Zager ZAD-50CE

Too soon to tell but appears to be solid

I received prompt, professional, and courteous responses to all of my emails. Denny Zager was very helpful with every aspect of my purchase. COuldn't be more pleased.

I would definitely recommend Zager guitars. For the money, the instrument and the customer service cannot be beat.

Check web site for list of features. Most importantly, the EZ-Play system
Amazing engineering!

Absolutely the best sounding acoustic guitar I've played. I've recorded albums with a mid 60's Martin D28 and the Zager sounds equally as rich and brilliant. The projection is crisp , rich and full of tone. Wonderful spectrum. The mids are smooth and mellow, the lows are deep yet clear and the highs are definitive and crisp. I also play it through a Marshall AS50D for an unbelievable sweet tone.The sound must be heard to be appreciated!

The finish is impeccable. It could be coffee table art. Solid craftsmanship through and through. Binding , fret work, inlay, finish all top shelf. You can expect the same quality from a high end guitar costing quadruple the price. It came right out of the case IN TUNE and set up perfectly. I am used to playing electric guitar and I was apprehensive of committing to play acoustic due to the uncomfortable experience playing other acoustic that had stiff, high action. I continue to be thrilled at how easily this guitar plays. I can work the whole neck and not get fatigued.

I've had the guitar just a few weeks, but it is built very sturdy and solidly. Proper care will insure that this guitar will last the life of the player and then be able to be passed on to the next player in the family.

"Johhny on the spot" should summerize. I had a few question before I placed my order and it seems that Denny Jr. was on his computer when I emailed my questions in because he responded very soon afterward. It not someone in India folks, support is right here and personel. No form letter emails here.

I did A LOT of research before I purchased this guitar. I actually had already placed an order for a Carvin (great electrics) then cancelled that order and bought the Zager. I am very happy I did! I played all the Carvins at the showroom as well as many others at guitar center and hands down the Zager beat them all in action AND sound.
Bottom line, if you're looking for an incredible guitar, buy a Zager. They will guarantee your satisfaction or every penny will be refunded, even shipping. Carvin offers 10 days to decide(less shipping) Zager gives you a month! No questions asked. Zager = win, win.

This is my first accoustic/electric guitar that I have ever owned. I stumbled across the Zager website accidently when I was searching the web for accoustic guitars. The model I chose is the ZAD-50CE with the black, hi-gloss finish. The finish on this guitar is as perfect as humanly possible. It is a dreadnought design with a venetian cutaway to make it easier to finger the high notes. It has a solid spruce top, mahogany back and sides, and a rosewood bridge and fretboard. The electronics has an onboard equalizer and a tuner! What really sold me on this guitar are the modifications that Denny Zager makes to it so that it will be easier to play. The nut is customized allowing the strings to be a bit farther apart and lower to the fretboard. The frets are filed down so that the strings don't buzz against it. Plus a couple other modifications that just make the guitar easier to play. The neck is also thinner than most guitars so it is easier to form chords, etc. Especially if you have small to medium sized hands.

This is my first accoustic guitar so I don't really have anything to compare it to. But all I can say is that the sound is clean and vibrant. There is no buzzing or tinny sounds. Just full with good tone. Even though this is an accoustic electric I have been enjoying that 'unplugged' sound that I haven't even tried plugging it into my Peavey amp yet.

Having had only two other guitars, both being solid body electrics, I can truthfully say that my Zager is MUCH easier to play than any of my other guitars. Both my solid body electrics were purchased from a local music store so I just assumed the actions were adjusted by one of their technicians before the guitars were sold. I was always hesitant about buying a guitar through the internet because I didn't believe the sellers would set up the guitars properly. Maybe I just got lucky by choosing a Zager but this guitar is super easy to play and my left hand doesn't get tired trying to hold down the strings.

I have not has this guitar long enough to judge long term durability so I am not going to offer an opinion at this point. But my gut feeling is that it can stand up to anything you put it through as long as it isn't abused. This guitar stays in tune for several days, probably due to its light action and quality gears. As I said earlier the black, hi-gloss finish is beautiful. I am very careful to not let belt buckles or shirt buttons or anything like that to rub against the guitar and possibly scratch it since any dark, hi-gloss finish will show scratches more readily than a natural or sunburst type of finish.

