Zager ZAD-50CE

Acoustic Electric cut away body. Full Size guitar. Guitar has a solid spruce top and laminated mahoganysides and back. Neck is mahogany. Guitar has four band EQ and tuner on board. This guitar is new and is made in the USA.

This is my third guitar. Granted, I don't own a $4000 Martin, but I play with people who own Martins and Taylors. I would put the tone of this guitar up against those guitars any time. Very nice tone with good low end and nice crisp highs. The sound is very bright and good volume with very little effort. There is no need to 'overplay' on this guitar.

The action is incredible on this guitar. It has been modified by Denny Zager and he clearly knows his stuff. I have compared with my other guitars and with little effort, chords are crisp and clean. With the other guitars and the same effort, they are buzzy and dead. The finish is nice as well. I prefer glossy type finishes and this one has a nice glossy finish. Spruce top has a little darker streak in it. But it kind of adds character. Playablility is absolutely top notch.

I do a little performing with this guitar and it performs nicely. I think the tuning machines may be a little under done, but everyting else is solid and durable. The strap buttons are solid. For what I do, it is a very dependable guitar.

Customer support has been amazing. Every question, every concern is answered and promptly. The warranty is lifetime and I would fully expect them to live up to it based on my experience with the Zager company.

I've been playing casually for twenty three years and own two othe inexpensive guitars. I have a Takamanie and an Epiphone as well. This guitar is far superior to both of those guitars. There is no question that I will play this guitar exclusively. With the guys I play with, I have had the opportunity to play Taylors and Martins. I would put the tone and playability of this guitar with the Martin and better than the Taylor. I did my homework on this guitar and am fully pleased with the results. I could have stepped up to a model with a cedar top and Rosewood back, sides and neck, but overall liked the look and durability of this one. For an inexpensive guitar, this is an excellent instrument.

Nice looking solid top, EQ, built in tuner that you would find on a way high end guitar. Cutaway is nice.

I am just starting on fingerpicking and own a Taylor 312 Ce but actually like this EZ-Play Zager 50ce better. It is much easier to play, the action is the lowest that I have ever seen and the sound is unbelievable. I took the guitar to my instructor and even he couldn't believe the sound and quality for the inexpensive price I paid.

Expert set-up. Shipped ready to go and in perfect tune even during shipping!

I do not play live, just learning, but have no problem letting neighbors and friends check out the easy playing guitar. Seems to be a real quality made guitar.

Lifetime warranty. Customer service was even better than Taylor's. Personal emails to let me know process of order and I had the guitar within 5 days of ordering. Pretty awesome these days!

I own the following guitars=
Gibson Les Paul Studio
Fender American Deluxe Stratacaster
Seagull S-6 Acoustic
Fender DG-22 acoustic
Taylor Big Baby Acoustic
Taylor 312 CE 30th Anniversary edition
Fender Squire Strat
Fender 10g/12 string
Ibanez Artcore 75 semi-hollow electric
Zager 50CE

Fender 212r Amp
Fender G-Dec amp
Crate acoustic amp
Fender 15g amp
Marshall Mg 15fx amp

Pod XL
Loop Station

I would replace the Zager in a minute as it is becoming one of my favorite guitars to play. I chose the Zager to add to my collection to see what all of the talk was about the EZ-Play guitar. I am a believer and would buy anohter one in a minute. In fact, I am saving for the ZAGAR 80CE now!

Mine is the black lacquer Zad 50ce and purchased in 2005. Solid spruce Top and mahogany back, sides and neck. I do not know if back and sides are laminated or solid. Very nice built in electronics with EQ and built in tuner. (I don?t know what brand the system is. I think Zager has them specially made for him by someone. I'll get to the EQ in the sound section) Body is a traditional full size dreadnought cut-away. Bridge is rosewood as is the fingerboard. Nice looking rosette around the soundhole and a real nice matching pickguard. Beautiful flawless body binding extending up the neck. Custom nut and saddle. Tuners are sealed grovers. Neck is a very nice not to thin not to fat modern "C" that is simply a treat to wrap your hands around. Slides nice no sticky feel here. Frets are standard size and very nicely polished, crowned and leveled. No trip to your luthier here to fix what isn?t broke. Came with a T-shirt and documentation and a signed picture of Mr. Zager and a new set of Martin strings. This is a simply beautiful guitar. Modified easy play system and personally signed by Mr. Zager.

