Garrison Guitars G20

This is a new Garrison G20-L, that's the left-handed model. This has a little extra feature which I like that most G-20s don't come with, and that is the gold hardware. Everything else is pretty standard. Beautiful solid woods - Western Red Cedar for the top, Canadian Birch for the back and sides, Mahogany neck, and Rosewood on the bridge and fingerboard. Satin finish everywhere. It is a dreadnought body style with no cutaway or electronics, but they did put in a removable strap button to allow for a 1/2 inch tranducer or something to go there, as well as brace the side for a preamp. Unfortunately, they braced the wrong side on my lefty guitar. It has a couple cool features like the Griffiths Active Bracing System, which is a fiberglass skeleton that acts as bracing, and the Buzz Feiten tuning system. Nice solid tuners. I wish it had an extra strap button at the neck...I might go back and get one installed. The rosette is very pretty; it is inlaid with what looks like more mahogany, spruce/birch and rosewood. The guitar is made in Canada. I convinced the salesman to throw in a nice Garrison hardshell case, too, which is awesome. For sure, tons of features.

This is where the guitar shines...and boy does it shine. From the moment I took this off the wall and started playing I knew it was the one for me. I had been searching for a good guitar in this price range that had a great sound, and I found it in this Garrison. It wasn't in the shop the first time I went, but when I went back a few days later my brother pointed it out to me. I have been looking at Taylors, Martins, Alvarez, Takamine, Seagulls and other more expensive instruments, but this is the one that blew me away. I was skeptical at first of the choice of tonewoods, but that was all laid to rest quickly enough. The sound that comes out of this thing is recording-quality right off the bat. I play country and classic rock, and the guitar sounds great for that, but the balance of this instrument would make it versatile enough to really play anything you want. The birch gives it a snap and ring like maple, but it is smoothed out and mellowed by the cedar top. The all-solid tonewoods help a lot. The result is a very balanced tone with excellent note definition. The great thing is, it retains the volume and definition while either strumming or fingerpicking. Overall, it is beautiful, rich and full, and makes you want to keep playing. Plus, the active bracing causes the whole guitar to vibrate with each note, making it feel alive in my hands. I'm glad I was recommended this brand.

The setup is very nice. The neck is straight, and the action is medium, about where I like it, but playing barre chords above the 8th fret gets a tiny bit awkward. Nothing a short trip to the truss rod can't fix. The truss rod is only accessible from the headstock, like an electric, because of the bracing system, but it's no big deal. The rosewood cap on the rod hole looks great. All the frets are nicely finished. I don't think anybody else played this in the shop before me, which helped. The wood looks to be of excellent quality, especially the cedar top which has a slight flame that gives it some character. The bookmatching seems nice, and all the joints are very good. The only issues I have are that where the neck meets the body, the satin finish shows little imperfections - only noticeable to me, and only when I look for them. My Takamine had worse. Also, the Feiten saddle and nut have pretty sharp edges that I may have to round off later with some high-grade sandpaper. Everything else is ship-shape.

The Griffiths Active Bracing System is a fiberglass skeleton that combines all the bracing, kerfing, binding and bridge plate into one piece. It acts to transfer vibrations, distribute stress and tension, and is very, very strong. I trust this system wholeheartedly. Everything seems to be in top condition. The strap button appears to be very solid, and the tuners are as well. The finish is satin, but seems like a good coat of it (more than on the low-end Taylors and Martins) so I would trust it pretty well. I have to be careful with this guitar because it is all-solid tonewoods, and the top is cedar, which is a softer wood and prone to dents and scratches. Other than that, it is a solid guitar. I would use it on a gig without a backup only when a gig-worthy backup was unavailable, but even going that far says that I trust it a lot.

I haven't had to deal with the company yet, but they offer a 5-year transferable limited lifetime warrany on this instrument, which gives me some confidence. Although the addition of a second strap button at the heel might mess with that warranty a bit. Their website is very cool and helpful for understanding the guitar. As far as the shop I bought it from goes, they seem to all be honest hardworking guys who love to play music, so I trust them.