I have not had to use Zager's customer support for any kind of warranty work but I did contact them a few times before purchasing my guitar and asked them questions. They were always willing to take as much time as possible to answer my questions and I never felt like I was being rushed to get off the phone. Also, when the customer support rep on the phone wasn't able to answer one of my technical questions he didn't try to fake an answer but informed me that he would have to find out that answer from Denny Jr. and get back to me. That impressed me. I don't fault someone for not knowing something when they are more than willing to seek out the correct answer and get back to me.

I have been playing guitar on and off since I was 15. I am now 54. I am by no means an accomplished player. I play for my own enjoyment. This Zager just makes it easier for me to sound better. On my electrics I always had problems with forming clean chords where my fingers didn't touch an adjacent string. The wider string spacing on the Zager alleviates that. I can wholeheartedly recommend a Zager guitar to anyone looking for a high quality instrument at a reasonable price.

Natural finish on top. Grover tuners. It has 20 frets and the cutaway allows access to all of them. The guitar has a built in tuner, which is in itself a great feature. The built in electronics sound just great.

I have played guitar about 60 years, various styles. I now play country, bluegrass, and my latest endeavor is playing the blues. The Zad-50ce does great playing the blues, and country. For bluegrass, I prefer my 1954 Martin. However that is just for shear volumn. The Zad is so much easier to play.

I was unable to find any flaws when I received it. It was very slightly out of tune. The action is unbeatable. I have been a heavy player and it takes a little practice to play so easily, I find myself gripping the neck chords too much, un necessarily.

I really bought this guitar to take on gigs instead of my 1954 Martin, which has become too expensive to carry around and possible damage. After playing the Zad for awhile, I take as good care of it as I do the Martin. I truly love the way it play.
I thought Zager should have installed the strap button. I did so without any problem, using Zager's suggestion on the placement.
I depend on this guitar to take the place of my Washburn, my Jazzmaster andat time my Martin.

How can you go wrong with a life time warranty. I contacted Denny Zager Jr. as to his recommendation on the placement of the strap button. The answer was within 5 minutes. Very helpful and friendly.

I am 75 years old and have been playing guitar for almost 60 years. I own a 1954 Martin acoustic, a washburn acoustic. A 1964 Fender Jazzmaster electric. Through the years I've had numerous brands.
The Zad-50ce I bought as a backup, but find it is lighter than my others and plays easier and sounds about as good. It is my primary guitar now.

I have read a lot about Zagar guitars before I bought this one. With a $ back guarantee I saw no risk - but I have had it for 5 months and would never return it. A friend has a recording studio here in Las Vegas and I have let several studio musicians play it and they all have said it is really an exceptional instrument. The only flaw I could find is a slight rattle on the bass E string but the company said if I found anything wrong I could send it back to be rectified. I can fix the problem myself but it is so slight I haven't done that yet.

The quality of the components are as good as I could have picked myself.

This guitar plays beautifully!!! I attend acoustic guitar get- togethers in several locals and have tried custom guitars costing #5000 and up - I even had a classic Gibson tuned by Chet himself - but have never played one that feels better than this Zagar. I know, it sounds crazy for the price they charge but it's true and I have communicated with several pros that say the same thing.

I give this instrument a 9 1/2 and recommend it and the Zagar company highly.

Dr. Richard Stoll

This guitar is amazing. The Zad-50ce is a dreadnought acoustic with a solid spruce top and mahogany back, sides, and neck. The second I took it out what i noticed was the sheer beauty of it. It looked better than many of the high end Martins and Taylors out there.It has 21 frets with a cutaway. Also, the electronics are by Fishman that has an electronic tuner built in. The tuning is really on cue mainly because of the Grover sealed tuning pegs (the same as Martin's, Taylor's, and Gibson's $1500-$3000+ guitars use) but also a lot of it is the way that he teaches you to put the strings on and the way that the nut does not constrict the string, but lets it flow. The controls are a volume control, two kinds of tuning (auto and by notes) with an LCD display, 3-band EQ, and a presence control. An extra plus they put in is the abalone shell inlay around the sound hole, you won't find that on many guitars that cost under $3000. I bought the guitar with a pro molded case that has a humidity/temperature sensor, and the guitar came with an extra pack of Martin strings, two soft large picks, and a random gift, I got a T-shirt but I heard you can also get capos and such.

