Esteban D-100 American Legacy

junk

junk

junk

junk

none

this will cause your beginner to never pick up a guitar again.
go to guitar center and buy the 139.00 mitchell its a real musical instrument thast will inspire the beginner. forget the accassories you dont need them. a pack of picks and a strap will cost you 10.00
its not an electric guitar and will never sound like one no matter what amp you buy. you can buy an electric guitar and amp beinner set at guitar center for 199.00 so for 339.00 you have gear that he/she can use for years to come. be smart

Made in this millenium (I think) in China...a real "vintage-classic" instrument of sheer torture and shame. 22 frets of some inferior razor wire (should rust up nice and quick to make it a "relic"!) The top? It's a top...maybe a paper mache laminated in boat expoxy (whatever it is is biohazardous and never goes away...I mistakenly left it in a warm garge to "cure" and the glue weeped out all over the place...kind of a psychodelic lookin' glob of "stuff" both inside and outside this "instrument". Pick ups? Maybe....can;t tell....the stupid amp it came with smokes (maybe more of that glue holding things in place?) Neck....cool neck! Not only was it horribly bowed, but it was tweisted like a curly fry! "Custom" I call it. The "truss rod" seems to be scrap metal from a cheap plumbing place. The acti0on at the nut was probably 1/4" and at the 12th fret about 7/8"....I though of using this POS as a stand up or wastub style bass! Bridge? No bridge, really, jjst a chunk of uncompensated plastic to run the crappy strings over...but that glue? In three days, the "bridge lifted and shifted....kind of like a gyroscope...never in the same place! Tuners? I guess a vice grip might fix them, but that crappy foil over pot metal (maybe they call it custom chrome?) set of tuners won;t hold a tune...not even a half note! The frets stick out about 1/2" from the sloppy fretboard and cut you to shreds (kind of a new term for "shredding"!) and the finish comes off on your hands, arms, everywhere!

If I was totally tone deaf, one handed, possibly a devotee of self inflicted pain and audible torture, this would be a ghreat guitar, but...since I hate my in-laws, I can use it to "play" for them....loving every horrible, distorted, out of tune and crappy noise this monster bad *** cranks out! The sound is consistant...consistantly horrendous and painful! It can make a cat bury its head!

Nice action if you like stand up 3/4 basses....or cellos! The pick ups donp;t "adjust"...they barely work at all (a Godsend, really!) Flaws? THAT they have matered! Flaws enough to suit a full size orchestra and then some!

Well..."will it withstand playing"....no....it isn't playable at all...it's a cheap and poor toy at best, a nifty wall decoration at worst (it would have been cool if Esteban supplied one of his plastic Zorro hats and a cheap pair of suinglasses to complete the display!) I can depend on it to be as crappy as it was Day One. A back up? Sure...just not another Esteban!

I don;t think Esteban has a phone...maybe in China....a party line, most likely.

I have been playing 30 years (long enough to know that an Esteban isn't a kinda Martin or Taylor)...I should have asked about materials, features, and all that, but I am sure I would have encounered a shoe salesman, fast talkin', New England/New York guy with a headset ("Are ya followin' me, camera guy?!)

If it were stolen or lost, I'd say a prayer (I'd claim it was a Martin Dreadnaught...Esteban makes it sound like one, so why not?)

I hate everything about it but love that this thing sounds so terribvle that I actually enjoy banging on it to annoy my inlaws!

Compared to other guitars? Really....I can;t compare...it isn't a guitar; it's a chunk of decaying, chemically soak, poorly painted, POS OSB or something!

Saw it advertised on HSN. Have a Washburn guitar but was enthralled by all that the it included.
Guitar, 10 instructional dvd's, a hard case, extra strings, an amp, and a chord chart for $205 to my door.

Didn't sound bad after I got it tuned. Played a G chord just fine and then when I went to a C chord----sounded like fingers on a black board. Finally realized that the second fret was higher, much higher, than the rest.
Guitar was useless.
Thought I'd take a look at the instructional DVD'S but the sencond one in the set appeared that it had been dragged across the cement. Wouldn't play past the 5th track.
Such a shame.

Don't know much about guitars but it was average compared to my Washburn. I bought it mainly for the instructional DVD's and to have a second guitar for the kids or wife should they decide to learn. Obviously cheaply made.

