Fender DG-5 Acoustic

This is an entry level dreadnought with a high gloss finish. The top is laminated basswood top and the back and sides are Nato.
The fingerboard looks like ebony, as does the bridge, but I think its dyed rosewood.
It has a plastic compensated saddle and plastic nut.
It comes as a kit witrh elecronic tuner which workls very well, a spare set of phospor bronze strings, an instruction book with CD and 3 picks, excellent value!


It has one strap button at the bottom of lower bout made of black plastic. I would have liked a second button near the heel which I later got fitted at the time of the set up.

This guitar is surprisingly nice sounding for such a cheap guitar!
It has very good sustain and note seperation and stays in tune really well even if put away in a case for some time!

The action was a bit high when I got it but it was still playable (I did get a set up done later though)
There was no excess glue inside the soundhole or any gaps near the nut/saddle and the frets felt smoothly done.
The finish on the front is the standard natural colour but the back has a lovely deep red colour with a very nice grain.

I have had it 2 years and it has been knocked a few times(I have young kids!) and yet it still looks very good with no scratches.
I think the finish will last many years to come!


The strap, which is fastened near the head with a flimsy piece of nylon cord, did come undone once and the head crashed to the floor, but no damage was done and it stayed in tune.

Overall I would say this is an excellent guitar for the beginner or as a backup strumming machine.
It is aimed at the beginner and hence comes as a kit at a very low price but I am surprised that such a low price guitar should sound so good and stay in tune!

*Made in China
*Dunno which year, but probably fairly recently
*20 frets
*The included strings suck (probably fenders own), so I changed them to D'Addario 0.11's

I paid 995 SEK (Sweden FTW!), which is somewhere around ?99, the price was lowered from 1,695 SEK (?169)for some reason, probably some summer sale or some extreme wish to get rid of the lot. I bought the last one in the shop.

A nice and well-balanced sound, in some of these cheaper guitars the higher notes are louder than the lower, or the other way around.
The sound is the usual fender sound; slightly nasal and suitable for most types of music. I like the sound a lot, as I play a lot of Hendrix, Nirvana, Led Zeppelin, Dinosaur Jr and other alternative and 60's/70's rock bands. Oh yeah, not to forget Stephen Lynch and Cornelis Vreeswijk (a swedish folk singer/songwriter and somewhat of a national musical hero).

I stopped by an instrument store in Stockholm earlier today and looked around for a nice and cheap pure acoustic, as I'm gonna be working in Italy this summer and would probably go mental without a guitar for a whole summer. I don't wanna risk bringing my vintage Levin (Swedish brand), as I don't think the Norwegian spruce it's made of would cope with the Italian humidity. But anyways I looked around the store for a cheap acoustic for under 2,000 SEK (?200). I checked out a few corts (nasty brand, they generally suck pretty hard) an ibanez and drooled over a 50's vintage telecaster too. But the guitar I couldn't seem to forget was this one, its sound, its looks and its feel. I tried out a couple of fenders for a few hundred more, but this one was simply special. I believe I bonded with it. If you're a beginner reading this, you might not understand; but a guitarist and the right guitar can develop a special bond. All of you veterans know what I talking about. I'm not sure that all of the DG-5's sound this good, as I've heard that the quality of chinese-made fenders vary alot between guitars of the same model; so my advice is to try a few and see which sounds best.

The action is great, as usual with fenders, it's easy to play. The intonation setup is very good, and it's really easy to tune. Unlike certain shitty Cort guitars.

My guitar is flawless, I've only had it for a couple of hours though, so I've got nothing to say about it.

I like it's classical look, and natural finish.

The grip board feels a bit synthetic, but it's not a big issue for me. What really counts, in my opinion, is the neck. The neck is thin and gives a nice and comfortable grip. It's not as comfortable as the grip of some Squier guitars (yeah, SQUIER), which have asymmetric necks, which enables a very high control and reduces the tiring of your hands to a minimum.

