Esteban Burswood Acoustic

It has...uh...strings. For about 15 minutes, anyways.
Some do come with fancy designs on them so... I'll give it a 3.

Not too bad if you can actually push the frets ALL they way down, I can only assume this because the open stings are okay sounding.

Here is where it ABSOLUTLEY fails.

Action- What action? Steve Urkel gets more action than this. If you can get the four people required to play a G chord, then it isn't TOO bad. Otherwise, you just slit your fingers. The blood is a nice touch to the finish.

Finish- The paint actually just rubbed off on my hands.

Would you seriously consider even trying to gig with this?

Uh...Cheap pawn shop on the bad side of town.

I got this just because I wanted a decorative guitar to play at campfire/party settings and I have to say this:
No, just no.
I wasted 25 bucks because the pawn shop owner didn't let me try it.

Ahhh, the smell of plywood and wood glue! The smell of this thing is almost overpowering! And it doesn't smell like rosewood or cedar! An all plywood dreadnaught with a severely warped neck and the finish of a junior high school industrial arts project! How do you top it? I have played some cheap guitars going back to the 1960s Kingstons and such. This is as bad, BUT, as warped as the neck is, it has better action then they did.

Amazingly, the sound is not that bad! It's not good; it sounds like a plywood guitar should; but the sound is OK for a beginner guitar.
I payed $35.00 for the entire kit; guitar, case, strap, tuner, picks, throw-away strings; all like new. I intended to use it as a "Nashville" high strung guitar, which I need occasionally, but not often, and for this it works fine. And if I drop a Tele on it and smash it.....so what?

He He Hah Hah..........it is what it is.

Good enough for my uses. It goes out of tune easily but I can live with that. It adds a Rolling Stones like feel to things.

He He Hah Hah!!!!!!!

I've been playing for 35 years. I own or have owned about everything, currently Fender, Gibson, Larrivee, Tacoma, LaPatrie, Breedlove etc.....oh...and my Esteban!
It is a cheap guitar but it is exactly what you'd expect and does exactly what I wanted, for $35.00. If you paid more than that, you got screwed. If it crumbled to dust tomorrow, which it might do, if the glue ever dries, I'd buy another, for $20.00 to $35.00....no more...and use it as a high strung guitar. For that, it's fine!It even records well!

The body of this particular guitar is made of only the finest dried goat manure, aged balsa wood, and shellac. It features strings made of particularly brittle barbed wire and components made of the cheapest (and therefore, most cost-effective) plastic available.

One interesting new feature: Insta-Brake technology. The Insta-Brake system guarantees that each and every component of this guitar will break within the first week of owning. This is a refreshing change of pace for people who are SICK AND TIRED of guitars that actually last a lifetime... they have to sit around and wait for their guitars to become old and unusable and sometimes that never happens.

The music I play is Experimental Noise. I deliberately try to create atonal and un-musical sound effects, much like John Cage when he dropped random objects on piano strings. The Esteban is perfect for me because when I strum the strings, it doesn't sound anything like music! Instead, you get a repulsive squawk, like someone smashing a ball-peen hammer on sheet metal.

I firmly believe that musicians should have to WORK when they play guitar. A guitar shouldn't make the act of playing EASY... no, it should be a painful and difficult chore so that you learn discipline. Nothing is handed to you.

For my money, the Esteban is perfect in this regard. The incredibly high action is positively agonizing. My fingers were hemorrhaging blood within mere seconds. NO aspect of this guitar is comfortable, from the body shape (which could best be described as "shaped like a diseased rhinoceros") to the frets (that gouged into my hands like needles).

In other words, this guitar will make you a tougher player! Thumbs up! (assuming you have any thumbs left after using this guitar)

Personally, I'm really tired of guitars that withstand years of reliable and durable live playing. Where's the fun in that?? I mean, if you have a reliable and dependable instrument that you can count on to deliver the same quality sound every night, it can get a bit boring. Talk about predictable.

The Esteban models are guaranteed by the manufacturer to be in a different tuning each and every time you pick it up. In fact, all Esteban guitars are purposely designed to be so unreliable you never know what will happen next. In one case, my new guitar changed itself to open G tuning mid-chord. In another case, the bridge spontaneously fell off. Another night, it exploded, starting a fire and killing four people.

Yes, I gig with it! It's a blast!

I called HSN to congratulate them on producing such a unique instrument. I was placed on hold for 3 1/2 hours, after which time, I was transferred to a Romanian brothel where I was verbally abused in an unspecified eastern European language for 30 minutes. I hung up, called back, and was lucky enough to speak to a customer service rep who actually spoke English.