First of all, this is NOT a Martin copy as some reviews say. Martin prides its sound mostly on the bass end of the EQ, but the Zad 50ce is a happy medium between a very nice full bass and bright, VERY clean, shimmering highs. The guitar is great for any purpose, it is one of the most versatile guitars because of the fullness of this spectrum. My favorite thing about this guitar though goes to Mr. Zager's knowledge of how to brace a guitar. The sound coming out of this guitar is by far the loudest, most dynamic, colorful, clean, downright most beautiful I have ever heard. It made my Ibanez sound like a stick with strings and made many of the around $2000 dollar guitars that I play sound dull and dead. My only qualm is the slight stiffness of the sound, but because it is completely new rather than sitting on a shelf for a long time in a music store, so the wood hasn't aged yet and the stiffness is expected. In most cases even with high end expensive guitars, a guitar wouldn't sound anywhere this good out of the box new.

This guitar plays like my Gibson... and I'm not talking about an acoustic, I play a Les Paul Standard Premium Plus as my main. The Zager plays like an electric guitar with crazy low action. Also, I have to say that every single square millimeter of this guitar is as perfect as humanly possible, and then some. The neck is as straight as an arrow and the contour of the body is just right. The nut slides easily and holds really well. The frets are hand filed and each note played is in perfect tune. The transducer makes the entire guitar come out surprisingly clean out of an amp. Overall, this guitar is perfect in every way, I found no flaws in the finish, the wood actually looked like a golden brown which was a nice cosmetic plus. Again my only qualm is that a better wood like rosewood would be nicer with the spruce top, but the mahogany is great as well.

I would take this guitar and will take this guitar anywhere I go, I would use this guitar without a backup, but then again I try to only buy equipment that I know will last without me worry about it getting destroyed, it's something you do not want to worry about when performing. I would not be surprised if i keep this for the rest of my life as my main acoustic. What else can I say that tops that?

This is another aspect where they shine bright. Send them an email, you get a reply usually under an hour, once I got it back in 10 minutes and that reply was paragraphs long. The warranty on this thing isn't some cheap 3 year protection, it is a LIFETIME warranty. Wow. Also, if you don't like the guitar, you get a 100% money back guarantee, no restocking fees, not even shipping fees, they give you back the money for the shipping back and forth. To show you how much they back-up their guitars, Denny Zager signs every single one on the back and puts his reputation on the line. Also, they lose sleep over the thought of having unhappy costumers. He said this in an email i got back...
"First of all I want you to know that we want our customers happy, and if you are not happy with your guitar we want it back. Our integrity means everything to us and if I have even one customer out there who I think is unhappy with their new guitar I don???t sleep well at night. "

I am an electric guitar player for the most part, but I have been asked to do some acoustic work recently, so I decided to invest in an acoustic guitar that sounded good but was pretty cheap.

My current guitar setup is:
a Gibson Les Paul Standard Premium Plus -> Dunlop Cry Baby -> Xotic Rc Booster -> Visual Sound Route 66 -> Cusack Screamer Fuzz -> Input of Carvin Belair -> Send of Carvin Belair -> Ernie Ball Volume Jr. (connected to Boss TU-2 from tuner output to reduce tone loss because tuners suck a lot of tone) -> Boss DD-5 (connected to a Boss FS-5U from the tempo input for tap tempo) -> Return of Carvin Belair.

I love everything about this guitar, but when I got it, I didn't know what to think of the sound.. then I went to Sam Ash to test it out with others. The highest quality Martin they had was a $2700 HD-15 and it sounded dull compared to the Zager, same thing with a $2900 Taylor, and it definitely has better playability than either one. I'm going to Guitar Center over the weekend to compare some $3000+ guitars with it. Again, if you compare it to anything in its price range, it will make the others sound like sticks with strings attached to them. If it were stolen or lost, I would buy another one on the spot, or try the Zad 80ce but definitely a Zager. But, the greatest thing about this guitar is that all of my descriptions would only truly match with a guitar that is at least $2500, yet you can get this guitar for under $650. It will be hard to find anything of this caliber both tone and playability wise under $2000.

This is a ZAD 50 CE dreadnaught with on board tuner, equalizer, Mahogany back and sides. solid spruce top.

Pros The sound is great, bright seems to put life in the chords and notes. The harmonics is perfect on this guitar.

Cons NONE

The action is the best I have ever seen or played. I have never played a guitar that is so easy to play.
The fit looks as though it is hand made.

I am sure that it will with stand any type of playing. the finish is great. the hardware solid.

THE WARRANTY IS FOR LIFE. DENNY and DENNIS ZAGER HAVE CARVED IT IN STONE. It doesn't get any better than that.