The guitar and package lasted about 3 hours whereas it was packaged back up and dropped off at the local UPS pick-up to be sent back to HSN for a refund. Since the guitar was junk and the DVD's appeared to be used and scratched...........I opted to have nothing more to do with this.

Sent an email to Estabon web site just to let them know that they were sending out junk and received no reply.
Happy to get my money back but it's too bad that he attaches his name to so poor overall a product.

Gave it a try. Didn't expect to sound like the one on TV but expected it to be playable.

This guitar was made in China and has 22 jumbo frets. Appears to have a solid spruce top. Finish is really quite nice, although it does have the "glossy" manufactured look about it - what did you expect. I have heard horror stories about other Esteban guitars, but I was pleasantly surprised. Hardware is not top-notch but not horribly flawed either.

I play mostly rock, so I use acoustics on a limited basis for ballads or when I'm writing songs around the house. I've run it through an old Peavey TNT amp and it actually sounds okay (I use it to play with drop tunings). This guitar is okay, very similar to my Yamaha D-75. I like a bit more trebly sound like I get from my Takamine, but all in all this guitar was acceptable.

The guitar did have some setup problems, in particular the action seemed to be set exceptionally high, but all in all, about what you'd expect from a mass produced axe. A couple of hours work got it into reasonable shape. Otherwise, I was pleased with the construction.

I think this guitar would withstand live playing, though I would change the tuners since they seem to be the weak link in the hardware chain. I wouldn't gig without a backup, but that's true even for my Takamine.

I got this guitar in trade for a frankenstein solid body I had put together from spare parts so I've never had to contact customer support. I think the guy I got it from had the whole package, but all he gave me was the guitar.

I've been playing for 20 some odd years and own a Takamine EG561 and Yahama FG75 as well as a few assorted solid body electrics. I was completely surprised by this guitar because I had been given an Esteban earlier by a friend of mine that was absolute crap. I don't know if they found another manufacturer or what but there has been a 180 degree turn around in quality. It sounds decent amplified, so the pickup is not bad. I would say this is probably a case of you get about what you pay for or maybe even a little more since I know these things are not expensive. I don't know that I would necessarily buy another if it was lost or stolen, but I think Estebans are sometimes given a bum rap (and I've experienced one of the awful ones myself) but the one I own now is not that bad.

The guitar is JUNK! It had to be returned and I can't seem to get a replacement! Yet alone get a descent guitar!

Like crap! The neck was faulty bowed and warped. It hurt my fingers to even attempt to play.

Looks good on the outside! Very poor quality! Stay away from this one!!!!

Recieved as junk! It can't even be fixed. I wanted a replacement but the company can't seem to find a good one to send. Or that's what it seems like... it has been impossible trying to get a replacement!

Worse than the guitar!

Stay AWAY!!!! VERY FAR AWAY FROM THIS JUNK! They take your money and don't give you anything in return!

Iam 67 yrs old.I have 2 Gibsons a Greco,a Wayman banjo.I have had a
Country Gentleman,a Fender Bass,a Strat,Gibson L-60,a Pat Mathaney
GR-700,a George Benson and others.I purchased the Estaban D-100 for my
grandson.I may buy another for myself.Sounds great,the action is as good as you could expect for this style guitar.Only a very slight flaw
on the outside edge of the 18th fret.A touch of furniture polish and
it's fine.The amp,strapes,cords,strings,CD's,and case were nice extra's.I would have bought it without them.

I saw it on HSN (where I get all my jewelry from) and was won over. I thought it would be a good gift for my beloved Sonic.

When I got it, it was a plywood abomination. "Frets" were practically barbed wire. The fancy designs were just painted on, and the wood was plywood rejected from cheap furniture. The "tuners" don't do anything to change the pitch of the strings.

My boyfriend says it sounded horrible, and it makes my singing sound good. (By the way, my singing sucks.)

After he played this guitar, finish was all over his hands. He says I could put strings on my big squeaky hammer (I call it Piko Piko) and it'd play better than this.

The neck cracked shortly after he started playing it. The tuners slipped and sent the strings flying. Shortly after, the frets stuck themselves in his hands and it took three hours to pull the frets out of his hands. The finish rubs off on everything it touches.