Suits my style just fine. This guitar has a very balanced tone and is extremely loud but not harsh. Since I have had so many high-end guitars in the past and just sold a very flawless high end Ovation to buy the Zager, I was a bit worried when I plugged it in. I really didn?t expect much in the way of quality. Oops!!! What a surprise. Very nice well-balanced tone with little feedback. A feed back buster for stage work will be needed but you need that with any guitar at high volumes. EQ, and tuner work perfectly and the tuner, especially for a beginner, is a must and a great feature for a guitar that cost $490.00 dollars. Sound quality this guitar meets or exceeds any Martin, Yairi, Taylor, Takamine or Suits my style just fine. This guitar has a very balanced tone and is extremely loud but not harsh. Since I have had so many high-end guitars in the past and just sold a very flawless high end Ovation to buy the Zager, I was a bit worried when I plugged it in. I really didn?t expect much in the way of quality. Oops!!! What a surprise. Very nice well-balanced tone with little feedback. A feed back buster for stage work will be needed but you need that with any guitar at high volumes. EQ, and tuner work perfectly and the tuner, especially for a beginner, is a must and a great feature for a guitar that cost $490.00 dollars. Sound quality this guitar meets or exceeds any Martin, Taylor, Yairi, Ovation, Takamine or Larrivee I have owned or played. I have sold all my high end stuff and the Zager is now all I have. Ive said it before I'll say it again. If you have money buy your $5,000 dollar Martin's to hang on the wall and look at. Tell your friends hey I got a $5,000 dollar Martin or Taylor or whatever. Buy a Zager to pay.

Well here is where Zager kicks everyone?s ass. No trips to the luthier to get this guitar to play right. It?s in tune and perfect right out of the box. The reason? Denny plays these before he ships them and if they are not right they go in the bone pile. The others well, they raise the action until the problem goes away and leave it to the poor customer to fix, if it even can be fixed. I have read a million excuses why high end guitar makers ship guitars that play like crap but it boils down to pure laziness. Give me your five grand and you deal with it. Not with the Zager. I will say I have bought two Zager's and the first one, a modified Washburn, had lower action then the 50ce. This is not to say the 50ce is high by any means but it?s a bit higher then I like. About a quarter and a dime at 14. To many this is not high at all and some are likely thinking what the hell is this guy talking about. The low register area where most acoustic songs are played is simply perfect. The nice thing is I can do a little saddle work and fix the problem because Dennis hand files, crowns and levels the frets before the axe goes out so lowering the action will be a no problem at home fix for me. (I think) The guitars finish is simply flawless. No runs in the finish, no binding errors no nothing. I am one anal individual and you can believe I have examined this guitar from one end to the other. I simply can't find a thing wrong with its appearance. Simply gorgeous. Inside? No glue anywhere! Very nicely braced. Looks as clean inside as it does outside. I raised the action issue with Denny Jr and he said hell send it back no questions asked. Name me a guitar maker that will do that. I of course am not going to send it back. Gets a nine only because of my personal taste. This is for action only. Everything else is a solid ten. What Dennis does with the string spacing is wonderful. I have large fingers and I always find I'm running into myself playing other guitars. The Zager system solves this problem. If you are a beginner a Zager is simply a must have item to learn with. If you are a pro enjoy shocking your friends with their high-end stuff. I personally like the sound of the 50ce better then the 80ce. Its a much fuller rich sound to my ears.

I can't imagine this guitar not holding up to stage work. It's a rock solid work of art that will just get better with age. If it doesn?t guess what. I can send it back no questions asked its got a life time guarantee. The other's well my experience is they will blame the problem on you and you are screwed. Strap buttons are solid and the guitar hangs very nice strapped when standing. Very comfortable. Finsih is applied very nicely and I don't expect it to wear much with use.

Again this is an area where Zager wipes all the others off the map. You can call these folks and talk with them. You will get a personal immediate response to your e-mails not some form auto response. Who else does this? Almost no one in the market today. To the guy that said the Zager folks are vague and won't answer questions. BULLSHIT. He must work for a high-end guitar company or he simply isn?t telling the truth. Certainly Dennis isn?t going to detail his exact string science system. Why would he? He and his son will answer accurately all your questions to the point of giving their patent pending secrets away. If you have a problem they WILL make it right. I think these few negative comments are a simple matter of jealousy or buyers remorse. They paid 5 grand for an instrument and then picked up a Zager and it met or exceeded what they bought and they are pissed at themselves. Another thing Zager does is give you a nice discount if you are a return customer. Who does that?