This guitar is by far the best guitar I have ever played, This includes my Gibson Hummingbird, or my Fender Stratocaster. I have played Martins, Epiphones, Washburns, Gretch. I would pick a Zager guitar over any other brand.

I did considerable research on buying a guitar. I'm a beginner and I was looking for a guitar that is easy to play and is manufactured with quality. Upon receipt of my Zaeger, I found the finish to be flawless. The wood used in the manufacture of my guitar is beautiful and it also included a hard case with a humidifier!

Like I said, I'm a beginner that has only been playing for about 4 months in-between school at night and work during the day. My guitar has a rich sound that is great. I had my music instructor look at and play my Zager and he even commented on how great the guitar was, and couldn't believe the price; nor the "no questions asked" return policy and lifetime warranty. Try getting that from other major manufacturers?

My Zager came completely set up right out of the box. I could find no flaws with anything on the guitar. This attests to the quality and care used in the construction and set-up of the guitar; as well as the care in packing and shipping the guitar. I'm completely happy.

I don't know about withstanding live playing, because it will be a long time to get to that level; however, I think my Zager will last as long as I can play it!

I haven't found it necessary to have any repairs made; however, I converse with Mr. Zager's corporation via emails and alway, I repeat always get a quick and helpful response. When I was looking for a guitar, I chatted with Mr. Zager personally several times via email about what I wanted to do with a guitar, my skill level, and finances. At no time did he pressure me to purchase his product, and I believe that he would have been happy if I hadn't purchase one of his guitars, because it's about playing and making the customer happy.

Like I said, I'm a beginner only playing for a few months. I'm 49 and have never had any musical experience; but I love playing my Zager. I also have a Gibson Les Paul Swamp Ash, a First Act electric (yeah, it came with the VW). I can find no faults with the Zager at all and I'm impressed by workmanship and quality. I chose the Zager because of the ease of which it plays. I'm completely happy withthis product and would purchase another one if I were to ever need another guitar.

has a nice fishman pickup vary will made looks just like a Martin.

Sound is Befutiful real value.

Looks Great easy on fingers the way Denny Zager has it set up.

Just got it last night, it has alife time warranty, and they treated me more than fairly.

Dennis Zager is the best he whent out of his way to make shure that i was happy, even though I made a mastike and ordered the wrong guitar he made it right.

Just started playing will be taking the Zager Music lessons on line.

- EZ-Play Modified
- Full size Dreadnought
- Solid Spruce Top
- Mahogany Back & Sides
- Rosewood Bridge
- Rosewood Fret-Board
- Gloss Finish
- Scalloped X-bracing
- Hand carved custom nut
- Hand carved custom saddle
- Hand filed frets
- Sealed Grover Tuning Gears
- Abalone inlay rosette
- Tortoise shell pick guard

How does it suit your music style
ACOUSTIC
Is it noisy? no fret buzz at all
Rich Full Bright sound

How well was the guitar set-up at the factory? excellent

Properly bookmatched top? yes

Did the guitar contain any flaws? yes there are small spots on each side of the nut where the finish is chipped and the binding was still kinda rough on the bottom front

Will this guitar withstand live playing? YES
Does the hardware seem like it will last? YES
Is the finish good enough to last, or does it seem thin and easy to wear off with lots of playing? NOT SURE
Are the strap buttons solid? ONLY 1 STRAP BUTTON
Can you depend on it? YES
Would you use it on a gig without a backup? YES

Customer Support
Ever try and get it repaired? NO

How long is the warranty?...LIFETIME
If you've dealt with the company, how helpful/friendly were they? AWSOME DENNY JR. IS A NICE GUY ON THE BALL AND VERY PROFESSIONAL

How long have you been playing? 30 + YEARS

What other gear do you own? FENDER,MESA BOOGIE,MARSHALL,GIBSON,ATLAS,SUZUKI

Is there something you wish you had asked before buying this guitar? NO

If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again YES

What do you love about it? EVERYTHING!IT IS LIKE HAVING A MAGIC WAND IT PLAYS LIKE BUTTER AND YOU CAN WRITE AWSOME SONGS AND IT IS REALLY NICE TO PLAY

Did you compare it to other guitars? NO


Why did you choose this one? BECAUSE I LIKE THE ATTENTION TO DETAIL IT IS HARD TO FIND GOOD QUALITY NOW DAYS! AND OF COURSE THE PRICE IS UNBEATABLE..