I've been playing for seven years now and own seven guitars in addition to this one. A Takamine acoustic-electric, and SX acoustic which is a pretty crap guitar, a Squier Stratocaster, 2 SX Strats, an SX Telecaster and a Hikare classical guitar (my first guitar). After all that, I think this is the best sounding, best playing guitar that I own, raising it above my telecaster as my favorite. I was about to buy a Seagull M6, but this sounds so much better. The Seagull was lacking is bass response and definition, and the action was way too high. This guitar is beautiful, and the sound blows me away. I can't believe I stole it away at such a great price. Forget all the other guitars in this price range. You can't beat all-solid woods and a truly revolutionary technology for under $500. I was lucky to find it. Forget about status and just listen to the sound, because ultimately, that is what is important. When people listen to a record, they don't see the name on your headstock. I was going to buy a $2800 Taylor 614ce, but I don't think I need it anymore. If I am ever in the market for another acoustic, I'm definitely looking at Garrison first. You should, too.

Made in 2004, Canadian Made. G-20 Dreadnaught. All solid woods at this price point made it a good choice. Exact specs are in other reviews as well as the website.

I strum ALOT. I am a singer by trade that is without a guitarist so over the past 4 years I have taken matters into my own hands and am still learning to play. The sound to me strummed is kind of a mix between a Martin d-15 and a Taylor 410 (both of which I have owned). Bass is not as deep as the Martin and treble is not as high or pronounced as the Taylor. It provoded me a good meet in the middle type mix that I like for my chord progressin type playing. One upgrade I did that I would suggest is I upgraded the plastic bridge pins to the Brass tone pins. What a difference! I use Elixer Nanoweb light strings and the overall tone of the guitar with the new pins increased in quality immensely. Even my wife who is not very musically inclined noticed the difference.

Action was high when I bought it byt my luthier includes a free setup with every guitar and he got it right where I wanted it. Low with no buzzing and barre chords are a breeze.
No finish flaws at all, very pretty guitar. Satin finishes worry me a bit just from a durability over time thing but that goes for any satin finish guitar I have owned not just this one.

I will eventually add a pickup to this guitar and play it out live.
The bracing system is another reason I looked at this model. I have 3 small kids and they love to play guitar with their daddy. My 19 month old son has banged this guitar around a bunch and aside from some minor surface scratches this guitar holds up like a tank!
Tuning hardware is woring well. Guitar rarely falls out of tune, unless my son decides to turn the pegs for fun! It doesn't have a bunch of aesthetic bells and whistles but it has it where it counts.

I have not had any issues and if I did I would start with the luthier that I bought it from and I'm sure I would have no problems.

I have been playing for about 5 years now. This is my only guitar at the moment but I have had the aforementioned Martin and Taylor and also have had a Seagull Anniversary Spruce and an Alvarez MF80C This guitar to me represents a little of all that is good about the others I have had. I would definately suggest upgrading the bridge pins and you will have one seet guitar!

Cedar top, spruce back & sides, Buzz Feiten tuning system, Griffiths bracing system. no electronics, laser engraved "spirograph" type rosette, sealed tuners, TUSQ nut and bridge, not cutaway.

This thing sounds great. Very warm tone, as one reviewer below said, it really depends on the age of your strings. I've had some D'Addario Silk & Steels on it, and they went "dead" in a couple of months. I switched to Martin Extra light phosphor bronze, and they were very bright at first, but they've really mellowed. Otherwise this guitar has an excellent, excellent warm tone.

Really nice tight action and fast neck. I love playing this guitar. I bought it used, and it didn't need any setup. The finish is satin, and there were some dings, and a few worn spots when I got it. For some reason it just doesn't seem to polish very well. I've used everything from carnuba wax to pledge. Hmm. Also, the bridge wood dries out rather quickly without some conditioner. Either the previous owner abused the bridge, or it just wasn't made of very hard wood, but the strings have carved very short tracks towards the soundhole.

I'm sure this guitar could withstand gigging, but I'm not the one to do it. I'm strictly a campfire song player. Everything about this guitar seems like it will last except maybe the finish, and the bridge. The one strap button at the lower bout is very solid. The bridge really concerns me.

I emailed the company with my concerns over the bridge, and they asked for some pictures. I sent them in another email in-line, and they never replied. Either the in-line images threw them, or they decided not to help me. I can't tell one way or the other, but I'm less than thrilled.

I give this guitar an 8 overall because I love the tone and playability, and I'm quite sure I got it for a steal at my local Guitar Center, either because they didn't know what they had, or maybe they thought the bridge & finish problems were worth knocking the price so low. However, it was marked $169 and I managed to cut a deal on this guitar and an amp, and a bunch of other items.

