Hohner HW-300 Countryman

Honer HW 300 acoustic, good guitar, good price. I have had mine for at least 10 yrs? Still sounds the same as when I first bought it at the pawn shop. I also have a $1200 dollar fender acoustic, and thats what you have to spend to sound nicer and/or fret easier. Will never sell my honer, good begginer guitar, and I dont worry about damaging it by playing outside at night (humidity), or insect repelent (will melt your finish).

I finger pick, play country/rock, I added a Dean Markley pickup and sound beautiful when you plug in. Wont say it has a out of this world sound, but it does sound very very nice. If you want a guitar that sound nicer you will spend $1000 at least which I did for the band I play in. Yes I would play my Honer guitar on stage if my Fender acoustic was in the shop...no string buzz ever even with xl strings or heavy strings

Set up is good, no buzz, neck is arrow straight even after 10 yrs of abuse, no visible wear. Stays in tune even when I dont play it for a month. (I have two other guitars )

Well built, like timex//// takes a licking and keeps on ticking. Keys are solid, (open kind) and yes I would use it on stage as a backup guitar because it has a very nice sound. Very dependable. This guitar seems to play better after the strings have been on for a week (mellows the sound on the guitar)

hmm....never had to repair it. LOL, bought it at the pawn shop
hmm...10 yrs ago? Not sure how old it is.

I have been playing for 25 yrs, no this is not a Martin, or a Taylor, or a Fender, but you dont pay $1000 buck for it, good sound for the dollar. I cant remember what I payed for it ( bought it at the pawn shop)

My Hohner HW-300 was around a '99 or '00 model year. Got it for my bro because he is really a bass player but wanted a guitar to hack on.

At first the sound was pretty bad, but after a few years, and a new set of Martin strings... this inexpensive guitar sounds WAY better than new guitars that cost 6x the price. (better than low-end Martins, Washburns, Epiphones...)

no flaws and no buzzing that i see or hear...

this thing has been tossed around and shows little sign of wear and since it is getting better with age... gotta rate it 10!

never needed support which is great!

This guitar is great, and made even better by the fact that it is so cheap I don't have to worry about it. I am thinking about buying another guitar, and I wish there was a place that sold Hohners here so I could "steal" another guitar. I would like to see what a more expensive Hohner looks and plays like.
Buy one of these... wait a few years for the wood to open up.. and voila.. a great guitar!

This is probably a early to mid 90's Countryman, made in Indonesia. It has 20 total frets, actually 21 but it doesnt sound when fingered. The guitar does not appear to be laminated, so my guess is that is a solid top. Its made out of all mahagony, with a rosewood fretboard. The tuners appeared to be standard, with steal pieces on the back of the head that have nice patterns on them.

I play everything from classical music to Nirvana on this guitar and I have found it to suit my needs well. Its quite load when played hard, a positive thing in my opinion. It has a nice low end sound, all around its as good of a guitar as your going to find sound wise for the price. I love the sound of the guitar, but it appears I am not the only one who has noticed string buzz. I find that a new set of strengths really helps out alot.

The action is difficult lets sat, it was hard to finger the frets early on but as time went on I grew accustomed to this and it has helped my playing out tremendously to be honest. I would not have wanted to learn on any other guitar, and this was the first one I ever had. Not sure exactly what the price was, as it was a gift but I presume it was under $200. Well worth it in my book.

As reliable and durable as your going to find my friends. This guitar has been through hell, and is still here to talk about it. One tough sob. I would use this guitar for a gig, and the reason is that I have grown use to it and I can play it better than any other guitar, because its my own. Which means alot to me, Ive found playing other peoples guitars or new guitars when it counts can sometimes be a bad idea, so I stick to my guns. Absolutely this baby may be a countryman, but she handles power chords and arpeggios with the best of em.

No warranty, never needed to contact CS.
I will get a multi-million dollar contract with this guitar, and I would be happy to be a paid spokesmen for Hohner Acoustic Guitars.

A solid 8. Could be better, but for the price Ill take it.

I'm not exactly sure about the model number, but this is a 20-fret Countryman, made in Indonesia. Probably an early-mid 90s model.

Everything was stock, and as such there are no special "features". It had only one strap peg, so I had to add a second one myself. As with most acoustics, it's fairly difficult to get at the highest 3 frets. Apart form that, it's very smooth and comfortable, and a reasonable weight.

