Review : Epiphone DR-100

Specifications

Number of: Strings 6

Body Style/Shape: Dreadnought

Left-/Right-handed: Right-handed

Colors: Natural, Ebony, Vintage Sunburst

Top: Wood Spruce

Back & Sides Wood: Mahogany

Neck Wood: Mahogany

Fingerboard Material: Rosewood

Fingerboard Inlay: Pearloid Dots

Binding: No Binding

Neck Shape: SlimTaper

Number of Frets: 20

Scale Length: 25.5"

Tuning Machines: Epiphone Premium Tuners

Bridge Material: Rosewood

Nut Width: 1.69"

Electronics: No Electronics

Manufacturer Part Number: EA10NACH1

Epiphone’s top best selling acoustic, the Epiphone DR-100 Acoustic Guitar offers beginners and professionals superior sound, looks and build quality at a wallet-pleasing price.

Body

The Epiphone DR-100 Acoustic Guitar features a dreadnought body. This classic body shape is the most common you will find, and with good reason; it works. Used across genres this shape supplies a balanced tone that will fit in anywhere with a loud voice that can be heard in an acoustic band.

As important as the guitars shape is the woods that it’s made of and the Epiphone DR 100 Acoustic Guitar doesn’t skimp here. Select spruce has been chosen for the guitars top to offer clarity and powerful projection. Responding well to being played hard this wood also sounds better the more you play it, to really shape its character.

Pairing up with the spruce top beautifully is the mahogany body of the Epiphone DR100 Acoustic Guitar. Also giving a fair amount of projection to the mix this wood focuses on the guitars treble and bass for a rich, mellow tone.

To keep the Epiphone DR-100 Acoustics intonation rock-solid the guitar features a rosewood bridge, glued at a precise position to ensure stability. Rosewood is also a tonal match with the spruce top.

The Epiphone DR-100 Guitars body is finished off nicely with a black binding and a black pickguard with the famous Epiphone ‘E’, offsetting the guitars natural finish beautifully.

Neck

The Epiphone DR-100 Acoustic Guitar has a strong and stable mahogany neck that has been glued-in at the 14th fret. This has been carved to with Epiphone’s SlimTaper profile to make playing easy, comfortable and fast. The neck has been topped with a rosewood fingerboard with Mother-of-Pearl dot inlays and the guitars headstock features Epiphone’s classic Sloped Dovewing shape and die-cast premium tuners.

PROS

• Consistent
• Fun To Play
• Good Feel
• Rich Sound
• Stays In Tune

BEST USES

• Jamming
• Practicing
• Recording
• School Bands
• Small Venues

                            

Review : Fender CD-60

Specifications

Series: Classic Design Series

Body Style: Fender Style Dreadnought

Finish: Gloss (Polyurethane)

Top: Laminated Spruce

Back and Sides: Laminated Mahogany

Neck: Nato

Fingerboard: Sonokeling

No. of Frets: 20

Bridge: Sonokeling with Urea Compensated Saddle

Machine Heads: Chrome (Die-Cast)

Scale Length: 25.3" (643mm)

Body Depth: 3.94", 100mm (Front) to 4.92" 125mm (Rear)

Width at Nut: 1.69" (43mm)

Width at Heel: 2.24" (57mm)

Pickguard: Black

Fingerboard Inlays: White Dots

Logo: Gold Silkscreen

Soundhole Rosette: Multi-ABS

Body and Neck Binding: Black

Bridge and Endpins: Black

Strings: Fender 60L Phosphor Bronze, p/n 0730060003, Gauges           .012 to .053
Color: Black, Natural, Sunburst

Action, Fit, & Finish

This is where the CD-60 really shines. The sunburst finish is beautiful. Fit and finish are excellent. The tuners work well. The fret ends are filed so that they don't bite your hand as you move up and down the neck. Side dots on the neck are perfectly centered and easy to see. This guitar was put together really well.

Sound Quality

Compared to other guitars in it's price range, which is how I'm grading it, the Fender is a good pick. It doesn't sound like a pre-war Martin, but the MSRP is only $280 US, so you're not paying the Martin price either.The Fender sounds a little brighter than the solid spruce top Yamaha. That's not a bad thing. The notes sound out clear; it's not muddy sounding. It came with coated Elixer strings from the factory. They sound good and haven't turned my fingers black like the Yamaha did. Great for a beginner; very good for a bargain beater guitar for the experienced musician. Remember, it's the player, not the guitar, that makes the music.

Reliability/Durability:

This guitar seems real sturdy. I think it will last long term, probably longer than most in it's price range. It's put together well and backed by one of the best names in the business.

Pros

• Quality guitar for entry level.
• The finish is superior, and the sound is nice.
• Its tuning pegs are exceptional
• The sunburst finish is desirable.
• The case is durable.
• The paint is perfectly finished with no cracks or chips.

Cons

• The tone maybe a bit bright.

Overall Rating

It's a great guitar for the money. To take on camping trips or late night jam sessions, it can't be beat in my opinion. Plus it looks really cool with the sunburst finish. For a first guitar, you can't do much better for the money. For the experienced musician, it's a good guitar that won't break the bank or break your heart if it gets scratched or dinged up.