2004 Canadian serial no 40603018
20 fret cut away
blah blah same model as described by others including clasic 4 electronics

Now this is it!! I picked a few I liked including some Ibanez and yamaha modes priced well over $1000 and selected on comfort under the fingers and a cozy feel on the response. I then proceded to ask my son to play them in turn while I had my back turned to him to select on sound richness and on all counts this baby came out tops for R6900 South African which would make just short of $1000. Now I see this is way more than you people pay on that side of the ocean, but when comparing apples with apples...
Hey man, she sounds just great!

I am not that much of an expret to claim star assessor status, but thy fooled me well and good if they tried to hide anything. I cant find anything wrong and the satin finish really looks good to me. If I may be picky the case that comes with it is not on the same finish standard and actually looks like an add on. I swapped cases with an old one I had soon as I got home

Seems good this far, but since it is not even a year old, I can not really say

N/A

Soul mate stuff!!

I believe this guitar was made in Canada. It has a solid Cedar Top and birch back and sides. No electronics or frills but didn't want any because I have other guitars with them. Just wanted a nice dreadnought and I belive I hit the jackpot. I tried this guitar out when I was visiting in Indiana and fell in love with the pure acoustic sound. At the time I didn't buy it because I didn't have the money (440.00) but the sound stayed with me and knew I was going to have one.

I play a lot of mellow rock and ballads and this guitar is is perfect for strumming and picking also. I've played mid priced as well as higher end Martin's and Taylor's and thought this guitar rivaled in sound quality (maybe not as loud but just as sweet). Evenly balanced tone throughout but I thought it could be a tad brighter - the higher priced Taylor I played was a lot brighter but also a lot more expensive.

The guitar was setup great at the factory - action was low but there was no fret buzz. I might have it setup a little lower by a luthier because bar chords are a little difficult and I have small hands. Wood quality seems excellent and guitar has beautiful resonance. Everything seemed put together very well without any flaws or glue globs - a beautiful looking guitar with the cedar and birch woods.

I believe if I were to gig with this guitar I would use it mostly for backup being that the top is cedar and and might scratch or dent easily. I don't gig a lot and I play guitar mostly at home The hardware seems sturdy enough and the tuners are sealed and hold their tuning well.

Haven't had to deal with them as of yet.

I've been playing for 35 years and love this guitar immensley. Rock City Music was liquidating all their acoustic guitars so they could switch over to just selling electrics and they had one more G-20 left and I was lucky enough to snag it. This and my Alvarez AD60ck are my two favorite guitars. I also own a Garrison AG500ce (not as nice or put together as well as the G series), a vintage Ventura V-13, a Washburn D-104ce, a vintage D'Augustino acoustic and an Aria pro II electric. This guitar is a fantastic deal for the money and usually comes with the case included!!!

The guitar was made in Canada in 2003. As said before, it's got a cedar top and birch sides. The wood is all solid, along with a solid fiberglass framework holding it all together. This model has active electronics with a 4way equalizer. The body style is dreadnought or dreadnaught. The bridge saddle is one item you notice. The unique design is probably due to the BuzFeiten tuning system.

I play mostly praise and worship songs, along with favorites from Bruce Cockburn, Switchfoot, Lifehouse, and others. The sound from the Garrison G20E is very chimy at the high end, strong and clear at the midrange. The low end is where the system (at least on this guitar) falls apart. An open (low) E sound rich and resonant, but anything above that sounds muted and tinny. In this condition, the string initially resonates at the fundamental, but then rings at a harmonic. The sound is more enjoyable plugged-in than not.

The guitar was well set-up and very playable. The neck is just the right width (for me) and bar-chords are reasonably easy to play. The only trouble mechanically I've had with the Garrison G20E has been with the cord from the equalizer to the 1/4 IN jack. When plugged in, you can hear the sound of the wire bumping against the body. A little RTV ought to solve that, though.

Seems durable enough.

I contacted the company two times via email to assist with the unusual problem with the low E string. Still waiting to hear from their customer support.

I think that eventually I'll get a nice Taylor or Larrivee, but for now this one will do fine. The Garrison G29E is easy to play, has a bright, pleasant sound, although a little hard to tune. Try out the Garrison line, but be careful because their customer service won't support their products.

My G-20 Garrison was a product of Canada manufactured in 2002. I had never played a guitar which featured solid birch back and sides in combination with a western red cedar sound board. As a purly acoustical instrument, the tone and sound projection is amazing. I have had numwerous opertunities to play it in various settings in conjunction with other persons instruments. The Garrison projects noticeably better than a Guild and Gibson Hummingbird.