I suppose the metal on the back of the headstock has some nice intricate patterns on it. Nice smell, too. I got it with a plain soft bag.

This was my first guitar, and so was the one I learned to play on. It did used to buzz a little, but that was due to my poor playing ability rather than anything else.

I've used this to play everything from Nirvana Unplugged through to Natalie Imbruglia, in fact, anything whimsical that I might try to download tab for. It's pretty versatile. It works fine for my needs (even if it's not particularly outstanding).

The sound has a nice tone, especially at the lower end, and can be played fairly loudly. It's very adequate, but just don't expect top-of-the-range quality (but then at this price, you probably won't!)

Not really any flaws to speak of. Everything was made perfectly, especially considering the low price.

The only problem I had was that you had to press down really hard on the stings, and this made my fingers hurt. But this was primarily because (1) the skin on my beginner fingers was not yet used to the pressure, and (2) I started out using medium and heavy gauge strings thinking that they would last longer and be more economical. After a year or two or improving, adn with a light set of strings, it's fine.

I've never used it in a gig... But it seems sturdy enough. I've had mine for nearly 8 years, and it's taken several tough-ish knocks to the neck and body, and doesn't really seem any the worse for wear. It's even been on planes without much padding.

The fretboard is now a slightly different color with dirt, but there's nothing to complain about really, apart from maybe it's a little fiddly to reach inside to change the strings.

I'd maybe consider using this as a backup at a gig, although I'd say the kind of people this is aimed at probably aren't ready for gigging just yet, so it doesn't really matter.

No idea about the warranty, but then I haven't had any problems.

This was bought for me before I could play guitar, and at a point where I wasn't sure if I had the patience to sit down and practice. It's fair to say I've improved a lot since then, and yet now I still enjoy playing it. I think it's a great instrument for a novice to learn on. I'm quite attached to it.

And from what I can gather, it's also a bargain price. You get what you pay for, so this is obviouly not gonna sound like a #2000 guitar, but it all depends on what you need.

As I said above, I had to press quite hard on the strings, but this is actually an advantage, because now I find that when I pick up another guitar, I'm used to pressing harder than I need to, and so my standard goes up because I don't miss as many chords. It was surprising at first, and also encouraging.

It also stays in tune quite well- probably even longer nowadays than it used to when I first got it (I once lived in a room where the heating was timer-controlled, and automatically went hot-cold-hot every day!)

It's a great starter, and I'd recommend it to others. But now that I'm a little more advanced in my playing, I'll probably look to spend more money on something of a higher quality for a 2nd guitar.

"Dreadnought Acoustic Mahogany top, back, sides & neck; rosewood fingerboard; adjustable tension rod; 20 frets; enclosed tuning machines" This is how Hohner describes the guitar. All the wood is actually laminated mahogany.

I really like the sound of this guitar. It is very warm with plenty of bass. I am a beginner learning to play gospel and bluegrass. I play some fingerstyle also. For the price, I think that the sound is really good. I played several other guitars in this price range and found this to be my favorite.

The guitar was setup fine from the factory. This guitar did have a blemish in the finish but I got a discount for that. It is purely cosmetic, the stain did not stick in an area just below the bridge. I did use the adjustable truss rod to lower the action to ease my fingers while I was learning. There was some buzzing but I had the action pretty low. After raising the action back up, I was impressed with the increase in volume. After playing for a year, I have noticed that playing nicer guitars at stores that the frets on this guitar are not the best. I think that new nicer guitars have taller frets which makes doing bar chords much easier. Also, the B string tuner is not very smooth. It will turn and turn then jump beyon where you want to be.

This guitar seems pretty solid. I have banged it around a bit and I think that it will hold up fine until I get ready for another guitar.

Have not needed any support

Overall, I am really pleased with this guitar. For $125, I got a pretty good sounding guitar that I could learn on. If it were stolen, I would wait til I could afford a nicer guitar and get a jumbo acoustic.

Body is solid...fairly traditional looking guitar. Because of bulky shape it's hard to play high on the high E string.

This guitar is better for some songs (and musicians) than others. It has a nice bassy tone, which works out well for some songs. It can get pretty loud too because of it's large shape.

This was my first guitar and I've come to find it is rather difficult to play. The action is low (the strings are high) and it's pretty easy to miss the frets and miss the note.

