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Rating:  -
From all the positive reviews I've read, I must have just gotten a bum guitar. The one I received had a large crack in the back of the guitar and seperated from the side. It was not damaged in shipping as the boxes that it came in showed no damage. I would have exchanged it for another one but Amazon would only give me a refund. Oh well. I guess I'll shop local next time.
Rating:  -
Obviously I don't have a ton of experience or knowledge about guitars and what they should sound like. For the inexperienced novice who wants to try out guitar, though, I've got a lot to say. First off, this price can't be beat anywhere, especially since they normally tack on so much for shipping. Secondly, it's pure luck when you get it, but that has nothing to do with the guitar. The packaging was solid and I didn't feel that anybody had sat on my box, kicked it, or thrown it around. It came in a huge box and then in a smaller, triangular shaped box for the guitar. Due to the shipping, of course, the strings were horribly out of tune so if you don't know a darn thing about guitars and tuning or music, just buy a guitar tuner, I recommend the Korg CA-30 or anything similar. You play a string and the red lights will tell you if it's sharp or flat, green is in tune. Also, learn that the thickest string is E, then A, D, G, B, with E being the thinnest.
Now for the guitar itself. I don't know if anyone else mentioned this but there's only one button at the bottom of the guitar for a strap. There's also no strap included and I think you have to either install another button yourself or tie it to the neck underneath the strings. I don't know yet, but that is a small drawback. However, since you can play without a strap, I didn't take off points for it. Second, that horrendous sticker needs to go and it's easy to peel off. I found that there was a teeny-tiny layer beneath it of clear plastic so I pulled that off too. The sound is great, takes awhile to get used to how hard you have to press so there's no buzzing noise (I think that's called action and people have commented that it's high on this guitar). But I figure if you get used to high action, other guitars will be easier and it's not a big deal. Either way, if you're playing guitar for the first time your fingertips will hurt, right?
I love the guitar for the price and the sound, it really makes me happy to play it every time. No picks, but I never wanted one, I love just using my fingers. There's no case, either, but a good hard case will run you almost as much as the guitar itself. If you're planning on flying with it, I'd say get a soft case and carry it on and hope they can stow it in a closet somewhere. Here's what it boils down to: if you've got $100 and you want to learn to play the guitar, this is your chance. My friend who plays guitar just as casually as I do (although for much longer) bought his first Takamine for $400. I'm not going to put out an album or write my own stuff so I wouldn't be able to tell the difference in sound even if there was one. It's a great great starter guitar, I love it a lot and I've already banged it quite a few times and it still sounds fantastic. I was on the fence about it, took a risk since there were a lot of 5 stars and I wasn't disappointed. If you're on the fence, then hop on over to this side, this guitar is great!
Rating: -
This is a nice guitar for $100. Definitely better than most others out there, and don't get one from Target or ToysRUs! Change the strings though. The Jasmine S34 is about $130 and has better construction and parts with a cutaway -- may be a better deal. I picked up two S35's for my nephews...one from Austin Bazaar for $90 (had it in 5 days w/free shipping) and one from Bill's Music for $80...great store. Nice sound and is solid, but don't think you're getting a $200 guitar for $100. If you're planning on getting a hard shell case, you may want to go for the Fender CD-60 instead. It's ~$200 but comes with a nice case ($70-80 value IMHO), and is a better guitar. A review on that guitar is another story though.
Rating: -
This is my first review on here because I feel that I must state my case for this guitar. I am no professional nor am I proficient in guitar but I must say that you definitely cannot go wrong with this. For the amount of money you pay for this thing you'd think you'd just spent at least 500 bucks and not 90. I've heard other acoustics that cost 10 times as much and upwards and yes they sound incredible, but for undiscerning ears those guitars and this jasmine sound pretty close. I am not saying that this level of Takamine can compete with those of Taylor or Martin or Gibson, but pound for pound this guitar is the epitome of value and quality. I am all for buying american but it seems as if the asian factories are starting to pump out some decent products with what materials they have to work with. I've seen other reviews stating that the action is too high but I myself think it is perfect and it seems set up just about perfect out of the box. All I can say that if you're in any way interested in guitar, don't go buying any of those starter packs out there. Go with this guitar and start from there. You cannot go wrong.
Rating:  -
i got one with its neck has a little crack. otherwise its a good guitar
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