Her name was Liz and although she knew nothing of guitars, she introduced me to several new swear words. She explained that whatever my opinion, I was wrong. I tried telling her that I had nothing but good things to say and she told me to cram it. She then began screaming and crying.

There is no warranty, but HSN will charge me $200 to return my guitar. This may sound like a raw deal, but I get to keep my autographed photo of Esteban! That's right, you can return the guitar and they never ask you to return the beautiful photo of Esteban's lovely face. THAT'S a policy I can agree with!

This guitar is simply a 10!!! The sound sets you apart as a musician and tells everyone listening that you don't NEED to be in tune to sound good. The action and playability are so painful you will become a stronger player (if you survive). Truly, it's impressive. I couldn't make a guitar like this if I tried.

A friend from work brought in the Esteban acoustic that he'd bought so that I could tune it for him. I was looking forward to checking out an actual Esteban. Esteban's claim that it sounded better than his $5000 Martin was quite a boast. Or was that just a cruel joke on his part? I was eager to see for myself...

What my friend brought was a standard dreadnaught acoustic guitar in a shiny shade of black. It was way out of tune. And so, I started to tune it up.

The Esteban was hard to tune up. I even had an electronic tuner with me, so that I could show my friend how to tune his guitar using his own tuner (you have to know how to tune the guitar, right!?)

The open position chords had good volume. It seemed useable in tone to me at first. However, chords at the third fret and above were totally out of tune. After working with the guitar for a moment, I was pretty sure that there were some big intonation problems...

Big intonation problem? That was an understatement. Well, first of all, the action was really high, but buzzed and fretted out at the 5th fret, and the string tension unsually tight, even taking the scale length and string gauge into consideration. My first consclusion was that the guitar would need a major set up. I could only hope that the guitar had a trussrod.

While I was playing around with the guitar further, I discovered a more serious problem. The neck was dramatically warped. It just dropped off into space! It was so bent up and warped that I could barely fret notes at and above the 6th fret. The neck had a definite upbow from the nut to the 5th fret (where it buzzed), then fell away in a dramatic backbow. Imagine a compound bow and arrow, all twisted and squiggly! The sight made me quite sad...

One other strange thing was that the neck looked like major parts of it had been chipped away and sanded into shape, then covered over with a thick stain. This was suprising in light of computer routing of necks these days in mass produced instruments. I hadn't seen a fretboard that looked this way since way back in the day when cheap guitars were terrible to behold.

I give Esteban and HSC here a 1 because I think that they're sales pitch is deceptive and manipulative to the point of being fraudulent.
He and HSN aren't just making a sales pitch, they're hustling people, blatantly so. I'm telling you, you can get a heck of a lot more guitar for $200 from other manufacturers than what I saw in the Esteban I played.

This was really dissapointing. Sounding low-fi, harsh and strident is one thing, but being completely unplayable above the 6th fret is horrible for a student guitar. And I'm not talking just really high action. It was FUBAR above the 6th fret.

Here's the rub. You might say that the Esteban I play-tested could still work as a strummer. And, that a lot of acoustics are hard to play in the upper registers. And, that most people don't play up there on an acoustic anyway. But I'd counter that this is the sort of guitar that discourages playing, and discourages a student, in fact anyone, from learning simple but neccesary techniques like barre chords, or learning the neck.

This guitar reminded me of the 'beginner' guitars they used to have 30+ years ago. I beseech thee, if you're willing to spend $200 bucks, or even $150 for an Esteban, please consider acoustics made by Yamaha, Ibanez, Fender, Epiphone, etc. You won't get a Martin D-18 for your money, but you can expect something that approaches playability much more than the Esteban I played.

The sad thing is that my friend was such an inexpereinced player that he had no idea that anything was really wrong with it. He'd heard that inexpensive acoustics sometimes had high action. Heck, he'd heard all acoustics had high action. It was too late to send this lemon back.

In conclusion, the Esteban was black, shiny, and pretty from about 5 feet away. Yet it played like a mangler of music in the hand though!

Be warned. You are rolling the dice here. From reading these reviews it seems that the quality control for these is horrible. Maybe a few serviceable ones get through?

Much like the KFC recipe no one can really be sure what this thing is made of. I asked the aliens if they knew on my last abduction but they didn't have a clue either.

Very Shamuish.

Similar to the Roy Rogers model I drug around when I was six. Flaws? Read the reviews.

I can testify that it's NOT indestructable or flame retardent.

?

Great stand for my Chia Pet collection.

