Zager ZAD-50CE

Beautiful, flawless satin finish with built-in digital tuner. This guitar also comes with sealed Grover tuners, a rosewood fretboard, gorgeous inlay around the soundhole along with Denny Zager's famous "string science". The sunburst finish is stunning and the custom luthier work supplied by Mr. Zager rivals guitars costing thousands of dollars.

The guitar is bright with crisp tones and is very pleasing to play unplugged or plugged into your favorite amplifier. I currently am using a Roland MicroCube set to Acoustic with a little Delay for a very rich, earthy, auditorium sound effect. Overall, an excellent choice for any style of music... Currently, I use mine for folk and blues.

Absolutely dead-on, perfect set-up by Dennis Zager utilizing his string science system. No other guitar (including my Martin) comes close to the set-up including the ultra-low action without string buzz and perfect intonation. Every detail of the guitar is absolutely flawless.

Evereything about this guitar merits a "10" and could easily be gigged without the concern for a back-up. Despite whatever you may be currently playing, this will quickly become your favorite guitar.

Dennis Zager stands behind every guitar he sells 100% and Dennis Jr. offers quick, reliable answers to all inquiries. Customer service is the very best that I have ever dealt with for any product. They will absolutely go far beyond expectations to gain your trust and business.

I favorably would compare this guitar to Taylors and Martins but it has much better playability. I would definitely purchase another Zager, probably the ZAD-80CE in the future.

I bought the black 50CE, it is extraordinarily beautiful.

The Zager sound if for those who play warm sounding, beautiful pieces. If you want to bang on your guitar (and there is a role for that) then buy a Martin. I have a Martin HD-35 and my Zager. There are times when I prefer my Zager and times when I prefer my Martin, depending mainly on how hard I want to play. I would say the Zager is not inferior at all - just different

This is why I HIGHLY recommend Zager guitars. He is totally honest and totally committed to delivering the perfect guitar for you. I am a physician and I know what it means to have a sense of calling in your career. It seems that he is more interested in delivering what you really want and need than he is in making a buck. I told him I wanted to return the ZAD 80 rosewood because I didn't like all the abalone and he was completely supportive of that. Then I ordered another one and cancelled it a day later. He wasn't at all annoyed (even if he had been, I would have understood). You can trust this guy, and that's what matters

I have been playing off and on for 15 years, varying with the strictures of a demanding career. I wish I had gotten this guitar 15 years ago. I actually gave one to my nephew just knowing what a difference it would make for him. There is no better guitar for someone starting out. That said, you never outgrow this guitar. The sound in some ways is the most beautiful I have ever played, again, depending on your style. But if you decide it isn't your style he lets you return it.

gloss finish
dreadnought/cutaway
grover tuners
thin neck,rosewood fretboard
made 2006,USA
solid spruce top
mahogany back and sides

It suits my music style just fine (rock,southern rock,and country).
I play it unplugged-very good sound,good highs mids and bass.
The mids and highs are bright.

The guitar was well set-up.
The action is good,it could possibly be lower, but it plays well.
The guitar contained no flaws that I could see.
The strings being spaced just a little father apart is a big plus.

I would say you could depend on this guitar although I did not buy it to perform with.
The hardware seems like it would last.

I've needed no repairs, but the guitar has a lifetime warranty, and any time I've talked with the Zager company, they were nothing but friendly and helpful.

I've been playing for 35 years.
Other equipment I own: Seagul acoustic, Alvarez acoustic, Hohner acoustic, Kingston acoustic, Harmony acoustic, Fernandez electric.
If it was lost, I would buy another Zager.
I guess the main thing I liked about this guitar is the risk-free purchase, and the lifetime warranty.

Zager EZ-Play Modified: Lowering the strings closer to the fret board, widening the stance of the strings, modifying the saddle, bridge, neck and nut--The result is a guitar that is 50% easier to play with a sound that rivals guitars costing 5 times the price.