I don't play guitar, I only bought this for my boyfriend who was picking up guitar. He saw what a deathtrap it is and dumped me. Meanwhile Sally goes out and buys him a Gibson Les Paul Custom and a Marshall stack and he now loves her.

In short, this guitar is so bad I lost my boyfriend to it. Don't buy.

It is made in China, with 22 frets. Think barbed wire. The wood has sap dripping out of it on the inside of the guitar.
Apparently, they're not beating the children who make these often enough, because the quality is that bad. If they beat them more, or made them carve the wood with a real metal tool, instead of flint flakes, this guitar would be greatly improved.

The frets are made with barded-wire fence material, make sure you're up on your Tetanus shots.

It sounds great if you can tune it to an Open G-Chord and just strum on it.
Outside of that, you're stuck, because no human being on earth could contact the strings with the fretboard beyond the 5th fret.
It simply cannot be done.

Yikes.

This guitar is not well made.

The neck is warped. The wood is green. I lit mine on fire, and after the paper-think laquer finish burned off, it went out because the wood was still wet.

The sunglass-clad Zorro strikes again.

Fraaaaaaaab...(no comment)

Like a sappy greenwood box, with a heavy urethane finish should. DEAD!

When We tried to adjust the action via the truss rod, It maxed out the rod, leaving the action at about 3/8" at the 12th fret!! What a pile! This ain't a cello gang. I guess Your supposed to take it to The local luthier to have the nut and saddle shaped, after the neck reset....

A cheesy yamaha, or even a first act would smoke this heap.

My leather Zorro hat is off to this clown for conning so many with the "Handmade" rap.Just because some guy in singapore hits it with a buffing bonnet,Doesn't mean it's Friggin Handmade Pal.
Guess It'd make a swell canoe paddle.
Do Yourself a favor and get a used Yamaha,or Kay or silvertone or washburn or Ibenez or fender or Etc...

Worst tuners I have ever seen.
Crappy finish.
Made in China.
I'd like to know if this is even made out of real wood.

Lots of sound. Most of it not good.

Worst action EVER.

I suppose you could hit someone pretty hard with this guitar like in a 3 Stooges Movie and it would be funny.

For this price?

Do NOT buy one of these cheap guitars off the internets or TV.
My wife did, even though I told her not to.
After a frustrating time playing what is pretty much an un-playable guitar, we went down to the local store and bought her a nice little Ibanez for 299 that is VERY well made in that price point.

DO NOT BUY ONE OF THESE GUITARS!!

The finish is great! There are no streaking or bumps on the paint that you might expect from a hand-painted product. It is satiny smooth and "lustrous" as they say. I got a polishing cloth included when I bought it and I love polishing it up until it just glistens. I play with a band, just small mostly local gigs a couple nights a week, and it's great the way the guitar catches the light on stage.

I use the guitar in electric mode when I play on stage. The amp is more than powerful enough for a small venue (around 100-200 people) and if you crank it in overdrive mode you can rattle the windows. The cable it comes with is a bit short for me because I like to move around on stage do some moves like windmills etc. when I'm playing so I had to pick up a longer cable. You can get some pretty good feedback out of the amp if you like to work with that. Besides that I would like a few more channels on the built-in equalizer on the guitar, especially in the lower frequencies where I play a lot.

This guitar is beautifully made. I have had no trouble with loose pegs - tune it before your set and you're good to go. I play two hours and barely touch the tuning. The frets are well glued in. I never had one come loose. They are a bit sharp when you first get it, but after a couple months of playing they smooth out.

This guitar is solid. I don't know the kind of wood they use, but who cares? It's covered in paint and laquer. This baby can take a beating. I've had it for two years and played it every day and nothing has broken. In a gig, I play hard too. With the windmills, I smack it around pretty good. Actually this is pretty embarassing, but one time I did a spin on stage, and the cable wrapped around my leg and I fell right on top of the guitar. No damage, except to my pride.

Never had to call customer support.

I would have gladly paid ten times what I paid for this guitar. It's kept a roof over my head and food on my table for two years. If I had to pick between this guitar and my girlfriend, she'd be packing her bags!

