR POINTS:
See whole review ;)
COMES WITH:
Eno Clip on chromatic tuner with a back-lit LCD screen.
Padded guitar bag to protect and transport your guitar.
Universal A-frame guitar stand and other essentials.
Online lessons included
Available in natural, sunburst, blue or red.
In conclusion I would advise anybody wanting to start out on the acoustic guitar to save up for a bit, try several out in music shops and possibly grab one on ebay second hand. Second hand Yamaha guitars can be won on Ebay for under £60 if you are lucky.
( In the end I stripped mine down, removed all of the nasty spray varnish. I re-set the neck to the proper angle and then sealed and spirit finished the body. It was restrung with a different bridge and nut and became a tenor guitar. It sounds lovely now! )
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Fender CD-60 CE
by robosharkatron
I have heard that Fender have got a pretty bad reputation amongst the musical fraternity when it comes to acoustics. If this model is anything to go by, this reputation is utterly unsubstantiated. Having said that, I'm no expert. I bought this guitar having not played in about 10 years. Compared to the dirt cheap models I used to play ... around on 10 years ago, this one is fantastic.
Despite the reputation, Fender do seem to know their guitars and know how to build a good instrument. It feels sturdy and well crafted. It's a good shape, size and weight. It's comfortable to play and hold. It really feels like someone's thought long and hard about the design of this. It's deep colour and sleek curves make it a thing of beautiful.
The neck isn't too wide, and it's not too skinny. It's possible to hold those tricky chords with ease. The guitar plays well and smoothly. The action is nice and low.
Of course, this guitar isn't technically an acoustic. It's an electro acoustic. The barely noticeable jack at the bottom of the guitar can be used to plug the guitar into an amp if need be.
The guitar is very versatile. It can be used to play any style and as such is great for beginners just honing their skills but would also be good for experts too. The tone is warm, clear and resonant thanks to the quality wood that the guitar is constructed from.
The guitar comes pre-strung but will probably need a tune up. The included strings sound chirpy enough, but sound a little tinny. Replacement strings are widely available and you can choose whichever strings suit your playing style best.
I would happily recommend this guitar to anyone. I think it would be great for experts, but given its versatility, I think that this guitar would be ideal for beginners.
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