The Buss Frettin system allows proper tone from first to 19th position without fail and it stays tuned. I would, however, prefer 21 frets instead of the current 20 on this model. I have a number of much more expensive acoustic dreadnaughts but this is my baby for playing out.

I do not, however, particularly like the headstock logo. I also build guitars and mandolins and I like the name to jump out at you. Some inlay improvements could be made. Thw art work says..."Pick me up" in any store.

The satin finish is also a plus with me. It doesn't show all of the sins of an evenings playing as my Gibson and Martin do. It also comes with a very hansome case which is an accessorie with most of the guitars I have purchased.

The tone of the G-20 is well suited for the country, folk, balad and "Slow hand" blues which I prefer to play. I sounds great using drop "D" tuning and plucking out a couple of "Blind Blake" tunes I do. It projects nicely and allows a few "DIRTY TONES" without any thought to setting it up for that purpose.

The neck action was poorly set up from the factory. I set all of my new guitar actions anyway, but after I installed the prefered gage of strings I had severe buzzing above the 14th fret. After leveling the 14th, 16th and 17th frets I had to readjust the forward bow in the neck and take the bridge bone down 1/16" which I have never had to do before.

Since I made the adjustments, the guitar has performed flawlessly and I purchased it in November last year.

This guitar seems to have what I want in a working guitar. It feels like it can take normal gig abuse and I"m already resigned to it's dependability. I have left it in a car for hours before bringing it into an establishment to play. Let it set for 30 minutes or so, tuned up and seldom have to retune. The finish is iron. I'm not sure what the composition of it is, but it doesn't scratch easily.

I use it without back up continuously and it hasn't failed me yet.

I have been playing guitar for 45 years. Building them for 20. I own a 1962 D-18 Martin, a 2003 Gibson Hummingbird reissue, a 1969 Gibson Dove, a hand made version of a Byrdland, two acoustic Guilds and a 193something Baystate parlor guitar, as well as a 1913 A-O and 1965 F-5 Gibson Mandolin.

If this guitar were lost or stolen, I would take any insurance money rendered and up grade to another Garrison. There is nothing here to hate and the big tone from this small acoustic guitar is all to love.

The day I bought this one I had no intention of buying anything. I was in the store just plucking at some Breedloves, Martins, and Gibsons. This was hanging on the wall and I have always said if the tone jumps out at me, it's mine wether I can afford it or not. It did, and I did.

I picked up my G-20 a few weeks ago, and have been extremely pleased with guitar ever since. Volume, playability, dynamic range, and tone have exceeded all my expectations. I have the G-20CE, a siz string with the cutaway body with the Fishman preamp and pickup. Cedar top, birch sides and back, a nice looking guitar. The tuners are solid without being stiff. The action is nice, but the first change I made was to extra light strings. I have been using them for years, the result of playing a 12-string for years. The lights actually gave me a blister on one of my fingers. A number of people on my praise team have expressed their jealousy :-).

The sound was what hooked me. One strum and I knew I wanted one of these guitars. Having played the guitar for a few weeks now, I have a better idea of the sound. It is a very rich sound that encompasses the full range from bass through treble. For a while I thought that sound had too much bass or too little treble until I sat in front of the guitar while somebody else played it. Then I realized that the sound really is quite balanced.

It's volume is also surprising. I run mine through a peavey backstage which is used more as a monitor for my electric than anything else. However, on one occasion I had the amp turned off because we were having trouble with all the monitors. When I was told to turn down my amp, I had to inform them that it was already off and that it was the guitar itself that was that loud. Everybody was quite surprised at its volume. The pickup and pre-amp are very good. It does a faithful job of reproducing the full rich sound of the guitar.

One thing I did notice is that the guitar has to be accurately in tune. I use a tuner so this isn't a problem. but the tuner is in my foot pedal so I don't always have it around. Tuning it by ear was not as easy as I would have thought. Perhaps this is because of guitars I have owned in the past. Tuning has to be bang on or I can hear that it is out. My guess that is that this is due to the Buzz Feiten tuning system. The good part of the Buzz Feiten tuning system is that my 7th, 9th, and many other chords played up the neck sound far better than they ever have on other guitars, including some of the more expensive guitars I have played.

Nice looking guitar. The satin finsh is very nice. The neck looks good as does the fretboard. My only complaint is that in-lays on the AG series make those guitars look better the G series. A minor complaint when put up against everything else.

It seems like a solid well built guitar. So far, I have had no structural problems. I even get the sense that the guitar is more solid as a result of the neck being bolted to the body. This one is now my main axe simply because it now gives me a practice instrument that I didn't have before.