I have been playing for 30 years off and on. I have owned high-end Ovations, Yairi's and about everything in-between. I have played almost every high end guitar out there. If my Zager was stolen I would replace it. I won't say exactly what would happen to the poor bastard that stole it but it isn't good. Look folks I'm not here to say that Zager's are simply the best guitar on the planet at any price. I am here to say that you absolutely can't buy a guitar today that plays, sounds and looks any better then a Zager for what you spend. Hell you can spend thousands and not get a better guitar. I bought my son one of these and his playing has improved ten fold. Why? Because he plays the hell out of it. He can practice longer with more intensity because his fingers and hands don't hurt after a half-hour. Zager's are guitars you can play not fight!! Do I work for Zager? Nope. Did I get a free guitar for writing this review? Nope. I spent the time on this because I believe in their product and I want everyone to experience the joy of playing music with a quality instrument that you don't have to spend an arm and a leg for.

This is an acoustic/electric guitar. I am not sure of the country it was made, but after construction it is hand modified in the USA by Denny Zager. It has a 4 band EQ on the electronics as well as volume. Solid spruce top, mahogany back and sides, rosewood bridge/fretboard. Natural finish (very high gloss, very nice), sealed tuners.

I play mostly fingerpicking acoustic stuff on this guitar, with some chords. It is very nice, especially when playing the highs.

It has a pickup, but I don't have an amp for it right now, so I can't comment on how it sounds plugged in, but acoustically, it is the best mahogany bodied guitar there is. I've compared it against my friend's Takamine which cost hundreds more, and other mahogany guitars at the guitar store. This one takes the cake. Obviously rosewood bodied guitars have more deep end.

Action is INCREDIBLY low! Denny does a great job at fine tuning his guitars. No problems with the finish.

Yes to all the questions. Very durable.

They are amazing! I had a problem with the saddle, they paid the shipping costs for me to send it to them, made me a new saddle, then paid to ship it back to me. They reply to emails within minutes and are very nice.

It is exactly what you would expect from a family owned company

I've been playing about 5 years. I have a Stellar 12 string guitar and an Ibanez electric. I am very happy with it. The action is super low and the extra space between the strings is very nice! Like I said earlier, I have compared it to numerous guitars and it beats out every other similar (in wood, not price) guitar.

I would definatly recommend this to anyone who is looking for a great guitar for the money!

- Venetian cutaway box
- Solid spruce top
- Mahogany back & sides
- Sealed "Grover" Tuning Gears
- Built in transducer
- Onboard electronics & EQ
- Onboard electronic tuner
- Guitar strap audio jack
- Abalone inlay rosette
- Tortoise shell pick guard
- Gloss finish
- Hand carved custom nut
- Hand carved custom saddle
- Hand filed frets
- Scalloped X-bracing
- Rosewood fret-board
- Rosewood bridge
- Genuine "Martin" strings
"String Science" Setup (slightly wider neck low string action!)

Have yet to play it plugged in. I play alot of finger style and finger picking so the wider neck really helps out so I don't deaden strings with my short fat fingers. For a $600 Guitar the sound is extremely (almost suprisingly) good. I picked the ZAD 50 CE for its bright highs but decent base (and oh yeah price I am a bit thin on cash).

The setup was the best I have ever had on a guitar. This was my fourth guitar. The guitar holds its tune very well up and down the neck. I have never held any guitar with a lower action. The only time I get string buzz is if pick with long arm swings instead of with my wrist (get a little drunk or rowdy while playing you should get a guitar with a higher action). The spruce top has a minor blemish but I did not buy it for looks. I wanted to be able to play for more than 30 minutes without my fingers bleeding!. The G (3rd) string buzzed a little but I tweaked the neck adjustment and all is well. I rating this a "10" for the action above all else!

I have never been in a band. Just backyard partys. I have yet to polish this guitar and she still looks new. I can see it lasting for a good long time. I see no reason not to use it for live playing.

Never needed warranty. Most questions are already answered accurately by the website. I have traded emails with the company and always get a prompt reply

I have been playing on and off for several years. Own an Alvarez and a Yamaha Classical acoustics. I was shopping high end Taylors and Martins before finding this guitar. I have no disillusions about making it in the music biz so I really could not justify $1500-$3000 for a decent guitar. As it turns out all you need is $600 and you can have a nice guitar that will fit the bill for a long time.

fullsize cutaway, grover tuners, gloss finish that is solid but not overdone,sensible electronics(built in tuner a handy plus).

