Guitar Accessories

Review by muhlen:

This is a nice beginner’s guitar. The action is kind of high, so you will earn your calluses quickly. I bought mine from GearTree through Amazon, and it arrived quickly in great condition. However, consider buying directly from a vendor’s website, because some offer free shipping when you buy directly. Then you can buy a decent case or a strap as well, and for the same price as shipping would have cost you. Also, get an inexpensive tuner as well – you will be playing the day it arrives!

Review by T. Northrup:

This is my third guitar. They have all been entry level instruments, and it seems as fast as I buy them I give them to my children. This one I will keep. This is by far the best guitar of the previous two, and thinking back the least expensive. I cannot believe how well-made this instrument is, with close attention to detail. There were no short-cuts taken when assembling this guitar, those small details that usually distinguish entry level instuments. I would recommend this guitar to anyone.

Review by P. Hoskins:

I bought my Kona guitar two weeks ago, after researching the company on the web.

It’s just the right size for me, and stays in tune pretty well – very little adjustment on the keys.

I like the digital tuner that’s included in the kit. It’s much easier than using a pitch pipe.

I would suggest getting a hard case, though. The gig bag isn’t padded.

Review by Many Interests “John”:

Having little to no knowledge about guitars, I did some basic research on guitar packages before deciding to purchase this set. I’m older and wasn’t sure if I really wanted to go through the work to learn the guitar, but I did want to try, so I was looking for a nice “all in one” package to get me started without spending lots of money.

This set arrived promptly, was well packaged (the guitar was well padded by styrofoam and cardboard) and exactly as advertised. The book is much smaller than I was expecting based on the “…for dummies” series, but it seemed do-able. Although I had to put in 4 stars for the overall package, I’ll briefly review each piece of the set for better clarity.

Guitar bag – 1 star, functional to keep the dust off the guitar.

Electronic tuner – 4 stars, works easily but the batteries were difficult to load without seeming to have broken the unit.

Book – 3 stars, an ok book & CD to start with, but very little depth.

Guitar – 4 stars, sounds good but a little tough for the beginner.

Picks – nice…

Some of the things I’ve learned about the guitar over the last few months: The strings sit somewhat high above the frets so it takes quite a bit of pressure to push them down. The strings that came with the guitar were most likely “ultra light” so moving to “light” was a bit of surprise, it made fretting the strings even harder. The pick guard is showing wear as is the fretboard under the strings nearest the nut. The guitar sounds good, but I wish I had gotten one with strings closer to the frets.

I also wish the pack had included a guitar strap and a better instruction set, but for the price, I feel it was a really good deal. I’m a guitar noob so my opinion is that of one who is completely new to the guitar.

Review by Nancy Christensen:

I bought this guitar for my grandson for Christmas…however, I’m going to give it to my grand-daughter for a first guitar. (I bought my grandson a different one).

The guitar itself is beautiful. I was impressed.

The strings are soft and “buzzy”. I bought other strings and will restring it after I give it to her.

The guitar does have a nice sound quality, and projects quite well.

I’m having a hard time fitting the guitar into it’s case, but Austin Bazar has assured me this is the correct case. When I recieved the guitar it did not include the accessories as described, but when I contacted Austin Bazar they had them here in a couple of days. They have great cusomer contact people. Thanks

The strap that came with is kind of ugly…but that’s not hard to remedy.

For a first guitar you can’t beat the price!!! and new strings were only about .00

I’d recommed this set.

Review by J. PAPIA:

While we were more than satisfied with the guitar ( we got what we paid for ) it was the little things that really annoyed us. First, the strap shown in the photo is not the strap that comes with the guitar. The strap that came was made for a guitar with two pegs – this guitar has one strap peg on the bottom making the strap that was sent totally useless. Second, the vinyl bag is very cheap and was torn along the zipper. Third, the photo shows 3 picks – only one is sent. Fourth, the photo would make you believe you are getting a second set of strings – you aren’t. Only three strings are sent; the sixth, fifth and fourth. The guitar itself is more than adequate for a beginner ( it’s made in China )and the reduced price is a great deal. I have contacted the seller with my concerns and will wait to pass judgement until I see if they resolve these issues.

