Fender Del Mar Acoustic

Well, i got my guitar as a trade in with a cheap immitation ovation in '92, from what i know its an '83, it has a laminated finish, no pick-up, 20 frets and the tuners are all on one side like an electric. It has a thin neck and low action, very nice!

This guitar has a very levelled sound, i got a pick-up installed and it sounds great, it has a really nice tone, no martin but im really satisfied.

The action is ausome! it also has a thin neck, like an electric, i really like the feel and it s not too heavy or too light

Let me tell you about this guitar! i've had it for over 10 years now, and i've played over 1,200 gigs with it, in the caribbean, in europe, in the greek isles, it has lasted through bad weather, (humid, hot, freezing, wet...) and many beatings, i've also dropped it over a dozen times, today i still use it when i gig, and i never had, or needed a backup, it just sounds and feels great! ...i would be very disappointed if i lost it, its my baby

I've been playing for over 15 years, i've been in the same band for over 10 yrs. we've travelled the world, and played all kinds of music, right now i live in montreal, we still play locally, and i still use my fender, we play all acoustic top 40, classic ( 70's), funk, blues, and lounge music every weekend, i've never owned, but tried other guitars (old gibsons, taylors...) i just havent found a guitar like this one, (except for that '68 martin... ouch!), it would kill me if something would happen to it, its just a great guitar! i wish i had another! i know it doesnt go for much, but its a great find for me.

I have a standard issue Del Mar. I am not sure what the tech specs are. I never looked them up. The guitar has a dreadnaught body and a set neck with the tuners on one side like an electric. The frets are thin but the playability of the neck reminds me of a quick electric. I have large hands and somewhat big fingertips, but have no problem doing some intricate fingering on this neck. Nice action.

For a value acoustic I was impressed with the tonal quality of the guitar. It is quite delicate, but has good bottom end also. I can be playing something bright and then get into some grungy bass string work and the guitar sounds good either way. It does lack a bit on the volume side but it does have more projection than my D-18. If you want volume, get a Taylor. If you want perfect tonal quality, get an old Martin. Otherwise, the Del Mar is a great choice for all around everday playing. I haven't used a pickup, so I'm ignorant there..

This was nicely put together and the build quality is good. I beat on it as my everday acoustic and haven't had any quality control issues. The action and hardware was set up nice from the factory and the neck plays true. The head and tuners make it look like a hybrid. I guess I'm just conditioned to the traditional acoustic head layout. Intonation is good but it is very difficult to play up high because of the lack of a cutout. C'est la vie, I guess. Overall a good guitar.

I beat this instrument regularly, but for some reason I feel it is somewhat delicate. I can't quite pinpoint why, but it doesn't have that hefty feel about it. It is a light instrument, but the design looks standard and robust enough ..... ?? The finish is very nice and has stood the test of time and some neglect. No problems there.

No customer support needed.

I give it a lower rating than it deserves because, if I lost it or broke it, I wouldn't look for another. I'd cough up the (much) extra money and get a Taylor. I bought this based on best bang for the buck when I was shopping for an everyday beater acoustic. In that regard, I give it a 9.

A standard jumbo/dreadnought sized acoustic, this model was part of the 'California' range, produced from 1983-89. I'm not sure of the exact date of this, it came to me second-hand about 5 years ago, and has been my mainstay for all acoustic gigs ever since.
The body has a (solid as far as I can tell) spruce top, with Rosewood back and sides, really nice woods, with excellent figuring and an inlayed strip down the back between the perfectly bookmatched pieces. Judging by the woods I'd say this was a top of the range model. The neck (mahogany with rosewood board) has a nice 'C' profile, and comfortably radiused fretboard - very easy to play, but the thing I like most is that it has the traditional strat style headstock like all the early Fender acoustics. But unlike the early ones which often had bolt-on necks this has a proper set neck. The tuners are sealed types with white pearl buttons, and work really well. You can thrash away on this guitar like Neil Young, and it'll stay in tune! The frets are standard narrow fender types - if you're used to jumbo frets you might find them a bit thin. Some might find the full-size jumbo body a bit of a handful, and I do miss the upper fret acces that my other cutaway acoustics have, but what it lacks in styling it makes up for in tone!

I play electric as well as acoustic, so I keep this strung with fairly light bronzewound strings (10-52), but it still has plenty of tone, and great definition between the strings, whether picked or strummed. Heavier strings will probably give more depth of tone and volume.

No problems here - the guitar came to me nicely played in, and I've never had to make any adjustments to the action or set up (not that you can do much anyway!)

This has stood the test so far and I'd say there are a good few gigging years left in it yet.

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I've been playing for over 30 years, so I've owned a guitar or two. This is a great workhorse but it has enough refinement in the tone to make it a perfect all rounder. Okay so it's not a two-grand Martin, but if it were I'd be afraid to throw in the back of the car and thrash it down the pub wouldn't I?