The bracing seems fine this far, but, as with most guitars, it will probably need some maintenance in a couple of years.

Can't really make a statement, as I haven't owned this guitar for a whole 24 hours yet.

I've been playing guitar for four years now, and since I started out with my fathers old 60's nylon acoustic Levin; I've acquired a few more guitars. I'm mainly electric, I write my own songs, but I'm not currently active in a band (let's see what happens this autumn when college starts again). My favorite electric is my Gibson Les Paul Special Worn and Faded, with which I've had many fine moments and hours of playing. I'm very satisfied with it. I also have a Squier Bullet Strat' (with an asymmetric neck!!!), which began to fall to pieces after the first year of slamming it (my first electric). Last but not least in my collection is a 1930's Levin guitar-lute; which I salvaged from my uncle's attic, where it had spent about 40 years in solitude. I had to polish the old furnish off and then polish away the commencing rot which had started to form (yeah, I know it's like slapping a nun, but it would surely have perished without my loving care!), so it's pretty special to me; as my great grandfather owned it and played it during the 30's and 40's. The fact that it sounds like a sitar with a cold keeps me away from playing it too often.

If this guitar was stolen I'd probably cry or throw a tantrum, but when I'm released from the mental institution I'd probably go to some guitar stores and search for another guitar that I can bond with the same way I did with this one.

Even though I bought this guitar only a few hours ago, I feel connected with. Yeah, I know it sounds pretty gay, but sometimes a guitar speaks to you. It might be a worn-out piece of shit cort or a 15,000 SEK Martin; but when you find that magic guitar, you'll simply love it to death.

basic acoustic guitar

Sound is preety good considering the price, suit's my taste, CHANGE THE STOCK STRINGS and it will sound great:)

Action was suprisingly low and very comfy to play, finish is great

it's like a rock:))) my sufferd a lot of punishnent and still looks new

For this money, great guitar, guitar for practising and playing around...not for proffy playing;)

20 frets, dreadnought. basic .but its a starter acoustic. what do you expect?

sound is a bit muggy. change the strings for a decent set. it'll make a big difference. i record straight into a mike, ive blocked the soundhole to get the noise i want, but thats just my personal taste. sounds better thrashed. the light stuff just sounds a bit boring

a lot of people have slagged the finish off. i was pretty impressed by the build, tuners are solid and it stays in tune (as i said above - change the strings)paint is flawless and build quality is really good. action was perfect for me. i guess i was lucky :)

its reliable, durable and will stand live playing no problem. although if i played live a lot i'd buy a better sounding guitar. i just use it for dicking about on and a bit of recording underneath an electric.

not needed from fender. my local shop i use regular and these guys are great. no use to you though unless you live near me.

only been playin about a year. i got an sg electric (copy).
its ok for what i need it for, but if stolen i'd prolly buy something else. if it was lost? how the f~#k do you lose a guitar? a glove ok... but a guitar!
i like the fact its solid as a rock. and i treat it like crap. my electric i play every day. this acoustic probably evry couple of days.
did i mention.... change the strings :)

I got this guitar as a present and giving this guitar as a present is like insulting me, instead of giving me the 100 ? so I could buy a GOOD guitar with that+ my other money but noooo .

Made in china in 2005 , laminated black (very ugly , you can see all the fingerprints on it )top, sides in the same wood , think it's basswood or something

I play Neil young and eric Clapton type of stuff and the guitar doesn't sound good at all .
(No it's not that I'm a bad player it's just a @"e'A5{a guitar

Action was too high the finish is poor but for the price that's normal I think .
There was a small scratch in the pickguard but big enough for me to hate the guitar

Indonesia as everyone above has written. 20 frets. Same guitar that's been described. No options.

Surprisingly good sound. I lead a lot of worship in large churches and every once and a while I pull my dg5 out for fun. I'd say that it's not as bright or full as I would always want but for 200 bucks, hey, not bad.

The action was a bit high. The guitar had no flaws when I bought it. I had to replace the nut about 6 weeks in when it was dropped but it's been fine since.