Review by Betty L. Dravis:

I hesitated buying this guitar for my grandson when I saw a few negative reviews, but when I checked the list, the 5- and 4-star reviews were double the negative ones, so I decided to purchase it.

I realize it’s not the best on the market, but a beginner doesn’t need the best. Kids often think they want to play the guitar, then later change their minds in favor of drums or something else that catches their eyes. With that in mind and the economical price and the accessories, it was a no-brainer decision. Besides, it’s quite stylish in a neutral way; not glittery and showy like some guitars I’ve seen; more suitable for a 12-year-old.

When I saw Johnny’s face light up when he opened his birthday gift … well, that was priceless to me. It’s three months later and he’s still smiling, so I consider this one of my best investments.

He’s learned a few songs already and is constantly in his room, practicing. Since the sound is good, the noise doesn’t bother me. I’d much rather hear him play than listen to blaring rap music.

One reviewer complained about the carrying bag, but that didn’t worry me at all. It was still a good value, with or without the bag, and we’ve had no problems yet.

I recommend this to beginning guitarists, no matter how old. If they stick with it and decide to go professional, they can go on to more expensive equipment later.

Review by: Betty Dravis, 2007

Review by Jo Newkirk-Hornecker:

I purchased this guitar for my 13 year old son to learn on. It is a full sized guitar with good sound for the price, and came with strap, pitch pipe and some other small items – I’m not sure what all else. After having it for two months, the “Free carrying bag” is starting to wear in several places so we will purchase a hardsided case soon but, otherwise, a very nice and affordable product for a beginner to start out with.

Review by DaveM:

Just the facts: Paid the extra for the expedited delivery. Guitar arrived in hard shell case packed in original Gibson cardboard box – on time and no damage. Some buzzes coming from a and e strings, haven’t done any tweaking yet. Fret work seems even, but a bit sharp on the ends. Neck feels just right – not too fat. Sound is classic Les Paul. No inlay on headstock – just a sticker. I would buy another one.

Review by Nessander:

I play mainly bluesy rock (a little bit of jazz, no metal) and was looking to buy a second electric guitar, and went into my local guitar shop to try this out. I wasn’t particularly looking for a Les Paul, but after trying out a few other guitars (some of the Joe Satriani Ibanez’s) I saw this lying around and was intrigued by the natural wood look. The look is a matter of taste — I’ve seen people note it as a negative or as a positive. You have to check it out and see for yourself. Personally, I think it looks very cool and classy. Both my mother and wife thought it looked great, too, but, as I said, it’s a matter of taste.

Anyway, I picked it up and the first thing I noticed is that it is a lot lighter than the standard Les Pauls. I liked this, because I tend to find them a bit too heavy for my liking. I plugged it into a VOX AC 15 tube amp and proceeded to sit there for over an hour playing. The guitar has great tone and a variety of sounds, which it achieves with good quality Gibson burstbucker pickups. I really love the sound of this guitar when played through the VOX — it can be really mellow and silky, fat and chunky, or bright, depending on how you adjust the settings. I find all three of the switch settings (rhythm, mixed, and lead) to be useful. The other nice thing is that since you have four knobs — two volume and two tone (one for each humbucker) — you can set them completely separately and then use the switch to go from (for example) a lower volume rhythm sound to a higher volume lead sound just by flipping the switch. This is pretty cool. My other electric only has one volume switch, so I can’t do that.

After surfing the web for reviews of this guitar (which are overwhelmingly positive), the only negative comment I saw (except for people who don’t like the natural wood look, which is a matter of taste) had to do with possibly shoddy quality control at Gibson. One reviewer said he tried 9 of these guitars and each was set up differently. Knowing this, I asked to try both of the 2 guitars that were at the shop. I looked at them carefully, and they both seemed set up very similarly, and both played very well right out of the box. The action was really low, which made for great playing, but a little bit of buzz. Since this didn’t come out when playing through an amp, though, I decided not to adjust it to make the action higher. In short, this guitar is very playable, and felt great in my hands.