Tried this one from a friend. This was a plywood and plastic beauty. I wanted to smash it but it was needed for the school guitar class's winter concert. My instrument broke every string and I had to borrow this turd.

Plywood top, made in China, dreadnought body, 20 frets.

It ruined the ensemble. Tinny, dissonant, buzzy, and sleazy. Whoever said it sounded better than his pre-war Martin D-45 is deaf or kidding.

Uneven frets, slippery tuners that made me lose tune in the middle of "Jingle Bells," and cheesy finish that didn't mask the plywood ratwood/sawdust construction.

This lasted the concert and broke. Afterwards it smashed easily. There was finish on my hands after I played.

The teacher told me not to play a piece of junk like the Esteban anymore, but understood since I told him the story (my strings broke and I didn't have time to restring). No, I'm not telling you what guitar I have.

The person who owned this guitar was glad to have it smashed.

All the bells and whistles. Reminds me of my White Falcon.

Sounds just a wee bit better than my pre-war d-45. What's not to like? Sounds even better through my Dumble.

One of the snowflake inlays appears to gleam a little less than the others otherwise no complaints here.

Mine came with vintage gold grovers and was signed by Pete Townsend. Nice touch!

I'm sure Estebalm is very easy to reach. If not HSN can probably hook you up. Right?

Plays alot like my DAngelico New Yorker and has the same crisp tone as my koa V. I like playing it through the supplied 10w amp and a metal zone.

Butta.....

it has 6 strings, 6 knob things and a hole... actaully you get more than one hole... great vlue

I work mostly in atonal music, and ths guitar is perfect. It is not only that it fantastic at not staygin in tune, but it has magic in how it shifts flat and sharp by me just playing an open E then a G on the e string, and when I play an open "E" string again... there it is a magical F sharp

The splints cause some bleeding that really adds some aesthetice to the plywood fretboard.

It still kind if looks like a guitar... Amazing

I called and the great E-man answered the phone himself and explaind how to superglue the fret.

I haven't picked up my pink Savon Drugs 4" scale length since getting this beauty.

Looks like black varnished plywood. Some decorating trim around the resonator hole and a pinstripe(?) down the center on back.Cheap 20 frets, made in china and not a whole lot else to it.

Very very bright, almost tinny. I think that this is supposed to be a spanish guitar but those usually have a more mellow sound to them.

Very high action. The guitar stayed in tune well enough but it isn't the highest quality. The finish looks like a very cheap varnish but what does one expect for $99 on late night tv?

This guitar was bought for a 14 year old beginner and has stood up very well to the abuse that she has given it over the last year and a half. No major breakage or scratches, in spite of how many times it has been dropped, kicked, had kool-aid spilled on it, etc... The tuning keys are still functional and respond as well as one would expect and it has kept its same average tone throughout all of its abuse. I don't think that I would push the durability too much though, the plywood does look kinda thin. There is a little buzz but for the price what does one expect?

None yet

As I mentioned before this was for a young beginner and was excellent for a starter guitar. We really didn't expect much from it for the price that we were getting it for. It has stood up well and has allowed her to progress beyond the basics and now we are considering a new, better guitar. If you are not expecting more than a cheap guitar that a starter can learn on you shouldn't be too dissappointed with this one. As a player myself I would not advise getting this for a second guitar or anything, but for a starter certainly. There has been some comment from some instructors on the difficulty of this instrument because of the incredibly high action, but little else is really.

i purchased this guitar for pennies on the dollar on E-bay, and was still cheated. Thi is not a guitar, it is an abominaation, better served as a cheese cutter or a crickett wickett. The top was warped, the frets were uneven and had burs on the ends which cut my fingers. We are loosing rainforests by the thousands of acres. I wonder how much of the bad wood ends up in these gas filled stools. Neck was warped to, I live in Minnesota so I will wait until January and use it for kindling in my fireplace. Shame on you Esteban(by the way Segovia didn't name you, Esteban is Steven in Spanish. H was simply calling you by your name, STEVE.

Ugh, My parrot was killed by a Racoon when I left it on the porch one hot summer night, the noise was awfull, and isac was dead before I could load that coon's ass with buckshot, which I dean and blew him to hell. Those final noises of sweet Issac were lovely compaared to the dead, Dead, DEAD DEAD sond of this , this, this Wood thing.

