Esteban Burswood Acoustic

First, this thing was made in China. What a crock! It was basically glued together. They claimed this had a rosewood neck and on and on...no! This is basically particleboard. It's not a good guitar. It looks like crap. This wasn't solid at all. The tuners didn't do anything, more or less. The body was flimsy. What junk!

Sound? What sound? It was junk! The sound was terrible. High-pitched, stringy, non-musical. The only way to describe the sound of this guitar is crap.

Nobody took any care in setting this thing up. It was probably done by a machine. Nothing was adjusted correctly. The finish was horrible and rubbed right off. The tuning keys looked like they had been painted by a one-year-old. It sucked!

This thing didn't stand up to ten minutes of playing at home, let alone an hour of a live performance. You can't depend on it. You can't use it for a backup. Just forget even buying the damn thing.

The company? Don't even go there. This company was crap, too. I bought the thing direct from the TV Infomercial. When I tried to return it, they basically laughed at me. I ended up having to complain to an outside agency to get anything done. Took me almost a month.

It sucked. End of story. I ended up going out and spending a little more for a decent Fender at my local music store. They fixed me up with what would be top-of-the-line for that price range. The one I got is considered a "beginner's guitar", but it's far better than this piece of junk.

Terrible. Who is Esteban? I looked him up online. There is no info at all. You can look yourself up and find info, why can't you find info on him? He is obviously a NOBODY!!
World famous... yeah right. Jump in line sheep, believe everything you see and hear, just like my poor grandma who bought this for me from late night TV.
Anyone on here claiming that this guitar is anything but junk is a liar or an employee of Esteban.
Especially all these people who claim to play guitar for 35 years... Liars.

Sound quality is crap. Buzzing. To the guy who claimed that it needed a little work is an idiot. You should not have to put work into a brand new guitar. Anyone on here claiming that this is anything but a piece of junk is defrauding the good people of the United States of America and might as well go hang out on HSN w/ Esteban the loser scumbag.

This guitar was not set up at all, buzzing strings, frets popped up. Binding was fake, plastic, possibly even taped on. The wood looked like crap and the fret board was cardboard/particle board. How can people get away with selling people this crap. It makes no sense.

Cracked joints, imperfect finish.

I've read people saying that they didn't expect much, but a new guitar should be perfect, even a $100 guitar.

I returned this guitar after the frets fell off.

Unlike some smucks posting reviews, when the guitar breaks I return it I don't fix it, myself.

Customer support? Had to speak to a supervisor to get any results

I've ben playing for 15 years. I have a takamine acoustic, an antique classical, a tenor banjo, and a fernandez strat.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT BUY THIS GUITAR. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD AND EVERYTHING HOLY..... DO NOT BUY THIS GUITAR. Spend $20 more and buy a yamaha, or a cheap fender, or better yet a Cord with solid spruce top.

2003 Chinese made Steel string dreadnought acoustic (Just a basic dreadnought) It is what it is , nothing fancy so there really aren't any feature flaws . But it did come with instructional videos, Esteban cd, hardshell case, extra strings, Tuner,strap & picks. I,ve also installed a Radio Shack Piezo transducer pickup in it.WHICH REALLY SOUNDS GOOD! IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR A CHEAP HIGH QUALITY WAY TO AMPLIFY YOUR ACOUSTIC I RECOMMEND TRYING ONE. LOOK FOR RADIO SHACK ON THE HARMONY CENTRAL ACOUSTIC PICKUPS PAGE. THERE ARE SEVERAL GOOD POSTS IN THERE WHO WILL TELL YOU HOW. IT ONLY COST ME ABOUT $15 ( INCLUDING AN ENDPIN JACK) If you have any questions about how I did it just email me

it sounded pretty good out of the box. But after I shimmed the bridge saddle with a thin piece of cardboard which raised the strings enough to remove the buzz that everyone else has been crying about it sounds great. Is is kinda bright but I like the the tone. I also own an Alvarez Regent d5212 which has a much deeper tone so I'm glad the Esteban is a bit different.

Action was very easy, a little too much so as the A & D strings buzzed around the 9th fret. A little saddle shimming fixed that right up though, without any noticeable change in the action.
The finish is surprisingly nice with very few minor flaws ( this is a factory made guitar) the finish on the fretboard does rub off in time but doesn't make your fingers black like some others have said. I see this as no big deal considering the purchase price. I mean c'mon what do you expect for $100

Ive had it for about a year and a half now and it still looks and plays like new.

Very Nice budget guitar in my opinion. I've been playing for about 29 years now. I also own: 1988 alvarez regent D5212, 1993 Gibson Les Paul Studio, first act telecaster copy, 198? charvel jackson bass, 1992 Harmony 5 string banjo. If I had to do it over again I would surely replace it

2004 Chinese made acoustic dreadnaught. Included video,picks thin sided case. Very poor quality instrument. Tuners look like poorly plated or silver painted pot metal. Excessive glue slop and run inside instrument cavity. Horribly sharp frets, poorly finished. Fret board appears to be some type of pressed cardboard. I say cardboard becuase there is no wood grain evident. Finish is some type of flat black paint or dye that readily rubs off on your fingers.