    

   

   

                                          

Review : Yamaha FG700S

Specifications

Height: 40-9/10",

Width: 16-1/5"

Depth: 4-7/10"

Weight: 5.1 pounds

Guitar Type:  Acoustic

Guitar Size: Full-size

String Type:  Bronze

Neck Joint: Dove tail

Nut Width: 1-11/16"

Scale Length: 25-9/16"

Bridge Material: Rosewood

Tuning Machines: Sealed

Hardware Plating: Chrome

Tuners: Die-cast

Top Material: Sitka spruce

Side Material: Nato

Back Material: Nato

Pickguard: Tortoise-style

Finish: High gloss

Body Depth: 3-15/16" - 4-5/8"

Neck Material:  Nato

Fingerboard Material: Rosewood

Number of Frets: 20

Ease of playing
The most important thing for a beginner or an intermediate level player is that his guitar should be easy to play on. Get this right - a poor choice of guitar could set a beginner back by several months (sometimes forever) and it could seriously hamper the progress for an intermediate level player. And this is why FG700S has been my top recommendation to initial phase learners. The action of the guitar (the space between the strings and the fret board) is pretty low. And that makes a hell lot of difference in playing. The strumming position is pretty comfortable and the strings are relatively easy on fingers.

The negative of the FG700S is that it is a jumbo sized guitar and it cannot be used for teaching young children

Sound quality

Sound quality is a major plus for this guitar - it matches the quality of many USD1000 and above guitars. You pick up any guitar in this price range and you will generally find it to have a lopsided bass and treble balance. Not with this one. The intonation of the guitar is very close to perfect. The solid top renders a crisp but resonant tune. Another thing that is good is that even when new students strum the guitar wrongly the guitar does not sound that awful.Sound quality of the Yamaha FG700S is much more balanced and warm.

Value for money
FG700s is a real bang for buck deal. I recommend this guitar to students who have even higher budgets up to USD600. A few slight tweaks to this guitar and it starts playing like the guitars in the price range of USD500 to USD900 range. Gibson, Martin and other good brands of no offerings in this price range at Yamaha is perhaps the only one offering a good guitar in this range.

Craftsmanship
The makers of this guitar have paid adequate attention to details.(you will never find loose ends in the craftsmanship - no fret buzz, no unpolished frets and stuff like that). The body binding is pretty robust and that makes it a long lasting, beater guitar choice.

Looks
Looks are the last thing I look when choosing a beginner's guitar. And for Yamaha FG700s- I am pretty much OK with the looks - nothing good, nothing bad either. And its again a matter of personal choice.

   

 
          

Review : Jasmine S35 by Takamine

Specifications
Body: Dreadnought
Top: Spruce
Sides: Nato
Back: Nato
Fingerboard: Rosewood
Bridge: Rosewood
Tuners: Chrome Plated
Finish: Natural Gloss
Nut Width: 1 11/16"
Scale Length: 25 3/8"
Dimensions: 42.5 x 19.2 x 7 inches
Weight: 10.7 pounds

Pros

Price & the Value for money

This guitar is an amazing deal for the offer price. Not that there are no better guitars in the market but if you look at the options in this price range, you will find none coming even closer. I mean which guitar in this price range comes even close to offering a solid spruce top, rosewood fingerboard and bridge, Natural Gloss satin finish for the high resonance and the amazing sound quality that S35 has to offer. The sound produced by the guitar is brilliant and warm. The only other option that somehow comes close to Takamine S35 is the Silvertone SD50N dreadnought but it comes for almost double the price. Gibson , Martin, Yamaha and other brands have no better offering in this price range.

Craftsmanship

I am sure musicians wouldn't agree more on this one. The craftsmanship of S35 is much better than is expected of an entry level low priced guitar. The attention given to details combines together to render a nice tone and good plucked harmonics, something that determines the ease of playing which is most important for beginners. The fret is laid down with sharp precision as to offer no fret buzz, and clear and crisp sound.

Ease of playing

In terms of playing, the action is pretty comfortable (if not the best) thereby helping the beginners pick up the instrument faster. Jasmine by Takamine S35 is an easy instrument to play and to keep in tune. The action is pretty O.K and is not at all bad as was suggested by some reviews that I had read for S35. The plucked harmonics is also pretty good, rather it is surprising for a low end guitar. The fret board is also pretty comfortable making it really easy manoeuvrings through it.

Cons

Low String response time

Well I shouldn't be complaining about it at this price but you should know this before you possibly buy this guitar.The string response time is a bit on the lower side and could be a small hindrance for the initial learners. But I look at it in this way - picking up on any instrument is just a matter of habit. If you have learn driving on a heavy vehicle, smaller vehicles are all the more easier to handle.

Looks

Personally I feel that the guitar could have been made to look better. It is not the least stylish. However looks should be the last things to be bothered about when starting to play a guitar. Not that looks are not important. When it comes to playing guitar, especially rock, nobody wants to look like a dork but we primarily remember great performers like Steve Vai or Van Halen for their compositions. Style will come later and will come naturally. So even if the looks of S35 is not that great, it should not stop a beginner from choosing it as his first guitar.