Full Size Dreadnought
Venetian Cutaway Design
Solid Spruce Top
Mahogany Back & Sides
Rosewood bridge
Rosewood fret-board
Gloss Finish
Built in Transducer
Onboard Equalizer
Onboard Electronic Tuner
Scalloped X-bracing
Hand-Carved Custom Nut
Hand-Carved Custom Saddle
Hand filed frets
Hand filed frets
Sealed Grover Tuning Gears
Abalone Inlay Rosette
Tortoise Shell Pickguard
Genuine "Martin" Strings
100% money back guarantee
Lifetime warranty

I LOVE the EZ-Play Zager ZAD-50CE Acoustic Electric guitar. I LOVE the matching case. The latches on the case open and close freely. The humidity gauge is a nice attribute and it reads 79 degrees with 60% humidity--that is with my air conditioner set to 77 degrees in the apartment. Both the guitar and case are extremely light weight. I have a generic case for my Martin D16A, but is must be twice or three times as heavy as your Zager case.

I do not own an amplifier right now, so I cannot judge the sound from the built in transducer and onboard equalizer. However, I can attest that the onboard electronic tuner is fantastic, as well as the acoustics of the guitar, which rivals my 1989 Martin D16A!

I just spent the past 45 minutes messing around with the guitar and it is hard to put it down.

I am a huge Roy Clark fan, so I try to play some of his riffs that I
learned off many of Mr. Clark's 40+ LPs I own from his career in the 1960s through 1990s when he was recording on a regular basis.
"Yesterday when I was Young," "Alabama Jubilee," and "Under the Double Eagle" sound fantastic on the guitar. I also play bluegrass music, so the EZ-Play Zager ZAD-50CE Acoustic Electric clearly holds its own against my 1989 Martin D16A made of ash wood.

I better watch out, as I might end up owning one of each model that Denny Zager sells!

Factory set-up is incredible! The action is low, extremely easy playablility--just as the manufacturer presents the product to be.

Construction and finish are as advertised--superb!

This guitar will withstand playing live in an unplugged environement and works magnificently with any amateur bluegrass jam session.

The hardware is identical to that used on my Martin D16A--Grover tuners are awesome and the instrument stays in tune.

One strap button is included--I am going to install a strap button their the neck.

As a former corporate banking business support employee, I know customer service relations is as important as the product you sell. So I sincerely wish to thank Dennis Zager, Jr. so much for the recent excellent customer service correspondences and personal support provided to me.

I am playing guitar since 1987, banjo since 1999, and mandolin since 2006. I own a 1989 Martin D16A guitar, 1999 Deering Calico and 2006 Deering Golden Era banjos.

The newest addition to my instrument collection is the EZ-Play Zager ZAD-50CE Acoustic Electric. I love this instrument so much that I just placed an order for another Zager model guitar, the EZ-Play Zager ZAD-50 OM Acoustic guitar. I expect to receive this instrument within the 5-7 days and I will be posting a review on this model soon.

The finish on my guitar is a glossed black finish- VERY nicely done. It is an acoustic electric.
Sealed Grover Tuners
Custom Thin Neck
Fishman pickup
Extra strings and picks
Solid spruce top
Graphic equalizer
Volume controls plus built in LED tuner
Rosewood bridge
Mahogany back and sides

The guitar is perfect for my needs. The EZ play design makes it fit m hands a bit better- I have thicker than average fingers.
I have no tused it as an electric yet.
The sound is very rich- it's bright, with a pleasant resonance, with no unnatural ring.

The guitar arrived with the strings close to being tuned already. It was ready to play almost immediately. Alignment, and fit, were right on the money. At this point (4 weeks in) I've discovered no flaws.

My only concern, and it is minor, is that the tuners do not quite seem as tight as I would expect, but it has held tuning well. The hardware feels tight and strong, and the finish is very well done. Because there is no front button for the strap, I cannot rate that feature. I do feel I could depend on it in any situation.