2005 made in China (i think) 22 Jumbo frets this guitar reminds me of
a very expensive guitar
BODY STYLE Electric kind of archtopery about (16" width, 3" depth)
The TOP is Laminated select spruce I think
BRACING Parallel spruce
BACK AND SIDES Laminated select flamed maple back with matching sides
NECK One-piece mahogany
FINGERBOARD 12" radius, ebony, with abalone floral inlay at 12th fret
WIDTH AT NUT 2 1/16", Roscoe's bone
WIDTH AT 14th Fret: 2 1/2"
SCALE LENGTH 25"
NUMBER OF FRETS 22
TUNING MACHINES are like Schaller? Mini with ebony buttons
BRIDGE isn't Adjustable ebony
nor are the piuckups like the ones used on a B-7
HARDWARE PLATING looked ok
Gold looking tuning machines, with a black powder coated finish to them and tailpiece was the same
FINISH Great!
Gloss nitrocellulose lacquer, by the taste
COLOR is a Honey Blonde sort of midnight black shine to it
STRINGS looked to be custom pure nickel (.012 -.072)

How does it suit your music style?
Great!

Roscoe tells me that this baby was well made by a guitar factory somewhere in the rain forest. I think it was made in a REAL guitar factory, its not even wet...

I play this guitar at all my shows. Great for banging around, NEVER goes out of tune.
It didn't come with a strap button on it (maybe it fell off?)
It arrived with a small crack above the bridge, but that hasn't increased a bit in size for over a year

never dealt with the company but I bet they would be very helpful if I did.

I've been playing for over 3 years. This guitar, a banjo and a saw.
If it were stolen I would buy another one. I love the price but hate myself for it. I didn't shop around I just won the bid and never looked back. I think these are a fantastic value if you just want to play and you don't give a phuck what anyone else thinks of your talent.

Features:
Esteban Acoustic Elecrtic made China. Standard frets. Solid top, piezo pickup with active electronics. The active preamp is on the top side of the guitar and has bass, mid, treble, volume. There is a "low battery" led that lights up only when battery is low. The tone sliders and volume knob are solid and precise. Spruce top and mahogany sides, glossy finish. Dreadnought style body, sealed tuners. Neck is standard size with thin frets, rosewood fingerboard. This included a sturdy hardsell nylon case , extra strings(junk), strap, picks, instrument cable, two dvd's, two instruction manuals, chord chart, and 10 watt Esteban amplifier(basically only adequate for home practice - at best - I gave it away for nothing). All this for about $200.00 U.S. (much info here borrowed from another review - I had same package).

Sound: After changing to D'addario strings it is a very rich, full sounding guitar. No buzzing. Actually just a very sweet sound even for an inexpensive guitar. Sounds great plugged or unplugged.

Action: Nice low action, no buzz. Larger "C" type neck might be hard to play with smaller hands, otherwise very smooth. Tuners hold well, I check but do not have to retune guitar much even if I have not picked it up for a couple of days.
Finish: Gloss Black, not perfect but very nice. No dings, no exposed glue, really no problems. Would have liked a strap button at base of neck (I added one myself) just a preference to reduce stress on neck.

I belive with proper care this will be a long lasting guitar. Surface and paint holding well after 6 months. Everything on my particular guitar seems very solid. Maybe mine came out of a "Good Production Day" at the factory.

American Legacy customer service about as good as Cell Phone customer service - terrible!!!! I had wanted the black, but they sent natural. After a lot of "holding" on the phone, guitar finally went back and I got my gloss black. If I could give them less than a "zero" here, I would.

I have seen some of the other reviews and feel that I must have had good luck with my guitar as it has no problems to speak of. I've had it for about 6 months, and it still sounds as good as it did from the start (after changing strings). This is absolutely a good guitar for the price. Would I buy another one if lost or stolen? Probably not based on the horror stories from the other reviews, but I am very happy with my particular guitar.

hey guys been playin guitar since i was a kid. my hole familey plays.my friend brought his estban over and it looked great no flaws it was a limited edition cut away neck chrome tunners and a amp with over drive .you know so you can have a little fun.i was supper impressed.it sounded like the high dollar guitars and ive played them all martins, takkakimie,wash burn .

it sounds top shelf i play all styles of music country, rock and of course some suthern rock!!!

