Garrison Guitars G50-CE

The G50CE is the cutaway electric version of Garrison's top of the line guitar. It features the Glass content one piece bracing/purfling/binding framework which transmits sound throughout the body and neck of the guitar. That feature is surpassed by the utilization of a nice cut of Englemann Spruce on the top and some respectable Indian Rosewood on the back and sides. A laser engraced design surroounds the soundhole. The gold tuners, marked "Garrison" appear to be Schallers and are very good quality tuners.. The neck is feels like a Les Paul's neck and the action is low and lean with light strings. There is a compensated bridge, part of the "Buzz Feiten" tuning system which has only vague descriptions on vatious internet sources, however, the intonation is superb up the neck. The on board Fishman system provides good acoustic sounding ampification.
My only criticism is that although it is a great price, a little bit of trim can go a long way. Inlay of the logo on the head is mandatory for top of the line and Mother of Plastic is better than nothing at all (a nice decal, actually).

I generally play dreadnaught guitars with medium guage strings. The G50CE is set up with light strings and I was originally tempted to change them to medium but after playing the guitar for a few days, amplified and acoustic, I decided the lights were a very good fit. Probably due to the Englemann Spruce top, the guitar lends itself equally well to fingerpicking, flatpicking and capoed styles of playing. The Fishman has an easy job of transferring the tops superb sound to to speaker setups. I've tried it through PA speakers and Crates Acousticc guitar amp. Both worked well.

Great factory setup, fast, matching the soul of the soundboard. One little extra drop of finish near the top of the neck near the nut, small but noticable. Everything on this guitar fits well with itself. The scale is perfect, intonations ttoo. Sounboard purrs and the concept of the whole guitar projecting through the one piece frame is not a gimmick, it really occurs.

I played this guitar out live the first night I owned it. It not only kept up with the Martin's it kicked a little ass. It appears that it will be a good box in a variety of playing situations. I've played Taylor's with similar electronics and this one beats them all.

Transferablee 5 year warranty. Did it online. Don't lose the original receipt.

What a great surprise to find this level of quality at this low a price. I own two Martin and a Bourgeois dreadnaught. They all haave their own particular sound and place. This Garrison keeps right up with them and will likely find more use in amplified settings and fingerpicking where volume is also important (It also sounds sweet real loud). I chose this guitar because it fit the extra cash I had at the time and I was interested in the technology. That technology allowed a better investment in the tonewoods because of reeduced construction and production costs. That strategy works on this guitar. It's also nice to have a cutaway.