Esteban American Legacy Limited Edition

Review for an American Legacy Acoustic/Electric guitar Model No. - AL 100, made in China. Year made unknown (not provided anywhere on instrument!). Top is laminated.

Sounds like a low end, naslly, laminate constructed acoustic/electric guitar.

Action!?! How about the kind of action that keeps you from wanting to play the guitar EVER AGAIN! I would expect this kind of poor set up from a 5th grade school wood shop project.

Moving on, the fretboard is of low quality wood. It almost looks as if it was painted black to make you think it was ebony only as evidenced by the white streaks here and there that also cover up some of the abalone-like position markers.

Quality of the tuners is marginal at best. There is just too much play in them before they actually activate the gearing to turn the peg and string (sheez!).

Reliability: the question isn't whether this guitar can withstand live playing but rather who could withstand the pain of playing it period. Considering that, and that it doesn't produce all that great of a sound, I'm sure it is very durable because it's not likely to see much real playing....

This guitar is what happens when you stay up late and watch slick produced infomercials that are designed to take advantage of trusting but uninformed consumers.

Who am I to make such scathing comments? I am a professional musician & instructor of over 16 years. I own and teach from an independent music instruction studio where our focus is on guiding, sharing and inspiring each student to learn and play.

Although I have seen this guitar advertised late at night, this is the first time I have encountered one. It belongs to a new student of mine who has been struggling to play the most basic things on it - easy one finger chords and notes in first position (especially at the first fret).

At first I chalked it up to the typical "beginners" fingers experience and encouraged her to hang in there while her fingers slowly developed calluses. Today she came in with a broken string so I had her use my Ibanez PF20 which I bought as a cheap camp guitar years ago. Whaddayaknow, all of the sudden she could PLAY! She got a huge smile on her face and she was able to play more in this one lesson than she had in the last two. She was THRILLED when I loaned it to her to practice on until the next lesson - during which time I'll need to make some adjustments to the nut (and maybe the bridge...).

My recommendation; anyone considering this guitar could do SO much better spending the same amount of money AND buying from a local dealer. heck even the case this thing came with is cheaply made and falling apart (one zipper is shot and once the last one goes she'll have to use a bungee cord).

Sorry Esteban, but to anyone who really wants to ENJOY playing the guitar the DON'T BUT THIS ONE!!!

I bought the Estaban accoustic/electric guitar about a year ago. Being a new guitar player I didn't want to spend a lot of money in case I was no good at it. When my guitar arrived I was surprised at the good looks of it. The finish was perfect. It has a couple of dings now after bumping it into things. It plays amazingly well for an inexpensive guitar. My guitar playing friends are surprised at the sound it makes. They say it plays and sounds even better than their expensive guitars. I have heard Martin, Flambeau, and other brands of guitars and they sound flat and lifeless compared to the old Estaban. The Estaban has a clear tone and nice ring to it. I feel sorry for those who did not get the quality I got in this guitar.

unbelievable good sound. with the amp it is very versatile with many different sounds

the action is a little slow to me, but plays quick with experienced players.

I have only had the guitar about a year, but it has held up well without any warping or twisting.

Haven't needed any customer support, so don't know.

Only benn playing about a year, really like the guitar and am sattisfied with it. If it was lost or stolen I would probably buy an electric guitar. I love the looks and sound and have no complaints about it. I only wish I played better so as not to insult this fine musical instrument.

I assume that this piece of crap was made in 2007. I wanted a campfire guitar and my Yamaha was just a bit too expensive to take with me camping. I saw this on Home Shopping and it looked good so I took the plunge. Well what a mistake that was. The guitar arrived and when I opened the box I was overcome by fumes, that to me seemed toxic. I left the guitar out in the garage for a week to see if that smell would go away. It did a bit but next I was greeted by some black crud coming off on my fingers when I picked it up to first play it. It smelled like a varnish or something. It stunk up my fingers as well. Anyways I threw it in the car and headed out for the camping spot. After we got the fire started I brought it out and tried to tune it up for a song. As soon as I turned the tuning pegs the bridge lifted right off the ratwood soundboard. Strings went flying and I cursed the maker of this pile of junk. I smashed it against the picnic table, waking up other campers then threw the remains into the fire. I was glad to see the end of it.

