Ashthorpe 38-inch Beginner Acoustic Guitar Package (Sunburst), Basic Starter Kit w/Gig Bag, Strings, Strap, Tuner, Pitch Pipe, Picks

Do not buy this guitar. It sounds and looks great, but it can’t be tuned. Other people have noted this in their reviews, but I assumed that they either were not musicians, were inexperienced at tuning, or perhaps didn't realize that new string go out of tune quickly until they stretch out. Actually, they knew what they were talking about. These guitars are not tunable. Teaching someone to play guitar on an instrument that can’t be tuned, is like teaching someone to drive using a car with poor wheel alignment and malfunctioning steering. • I bought two 38" guitars, a blue and a sunburst version. Both had the same problems. If the strings are in-tune when they are open (no chord being fingered) then they will be out of tune when a chord is fingered. If you tune the guitar so that a particular chord is in-tune, then when the strings are strummed while open (no fingers pressing down on them) they will be out of tune. This appears to be due largely to the excessively high action (height of strings over the fret board) of the guitar. When a string is pressed to the fret board, it stretches more than it should, changing the pitch inordinately. I think there are other contributing factors as well, perhaps the frets are slightly misaligned, but I can’t say with certainty. It would not add to the manufacturing cost to eliminate these problems. It is simply a question of basic design and precision. • Excessively high action (height of strings over the fret board) makes fingering chords more difficult. Even for me, playing certain barre chords close to the nut (top of the neck) was a challenge. Standard chords that children will be taught first are all playable, but slightly more difficult than they should be, especially for little hands. • Sound quality, or tone as some people refer to it, is very good. I was surprised. While the guitar does not sound like a Martin (gold standard), it has a bright, snappy sound with plenty of resonance and overtones. It is a steel string guitar (instead of nylon like many starter guitars) and this makes a big positive difference. I enjoyed playing it in this regard. Given the price, it is excellent. I believe that the people who complain about the tone of the guitar, are really hearing the dissonance of poor tuning. If the guitar is tuned perfectly for a single chord, which is possible, it sounds great—pretty cool actually. • The paint jobs are great for kids. They are bright, colorful, and shiny. There are a few minor blemishes and imperfections, but so what. Given the price, they are wonderful. • Electronic digital tuner o Looks nifty, but it is not high quality. After tuning with it, I still needed to make small adjustments by ear. Not a good situation for a beginner player, but probably it is fine. To be fair, a Peterson electronic tuner (gold standard) costs as much as this guitar. o After turning it on, the user must select from chromatic, violin, guitar, bass, and ukulele. It remembers the selection the next time it is turned on, but it is easy to change the selection inadvertently. This is a poor design for children. But almost all tuners are like this. It is an inexpensive way for the manufacturer to provide value. Practically speaking, it is just a nuisance. Most people buy a tuner for a single instrument. o The single control button is extremely awkward and difficult to locate and press. Just a bad design. o Before it can be used, a paper tab needs to be removed from the battery. When the tab is pulled (to remove it) it rips, leaving in the battery compartment paper which still must be removed to activate the device. This happened on each tuner that came with the two guitars I bought. A very, very tiny Phillips head screw locks the battery compartment door. A jeweler’s screwdriver is needed to remove it. • Pitch pipe does not work well at all. A horrific little device, it is difficult to get sound from it. Looks like something they threw-in in a desperate and misguided attempt to compensate for the fact that the guitar cannot be tuned properly. • The guitar comes with a single instruction page (front and back) of useful information, which includes valuable instruction about traditional ways to tune a guitar. While well done, one gets the feeling that it is again a desperate and misguided attempt to compensate for the fact that the guitar cannot be tuned properly. Bizarrely, one side of the page also contains diagrams for fingering many different barre chords. Barre chords are for advanced players. Diagrams of basic chords that beginners need to learn first would be far more useful. • One must conclude that the people who are satisfied with these guitars and don’t return them are themselves not musicians, or don't have a good ear for music. Even an amateur musician should deem these guitars unacceptable.

Hasta los momentos es de buena calidad y llego con todo sus accesorios

This guitar is good for deciding if you want to commit to learning guitar. The strings and everything work just fine, so one can learn fingerstyle playing and chords, however, the strings are rather buzzy, and in addition with a high action guitar such as this, it is harder on the fingers to play. I used this guitar frequently for about 7 months before deciding that I would like to upgrade to an actual name brand guitar (like Fender, Ibanez, or Rogue). When I would put a regular capo on any fret of the guitar, the low E bass note would become flat, however, with no capo, the string would perform just fine. I went to a guitar center to ask about it, and they hadn't even heard of this brand of guitar. Final Verdict: Yes, the guitar is good value of money if you are looking to see if a guitar would be the right pursuit for you. Looks-wise, the guitar looks nice with a mix of basic and elegant. However, I'd only recommend buying this guitar if you are looking to see if guitar is the right fit for you. If you are looking to buy a guitar that will last you a while, you are better off looking elsewhere as this guitar is better for a trial run rather than a long-term commitment.

Perfect size for a beginner! Pretty sound to it too.

I have to say that I am impressed. While I must admit that I'm a beginner at guitar (I'm a former drummer that can no longer play due to health issues), I learned a lot about guitars from an old band mate. This beginner guitar sounds nice, and is of a better size for me to learn on. I have an old acoustic, but the body is far too large for me. This guitar arrived a little over an hour ago. No nicks, dings, or cracks on it. Checked the screws on the tuning machines, everything was good. Since the headstock is more of a classical style than a regular acoustic, I took off the steel strings that came on the guitar and replaced them with classical strings (nylon - medium tension). While it's going to take at least a few days for the nylon strings to stretch out enough before they stay in tune, I did get it tuned up for a bit and played a few chords. The guitar sounds wonderful, with a good bit of volume. I think I'll enjoy learning on this guitar. If you decide to get this guitar and go with nylon strings (which you should), unless you go with 'ball end' strings, you might have to look up how to 'tie' the nylon strings onto the guitar, as some nylon strings that you can get will not come with a ball end. I had helped do this on a guitar decades ago, but needed a refresher course, and found the information online easily enough. The reason I say you should use nylon strings is because they require less tension than the normal steel strings. Since this guitar does *not* have a truss rod, you want to go with strings that do not need as much tension. Using steel strings can cause problems with the bridge piece (breaking or coming off), the neck (warping), and the tuning pegs. You might be able to get away with using light or super light tension steel strings, but that's your choice. I'm sticking with the nylon strings. They bring out the sound that I want from this guitar. They're also easier to learn with as a beginner, as they don't hurt your fingertips as much. Yes, it will take longer to build up the callouses on the fingertips, but hey...less pain when learning can be a good thing. But again, for an inexpensive guitar, this one is a good deal. As with any instrument, if you're not sure if you, or the person you get it for, are going to maintain interest in learning the instrument...going with an inexpensive instrument like this is always the best idea. As for the other bits that come in this package...the picks are good, the case is good enough to keep dust off the guitar, the strap is not all that great, and the tuner is pretty much garbage because the battery cover does not want to stay on (I have another one just like it, and it has the same problem), and the pitch pipe is 'meh'. The main thing you want in this package is the guitar. Just get some better strings, a good tuner (I have a 'Snark' that wasn't expensive), and a decent guitar strap...and you're set.