If you are trying to build strenth in your hands for Ro-sham-bo, or thgumb wretling, then this is your instrument, but if you are trying to play music you are out of luck. Action, you have got to be joking. Fit? some of the worst workmanship I have ever seen. And the finish, it wipes off on your hands (including the fretboard

I wouldn't know how it sounds live playing, because it sounds so dead.
The harware will last, if you put it in the recycle bin before you burn it. Then it can be recycled into something that actuall;y works.

wouldn't know , I boutg it used

I've been playing for 20 years, I thought that I cvould use this for a road guitar when I travel. No such luck. I suppose i could use it as a planter or a place to put my dog's dookie when I clean the yard.

2005 or 06

low quality picks, but it's not expected

body, wood, well not the best quality, but for $46 bucks,, hell, i had low expectations, i figured my 5 year old nephew could play with it and i would have no fear of breaking something expensive.

tuners, seem jus fine to me, it stayed in tune for a few hours of fooling around with it.

bag, seems ok to drag round a cheep guitar, so can't complane too much,, i mean as they say, ya get what you pay for...

sound seem fine for a $46. guitar... i mean if i would have paid 200 or 300 for it, well, i would return it.

it's not rich/full, it's a $30 to $46 dollar guitar,, it's a toy, that is fun to play with for the price, i have spent more on gas for a short trip late, so i figure it's worth that at least...

it was set up as a cheep guitar should be. for fun.

it was glued together cheep, it was poorly set up, but hey it's a toy.

hum, live playing, im not sure, i don't play live, im no expert by far, and well, im just not sure.

not sure

made in 2005 very nice BEGINNERS guitar, made in China very well constructed

Well when I first got the guitar I changed the strings, because I did not like the strings with it, I put a set of Martin Eric Clapton's Choice Medium Bronze 80/20 on it and now she purrs like a kitten.

Action is great, Very easy to Play

Very nice guitar, the gig bag though was another story, it offers no protection, so I spent a little money and bought a noce Ritter gig bag. The video was no help ether, manly because it was VHS and all i have is a DVD. but with the private lessons I'm taking, and the Guitar for Dummies book, I am learning allot.

Have not needed Customer support

Very nice Beginner Guitar, had it a month, and playing songs I never thought I could play.

Well I dont own a burswood but the Feature on 1 of my reletives seems okay

there is nothing wrong with the sound maybe its ur tuning skills that suck

well I only played for a max of 1 hour but the only flaw I found was the whammy bar it always bends thats it

Im a Bigginer and I plan to get on getting my reletive's burswood but as I get better im goin to get something better and no I wod not use it during a gig

no

its pretty good as a bigginer guitar

Husband bought it for me this past Christmas direct from Esteban's website. Not sure if this is the exact model as the guitar didn't have anything included with it to say what it is. But it's an acoustic electric Esteban, that much I know. Tuners are chrome-plated plastic. Don't know if it's a solid top or not, looks like it but who knows. Included a hard case, strap, cable, practice amp, allen key (for adjusting the bridge, I guess), picks, chord chart, 2 instructional DVDs and a DVD of an Esteban concert.

Sounds okay, definitely not in the league of a $2,000 Gibson but for the price, sounds just fine. I think the sound from the amp sucks, but from what I hear the practice amps that come with any guitar package, including those from Fender and Ibanez, suck also.

I'm a born again guitarist (played as a teenager a LONG time ago) and wanted to get back into it. I had previously played a classical acoustic with nylon strings so the transition to a steel string was a vast difference. I don't think this is a beginner guitar for anyone but men with large hands. It's not very easy to play, especially not for women or children with smaller hands. Sounds good when I get my fingers on the frets properly and exert about 100 lbs of pressure. Action seems high. I have a heck of a time getting my fingers to reach the frets on some chords and sometimes feel like I'm spraining them in the attempt. I don't remember having that problem starting out as a 13 year old girl on the classical guitar I had. I did not notice any flaws whatsoever on this guitar, the finish is flawless and it's a very pretty instrument.

Seems pretty durable to me. I've been playing it for 3 months and so far nothing has broken.

Haven't dealt with them and didn't check the warranty.

Before my husband bought me this, he called a good friend of ours who is a professional musician. This friend had purchased an Esteban for himself and recommended it to my husband for me. I would never have bought it if it had been my decision. The problem is, my husband asked a very experienced male guitarist on his opinion for a good beginner guitar for a female. He probably should have called a guitar shop or gone on the internet and asked about a good beginner guitar for girls. I have gotten to the point where I've just accepted the fact that this guitar is just too big for me and after some research I purchased a Daisy Rock electric semi-hollowbody. I'm due to get it in a couple of days and I'm hoping that the guitar will be exactly as they claim, sized for the smaller hands of a female guitar player. If I had a daughter or younger son I most certainly would not buy this guitar for them, but if my husband or a male friend wanted to start on the guitar, I definitely don't think this guitar is a bad deal at all, considering what you get. Mine looks good, sounds good, good deal overall.

classic dreadnought, it is what it is. I actually only paid 20 bucks on ebay for it, a gig bag and extra strings. Thank God I only paid 20 bucks after reading reviews. It is not a rip off if you can get it for under 40 dollars with the shipping included. I see that people paid 200+ dollars, why? If you know what quality is and you've played for most of your life, I don't feel sorry for you for getting taken. You brag about what you own and how long you've played, if anyone should know better you should.