I never even got a note off of this junk toy. The bridge lifted as soon as I tried to tune it up.

The tuners were cheap. Like about $.49 for a set of six. The wood was wet and smelled like chemicals. It probably would be illegal to use whatever they used on it over here. The action when I first viewed it should have been and indication that it would be unplayable. Any fret below the 3rd fret was just way to high to even finger a note. Hand-made indeed! Never buy without playing a guitar first at your local guitar shop.

It lasted 30 seconds when I tried to tune it up, plus 2 minutes while I eyed it over when i got it, plus about 30 more seconds while I smashed it to bits. Had I not smashed it, the thing would have fallen apart all on it's own in a matter of weeks I'm sure.

Does anyone have Esteban's phone number? It's 2:15 a.m. and I'd like to talk to him about this guitar that he was raving on about.

I was a sucker for buying this. I should have known better. You have been warned. DO NOT BUY AN ESTEBAN PRODUCT OF ANY SORT. You will be getting ripped off if you do. Please learn from my stupid mistake.

Thank you.

You need to be skeptical of these guitars. This is an instrument that is as ugly as it sounds.

If I had to describe it in a sentence: Mr. Plywood and Ms. Plastic married and had this Chinese son.

Seriously, the body is all plywood (the neck is solid but I don't count bottom-grade wood as solid), the hardware is plastic (covered in foil to look like metal), and the craftsmanship was horrid.

The sound is buzzy and thin, not even good thru the amp at high distortion. The amp makes even my Gibson Les Paul Standard sound horrible.

I got to borrow a Martin recently, and I A/B'd that and the Esteban. The Martin blew the Esteban away.

I invited some friends and they listened blindly to the comparison of my guitars. They could tell that the Esteban was buzzy and thin. They even preferred my old Yamaha that I learned on (which, to be fair, sounds great).

These Estebans had a high action the last time I tried them (about a couple years back), and these things still have high action. Finish had a fly in it, just like the last time I bought an Esteban, but this time it was right near the soundhole.

I found a new blemish every day on this monster.

Neck was twisting and warping, frets were starting to fall out, and tuners pung like mad and ate strings. (Pung being past tense of ping). Also, when the glue holding the body together failed, the thin plastic binding was the only thing holding it together. I give it another day before it finally conks out.

Bought it off a friend, and he's not exactly customer support.

If the Esteban got stolen or lost I'd thank the thief for taking this piece of junk off my hands.

I waste my money to buy these Estebans to review so you don't have to waste your money. You could do better with a $100 plywood special, at least you'll save the money. You don't need an awful-sounding amp if you really want to go acoustic. I recommend that you start on a good brand with a solid top (Epiphone and Yamaha come to mind). They both have good models in the $200 neighborhood (Epiphone DR-200S, or if you need a starter pack, the DR-90S starter pack, or for the Yamaha, the FG700S).

If you want electric, then buy a good one like an Epiphone Les Paul Studio or a Fender Standard Strat and maybe a good small tube amp like the Epiphone Valve Junior or Fender Champion 600. The electric starter packs seem to be worse than the acoustic starter packs, the Epiphone Specials seem to be plywood.

My big message for you is to avoid plywood like the plague.

You should be skeptical of these guitars...or at least you should have been in the past. This is a wonderful instrument that looks as beautiful as it sounds.

The sound can best be described as clean and rich. I was truly surprised by the un-amplified sound as well as the "amped" sound.

My son who plays a Martin was truly impressed by the sound of this guitar as well. Apparently, whatever problems they had in the past have now been resolved.

My son played one song on this and his Martin. Out of the five people listening downstairs, four chose "B" as the best sounding version. "B" was the Esteban.

It sounds like Esteban guitars have had a rather high action in the past. Not the case with the 2006 model. This model averaged 4.5 out of five stars from the HSN owners. The only complaints were regarding AMP issues and not the guitar itself.

The attention to detail is perfect. I could not find any blemishes, glue, or anything else wrong with this guitar. Perfect!

Guitar is new to me but my 18 year old son has been playing for 8 years. He really likes this guitar and seems a little upset about paying so much for his Martin. I would replace this if it was lost or stolen.

If you are considering a good acoustic in this price range, choose this Esteban or one of the new Pearl Guitars.

Great buy based on "sound" alone.
Super buy based on looks. Incredible buy for both.