Basically, the sound is classic — good for blues, jazz, bluesy rock, and hard rock, but probably not metal (not sure — I don’t play it so I wouldn’t know). Despite being a bit lighter than the standard Les Paul models, this guitar has great sustain like all other Les Pauls. If you are interested in a Les Paul guitar, this is a great option for the under K category. If you can afford the more expensive models, then go for it, but this does not in any way feel like a cheapened “poor man’s” Les Paul. It has solid construction and good quality components.

The only other possible place where they might have cut corners on the components is the tuners, which may not be all that great, but you can buy a better set for and switch them out. I’m playing mine for a while first to see how they go, and if they’re not that good, I will switch them. If so, that would be a very minor flaw in what is a really great guitar and an unbeatable price. Also, it comes with a hard case (this might be changing soon, not sure) which is worth about 0, making the price even better. If you’re shopping in this category, definitely check one out. I decided to pick up the VOX 15 too and they’re sounding fantastic together!

Review by Wilhelmina Gaudy:

I was thrilled when my guitar arrived and even more so after I tuned it and began to play.

My guitar is absolutely beautiful. The finish is flawless. And it’s got that new guitar smell…ahhhhhh.

It does have a pick guard (that is not shown in the photo on any website or in any catalog) which pleases me. It would be a shame to scratch the surface while strumming with a heavier pick. I read one review on a music vendor’s website where the reviewer complained about Takamine and Jasmine printed all over the pick guard. And they were right about that…but I found it very easy to remove all these words by simply peeling off this protective sticker. Dah.

The strings are a little heavier than I like but I’ll be changing them in a few weeks anyway.

The sound and craftsmanship is anything but what you would expect from such an affordable guitar and everything you’d expect to pay more for. It has a rich, full bodied sound.

I am now a diehard Takamine fan.

Review by T. Tran:

I’m learning guitar on my own right now. This was my first guitar that I’ve bought myself and I have to say that I’m quite satisfied.

The people that have tried out the guitar have all given compliments about how nice it is.

The intonation is nothing to complain about.

One thing that should be noted is that the action is slightly higher than normal and it takes some getting used to; once you get used to it, it’s alright.

And one final note, I purchased this guitar directly from the Musician’s Friend website where I got free shipping.

Review by I. Quinones:

Lets start with the accessories: it brings two black stickers especially for the guitar, a guitar pick, a pitch pipe, a guitar strap, extra guitar strings and a cute guitar case. All the accessories are well made and a nice touch, but the guitar itself was a dissapointment.

It was broken at the bottom and i had to glue it back together! The sounds the guitar makes are also unpleaant even though ive tried to tune it several times. And when it got here it smelled like spray paint! The best part about it was that it was pink… and the accessories.

Review by A. Moss:

I was under the impression that even though the guitar was really cheap that I would be getting a full size guitar. THE GUITAR IS NOT A FULL SIZE GUITAR! Even though it is perfectly long enough for an adult the base is smaller so the sound is different. The guitar does not stay in tune. I will play a few chords and then have to retune the guitar. Also the guitar will not fully tune up. You can sit there forever with an automatic tuner and it will never fully tune. The strings are alot harder to hold down than a full size guitar. If you are on a budget like I was then I guess it is a decent guitar for the price but IF YOU ARE A BEGINNER PLAYER THEN I SUGGEST SPENDING 0 AT A LOCAL STORE AND GET A TRUE BEGINNERS GUITAR BECAUSE THIS ONE WILL DISCOURAGE YOU FROM PLAYING BECAUSE IT IS TOO HARD TO PLAY! this goes for anyother cheap guitar! you get what you pay for!

Review by Pash:

I got this guitar to replace my Mitchell guitar based on reviews.

The price was good.

Also, it is the Yamaha brand name.

The sound, I was told by my teacher, was very good and he said it was a good buy.