Poor intonation. Poor sound quality. Dull buzzing. No depth or ring as in other brands of acoustics. Fretted chords are not recognizable as chords. What a truly shoddy excuse of a musical instrument for anyone to attempt to play much less learn on. The only guiatr you'll learn on this model is which one NOT to buy.

Strings are set to high for even experienced players. Gloss finish was not gloss. Guitar appeared to have been packaged before finish dried resuting in smeared crinkled finish from plastic packing sticking to guitar body. Sloppy neck joint fit. Neck and fret board uneven and bumpy. Shoddy workmanship.

What a pitiful excuse for a musical instrument. I wonder how many people will beciome thoroughly disgusted with learning the guitar after experiencing this rip-off. This instrument dosesn't even qualify as "toy" staus. Utter junk. Period!!!

HSN gives 30 days to return. You pay shipping, Try calling them for the unlimate in double talk and run around excitement. Returning this item is nightmare in itself.

I believe the reviews for this guitar are skewed. At the time of posting this review 32 were posted, of these 32, 12 were sent in by Marcus Hanton- check for yourself!!! I'm not sure what point he's trying to make but I can say in the 6 years Ive been playing and the approximately 50+ guitars I've either owned or played, this is absolutely this poorest excuse for a musical instrument I have seen. Estaban is a rip off. DO NOT BUY!!!!!!!

i don't know the specs on the features (type of wood, top, fretboard, bridge, etc.) as far asccessories: it came with a gig bag, strap, picks, polishing cloth, and extra strings. it looks good.

it sounds fine, a little buzzy, but i'm just learning so it's good for me to hear the buzzes. it makes me work harder to get the sound to be clear. as i advance, so will my appreciation for sound quality so as a beginners guitar i think it's fine. i do realize that it's not the top of the line as far as quality, but i didn't exect it to be.

it looks good sitting my my guitar stand. close inspection lets you see flaws, etc. the fretboard looks a little cheesy. but what do i know (it looks like a guitar that i paid under $100 for, new).

i don't think this is a professional's guitar or even an experienced player's guitar. while i'm not trying to become a pro player, i am trying to learn and i think it suits that purpose. it seems pretty sturdy to me for learnign on. if i were a professional or EXPERIENCED player, i can't imagine that i would buy a cheap guitar such as this one. for a beginner, it's a great value. nothing has broken off or fallen apart (i practice on it daily).

N/A

i've been learning to play for about 4 months. i got what i expected in this guitar which is a cheap, starter, learning guitar. i didn't expect a rich tone and professional sound from something i paid under $100 for. as i continue to learn guitar, i willl of course move on to better quality guitars. but for now i got what i paid for, it suits my purposes and i have no complaints.

Many people see this guitar and think it will it sound awesome. I can tell you right now that is the guy playing it not the guitar. It is a very pretty guitar, but the frets feel real cheap, and don't produce the best sound. The finerboard feel like a cheap wood, and the dot inlays are not smooth, some are out of place, and others are warped.

If you have 4 years of experience, and have really built those calus's on your fingers you can make this sound good, but for a beginner your going to get a muted sound, and even a buzz, from where you can't press down hard enough. I got this guitar two years okay, and after experience, i have just began to love the sound.

The action is high, and if you have been playing for years you can make this baby sound great. However, if your a beginner like most people, this guitar is going to make you want to give up guitar. Also there is a big buzz if you try to lower the action, and the truss rod will break if you mess with that.

I would not gig with it, or even play it with my friends. It is a nice wall hanger, and certainly nice for a starting sibling if you can get the action low.

This guitar is a rip off because they only show esteban playing, which gives you the wrong impression anyway. If your a beginner, spend an extra $100 on a dean, which has low action. Low action is a plus for beginner's, and want make you want to quit.

Features? What features? This guitar is the biggest rip-off that I have seen in my 53 years of life. I have been playing for 43 years and have purchased many guitars. All totaled I have 14 of various makes and models. This I decided to purchase for my son to play around with, what a mistake and an embarrassment.

The sound is very muffled and buzzy. Actually, you hear more buzz than note. Wouldn't matter much if you could get a decent sound, because you can't keep it tuned long enough to play anything!

Apparantly the body fo this thing comes pre-antiqued, because the finish is full of dents, scratches, and runs. Some of the frets have sharp enough edges that this thing should be recalled for child safety issues. The finish on the top of the neck starts coming off wiht just a few minutes of trying to play the guitar. I do mean trying to play, because after bending the strings a couple of times the bridge broke. The body must be made of Balsa wood, because if you just brush it against anything harder than mashed potatoes you will get a dent or the finish will come off.

This guitar has already fallen apart after less than a week! At my age I should know better than to ever buy anything from a con artist on TV, but I guess once in a while even the best of us slip up. That's what keeps these rip-off artists like Esteban going. Apparantly he is trying to make up for all the money he coudln't make while he was rehabilitating.

By the time I got through so many computerized menus, I decided that the $160 I paid for this junk was not even worth the aggrivation that I was going through trying to contact the company. It was better for my well-being to toss this thing in the trash, rather than suffer a stroke.

