Fender Catalina Acoustic

This is a circa 1980's Korean 20 fret with a laminated top. Purly Acoustic. Typical Fender Electric Head with non locking tuners all on the upper edge. Beautiful Black finish with ivory trim. Fat neck with rosewood finger board. The nut and saddle were both replaced for lowered action. Got it from a private party with Takamine case.

I've been playing about 3 years and this is a great guitar to play. I have played America, Pink Floyd, Zeppelin, and others. This guitar has a very bright sound with surprisingly good base response. The sustain could be better and possibly a little louder, this is probably due to the laminant top. The thick neck might be a problem to an individual with small hands, not me.

Bought from a private party. The action was lowered too much so the neck adjustment didn't raise the action to get rid of buzz after it was loosened all the way. I solved this by installing a higher saddle. raising the saddle also deepened the tone. now it plays great.

Very solid guitar no problems here

Never had to deal with 'em.

I bought this guitar from a private party thru the recycler for $180.00 and every time I play it I cant believe I own a guitar of this caliber at that price. I also own a Gibson Epiphone Les Paul Special II Electric (also Black). The Catalina is well worth the $350.00 list price.

I got this one in -91 I think. It is a korean-made Fender with 20 frets and no cutaway. This paricular one is black and didn't come with a case. It is not equipped with a pickup either, its an acoustic guitar plain and simple. The neck is sort of thick, but not uncomfortable to play. I have no idea what type of wood it is made out of, but I do think the fretboard is Redwood.

I do occasional pub and coffehouse gigs and have used this guitar on a couple of occasions. My style is blues, rock and top 40-stuff and I play fingerstyle as well as with a pick. Since it does not have a mic, I have been using a soundhole-mic for gigging and everybody knows that no soundhole-microphones make acoustics any justice. Unplugged however is another story. Very nice, full, ringing sound that especially suits fingerpicking. It has a nice bite in the high-end and a pleasantly rounded bass. I have used it for home recording as well, and it sounded beautiful miked up. Serious bang-for-buck. I've tested countless of other, far more expensive acoustics that failed to impress me like this piece do.

The action is somewhat high, which I think is nice. Factory set-up was OK. I had to secure the screws holding the tuning pegs by inserting small pieces of wood in the holes, so I guess the tuners could have been secured better. This wasn't till after approximately five or six years of use, mind you. Some gluedots can be spotted inside, reminding that this is a budget-acoustic.

I've had the thing for seven years now, and it's still with me. It has been knocked over a number of times, and I even smashed a hole on the backside of the thing in sheer frustration over a difficult piece once. Yet it keeps on delivering. It does withstand live playing, but I am going to get another acoustic for live use, since I'm not very keen on using a soundhole pickup. The only thing that needs some work now is intonation. The B-string especially is getting harder to tune, but this is something every guitar needs at one time or another.

Never had to contact the company, so I'll pass this one.

I've been playing for 13 years now. I bought this guitar for home use primarily. Something to keep my hand busy while watching TV and working out song ideas. I would definately replace it if it was stolen, but I know I'd have a hard time finding another Catalina. I've never seen this model anywhere else. As I mentioned, this piece has taken a lot of beating, but it is still in one piece, sounding beautifully. Not bad for a cheapo-guitar! Very good value for the money.