it has tons of great toys cords amps and cleaning clothes extra strings and a tuner and some great instructional dvds. also has a pretty nice case not top of the line but its will protect it from the elimants even has a strap for your axe and your case!!

yeah only played for a few hours . it sure sounded sweet and i only tuned it when i picked it up but thats a habbit for every guitar i pick up the guy who brought it over played for a while with it too. when we were done it still was in tune because i picked it back amazed at how good this guitar sounded the amp was okay two not top notch but look at the price it sure sounded better than eny carry on amp ive played and that over ride gives you that extra kick to do a lttle hard rock hello ozzy!!!

no never delt with them let but i can promise you that im gonna call to buy one of these guitars i travel and do some camopin i know it will be with me .

i own a martin and a ovation they sound great and play grat but this guitar sound just as well or even better but i paid a pretty penny for those!!

Don't know when it was made, I only used it at a camp my sister went to. It appeared to be made from particle board at best. Honestly, I have seen toy guitars that were made better (that is if this is anything more than a toy guitar). The inlays are actually decals and on the one I played were half peeled off. The tuners can only be described using words I cannot utter in this review. Basically, its some strings on a cardbard box with some hazardous chemicals the likes of which are only legal in China sprayed onto it. On yeah, and the thing had a really nasty smell, like some sort of chemicals.

It sounded like rubber bands on a cardboard box. The action was so high that even I could hardly play it, and I am an experienced guitarist and active musician who has unusually large hands. Really though, just because it has six strings does not mean it actually sounds like a guitar.

I would prefer not to go there, but I will say that this thing is probably a bio-hazard of some type as far as the finish. The fretboard appears to be junkwood covered with black die which rubs off on your hands as you play.

Hardware is horrible. Tuners slip. Does not hold a tune. It appears to be assembled with common wood glue and on the one I used the bridge was ready to pop of (lifting severely). The frets can hurt you, as in make you bleed due to their sharpness. Actually playing this in front of people would be about as good an idea as walking into a pre-school wearing plastic rap (at least that's what its owner told me, and I agree).

They speak a different language. Enough said.

I have been playing for about 8 years. I have taught lessons to various beginning guitarists. I own Guild, Yamaha, Larrivee, and Martin acoustics and Fender, Washburn, and Gibson electrics. This is absolutely the worst excuse for a guitar I have ever seen. It is even worse than those K-mart specials. You would be better off attaching strings to a cereal box (at least it that might be more durable). If you want to learn to play guitar, I would hope that you have enough sense not to order anything, expecially a musical instrument from a TV commercial. Here's my advice. If you want a guitar don't mail order one and don't buy one at K-mart or any other department store. Find an actual music store where you walk in and see keyboards and drums all over the room and guitar hanging from the walls and ask them what might be a good beginner guitar. Before you buy a guitar you should always play it, know where it's made and with what materials, and look it over thoroughly for any faulty workmanship. The absolute best thing to do is to find yourself a guitar teacher or an experienced musician and have them come with you to pick out a guitar. You'll probably end up with an Ibanez, an Alvarez, a Yamaha, or something similar. It will play well, sound good, and hold up reasonably well if you take care of it. It may not have electronics or fake inlays, but it will be a real musical instrument, and it will sound like one.

came with a lot of stuff, but it all broke within like a month. The amplifier broke very easily (all the buttons fell off), and even when it worked it sounded terrible.

-good case though!

the sound is actually not bad, if you can keep it in tune (a very difficult achievement)

well, the nut was held onto the neck with wood glue, and that just fell off once when i was playing. overall it seams to be poorly built, but miraculously it makes a fairly good sound.

?
not reliable at all, not durable at all. i give mine two years before it's in the trash. parts keep falling off, and i have to super glue them back on, since that's all they were held on with to begin with.

havn't called.

