Fender DG-21S Acoustic

What the other people said...

It sounds pretty crisp and clean... since it was a grad present for me, my friend helped my parents pick it out...he said it was the best sounding one there when i got it...and i trust his judgement..he knows a hell of a lot more about guitars than me...it came down to a yamaha and a fender and he picked the fender becuase of the clean sound it produced so...

Your all right about the finish being too shiny, but i feel a couple fingerprints here and there give it all that much more character...hahaha...anways other than that it the production on it was fine

ive only had it for a couple days, but from what i can tell, it seems relatively durable and could see no trouble in taking it one the road.

N/A

Ive been playing guitar non seriously for 8 years, I'd practice here and there...i took lessons for a couple of years never really took it seriously...then i got into bass guitar, but its been these past couple of monthes ive really started taking it seriously, but ive had nothing to play but a crummy Arbilene acoustic with a bough so big in the neck the strings were atleast half an inch of the fret board (no joke)...thank god they got me something a hell of a lot beter then what i was playing before, but not only that, i find it totally suits the sound i need for the music i like playing (coldplay, dashboard conffesional, goo goo dolls etc.) I also hope to get a pickup on it soon.

My Fender DG-21s dreadnought was made in Korea, not sure what year. See other reviews for features, no need repeating. I first looked at this guitar because it was a solid top in my price range....under$500 US. I'll give it a high rating just for having that feature.

I play country and classic rock. Consistent rich full sound from bass to the highs. Extremely versatile instrument. Not much not to dislike about this guitar, for me, including the glossy finish. Because I'm self taught and basically a beginner, the guitar is capable of performing way beyond my abilities.

I've had this guitar for about 5 years and have never had to have anything adjusted. Action was just right for my ability. No visible glue, nice tuners that function very well.

I have never "toured" so I can't say about how well this guitar would "travel" every night/day. I can say that the fretboard has endured very well with absolutely no signs of wear so far. The finish of the wood and hardware has endured extremely well, despite the fact that sometimes I store it in my travel trailer with extreme changes in temperature. Again, no problems with any of the hardware either in performance or appearance.

No dealings with Fender.

I am certainly no guitar expert. But for me this one sounds as good if not better than most of the really expensive acoustic guitars I have sampled. I would certainly replace with the exact same guitar if needed. For the money it can't be beat. I also own a Fender Mex-Strat and Tele, and a Gibson Les Paul Studio Lite. Love the durability. Because of where I have to store it (see above) I'm surprised that this one hasn't came unglued, warped, and faded. It always looks great and stays in tune. It does seem to be very picky as to what strings sound good on it. I've had the best luck with GHS and Ernie Ball. Be sure to play this one before you spend a wad of cash on a big name. You'll be glad you did.

Korean made 2001. Purchased new after extensive research. Played every acoustic at SA and GC multiple times.

I really dig the sound of this baby, clear and crisp and thick and bassy. Make sure to change strings ASAP the ones Fender puts on there really leave alot to be desired.

Action is awesome the finish sucks (to shiney). Put together well no glue visable no markings inside.

Seems dependable, great hardware. Feels solid when you hold and play it.

Dun know.

Only been playing for about 2 years started with a Yamaha F series acoustic and Ibanez SA series electric and this guitar is better than both of those combined, for the price you'd be a fool not to have one.

Real shiney----hate that! Matte looks much better to me. Fits great! Nothing special going on with this model. I was at the time too cheap to buy another (new-mine is old) Martin DM so I got this to my regrets. Used this for almost a year and the neck is bent now and been in climate controled HSC all but when in use. Never had it leaning on a wall or Guitar stand etc..--always in HSC. Solid top made of good woods in Korea. Very comfortable Neck to play on. On this topic alone I rate it.........

Sounds preety darn good. Elixir strings makes almost everything sound great. It is a good sounding player!

Fast,easy,quick action n fit however I really dislike the GLOSS finish--shows every sin in the book real well. It's pretty good fit etc........