The finish is unique. It's part of why I love it. It has looks above it's price.

This guitar has withstood live playing on a number of occasions. The tuners are a bit tight, but they hold tune incredibly well and have lasted. The finish is unique and it has lasted. I've had this guitar for close to 9 years and it looks as good today as it did then. On problem I had a week ago is that I had to replace the saddle because it disintegrated. A minor inconvenience after 9 years of beating it up.

Without a backup? No. But then again. This sometimes is the backup. It's treated me good with no problems. 9 years. Stable, solid, dependable.

I'm sure I'll have this guitar in my stable for another 10 years.

I've been playing for 16 years. I have a number of guitars and I keep this because my wife bought it for me. If it were stolen I would hunt down the thief and beat him down.

It's a beginner guitar. You can't compare it to a Martin but compared with other beginner guitars that I've looked at this is incredibly good. The sound is a bit thin and flat but with good strings you can do a lot with it.

I have other guitars in my army but this one has captured my heart. If I was looking at a used one for 50-100 today I'd consider it.

Made in China.
It has 20 frets, is made from Basswood top, sides and back, with a Nato neck,Rosewood fingerboard and bridge.
Has a compensated saddle and comes with Fender Phosphor bronze strings plus a spare set. Also 3 picks, a strap, a tuner(electronic) and a book with CD

Just starting out with this guitar but it sounds quite nice, stays in tune well, playing harmonics worked well.

Action is a bit high as usual, but its certainly playable.
Finish is not bad considering its made from Basswood, the back is particularly nice with a good grain patern.
Pickguard is OK, a bit flimsy with some lift off at the top of the hole, but thats fine.

Hard to say yet as I'm just starting out with guitar.Has one strap button(lower bout) made of plastic, it does the job.

Tried to register on Fender's site but not sure I was successful as I'm in England and the page is set up for those in America.
No warranty card with the guitar pack(unusual?)

This is my first steel string acoustic and so its hard for me to comment, but I would certainly miss it if it were stolen,and would probably buy another of the same.
It has a nice sound, and good volume and is not neck-heavy as I thought it might be.
My favourite feature, cosmetically speaking, has to be the back pattern, very nice!
My favourite feature realistically, is the sound, and the value for money, a lot of guitar for #100!

Made 2002 in Korea.

sounds as a very cheap non brand guitar.
doesn't make fun to play, really bad guitar for beginners.

guitars looks good, well produced, nice wood - but never the less it sounds bad
changing the strings is impossible!!!
new stings won't hold on the right side of the guitar!

--

no warranty

I've been playing guitar for 1 year.
I also own another accoustic guitar which is a no-name product but sounds much better.
If it were stolen...nobody would steal it because it has no strings and it's impossible to give new stings to it.
This fender dg-5 was my first guitar, it made me practicing a lot because it's really difficult to play with, so if you got the power to play long and hard this is the right guitar for yu as a beginner otherwise you should buy better guitar.

I purchased this box at a local store for $50.00. The store clerk (honest fellow) pointed out that THE BRIDGE WAS PULLING AWAY FROM THE SOUND BOX. After bringing the guitar home, I went to work removing the bridge so I could re-attach it. What I found after removing the bridge was that it had been glued more to the finish on the surface of the top than to the actual wood below the finsh. There were some scribe lines scratched into the finish of the box where the bridge was mounted; however, those scribe lines didn't make a very good anchoring surface for the glue to adhere. That's why the bridge on this guitar wants to pull away from the box.
I reworked the suface where the brige is attached and then re-attached the bridge to the box. It wont pull up ever again.

I have seen worse on lesser guitars, but I was surprise to see it happening on a Fender.

What year was it made: '96
Where was is made: Indonesia
Laminated top: Yes
How many frets: 20
Body and neck woods: Nato top, Mahogany back and sides, rosewood fingerboard
Body style: Dreadnought
Bridge style: String-thru body
Tuners:Non-locking

It's a good strumming guitar. Has a bright, clean sound. It's sings well for the price paid.