Acoustic sound- good
overall consturction- very bad
tuning- awful
amp- awful

Year of Mfg.= about 2 minutes ago, based on the smell of fresh glue
Frets?= I thought the is was wire used for spike strips 22 of them.
Laminated ten-ply paper thin ratwood. Solid Piece of S*(#.
Pre-Amp, Claims to be "Powerful" Powerful all right all I got was an incredible hum similar to a b-1 bomber flying at 200 ft.
Make and model of pickups. No fool would put there name on this crap but Esteban.
Electronics Passive or active, how about bi-polar.
Body= seasoned ratwood or somthing from the forests of the wal-mart trash bin. Neck was bowed so badly I could use it for archry. Should have come with a set of arrows. Come to think of it, now I know what I can do with it.
Finish= Don't even go there. This thing is a bio-hazard. It should be picked up by EPA. I'm sure the paints and stains used on the piece of crap are illegal in the USA. In China they can get away with exposing their 7-year old slave workers to death traps like this. The powers of universe should sentence Esteban to play one his guitars for eternity in the fires of hell!
Bridge=The bridge broke off the minute I tried to tune it. It flew across the room and I still can't find it. No loss it was made of freek'n plywood, just like the neck.
Tuners= Mr. Grover would roll over in his grave. They slip so badly it would not stay in tune for more than 30 seconds.

Neck,Frets= Warning... the finish stains your hands after playing it, the frets stick out past the neck with shap edges similar to razor blade. This POS is an enviromental hazard!
Accesories= Crappy strap, shotty case, stupid video of an idiot in a zoro hat. Should have come with a hammer to smash the thing the minute it came out of the box. Could not be recycled, due the bio-hazard. The thing smells like a enviromental waste dump. I'm not kidding!!

I guess if is was deaf it would sound good. It tins sound is similar to a cat trying to get out of garbage can.
Rattles everywhere.
Rich/full sound= You have to be joking. FU ESTEBAN
What sounds does it make? Sounds like a dull thud or buzz like a bee hive. Pick your option.

There was not set-up in the factory unless it was done by a brain damaged worked on drugs. Action is so high you could drive a truck between the strings and fretboard.
Did it contain any flaws? Finish was running, bracing looks like cardboard, fretwire is really razor wire, it stinks inside the sound hole like a dirty diaper, or some other kind of hole I can't mention here.

Reliabilty= The bridge blew off in about 2 minutes, strings snapped and the body began to crack.

Can I depend on it? I can't even depend on the local charity gift shop to take it. Te guy there said he had well over 100 Estebans, and could not give them away. He refused any more!

Support? Your joking right. Support implies help. All I got was three hours on the phone and no results. The guy on the phone did not speak english, nor did he give a damn. Esteban calls himself a recording artist. The only artist he is a con-artist. BUYER BEWARE!!!!!!

Just learning now I want to quit.
What could I have asked before buying? How long was Esteban in jail during his last stay for selling such crap and calling it a guitar.
My favorite feature was the beautiful colors it gave off when I torched it. Must be all the "exotic" paints and glues. Nice fireworks display. Best feature of the guitar.

Esteban should take off the fake Zoro hat and face the people he sold this crap to. Must be about 20,000 of us that would love to meet this con in person FU ESTEBAN! You thief

2005 model. It came with strings... six of them... I guess they think that makes this a guitar. Some people will believe anything. This stuff isn't even plywood.

Not playable with terrible action. Sound would be improved if we kept the strings and replaced the rest of the guitar.

Poor quality, poorly built of poor materials.

You are joking right? This is an esteban. Do you really think the poeple that wrote that this is a good guitar don't work for the company?

No idea. Maybe Estaban will come to my house and collect this piece of $%^&.

Playing 25 years.
Wish I know it was not really a guitar before the purchase.
Replace it? I just hope not to be charged to dump it. Goodwill turned it down. They said they have had several of them but THEY GET RETURNED!

Purchased the Legacy guitar online about eight months ago.

It arrived quickly with no delay.

The guitar "package" comes complete with a ten watt amp,chord, strap and a bunch of other goodies. It has an onboard equalizer of sorts.
The padded cas is actually quite nice.

The sound is amazing in that it sounds better than my $1500.00 Martin!!! The sound is bright and the tomnal quality really good. It rings like a piano with impressive resonance.

However, it sounds crappy played through the supplied amp.

All real good and looks great. In fact as good as near any I have seen anywhere close to this price or even guitars priced hundreds of dollars higher.

Tha action is a bit uncomfortable for me, but, may not be for others. However, how can you complain at this price.

Hav enot had it long enough

Have not been able to contact

Ok, now down to the nitty gritty!