Great for my 20 bucks, I do kinda feel sorry for beginners who pay a lot for it and didn't know the difference or what they were getting into. Won't play gigs with it, but for just messing around the house, and not being too overprotective when the little kids get a hold of it, it's good.

Terrible for the price. great for my money

I wouldn't be too upset if the kids were playing with this instead of the taylor or fender. Reliable for around the house.

20 bucks, I spend more on gas to gigs. Don't need support. Don't feel sorry for me.

slightly used, but like new for 20 dollars is a great buy any day of the week. Cheaper than some child guitar toys. Good for a "toy" or mess around guitar. Wouldn't recomend for serious players. But then you didn't need my opinion, you have a thousand others on this page telling you the same thing.

2005
Where was it made?
Features? This is a ten. It came with a HARD SHELL CASE! I couldn?t believe it, a hard shell case. Now that was different. A guitar with a hard shell case? I just wanted to leave a good review after reading all of these bad ones. This guitar is the best guitar! It comes with a hard-shell case. My other guitars didn?t. I could have guitars like Martin, Taylor, Guild, Honda, or Ford, but I don?t. This baby even came with the DVDs, a chord book AND a hard shell case.

The sound quality is awesome. Have you ever hear the sound of a tree falling in a forest?

Reliability/Durability? I would give this a ten.
like the other player have testified, this guitar is extremely durable with a double E.
I don?t have anything to compare it to. Maybe a car?
If I got on a bus with fourteen other people and left the station at seven. How long would it take to build this guitar?

Durability? This guitar is like a tank...a big old hairy turtle of a tank. I could surf on this thing. If I had this the day my foot was bitten off by that shark, I believe I could have gotten it back with no strings attached.
Just ROCK SOLID!

I don?t know if I?ll live long enough to use the 'coustomer support' button that came with this guitar. I can?t play it because of that eel. After it removed the skin on my back my hands I knew I would never play the guitar again. This guitar will last for ever in that HARD SHELL CASE

This guitar is the best guitar! It comes with a hard-shell case. My other guitars didn?t. I could have guitars like Martin, Taylor, Guild, Honda, or Ford, but I don?t. This baby even came with the DVDs, a chord book AND a hard shell case. Soon I?ll be jamming with other satisfied customers like Cornholio to ALL the Korn tunes?.maybe some Lep-lin?
A fantastic value. A lot of guitar for.....well, not a lot of money.

Features? Some beautifull rain forest somewhere in indonesia was cleared (in part) to make this piece of crap. This was not the good wood either, I think it was made out of roots and leaves (the small percentage of it that is actually wood). The neck is bent, the frets have sharp burs and stick out. I once dropped a dinner fork in a garbage disposal and it looked better than these frets. The finish rubs off on my hands whenever I play it; It looks alot like that orange tan in a bottle, and appears as if was applied with a bat. It also has a peutrid oder emminating from it. It smells like a skunk humped an onion in it. What a rip off, what a piece of crap. F#&* YOU ESTABAN!!!!

You can play it with a pick, a file, or my favorite, a hammer. It makes absolutely no difference in the sound. The only place I can see playing it that would make it bearable is on the runway of a busy airport.(at least then I would not be able to hear it)If you were to shoved a bobcat in a rusty old piano, it would sound just like this guitar.

If I took an axe to a pine log, blinfolded, and tried to carve a guitar, it would have a better fit than this thing. And if when i was done, I pissed on it, it would have a better finish. Who ever made this thing must have been having a seizure that day.

The only thing I can depend on is the garbage man picking it up on thursday, and I can only hope he takes it. I fully expect to see it thursday afternoon next to the garbage can with a note taped to it(I am sorry, but due to the sheer volume, we are no longer able to take Estaban guitars)

Upon calling HSN I found out it had an unconditional warranty, under no condition is anything on the guitar warrantied. When I asked to speak to customer service, I was directed to a call center in India. When I began to complain, the man told me I was lucky to own a guitar. I told him he's lucky he's on the other side of the world, because; if he was'nt, I would kill him.