I purchased this box used, and to do some work to it bring it up to snuff. Overall, for the retail prices that I've seen, it's a bargain.

Will this guitar withstand live playing? I don't see why not.


Does the hardware seem like it will last?
No, I wasn't impressed with the tuning nachines. They look and feel rather sloppy to me. In fact, I replaced those on my box with something better.

Is the finish good enough to last, or does it seem thin and easy to wear off with lots of playing?
The finish is very good. Well done.

Can you depend on it?
The bridge might start to pull up.

Would you use it on a gig without a backup?
No.

N/A

How long have you been playing?
Been playing for a number of years.

If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again or get something else?
For money I paid, I would be too concerned about it.

What do you love about it?
The price.

What do you hate?
Tuning machines and the way the bridge was glued to the top.

What is your favorite feature?
The way it sings.

It's a good buy for around $125.00 (new.)

This is a 96 anniversery model. gold sticker on back on headstock. 1946-96. Laminated Nato top, I though it was mahogany when i bought it on ebay. Very plain looking but the dark wood makes it look very nice with a lot of understated class. Finish is satin and it shows everything. I like it but it needs cleaned alot. This guitar was dirty when i got it. Probably had been sitting up for years! I had to oil and polish the rosewood fretboard for a long time to get the drying white look off. Tuners are generic and cheap, but they work fine. I love the neck on this guitar. I had to for money reasons sell my Taylor 412 and I needed a cheap acoustic. Its better than Yamaha necks and several others. Was very surprised it played so nice with new strings. Nice ringing tone. Good bass response. I got a deal on ebay paid $73.00 including shipping! Ive been playing for over 30 years and I have come to realize nice guitars are not always expensive. I like this one!

I fingerpick alot and dont use a pick often. Like to play slide as well. The sound is beautiful for this price range. A little dark sounding (like humbuckers r compared to single coil pickups) I can strum hard and the sound doesnt break up. Solid bottom end. Not too much bass. Perfect for fingerpicking. I play old rock and blues and it suits me fine.

Its got great sound, but its not put together all that well on the inside. Theres lots of glue residue everywhere. but, really how many people are going to look inside your guitar to check? Pretty dark nato top, looks like mahongany. Tuners are just ok. But do the job. On the outside this guitar looks quite solid. The string height was slightly high, but i left it that way for slide playing. I like the neck of this guitar very much, not to wide, not too thin. Just right for me! New strings made alot of difference. Really brought out the tonalty of this budget guitar. I was very pleasantly surprise how good this Fender sounds and plays.

I probably will eventually replace the cheap tuners. The finish is non glossy and flat, but looks really good. Just needs cleaned alot to to finger oil. I wouldnt gig with it. Its great for at home and on the porch playing. Could travel with it and not worry about it much, because of the low price. I made a mistake when I had my Taylor. It cost me over $2,000 and I was almost afraid to play it for fear of putting wear on it. I know now that playing gives the guitar character. I wish I had played it more often. One day I will get another Taylor and I will play it everyday. But, thats what great about this guitar. I play it any where and everywhere. I dont worry about scratches. And it is enjoyable to play.

Dont know. If it doesnt have a life time warr. I probably would never get it fixed. If I take the shipping off, I paid about $50.00 for this guitar. I have already got that much enjoyment out of it. I have had it a couple of weeks.

I have been playing for over 30 years. I have a 71 Gibson SG. A raven prs hollowbody clone. A cort 900 earth guitar. A fender strat.,A carvin electric. Ibanez s-470. I love that it plays nice and was inexpensive. I wish the workmanship on the inside was better. I probably would not have purchased it if I had seen it in a store, just because of all the glue gunk inside. I bought it on ebay sight unseen. I didnt even know the model number. Just thought it was a mahogany top Fender acoustic. If it was stolen, I would try to find another one, cause it a great knock about guitar. I give it a 10 because I like it alot. I bought it because at the present time I cant afford much and this was a bargain!