I have had VERY fast replies when I contacted the company, and a great willingness to discuss the guitar or to obtain information.

I learned to play when I was a boy, in the mid-1960s. I still have my old Fender guitar and bass (vintage 1968 and 1972) and a 1967 Fender Bassman (in need of repair.)

I have absolutely NO regrets about my choice. I researched for weeks before buying this guitar, and was pleased at what I received. If I were to have to replace it, I would buy another in a flash- this ia a beautiful guitar, even more so when you consider the price. I saw more expensive guitars in stores locally that were inferior to this.

It is pretty much designed as I wanted it. I'd planned on the acoustic only ZAD50, but they had a "back of the storeroom" unit for a deep discount, so I was able to get the 50CE, in perfect shape, for a deep discount because it was a year or so old. If there is anything about it that is less than perfect, I haven't found it (in reference to the discount status.)

I am VERY pleased with the value and quality.

Has black glossy finish.I inspected closely and cannot find a flaw.
body is full size cutaway w/ hand fitted saddle and nut. action is low EZ play and I'm loving it. Top is solid spruce. Also has equalizer and electronic tuner.
Too many features to list. You should go to their web site to get full info.

Sound is great.Resonates rich and mellow. I also have a Gibson LP studio model and the Zager sounds every bit as good.

Have only had this guitar for a few days but it seems perfect.

Don't know yet but looks to very well built and a good value for the price.

Have not needed service but my e-mail questions are all answered within hours. (sometimes minutes)

I've only been playing a few months.My other guitar is a Gibson LP and I love both of them. Hardly know which to play first. I would definately buy another Zager again (and might soon if my wife would let me have a smaller model for travel).
I have never met Denny Zager but if you listen to him and watch him work with his students and talk about his products on his videos you cannot help but be impressed with his dedication and desire to put out quality.

Sunburst cutaway with electronics
Sealed Grover Tuners
Custom Thin Neck
Hard case, extra strings and picks
Built 02-07
Solid spruce top
Graffic equalizer and volume controls plus built in LED tuner
Fishman pickup
Rosewood bridge and neck with mahogany back and sides

I play mostly country and gospel music and the Zager's bright tone works well with it. When I plug it into my Peavy TransTube Amp I can adjust the tone with equalizer to the type of music I am playing..very cool feature. This guitar produces a full bright sound when unplugged and can be adjusted to many tones when plugged in. Very nice sound....much like my Takamine.

Out of the box this guitar is fantastic. Very little tuning needed and the action was perfect. The fit and finish were flawless as was the bookmatched top. I tried out many guitars at local dealers in the past week and none of them were set up or finished better than the Zager....in fact most were inferior.

I have six guitars....but I will play the Zager at this weekend's gig. It appears to be well made and solid. Plus....it has a LIFETIME warranty.

I have not had any warranty issues with the company, but I have had some questions. I emailed Denny Zager Jr. and he responded within the hour on all questions. Very friendly and helpful folks.

I have played guitar for 35 years and have owned several brands. I currently own a Takamine, Epiphone, Fender and Yamaha which range from acoustic to electric.

I would buy this guitar again as it has all the features I was looking for. My Takamine is getting road weary so I looked at replacing it with another...but was unimpressed with the new ones. I liked the higher end Martins over the rest, but disliked the price. I am glad I took the "risk" of ordering a Zager without trying it. I would highly recommend this guitar as it plays like a much more expensive Martin.

EZ-Play Modified by Denny Zager, Full size Dreadnought with Venetian Cutaway Design. Solid Spruce Top with Mahogany Back & Sides. Rosewood Bridge and Rosewood Fret-Board. Transparent Gloss Finish. Built in Transducer, Onboard Equalizer, and Onboard Electronic Tuner. Scalloped X-bracing. Hand carved custom nut and hand carved custom saddle. Hand filed frets (as part of EZ Play setup. Sealed Grover Tuning Gears. Abalone inlay rosette. Tortoise shell pick guard. Genuine "Martin" Strings. Includes Zager Guitar 100% money back guarantee and lifetime warranty.