Suits playing style very well,used it with an ibanez acoustic amp the other night through a PA,and had excellent results,no feedback issues on the low end etc......

action is unmatched,had a bit of a panic when a bandmate (who plays w/ a heavy hand to say the least)blew a g string in the middle of a set...was worried because I didnt bring any spare string pegs(I have a few guitars that need to have the pegs hammered down or they shoot 20 yards at inopportune times)..changed the string,gently pushed the pin,tuned and finished the gig without touching it again....sweet indeed

have used live several time w/great results..no screwing aroud between songs tuning etc..even w/considerable string bending etc...a very capable companion so far...also has survived several camping trips as well...unlike several of my fellow players....

have had no need for customer service...thats a good thing....but can say that sales and follow up, shipping etc have been stellar

playing 33 years..have an ovation "preacher" solid body electric,seagull 12 string (which the head is splitting on by the way...firewood) a strat and an alvarez..fender tube amp,digitech rp1 electronics,ibanez acoustic amp,the Zager sounds good w/all of them.shopped around alot first..lots of nice stuff out there..dollar for dollar the best all around win I've found.Good way to put it-wouldnt win every category,but has to take best overall...

Full guitar specification: http://www.zagerguitar.com/index.cfm?event=public.store.guitars.view&id=30

Simply wonderful guitar. Denny Zager modifies these guitars, essentially minimizing the distance between strings and frets, and providing enough distance between strings, which makes it very comfortable to play. It has a crystal clear, bright sound. There's absolutely nothing I dislike about it. The guitar sounds like some models that cost 4 times as much.

Guitar was almost usable out-of-the-box (just required a little tuning adjustment, which is normal of course). It was firmly packaged, no flaws at all.

This is a guitar you can depend on: its made out of solid materials, and gives a solid impression.

Emails were responded to quickly, the shipping was very punctual. Some surprise gifts (extra strings, ...) were included with the guitar.

I've been playing guitar for about 4 years now, and I've had this model for about a week. I'm absolutely amazed with the quality, certainly for the price I paid it. If it got stolen or lost, I'd buy a new one immediately. I'm very happy about the service offered by Denny & Dennis Zager: they respond to emails almost immediately, and the guitar was shipped perfectly on time (even a day early).

the only thing its missing which isnt a standard for most acoustics anyway is a neck mounted strap peg

It's freakin awesome! I way more then my money's worth, but I have noticed the ZAD-80 does sound a little better since purchasing it... So i'll probably buy one of those in the future

NO guitar comes this perfectly set up.... EXCEPT for a Zager!! I litterally played my guitar with no more then 10 minute break for 10 hours before I just plain couldnt take it anymore... I can hit bar chords so much better then before, hell I can hit any chord then ever before... this thing is cool!

It is put together masterfuly, but its lighter then my old one that went through a TON of beatings... so time will tell I guess

WOW! is a good word for it... they respond to all emails usually within a few hours, they include free strings, a shirt, and some other cool stuff with your order... they are top notch

I picked up guitar around 8 months ago... I worked the hell out of a cheap acoustic and my fingers to get where I am now. I sure wish I had this guitar since the begining... It's scarey to think how far I would be right now if I did. I've owned my ZAD-50CE for less than 2 weeks and have already doubled the number of songs I can play. This thing litterally took me to a whole new level. I'll be buying a ZAD-80CE in the future im sure

I think I've found the only guitar company I'm ever going to deal with, if they didnt make a better model... I would go as far to say that this is the last guitar I'll ever own.

-2004
-USA
-Solid Top
-3-way + auto tuner
-Don't know
-Don't know
-Maple and Spruce
-Gloss
-Grover Tuners

Fantastic - acoustic playing
N/A
N/A
Full sound with a nice hint of brightness
Tremendously balanced across the strings and the frets

Best action on the market........period!! Requires virtually no pressure to form bar chords all the way up and down the fretboard
Nut and saddle are hand carved.........no flaws
Bookmatched perfectly

-yes
-yes
-yes
-yes
-yes
-yes

-The best company of any kind I have dealt with on a purchase
-N/A
-Lifetime

- 40 years
- N/A
-Yes, in a minute!
-Ease of play and sound depth...love the auto tuner and the spacing of the strings

Guitar made 2005 USA solid top

Received the guitar and compared it to a Martin D45, Barely any difference!!! Excellent guitar for the money. Can easily bstand between Martins, Ginsons and Taylors. Actually I can't believe they can make a guitar for this price. The electronics are top notch. I will be ordereing a second one soon. We use this for Live performances
and I am extremely happy I found this guitar