Esteban D-100 American Legacy

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 #$@!

Esteban Acoustic Elecrtic made in 2004. 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 was a Home Shopping Network special, and included a hardsell nylon case, extra strings, strap, picks, instrument cable, two dvd's, two instruction manuals, chord chart, and 10 watt Esteban amplifier. All this for $179 plus shipping.

I'm using this to perform a few acoustic numbers for a retirement home. I won't be using the amplifier or any effects, just a solo acoustic act. The guitar sounds full and bright, even with the stock unknown strings. Keeps in tune well, but you have to cross check the tuning. After tuning to an e-chord check at the a-barred chord position, try at the D-chord, e-chord, etc. With the little included amplifier it was quite loud, and I'll sell the amp to a lady in town who needs one, I use a p.a. My likes: sounds clear to my ears. Dislikes: The bridge vibrates a little when you strum hard but I guess that's to be expected.

When I received the guitar, it smelled like it had just come off the assembly line and some of the sealants were still drying. Had a very nice smell, though. All the paint and details look a bid hasty but from a distance this guitar looks pretty sharp. It has simulated abalone binding that looks really sharp, it goes around the top of the body and around the soundhole. From a distance this guitar looks really expensive. There are small blemishes in the finish throughout the guitar but I expected this from a guitar offering this much for $179. For the price, I don't have any complaints, if I wanted perfection I could have bought a Taylor or Martin for $2,000. For looking sharp with an inexpensive guitar that will catch the stage lights, this one is pretty good.

I've had this guitar a couple weeks and accidentally banged it around. All the joings are rock solid and the wood is decent. I pulled at the neck a couple of times and it didn't budge. I think you could hit your unemployed brother-in-law with this one and it would withstand the impact of another hard wooden object (his head!) The strap button is metal and I tie the strap with string to the neck under the strings. I think this is a dependable guitar, and I would gig with it without a backup

I didn't receive a couple items with this guitar and wasn't sure I was even going to keep it. When I called HSN they immediately drop shipped the missing items and sent me a prepaid shipping label. Very helpful, excellent service. If you want a good starter guitar they sell a complete kit for $99, without the electronics. Great how they back up their products with 100% satisfaction.

I've been playing for about 30 years and was a professional bass player. I started out playing rhythm guitar thirty five years ago and switched to bass in 1969. Now, I play for my own enjoyment and for a retirement home once a month. I've owned very expensive acoustics and cheap ones. This guitar is like me in my playing history: It has a few bumps in the finish and isn't the prettiest guitar in the bunch, but it is attractive enough and has a lot of heart. I thought Esteban guitars were a joke until I tried this one. If this one were stolen, I would buy another one, and as a matter of fact, I'm going to buy a $99 special to bang around at work with my co-workers.