It's reliable and made well except for the Neck problem--a big problem!!!!!!!! NATO neck was not seasoned I believe----Korean made--USA bought. No Truss rod ajustments will help here I'm afraid. Bowed UP on me so now I have to ajust everything else. So SAD!!!!!!!! I would rate it an 8 if no Neck problems,however the Neck is a Major part of a good playable Guitar. Neck is my complaint in this catagory.

Cheaper and easier to fix it than have them do it with postage in HSC to and fro. Neck is NOT Truss rod ajustable the way this one bowed. Fender should stick to Electric Guitars and leave Acoustics to Martin,Gibson and Taylor. Save your Money and just buy one Guitar when you do. Fender name is good but I believe they're riding it to death with their Acoustics. I would never buy another Fender Acoustic. The bent Neck has me a bit angry since it's a major part of a Guitar. Still under Warranty but won't replace it. Not overly joyous about that! Price paid is with HSC NEW.

If the Neck didn't bend on me I would be happy with it although I wouldn't replace it regardless of Neck problem. Probably wouldn't buy another of any Model-don't really need another Acoustic or Electric just thought my martin was looking it's age-and the Neck is still straight being 50 years old. I was very pleased with it at first but it's a lot heavier then the martin. Sorry to compair to just martin but that's what I have. I do have a Fender JG26SCE that's just T&A all the way 100% so I may have gotten a Lemmon? Yes! about 10-12 years of trying and about 8 of playing fairly well. Gear: Ones I mentioned and 1 ES-175 and 1 Strat with 2 50 Marsall amps I hardly ever use. I do not Gig.

Everything it has someone stated. It's a nice Guitar and very comfortable to play. This is a Hi-Gloss--fingerprint City. Stays in tune rather well. Aside from using good Woods building this Model,it's a lack luster very functional Guitar.

I like the sound of this model a lot. Not too load,not too quiet. Canpairing Guitars is difficult---they all sound different. I like it. Can't give it a #10--not a Taylor! A Bone Nut will brighten it's sound!

I set it up and has smooth,fast,low action and fits well in my hands. It's comfortable to play. Wood is perfect on the one I have. Pick Guard is total Junk.

Yep! Right at the upper border of being able to withstand live play.
Has been and believe it will continue to be 100% reliable--neck of perfect! Nothing is or has come loose in any way. Sound Guitar!

No need!

I think it's a very good Med-Budget Guitar that will take care of you if you take care of it. Needs constant cleaning! Hate the Hi-Closs finish. I like the sound and it's fit.
I would up-grade for sure if I needed to buy another Guitar---I would buy another Fender if I couldn't get a better Martin cheap.

Korea circa 1995 it has 20 frets split solid spruce top No active electronics, The Neck is rosewood, Neck back and sides are indian rosewood. Nato neck, natural clear gloss finish, nicely decorated with soundhole decal and haringbone divider in the back . Adjustable neck in the soundhole. Die cast chrome plated machine heads. I believe that this may have been a blem guitar because I got it pretty cheap from a friend that owns a guitar store. I bought the hard shell lined case to store it in and don't regret it at all.

I play classic rock mainly Led Zeppelin and I can get good tone to play instrumentals like "black mountain side" and "bran yr aur", also the intro to "stairway to heaven" sounds great on this guitar. I don't play professionally but record for fun. http://www.angelfire.com/tx5/leatherman is my website. I can get a real gutsy bass sound out of it by putting the mic inside the guitar, and can get a very bright sound by micing right in front of the sound hole. I didn't like the factory action setup so I fiddled with it until I got the action low enough to play leads yet high enough to play slide. I have tried all kinds of strings on this and they have all sounded great I love earnie ball earthwood on this one.

Looking in the guitar, they made a type o on the label that says "dg20s" when it should have been dg21s, I can see some excess glue and some pencil marks where the guitar was assembled, I love the smell of the guitar, that's big to me. The aesthetics of the guitar are important to me and overall this one is a winner.