It sould have come with a lighter, so you can burn it immediatly after opening the box. It should also have come with some hand cleaner, to get the finish off your skin after playing it. The only other thing it should have come with is a rebate check for the entire purchase price. I have no other guitars to compare it to, But if I were to leve a nice classical out in the rain and sun for a few years, it would still sound better than this albtross.

Hmmmm......well......er......uh........nope, you've stumped me.

It sounds like what it is. A toy.

Horrible quality. I didn't own it long enough for the bridge to break, but the first time I tuned it the string broke.

This guitar didn't withstand 1 minute of playing.

Support was great. I called them, returned the "guitar", and got a refund. No problems at all.

I've been playing 23 years. I've owned 23 years worth of stuff, and played as many gigs as one would expect in that time. I mentioned to my wife that I'd like a nice acoustic, and she was trying to be nice and surprise me with one from HSN. I pasted a silly grin on my face and played it for a few minutes. She (a non-guitarist) looked closely at the guitar and said, "It's a piece of crap, isn't it?". Then a string broke. It's a piece of crap.

Features? It's an asscoustic guitar, but I'll try: Ratwood for body and neck, plastic everything else. Other stuff is included (just read the other reviews) but it's all of low quality.

"What kind of sounds can the guitar make? How much variety?" STRUM STRUM STRUM STRUM because it's an asscoustic. Even the expensive brands are just STRUM STRUM STRUM but far better quality.
It can make other sounds too. BANG SMASH BREAK BOOM and KABONG!

To quote "Get Serious, Folks", "My geeky cousin who literally wears a pocket protector and Coke-bottle glasses has more action on a Friday night than this POS."
Then his guitar has low action. Well mine did too, in fact mine had action so low the strings buzzed left and right.
Nothing fit together on this guitar. The bridge fell off, and the neck and fingerboard fell apart. The frets are razor-sharp.
Finish rubs off easily. A four-year-old could do better...WAIT A MINUTE four-year-olds are making this deathtrap

Everything fell apart on this deathtrap.

HSN is too busy with women calling them raving about jewelry that they couldn't let an aspiring musician thru to return a sub-standard asscoustic guitar that fell apart. Stupid women.

I bought this since those boneheads suggest that I begin on an asscoustic. I already had an electric (Squier Bullet Special) and this seemed like a good deal at the time. Now I know never to buy anything from a TV shopping channel.

Just got my Estaban guitar. And frankly, I only paid $235 for the deal and as such I expect to get a $235 deal out of this. All you folks pissing and moaning about having all these expensive guitars and have played for years that require that I "do the math" need to stop lying to us and yourselves. If you really had expensive guitars and all those years of playing under your belt, what the hell are you paying this amount of money for?! All I can say is I'm throwing the bullshit flag on the play because I don't believe all these supposed accomplished players are actually telling even the remotest thread of truth.

Know what? I was able to get mine to tune just like Esteban's did in the DVD. *Shock* Should I sit and bitch because I apparently have a musical ear and can get mine to tune?

My guitar looks and feels fine. My problem is that my fingers are a little too short but guess what...when I went to my local guitar shop and tried out a few, my fingers were too short for those expensive ones too! My guitar looks and feels just as it should for the price I paid. If I wasn't a beginner, I would never have bought this instrument. Seems that should be another hint to anyone reading these posts...all these "accomplished" musicians spending the same amount as a beginner? yeah...I believe your posts ... sure I do....

I believe this will withstand live playing...what other kind of playing is there? I believe that I can depend on it as a beginners guitar. Would I use it on a gig? Hell no! I'm not planning gigs...I wanted to play for myself and myself only therefore, I am satisfied with my purchase.

I actually had to call customer support because they didn't include the chord chart. They were happy to send one out to me. Maybe you all called with attitudes?

How long have I been playing? 1 day...you do the math! If it were lost or stolen, I'd get it again because IT'S A GOOD BEGINNER'S GUITAR!

I think that people need to take these negative posts with a grain of salt. Think about it...if the poster claims to have all these other really expensive instruments and/or years, YEARS of musical ability that require the reader to do the math, then think about what you're reading. If the poster really has all these other expensive instruments and experience...WHY DID THEY PURCHASE A CHEAP DEAL WITH ALL THE FRILLS? Oh, wait, they expected more for their money and wanted something for nothing. They wanted the $5000 classical guitar that Esteban used in the infomercial or in the DVD...right? Yeah, that's what I thought. Grow up!