The sound of this guitar is quite amazing for a guitar in this price range. I have owned and played many accoustic guitars over my 30 years of playing, and this one compares to models six or seven times the price. The sound is full and bright and it is comparable to the more expensive brands on the market.

The action is the biggest selling point on this guitar. The EZ-Play modifications really make the action on the guitar feel tremendous. I typically play a fender strat with really low action, and switching over to the Zager to play the accoustic/electric cause me no discomfort whatsover. It is very easy to play, and I think the modifications are quite innovative. I assume given enough time and experience a luthier could set up ANY guitar like this, but Denny has it down to a science, and the results on his guitars prove it. Fit and finish on the guitar when it arrived were impeccable.

Live playing will not be a problem. The guitar is extremely well built and the finish seems very durable. The bottom strap/jack is very solid. There is no top strap button when the guitar arrives, but a qualified technician can add one to Zager's specs and should also be solid. All in all a very dependable guitar.

Zager Guitar is a family business and it shows. The are not a faceless corporation. They care about their customers. Can't beat the Lifetime Warranty and 100 percent Money Back Guarantee!

If you don't like the guitar, they will pick it up and take it back and refund every penny of your guitar including shipping BOTH ways! There is zero risk associated with this purchase! Better still, the guitar is warranteed for life should anything happen.

Their customer service is extremely responsive on both the phone and e-mail, often responding within minutes of an e-mail. While I haven't had any problems since my purchase, all my questions were answered promptly and personally.

I've been playing for over 30 years, I own several guitars from Fenders, to Ricks, Takamine, Gibsons, etc. If the guitar was stolen I would definitely get another. This guitar is ten times easier to play than my high end Takamine accoustic electric. You have nothing to lose with the money-back guarantee... so it's definitely a great purchase.

- Sunburst with Gloss Finish
- Full Size Dreadnought
- Venetian cutaway with scalloped X-bracing
- Rosewood Bridge/Neck/Fretboard
- Hand filed (small) frets
- Solid Spruce Top
- Sealed Grover Tuning Gears
- Mahogany Back & Sides
- Hand carved custom nut & saddle
- Abalone inlay rosette
- Tortoise shell pick guard, not fancy, but more than adequate
- Built in transducer under bridge
- Quality onbord electronc tuner, w/volume knob & equalizer
- Genuine "Martin" Strings, plus an extra set

I've owned/played a number of acoustic guitars over the last 35 years, including an Alvarez DY 56 acoustic with stereo pickups that was gorgeous, but too cumbersome to adjust on stage. The East Coast Casuals band I play with shares a Takamine EG531SSC acoustic at our gigs; its definately a workhorse. The Tak plays well and sounds great amplified, but doesn't sound as well when practicing unplugged. So I've been looking around for a while. I decided to invest in a Zager guitar (ZAD-50CE) because it compares favorably with high-priced acoustic-electrics.

I've owned the ZAD-50CE now for over a little over a month now and this guitar is everything Zager said it would be!

To reduce an acoustic feedback problem I(as with with any acoustic), I've ordered a 'cocobolo wood' sculptured soundhole damper from the Lute Hole Co. (Thanks Danny Zager Jr., I didn't know these dampers existed! Then again I didn't know Zager Guitars existed two months ago either!) Unlike the solid rubber plug we use to dampen the Takamini, the classy looking Lute Hole units come in three levels of damping, and one model provides variable damping. All are a bit pricy, but I'll pay the money if it saves the fullness and clarity of tone.

- Action is fast, especially with the Martin light strings.
- "EZ-Play" Modified so it was flawless right out of the box.
- I got an even better deal by buying a discounted guitar with two minor finish cracks around the battery compartment and a blemished guitar case; I could not determine where the blemish was??