I believe that this guitar would do well in a traveling band because of the name Fender. The hardware is solid and have not had to replace anything in six years of ownership. The finish has held up even with my wild strumming which the pick guard has absorbed much of. It has been dependable for me whenever I feel like recording a new lick or song for my website. I would use it in a gig without a backup simply because it's a fender.

I really haven't had to deal with fender at all about this guitar. I have never had it repaired and don't wish to ever.

I have been playing since 16 and am now 43, so that's older than dirt. This guitar has handled everything that I've thrown at it. I use a lot of different tunings open E, D, C etc. so the tuners get a workout. What I love the most about it is the playability and the sound. The only bummer is when you change a string the pegs are sometimes hard to get out. I compared this guitar to martins, alvarez, ibanez and ovation, and felt that this one gave me the most bang for the buck. I do wish that it had a pickup and EQ but that would have been much more money!

This one is a 2001 model I have. Bought a package deal from a Fellow needing Money. Standard Dreadnought with frets 14-21 dots starting at 5th Fret. Has a real nice Rosewood Fingerboard. The Bridge being the same Rosewood lacks the color of the Fingerboard--each differs! Solid top! The Neck size is perfect for me. Nice thin workable neck which is straight as an arrow. Gloss finish which I think sucks!!!!!! Always needs to be wiped down.

The sound is great! Has Ernie Ball Sig Series strings on it-Can't complain here at all! A BIG 10! Full,robust,resonating,clear Sound.
Fist time I used this Brand of strings and I like them. Very easy to play!!!!!!!

It's well made--put together nicly. As I said the Gloss finish is too shiny. The Rosewood Sides has too many white stripes and not consistantly black. Oddly the Back is fine in color. Other than minor cosmetics,I'm pleased. Used but setup exceptionally well.
I consider this a perfect beginner's Guitar if one is committed to learn. I'm not limiting it to Beginners at all by any means. It's a Good Guitar.

Reliability/Duribility=====Bet your A$$!!! I would be happy to play it anywhere. One strap botton at end (loose) and another I don't know if it's original or not. Holds it's Tone well,seldom needing Tuning.

No help here!

I'm an Acoustic Man myself with one ES 175 for when I get hot. Maybe 12 Guitars...let me think! Taylor 710,Taylor Big Baby,Guild Archtop,Harmony Archtop,Yamaha 70's solid top Jumbo (nice),Washburn WD 200 SNS,Martins DG and Jumbo,Kalamazoo with no lable inside etc..1 Crate,1 Marshall and one Tube amp (my favorite) all 30 Watts or less and a few others in a pile here somewhere. Quite a pile! Also a Fender JG 26 SCE which is T&A!
Yes! I would buy another,I'm well pleased with it overall. It's quite comfortable and very easy to play. I have too many to compair, they all have different Charactors and sound quality.
Anything I wish it had? YES! A 19-30 Year old HOT Gal stuck to it!
This rating is an 8 1/2 but I have to choose one so I'll deduct some for cosmetics.
I believe my wife will kill me if I look at another Guitar or Mandolin if you know what I mean here! "How many of them Dam things can you play at once?" PHEEEEEEEEEEW!

Made in 2000 in Korea. It's a dreadnought style body with 20 frets. It has a solid spruce top with laminated Indian rosewood back and sides. The neck is nato and the fingerboard and bridge is rosewood. It has a scale of 25.3". It's pretty standard; nothing special.

It suits my music style very well, which is rock. It's not especially loud and it's not too quiet. It has good volume that is characteristic of the price range. Neither the bass nor treble are too overpowering; it's very balanced. I played a bunch of the guitars at Mars and this one held up to many more expensive models. This guitar has better than average sound but nothing stellar.