Yep, it's made in China. So what? My wife was made in china and she is faithful, beautiful,and an all around great person. The guitar doesn't have as many nice features as my wife, but it is still a good guitar. What's with all the Esteban bashing anyway?

Sounds better than I expected considering the reasonable price.

Maybe some of the flamers of this instrument are just that, flamers. Maybe the guitar has improved over the first ones produced. I don't know. All I do know is I'm very happy with mine. I suspect that some of the flamers are competitors, and hope by flaming this one their brand will sell better?

I've only had it a few months, but so far so good.

I haven't needed customer support, so I can't say one way or another.

I'M 59 Been playing since I was 8. Toured Europe with a blues group, still play nightclubs. Love this guitar. Bought it the first time for a friend's grand daughter, was so impressed I bought another for myself. For the price it is basically "disposable" not to worry if it get damaged or stolen. Never heard of Esteban before. Don't think I would like him if we met. He's the kind of person that makes me want to puke, but I do like his product.

i dont know whats wrong with people- either they thought they were talking about a different guitar or they just wanted to leave a bad review!! This guitar is the best guitar! It comes with a hardshell case, a 12wt amp that would cost 5o bucks seperately (it is so reliable i use it with my electric guitar)strings and extra strings that really sound just like Martin&co. Darco, a cord for the amp, two dvds that literately taght me everything, more than 15 songs including greensleves and my favorite,house of the rising sun. the dvds also taught me a whole bunch of chords and scales! a strap (it should have came with the button so u could use it though)and chord book!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The sound fits any style!!!!!!! seriosly! when u do greensleeves it sounds sad and like its supposed to then go to a country song like wildwood flower it switches to country mode!!!!!!! any style u like this has it if it sounds good ill play it and everything sounds best on this! The variety of sounds depends on what song u play it sounds like anything it has wiked clear, bright but smooth sound. It is rich and has absolutly NO FRETFUZZ!! when i played this guitar i forgot what fretfuzz was! also when u plug it into the amp it has an overdrive button that suprisingly makes it switch to sound like Ted Nudgent!! OR AC/DC! any rock!! (bsides korn because korns like death metal and 5000000000000wt speakers and really is just alot of screaming THINGS MUST DIE)!!!!!!!! (they kick ass though)

it was set up set up so good!!!!!! when it came some retarded people reviewing this guitar said it came broken and the strings were all broken. DUR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! how stupid r u?? its called the strings are just put on u have to tune them!!!! Have u ever seen a guitar brand new before? It came so unbelievably shiny and bright! AND IT WAS DEFINATELY ALL WOOD!!!! dur! some people were complaining it's made in china WELL NOTHING IS MADE IN AMERICA! ibanez is made in china, stagg is made in china, Fender and squier are made in mexico What the hell is the difference! Everything was in exact order- the neck was gorgeous, nothing is wrong with the frets, NO loose controls

The guitar is Extremely durable! well i admit that since it was my first guitar that i had a lot lot of uh,ohs and oops and CRAP!! or even some F&*% u guitar!! GET OUT OF MY WAY!!! Its been able to handle all of those "beatings" and shows up with an unoticable tiny scratch on the back of the neck!! I've had the guitar for a year now and it still smells like brand new finish! it still just as shiny and the finish never even started to were off. I can definately depend on it!! there is never any geto scenes that u have worry about this guitar having right when u r in a concert or any thing. And the strings that came with it- u dont have to worry about breaking. the stock strings lasted 2 months and they still didnt break after me playing it everyday and i just got board of the strings and wanted to replace then! I would definetly use it on a gig with no back up unless u have really cheap strings and they break thats your fault The strap button is plastic but big whoop! its not like it hurts any thing besides hard steel or bronze ones will probably break the strap!

I'm proud to say that iv never had to get the guitar repaired because of it's superb quality and duribility. I'm so stupid i don't know how long the warrenty is, but it doesn't matter because i deeply think that this guitar is gonna last a life time!!

I've been playing for a year but exceled as much as a 5 year experience. I own a yamaha acoustic that was 150 used with no case, amp, or electrical output. The esteban kills that guitar with its brighter tone and way better deal. I love everything about it and i dont hate anything. The only thing i wish it had was better picks* If it was stolen or lost i'd definitly buy a new one but black.My favorite feature is the price. But this thing isn't a cheapy, no, its not like u get what u pay for its like u get 10 times more than what u paid for. Also if u are a collector of vintage guitars, i have i 1964 Ventura Brund acoustic guitar. It's pretty rare. But i'll be honest- since back then they made them with plywood, it sank a little bit inside itself so the high E sounds weird, but it is fixable. I'll give to any one one willing to pay some where starting around 50 bucks. Email me at Yoshiparty5@aol.com. I'll send u a picture.