Only time will tell if the guitar will stand up, but since Zager Guitar has been around since 1969, Zager uses the same manufacturer as Martin Guitars and have a lifetime warantee, its a good bet these guitars will stand up over time. The guitar has been reliable for the last month and I would not expect it to develop a problem we could not overcome. We always have a backup.

- Tracking number allowed monitoring of delivery
- Zager will pay for return shipping if unsatisfied with guitar
- Lifetime warranty
- Responded to two emails on seperate weekends within 24 hours
- Provided valuable link to soundhole damping (Lute Hole Co.)
- Web site video instructions are a tremendous asset to users
- I had to install the neck-side strap button, but the location to install it was covered in one of Mr. Zager's instructional videos. Good thing he covered it, the balance point was not obvious.

I didn't want to spent a great deal of money on an accoustic-electric because the guitar is going to get a lot of use and accidents, even theft, could occur and I would regret damaging/losing a high-priced guitar. The ZAD is a worthy instrument. It has gorgeous looks, is extremely easy to play, and has all the full, clear tone I'm looking for. I purchased it because there was no risk, as Zager would take it back and pay for shipping both ways if I didn't like it.

OK, the ZAD-50CE is not a Martin or Taylor guitar, but I'm here to say it sounds and plays as good as any I've tried at the music stores.

Dave Arpin
ECC Band
Sprague, CT

The ZAD50CE is a solid spruce top, mahgany back and sides acoustic electric.
The doby is fully bound with the ivoroid bindings as is the neck and heel plate. The fingerboard is rosewood as is the bridge. Dreadnaught size with the venetian cutaway. Tuners are non locking, but are a fully enclosed grover type which have excellent accuracy.
The neck is mahogany with a nice c shape very similar to the old Fender style necks of the 60's and 70's. They are wider and a real nice, comfortable grip. This allows for extended play without tiring your hand.

The sound with mahogany back and sides will project the mids and highs, but does not forget the lows.They are criso annd clean. It's a balanced sound with not too much of one over the other as you will find is some other guitars costing a lot more. The electronics bring the guitar to wherever you want it to be with the 3-band EQ. There is a presence sliding control which I equate to an oral exciter for vocals. It will add to the EQ'd sound by giving it more clarity than it already has, which is pretty sizable. You can play and get a nice mellow sound when fingerpicking but not loose the sustain or richness. When flatpicking, the real nature of the guitar comes out and produces a sound that a lot of us look for in units costing 3 to 5 times more.

The setup of the guitar was very similar to how I set up my electrics and better acoustics. The action was pleasantly low without buzz, and at the 12th fret, the action was still very low.
The intonation was perfect and the neck was straight with very liitle(I mean insignificant relief) I love my guitars to have a straight neck. Some folks think that some relief is very mportant, but my feeling is that if you take care of the nut and saddle properly, relief is a secondary issue.
Everything on the guitar has an excellent finish and no gaps anywhere. No Flaws.
You can go out and gig with it or use it in the studio. You will be proud to be seen with it. The appearance is totally professional.

The finish is equal to my $3- 4,000 units and I feel it will last a long time. The hardware is solid as is everythig else.
I would use this as my first AE at a job.

The company went over and above what they could have. The example I submit is that I have around 10 -15 high line acoustics. On one of most expensive ones, the ivoroid neck heel cover was cracked when I opened it. I immediately called the mfg. and was told to take it to a luthier or repair with no guarantee of reimbursement.
With Zager, I ordered the unit w/o a case as I have some extra hardshell dreadnaught cases. The unit was to be sent with a gig bag -
they emailed and said they would ship it in a hard molded case for no extra charge since they ran out of gig bags! They did what they said. There aren't too many companies that do that anymore. They also have a money back guarantee. You can't beat that!

I have been playing now for over 35 years and have owned and played Gibson, Guild, Martin, Larivee, Yiari, Takamine pro line, and some others I can't remember. This guitar will hold it's own with these I just mentioned, and blow away a lot of the others. Tonally, aesthetically, playability, you name it, it's there. I will be purchasing another and my friends will too.