The action is great. Very playable. It was clearly easier to play than other guitars that were slightly more expensive...and definitely easier to play than most cheaper guitars. This was very evident play barre chords. The top is bookmatched very, very well. In one spot the wood has a small blemish. Nothing that would effect the sound.

The hardware seems sturdy and built to last. It holds it's tune very, very well. The finish seems thick enough to last...but not too thick. I am just beginning to play, as I've only had the guitar about 8 months, so I can depend on it for my trivial playing. About playing live, I wouldn't know if the DG21s is well suited for such demanding tasks.

It has a limited lifetime warranty and I don't know about dealing with Fender

I've been playing for about 8 months now...I don't have any other gear. I had purchased a guitar (Washburn D11) from Mars and found out that the salesman had lied and said that the Washburn had a solid top. Well, I returned the Washburn for the DG21S and I made sure that I wanted it before gettting it...I asked all the questions I needed. If it was stolen I'd probably get a Taylor or a Larrivee but this guitar is great, just not the best. For the price, I think it's a great deal.

The DG21s is a dreadnought (20 frets, no cutaway) with a solid spruce top, Indian rosewood sides, a nato neck, a gloss finish, and a rosewood fretboard. I think mine was made in 1997, and I bought it in January of 1999. It has no electronics. The neck is thin (not TOO thin) and the guitar is very playable (and very beautiful). The only thing I wish it had is a second strap button.

You can play anything with this guitar and it sounds good. I always play it unplugged (it doesn't have electronics). I recently took a friend guitar shopping. I played all the acoustics at Guitar Center that were under $500, and it reminded me why I chose the DG21s. You can't get a better unplugged sound for the price. The sound is rich and full, and as good as some (way) more expensive guitars that I've played. I wish it had a (tiny) bit more bass, but it sounds great the way it is.

I'm not sure about the factory setup because the store I bought it from did their own setup (for free!). It hasn't needed any adjustment since. The action is great, not too high or low. There are no flaws. Well, maybe one: don't clip a capo on the end of the headstock unless you want the cheesy little Fender logo to rub off.

The construction of this guitar seems very solid. I try not to bang it around, but sometimes things happen. After 2 and a half years it is still in new condition, except for one ding i put in it when i dropped it face down on the very sharp corner of an oak shelf (don't ask me how I did that). I was sure I had destroyed it, but when I turned it over there was just a tiny ding in the finish and the wood was fine. I've dropped it, knocked it over, and hit it against solid objects many times, and there is barely a scratch on it. The gloss finish is great. The tuners are very smooth. I have one complaint: if I ever were to gig with this guitar (and use a strap), I would change the existing strap button. It is plastic and it got pulled out once, very soon after I bought the guitar. I superglued it back in and it has been fine since, but I don't really trust it. But other than that the guitar is fantastic.

I'm not sure how long the warranty is, but I've never needed it. Fender gets a 5 instead of N/A for this category because the one time I tried to email them from their website (which sucks), I never got a response.

I've been playing for about 3 years. I have an older Takamine classical and a Fender Foto Flame Strat (Japanese, '62 RI style) with a Line 6 Flextone II amp. If this guitar were stolen I would cry for days. I'm never going to sell it, even when I have enough money to upgrade. I will just buy another guitar (one with electronics). My only regret about buying this guitar is that I am a short woman with short arms, and the dreadnought is a little big for me. If I HAD to do it over I MIGHT buy something a little bit smaller. However, I doubt I would have been able to match the sound of this guitar with any small-bodied acoustic in its price range, so I'm glad I went with the DG21s. I love this guitar.

My name is Jared Laskin. From New Jersey.

This guitar, DG-21S.......is beautiful guitar. Most nice. Nice tuners, frets.........everything is most good. Yes, it is beautful.

Beautiful finish also.......most beautiful.

Yours Sincerely,

Jared Laskin

Most beautiful, and also durable. Dropped several times, yet has withstood many accidents.

Great........most beautiful.