Features? This thing is made in China. Fake wood "instrument", bridge that falls off, sharp frets, those are the features.

Sound? It sounds like this: KABFFT KAWMP KABWANG! because I smashed it.

The fake wood (it's cheapo enough to be fake) is ugly, and the finish stinks of glue. Or Esteban's jizz.

The bridge fell off and broke, and I broke this thing, so it didn't last.

Well, it's smashed. I didn't smash my Squier Bullet Special, so that says a lot about the crappiness of this thing. Get any other instrument than an Esteban.

Features?? What features! It's an acoustic.
The only feature that I see is that you have to get a file, and some sandpaper to try and make this thing playable.
I had to file down the nut, and the bridge to TRY and make it so that I can maybe play this THING!
I took the strings off and sanded down the fretboard a little,
and after sanding off some of the finish on the back of the(guitar? is that what this is)? neck, I see that the neck is made of wood, and the fingerboard is also.
The neck actually looks like a cheap grade of maple, not sure.
the fretboard I can't tell as I did not take off enough to look at the grain, (if there is any).

Once that I filed down the nut, and the bridge, the sound is not that bad, It needs a good set of strings though.
I would not run out and buy one for the sound,
all I'm saying is the sound is not all that bad.

The action sucked, the finish on the body was ok, the fingerboard and the neck suck.
The intonation was poor, and there is no adjusting that on this acoustic without replacing the bridge.
The tuning pegs were not that bad, They actually keep somewhat in tune,
I still will replace them with some better ones though.
The frets are horrid!! I am going to have to hand file them to try and get them to be decent.

This axe is not for gigging at all, at anytime, anywhere except maybe in your house, all alone, with the doors and windows shut tight so no one can hear.

Never dealt with the company, I think that Estaban should at least get a better axe, with some better quality, this thing is horrible,
even though it may have one,or two things that are ok, it has numerous bad qualities.

I am going to tell the truth here, no reason to fabricate, you don't know me and never will, so the truth will prevail here!!
I got into a bad accident 5 years ago, and was struck by an un-insured motorist, leaving me with over $350,000.00 in medical bills.
I had to sell everything off, (an L-5, an ES 335), and an axe that was handmade for me, among other items.
So being as I was broke! I decided to give this a try as I could pay on time.
What a mistake!!
I would rather not play at all, than have to play solely on this piece of crap!
I am 60 y.o., and started taking lessons at age 7, so you do the math.
I graduated Berklee School of Music in '67, and played and taught professionally for many-many years.
Including being a studio musician for three major recording studios.
I am not going to get into the depth of my experiences,
suffice it to say, I have a tremendous amount of experience to justly give an opinion on this so-called guitar!
Although the axe has a couple of good qualities,--- overall, PLEASE,PLEASE, PLEASE, save your money and buy something better, anything is better than this, believe me.

I bought the Esteban Granada cutaway classical acoustic electric from HSN. I loved it. I have been playing for 30 years and have 11 guitars, Gibsons, a Fender strat, a guild 12 string, an Ovation etc.
however, I thought this might be too good to be true when I saw the commercial, and was quite nervous while waiting for it to arrive. When I got it.....I loved it so much I bought another. Anyone expecting something grand for $235.00 is a fool. It is worth every penny. The acoustic sounds from this guitar are mediocre, but it sounds great when played through the cool little amp that is included. This guitar isnt made in Madrid with the quality of a Cordoba or something. It is meant as a starter guitar for students! It is a good value for the money!! It stays in tune reasonably well, however I probably will invest in better tuning keys for it.Even a new gibson les paul comes from the factory with crappy tuners that must be replaced if you want to gig with that guitar! I dont understand why anyone has trouble with returns at HSN. As long as you ask them within the first 30 days they will replace. One of my Eseban guitar cases had a loose seam and was coming undone.............so I called HSN and was told to expect a new one in about two weeks. If it doesnt come in, I will let you all know. My hat goes off to Esteban for putting a decent, affordable guitar in the hands of new players. I support that idea because due to this rap trash that is being put out these days by morons with no talent....one day , actual musicians will be a dying breed. Maybe Im old fashioned but I think that for something to be classified as music, it should be made by an actual musician.....not some mouth-breather who just rhymes spoken words to (someone else's) records! OK im off my soap box now. Mmarksm404@apl.com