YAMAHAGigMaker Classical Guitar w/ Gig Bag and Tuner

My first guitar class back in high school we used these instruments and they were always reliable and nice sounding so when I was looking for a cheap classical guitar recently I decided to give it a shot and wow. The hype is entirely justified. My guitar came with almost no defects though it did have a couple of tiny nicks in the finish. It looks very good for a laminate wood construction. The tone of this guitar is absolutely amazing, I haven't ran into any issues with the included strings so far however it's good practice to change them out regularly anyways so it won't be a big deal if they start to wear out. I've bought a few guitar "starter packs" and this one has the highest quality included gig bags I've seen yet. Typically included gig bags feel cheap and the zippers break but this is a seriously quality one which is easy to see and feel when you get it in person. Likewise the tuner is much higher quality than some other cheap tuners I've used. It comes with a battery which is easy and fast to put in and the tuner is simple to use. It is full chromatic so you aren't limited to standard tuning either. If you subtract the price of the guitar, the gig bag + the tuner and CD for only $30 extra! That's a great value considering some decent gig bags cost over that by themselves. I haven't opened the CD as it is clearly geared towards beginners but knowing the quality of the rest of this bundle I'm willing to bet it would be a valuable inclusion for anyone looking for an intro to the guitar. The playability of this guitar is fantastic however because it is a classical guitar there is no truss rod to adjust the action of the strings. By default the action is set decently high as is common on classical guitars to avoid fret buzz and to get a clear sound. Whether you are looking into guitar for the first time or just want a cheap nylon string guitar this is a fantastic value and I'd highly recommend it. Good on Yamaha!

I have checked out several higher-end guitars such as the Cordoba C5 and C7 and also a Manuel Rodriguez, all of which cost between $500 and $1000, and I do not notice a huge difference in terms of their touch or the quality of the sound. In fact, there are several positive features I like about the starting level Yamaha student guitar. I even bought a Cordoba C5 and played them against each other. In a blind test, I could tell which one is the Yamaha based on a few things. The third string (G) has a less blunt and more sustained soft sound quality. I notice that Yamaha and some Manuel Rodriguez have made a cut-out at the bottom bridge nut around the area that contacts the 3rd (G) string. This design feature seemed to correlate with the softer and sustained sound I perceived when I checked out many guitars at the Guitar Center. There is also a more sustained sound at the 6th string with particularly the G note.The Yamaha is very playable, not presenting itself like a compromised guitar albeit being labelled as a student guitar for the beginners. Recently, I had the chance to play it at home against the Cordoba C5 (about $500) and the Manuel Rodriguez CAB11 (about $300) for a few days. To my pleasant surprise, I have come to like the Yamaha even more. You do have to realize that all these guitars aforementioned are made in China. You probably have to go up much higher up in price levels to find one that are hand crafted in a Japanese factory by Yamaha or in Spain by M.Rodriguez or Cordoba.With the Yamaha, I only need to spend about $130 and I have had a whole lot of fun between me and my wife. The cheap price at first did come with a sense of instrument inferiority, until I spent some good amount of time comparing it against different guitars. To me, this just cannot be a bad choice and should afford me some great experience for a while before I indulge in a much more "professional" guitar. If you are thinking of trying out playing guitar for the first time, or like me, going back in time to search for my teen years of fun, you might want to wonder aloud like I do "What else could $130 buy these days?".

I've been playing electric and steel string acoustic guitar for a few years and I wanted to give the classical guitar a try. Not knowing if I'd stick with it I bought the least expensive guitar I could find that still received good reviews. After playing it awhile I wasn't sure how to rate it. If the criteria is "value for the money" it's a solid five star. But it's a very inexpensive guitar so it's not perfect. The 'binding' is just black paint. The fret board is ebonized rosewood, meaning rosewood that's been stained black. The stain came off on my fingers for the first week or two of playing. The action's a bit high for my taste, but I usually lower the action on any guitar I own.But it sounds beautiful, way better than a plywood body guitar has a right to sound. It has a nicer tone than some models in the $600 range I tried. The tuners work well, (although since it is a nylon string guitar you'll have to tune it frequently while the strings stretch out, but that will be the case with any nylon stringed instrument). The frets ends aren't particularly sharp like on many low end guitars, so it's comfortable to play. The engineers did an excellent job of maximizing tone and usability within the price point.In the end I ended up giving it five stars. It's an excellent instrument if you're curious about playing classical guitar but don't want to risk a lot of money on one. For less than the cost of a good hard shell case you get a guitar, a decent tuner, and a gig bag. (The gig bag doesn't provide any serious protection but it'll keep the dust off and let you carefully transport it.)

delivered on time, product very good & was as described

A good quality guitar for those who want to learn playing it.