The tuner is OK….better to buy a Korg tuner from Amazon.

Haven’t tried the DVD yet.

I have only two complaints:

1) The bag, as pointed out by another review, is very flimsy. It has no straps, no padding. It just has a carry handle. You would want to buy another gig bag

2) The worksmanship is lacking at certain points….e.g. where the neck extends on to the body of the guitar, you see glue that was squeezed out from under. I am a stickler for aesthetics. Some people are not bothered with such stuff.

OVERALL A VERY GOOD GUITAR

PS – You might want to check out the GigMaker Deluxe…similar guitar but has a solid spruce top and is only – extra. I did not know about it otherwise would have bought that.

However, as I came to know later, solid wood tops sound good but need to be kept in controlled humidity whereas the laminate tops don’t care about humidity. If you want to control humidity, you can buy a little humidifier (no electricity needed) that drops into the sound hole of the guitar.

Review by B. Bennett:

I’d never played guitar until I bought this one last month, so I can’t compare this to others, but it’s a great deal for the price. Yamaha quality and consistency are worth the few extra dollars you’ll spend over cheap starter guitars.

If you’re buying this as a gift for a beginner who has nothing, this is probably an awesome deal. If you’re buying this for yourself, the extras may not be worth the extra money, unless you’re a complete beginner who isn’t sure if you’ll stay with it, in which case the DVD alone is probably worth it.

Concerning the glue issue raised by another reviewer, mine did not have any unsightly extra glue squeezed out from where the neck extends onto the body. Sure, it’s evident that glue was used, but only upon extremely up-close inspection.

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PRICE

The guitar alone (F325 Acoustic Guitar) is currently less on Amazon, so you’re essentially paying that much for the extras. From what I’ve seen looking about at DVDs for learning, the DVD is worth that if not more. Unless you decide that playing guitar isn’t for you though, you’ll most likely be replacing other extras, so, except for the extra set of strings, I wouldn’t factor those much into the price.

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EXTRAS

Some thoughts on the extras:

DVD: Excellent — professionally done and doesn’t seem to be available without the kit. Teaches the basics like how to hold it, tuning, strumming, etc. The Chord Dictionary is pretty nice — shows various chords and finger positions for them. The Chord Studio is pretty cool — you play chords you’ve learned with a backup band, which makes practicing fun. The only negative thing I’ll say is that the initial intro had me worried about the quality of the rest of the DVD, but it turned out to be great (the instructor seems much more comfortable showing you things than he does just standing there and speaking at the beginning).

Digital Tuner: The one included in the kit is the Qwik Tune Electronic Guitar and Bass Tuner QWIQT11. Based on reviews, you’re probably going to want a Korg, as another reviewer said. You can the higher-rated Korg GA-30 Ultra Compact Guitar and Bass Tuner currently for less than , or pay a few dollars more for a large-display model like the Korg GA-40 Large Display Guitar and Bass Tuner or Korg TM-40 Large Display Digital Tuner and Metronome (which both had “add to cart” pricing as of this review).

Extra Strings: You’ll need them, eventually. Worth a few bucks, anyway.

Picks: You can buy these for next to nothing, but it’s nice to have a few to start with.

Guitar Strap: It’s not pictured in the non-kit F325, so not sure if it’s a true extra. At any rate, I’m not convinced this would last more than a few months before starting to look ratty. It’s a strap though and functions as one.

Gig Bag: Like someone said, it’s not worth much, but for this price, I wouldn’t expect much either. It might keep your guitar from getting scratched — or might not (since it’s not padded or lined, I wouldn’t be surprised if putting it in and out of the bag won’t do more harm than good over time.). It’s not going to protect the guitar if you intend to travel about with it and it’s not useful for carrying anything but the guitar. Check out the World Tour WG20D Deluxe 20mm Acoustic Guitar Gig Bag or Musicians Gear Deluxe Dreadnought Case, Black for a couple of high-rated, economic options.

Overall, I’m thrilled with my purchase, even though I’ve added a hard case, strap and tuner to my wish list for Christmas.