I am about to find out as I have emailed them a unique question regarding modifying the appearance of the guitar. Right now I can't comment as to how good their service actually is. Let's hope its on par with their guitars.

I've owned a number of guitars over the years, and played far more than I have owned. The Garrison is by far the best value for the money that I have ever played. A close friend remarked that the sound was "complete". That is perhaps the best description of a Garrison that I have heard so far. Now its a case of waiting until I can afford the 12-string g-20 cutaway with the pickup.

So, it's a g20 dreadnought, satin finish, solid cedar top, solid birch back and sides. venetian (flat) cutaway, which im not entirely fond of, but its necessary. fishman classic 4 piezo pickup - volume, bass, mid, treble, and 'brilliance' fader-style controls. uses the buzz feiten tuning system, which is based on piano tuning. to get the full advantage of this, you need a feiten tuner. korg makes one, called dt-7. runs about 90 bucks. also uses the griffiths active bracing system. the bracing, binding, kerfing, neck and end blocks are all one piece of polycarbon whatever. so, im guessing less worries about warping, etc. came with a case, 5 year warranty (just changed to lifetime warranty).

sounds like a big stick of butter. ive never had more people want to be my friend because of an axe. obviously, all solid wood makes for a nice sound. the un-amplified sound is just perfect, and plugged in, its a monster. the fishman pickups do a pretty good job of recreating the sound, and when used along with a condenser mic (ive used a peavey pvm480 and a shure pg series), its SUPERDREADNOUGHT! i need a piece that works for everything, and the g20 does it.

the action was not too bad, but i lowered it a bit. everything looked good, construction-wise. i bought it from the stroe i work at, and to be honest, ive seen 2 g20s come back for warranty work, but they were the ones with no pickups or cutaway. bad production run?? dunno, but ive had no troubles. knock on wood. little rough between frets 1-4 where the fingerboard is attached to the neck, but thats easily enough remedied.

i put a love tap it it during restringing one day, but that never bothers me. i HATE the strap button. its got the input jack in it, and it seems too wide to securely hold my strap (a suede levy's). ive been thinking about putting a straplock down below, but there's no good place for it. so, im making due. also, that endpin threads onto the jack, and likes to unscrew when youre jumping about. so i slapped some loctite on it. but overall, its a rock sold piece. i take a backup out of habit (a chet atkins sst), but i havent needed it yet.

canadians are the nicest people on earth, until 1230 am on a saturday. then, they get really smart-alecky. but most customer service departments arent open that late. like i said before, the warranty just got upgraded to lifetime. repairs dont go to newfoundland anymore, but rather to memphis (i think). this means a quicker turnaround time.

i wish garrison made a jumbo, cause id buy one in a second. i wouldnt trade the g20, though. its a good balance between high end and roadworthy. and if it lasts as long as a 'traditional' acoustic, then ill be a happy boy indeed.

G20-HG dreadnought model, all solid guitar with beautiful bookmatched cedar top and birch back/sides. Satin finish Mahogany neck. Bought new Dec 2003, not sure which year made. Supposedly has Buzz-Feiten tuning system...well, more on that later. Bought a Duncan Woody pickup separately which does the job when fitted to soundhole.

Cedar tops are known for warmth and this guitar has it in bags, to the point that the treble strings are not pronounced enough in my opinion. Seems to suit bth fingerstyle and finger-picking. Open string chords shine thru well. Certainly loud enough.

Action was too high in the shop , so I had the saddle filed. It is still too high(for me) but I dont think the saddle can go much lower. There is already a very annoying fret buzz at the 5th fret on the E and A bass strings. There is also neck rise at the neck/body join too, definitely not straight.
The intonation is not correct - the E bass string at the 12th fret is way out, so much so that I cant live with it. So much for the Buzz-Feiten tuning system. Tuned to DADGAD with 11-52 guage strings, there is perhaps too much relief - but alas, the truss rod is completely loose and is of no help here. That sucks.

Seems very solid. It has been knocked on wood a few times and hasnt been marked. The top finish has minor bumps on it but no big deal. I guess it is gig-worthy although I havent used it for this.

No idea but meant to be good. The web-site is useful.

Been playing a long enough. This is my first acoustic.
I loved the warm sound at first and the fact is was all-solid and looked great. Value for money, it couldnt be beat. Played a lot of Taks before I went for this one although I will be on the lookout for a spruce top from now on. This guitar is far from perfect but sounds better than most, given the price.