The tuners slip constantly making it impossible to keep in tune for more than ten minutes of playing. Also, the intonation seem to be way out. The chord sounds good here and then out of tune there..it's crazy! Maybe the neck is warped even though a new guitar.

If it was stollen I would pay the guy to take it far, far away!!

No kidding. I play the guitar to relieve stress, not induce it.

It's a beginner's guitar in my book. Estaban would be better dumping the amp and putting in better tuners in it's place.

Lots of features, but not all worked!! Bad EQ

Actually sounds better than a $200 guitar should

Action was just fine, Fit and Finish was absolutely pitiful... Guitar 1 had a bad EQ so it was sent back. Guitar 2 is going back for the same reason and I'm getting a Yamaha tomorrow. BOTH guitars had LOTS of glue, nicks, etc. and the second guitar had some wood missing where the EQ goes, pretty crappy.

Both guitars had bad EQ, customer service is horrible (left their system set up on Christmas so you thought you were in queue but of course noone ever answered... you are number 9 in line, etc. etc. 8 other suckers apparently when I called.

Long hold times, etc.

Lastly, hows this... AMERICAN LEGACY...made in Communist China.. RRRRRrrrrr

Look elsewhere (Takamine's entry and yamaha's gigmaker deluxe comes to mind)

How could anyone give this guitar less than 10 for features? It probably includes more options/features than any guitar ever sold. My wife bought this (for me) for Christmas and I was stunned to keep pulling one item after another out of the box. Just when I assumed I had found everything included, there would be another pick or two, extra set of strings or another book or so. Even if the guitar alone were not so well-made with such good sound, the package contents alone make this a great deal for the buck. Estaban has made a good choice in aiming for the high-middle ground for everything included. Example: they could have included a 5-way instead of a 3-way selector; a 15watt instead of 10watt amp; a hard case instead of a hard nylon case, etc. But... they could have also aimed at the bottom denominator and produced this as a bottom-of-the-barrell package like you see offered through K-mart, Targets, Sears, WalMart or any of the guitar store chains which offer el-cheapo guitar packages with mediocre elements included throughout.

I use a special "sideways/flatside" of pick strumming method which produces a great sound on certain types of guitars... but not on all. This technique makes my Martin sound even better than ever. I was pleased that this Estaban also benefits from this technique. Honestly, I was scared that my wife had purchased a guitar which I knew nothing about and had never played in a store. My fear was that it would be a total piece of crap. To my relief it has a very full, pleasant sound with the only fault being some occasional buzz produced by the low E string. I have to make extra effort to hold the low E down sufficiently to solve the problem. It also sounds quite pleasing when played through the amp with the controls adjusted correctly.

I love to slide bar chords up and down a guitar's neck with my short stubby fingers. Even many expensive and well-known acoustic guitars are not easy to quickly move bars in this manner. I've been disappointed with many a guitar for this reason. Estaban has adjusted the string-to-fret ratio perfectly for my style of playing. My Martin actually produces more soreness in my left hand than this Estaban seems to. I've had this less than a week and haven't noticed any major flaws in finish or construction. For a Chinese-built guitar it seems to be pretty well made. I've read some very unfavorable reviews of this guitar and so I suspect there might be some problems in quality-control at the factory. I would rate mine as excellent but there are others who rate theirs as poor... I don't believe this discrepency is a matter of opinion but of actual manufacturer variations (too big).

I haven't owned it long enough to make this evaluation. If it keeps up the way it has for this first week, it will probably be a reliability winner. Example: I had a hard time tuning it the first day... had to retune it on the second day... I haven't had to retune it at all since!! Only time will tell.

No contact whatsoever with c.s. I haven't had any reason to contact them.

I have played for 25 years. I own an acoustic Martin, an acoustic Ibanez, and two B.C. Rich electrics. My wife made this purchase based upon the excellency of the TV ad... not on any knowledgable experience or recomendations. I feel blessed that her purchase turned out to be a winner when it could have been quite negative. I'm not sure I would buy another if this were stolen, simply because I'm not sure of Estaban's quality control and I might not get another as close to perfection as this one is. But... if I was reassured that Estaban could produce every guitar this well... and at this incredibly low price, I would definitely replace this with another Estaban!