The most that anyone should pay for this piece of junk would be $25. And that, I figure, would be for the case, strap, tuner, and extra set of stings! The guitar should be thrown in free as a disposable accessory, because that is what happened to the one I bought. It is disposed of!

For any of you parents thinking of purchasing an Esteban guitar, do yourselves a favor and shut the TV off and go to your local guitar shop. Even for $100 dollars there are much better made and sounding guitars out there. A few after I made this purchase and tossed the guitar, my son came home with a guitar that he bought for $110 dollars at a local guitar store. It was a "New York", which I have never heard of, but it has the sound as good as any of my Fenders or Washburns and the fit and finish is great. So, there are some really good inexpensive guitars out there. Estebans junk just doesn't happen to be one of them!

DO your self a favour have a look at this URL,but,don't expect miracles from the other one either.

http://www.guitarimports.com/comparison-esteban.htm

I don't know everything aboout guitars,but, I do know not to buy the Esteban. Buy a Guitar made by a Guitar maker,even Squier,Encore or Dean Playmates.

It will sound terrible. For anyone who's played a Fender/Peavey/Ibanez or semi-decent acoustic, against a catalogue shop guitar, remember how bad the catalogue guitar was??

For anyone who thinks catalogue guitars are OK <<<< they usually are not, and ARE NOT OK in a very big way.>>>>

Please...

Nothing this cheap should live. I like cheap guitars, but, if this costs more than $12 dollars a unit in parts,I'd eat my trousers.

20 plus years loads of cheapo guitars and nothing over $700 dollars, I even like low end acoustics like Fender D10s and Crafters, I even own a Fender Gemini II, which would be like a Gibson J200 in comparison to this,but, there is a limit. This is it.

Folks, this is the FLOOR below the bottom of the barrel.

Negative rating here please. If you want One acoustic guitar to save you from this save for a little while longer and try a Yamaha F310 or any of the above mentioned guitars rather than this...this..."thing".

First off to the poster that had his Esteban modded to "Washburn styling", unfortunately the Guitar Center guys saw you coming. This particular model of guitar is perhaps one step above toy, and a badly made toy at that.

In the future, sell it at a garage sale and consider the money spent as a lesson hard earned and learned. You will never, repeat never get any fraction of the money back that you have spent on this particular guitar, instead, never return to the Guitar center, pick a reputable store and expect to pay at the very least 199.00 for a Washburn D-10 that is a Martin compared to the Estaban.

I own several high acoustic and electric guitars and even a Washburn D-10 and I can tell you from experience it is a fine guitar, especially when compared to the Burswood Estaban.

Consider that if you see it on TV, it usually means it is something that cannot be exhibited in public due to the fact that it will not sell. Estaban is a hack, a poor musician, and one step above thief.The only reason I know of the Estaban is because my neighbor came over with one all excited, I didn't have the heart to tell him what he discovered later, he had bought an inferior Chinese assembly line guitar bacause of seeing it on TV.

Worst of the worst.

Again, worst of the worst

I personally have been playing most of my life, I am 56 so do the math. I was very sceptical when I first saw a portion of the infomercial for this guitar and my experience with instruments prevented what others might fall for.

Estaban's steel string acoustic manufactured in china.not the nylon classical.Purchased two years ago from hsn at 99.00. I still think after two years i've gotten my moneys worth,This particular guitar has all the features advertised,The finish though not perfect was satisfactory, The neck of rosewood is straight and has been professionally checked. I have friends that play and live near the guitar store.both have viewed this instrument and criticted it.All agree if you want a $3000.00 guitar you have to pay $3000.00.I still play this after 2 yrs. It was a great learning aid,at a reasonable price,Exactly what mr. esteban intended i believe.

the tone and quality are good enough that i am able to play and be heard while jamming with pros that are teaching me.electric tuners Know an e,g,Etc and they are able to discern them in my guuitar. thats good enough for me. I have tried various string sizes,and still have had no neck problems,or failure of the tuner's etc. once tuned my burswood seems to retain tune through hours of play.

the action on the original strings were sluggish and sounded poor. A lot of this attribute to my inexperience.Since i've learned a lot of technic,and have gone to lighter strings. this improved the action,and tonal quality.By the way my wife now leaves the bedroom door open when i practice,that should be testimonial enough. ha.ha.

Other than changing strings regularly, and polisihing,My burswood has needed no repairs or repaint,the finish on the fret board has worn,other than that it is as clean and reliable as the day purchased.

I,ve had no reason to contact hsn or mr. esteban, or burswood,

Been playing for two years now, solely learning on the Esteban burswwod steelstring acoustic. I have played more expensive models and can tell the difference in tone and quality, i still highly recommend this for beginners, and children looking for an instrument to learn,or hobby.at this price you can afford your child to quit,or lose interest,as a beginner You dont need to pay a 1000.00 or 6000.00 to learn.I really feel for the persons that purchased one of these and had bad luck, no product is perfect,yet i wish they had gotten one as nice as mine,My only regret is not with the instrument itself but with me. IT IS capable of making lovely music,,I however am not.YET!!!