Guitar was bought off of QVC,,,that says it's mass made & cheap. It came with somekind of amp, which will just sit around waiting for someone to ask if they can have it, a fake hardshell case, a allen wrench to adjust the neck if it ever warps, a set of strings, a pick or two & a funky factory smell. I'm not complaining or anything, just saying what it came with from QVC.

For a mass made cheap guitar,,this thing sounds loud, clear, & pretty damn good, better than my acc.-ele. Takamine,,,,,if you don't plug it into the amp. that came with it. I haven't had it long enough to try it on my Peavey Envoy 110 & Boss GT-6. I think the frets are a little wide because after playing this sweet thing, it takes me a few minutes to adjust to any of my other electric guitars.

Everything set up fine except the tunning. Small amount of glue showed somewhere but was small & I have now forgot where it was. Didn't mean much to me anyway.

Haven't had it long enough to bang around,,but it is in a kid free small home studio. Looks like it may be pretty tough & could be a good traveling guitar.

Don't know about this,,can't help here.

If it gets stolen,,I'll buy another one. So far this guitar sounds great if played acc., but like I said, the amp that came with it is a dust gather'er. Maby the Peavey will make it sound better with electricty, but I don't look for it to. I will probely use this guitar acc. only. It sounds great that way.

2004 Acoustic/Electric - solid spruce top, 3 band eq. Not sure what the sides and back are made of, but I believe it is all wood, not plywood.

Includes an amp, and hard case, along with strings, and instruction dvd's.

This guitar sounds great. I've compared it to my friends Yamaha, and the Peal JC-Deluxe Spruce, and it sounds brighter and clearer than both side by side. Not sure the amp is all that great, but for a beginner, it is something to tinker around with, and certainly is loud for a little box. The real beauty in the sound comes just through the guitar itself without an amp. Stays in tune well also. No dislikes soundwise except a minor buzz when strumming hard. Simple setup from the guitar store guy will fix that.

I can see some imperfections in the construction. There is glue visible on a few places, and you can actually see light through the sound hole. The wood top looks very sharp, nice chrome tuners. Overall, the guitar looks great from 10 feet away.

I've banged this guitar around the house, as has my 6 year old, and it holds up great. I've used this guitar to practice consistently for 8 months, and no finish has worn off. This guitar seems like it is sturdy, even if it has a couple of minor imperfections upon close inspection.

dunno

I've only been playing 8 months. I feel like I'm looking for that next guitar, so not sure i would buy this again, but for the price, I have not seen a better value. I've matched this with 400 and 800 dollar guitars (including Yamaha), whose owners admit this guitar sounds better. Don't let the bad press fool you. The early guitars were junk, this is a great beginner guitar, and an unbeatable deal.

customer service sucks, held on line for over 25 minutes and then they disconnected me, never getting to speak with anyone only all lines are busy will be treated in line of calling. This is very frustrating.

customer support sucks a big one. held on line for 25 minutes and then they disconnect me and i never got to speak with anyone. This is very fustrating.

been playing for over 35 years. love the guitar but the amp is wor
thless because it dosn't work.
Own both estaban guitars.black mist the midnight legacy and the solid body. both are nice guitars. the solid body amp is fine but the legacy one doesn't work at all. couldn't get any response from company and am very dissapointed. this is customer service???????????????????

Features - This is a Chinese guitar that reeks of bad quality and imminent dissapointment. It is an acoustic electric, with some sort of Piezo Electric pickup beneath the poorly crafted bridge. There was a lot of glue that had oozed out of the joints. The guitar that I reviewed came with an amp, case, and instructional materials.

The sound is passable as an acoustic, but as soon as you plug it in it's like biting into a crap sandwich.

The frets suck, but that deficiency is overshadowed by the string spacing at the bridge. The strings on this guitar are grouped into 3 sets of 2 strings. It is very hard to play.

What can I say. It is a poorly constructed guitar.

I did not deal with the company.

I have been playing for 30+ years, and all I can say about this guitar is that I would not take one, even if it came with a bucket of cash! I have lots of different guitars, and a decent home studio. This guitar belongs nowhere near it.

Do yourself a favor and buy a real guitar, this one is a piece of #$@!