I've had it for nearly 2 years and it could be sold as practically new. Very durable and I haven't noticed any change in sound.

An okay beginner guitar. Good for someone looking for the right sound. However, it is not a particularly easy guitar to play. I would buy something else if I lost it, however I would be rather upset because it can be the perfect instrument for the right stuff.

Made in China 20 frets sealed tuners pickups for volume and tone.
Dreadnought body. Square head. must have been made this year (2002) because earlier versions of this guitar seem to really suck.
Average neck width probably. Tough finish. Great to see pickups included in the price. They are probably cheap, but don't get snobby, none of the other guitars in this price range had pickups.

I took a look at a lot of guitars before I bought this (my first guitar. I don't rush into things and took 2 weeks to finally decide on one). None of the other guitars in this price range came even close to giving such a rich sound. I picked up an Aria, yamaha and a washburn, all of which were more expensive. I've played a #400 guitar that sounded thinner than this one. I've given the guitar to some of my more experienced colleagues who are surprised at the tone of instrument.

I think I'd like the action to be a bit lower than it is. This is purely personal preference and the action is by no means high. The finish is not perfect. There are imperfections in the wood stain and lacquer. Apart from this there are no real complaints. you've really got to look up close to see anything that I've mentioned above, and they are only superficial flaws. the mechanics of the guitar are good considering the price paid. It would've been nice to see the guitar with a shaped head rather than the square block it has at the top.

It's a new guitar so I can't say how it will last. everything seems solid only time will tell. seems to stay in tune ok.

never used it

Please bear in mind I'm just a beginner and havn't played too many guitars, although I've been a drummer for 10 years.
I'm chuffed to bits with this guitar, I think It's a real bargain. better than any of the second hand guitars I looked at at this price.
I've put it in front of some experienced guitarists and they all say the same. I think Dan is even going to buy one.
If it was stolen? I'd definately miss it. I'd probably go back and get another one exactly the same.
I'm not at all bothered about the finish flaws. I didn't buy it to look at it, It sounds great. If you are looking for a first guitar, go and get one.

This is a follow-up to a previous (bad) review I gave (see customer service). I got a new model HW-300. Dreadnaught size, spruce top (might be laminate, but sounds good). Enclosed tuners (stay in tune), mahogany neck, nice gloss finish. Overall a much better guitar than my previous HW-300. Neck has a nice roundness too it, my previous HW300 had a thinner neck--I prefer thicker necks. Frets have a nice feel, quality feel.

I'm going to give it a 10. It sounds great. No, I don't think it would compare w/ a Martin, but compared to the previous HW300 I had, it sounds great. Has a bright sound (which I like), and when I compared it to my brother's Norman guitar (400$ spruce top handmade in Canada), the sound was pretty similar.

Quality guitar and well made, definately better than my previous HW300. Just has a better overall solid feeling. Oh, i should add-the action is nice and low, very playable, no buzzing.

I think this is a well made guitar, that will hold up. The letter from the Co. said that they are producing this guitar in China, and it definately has a better feel than my previous HW300.

I sent my previous bad review to the company, and got a letter back saying that they offer "limited lifetime" warranty's to original owner. I sent them my guitar right before xmas, and this past week (early Feb) I got a brand new guitar of the same model. Appears that some of their models were made at a factory that produced sub-par product and they no longer use that factory. I was glad they were listening. I think they stand behind their guitars as good entry models, and this new one I got, is quite nice. I should also say that they went overboard and sent me a D'addario guitar kit w/ polish, picks, 2 sets of strings, etc. Nice to see a company w/ Customer Service. A rarity in this day and age.

I think this is a nice guitar. I'm glad the Co. stands behind their product and are willing to admit when a sub-par product was missed by their Quality Control. My previous guitar was one of the few poorly made guitars, and the company took the time to listen to my complaint and replace it. The new guitar is definately a keeper, and I've already started doing some recording with it. A nice sounding guitar for the money, definately a good value.

No real features to speak of. Pretty basic.

This guitar is awful. I bought it as my first guitar because it was cheap and the guy at the store told me it was a good guitar for the money. He was lying. Now that I have been playing for a while and have picked up many guitars, I realize how terrible this pile of crap really is.

The tuners suck and it cannot hold a tune for anything.

If it was stolen I would laugh.

The action is comparable to the action of an upright bass.

Well, I suppose this is one thing that guitar has going for it. It is built like a tank.

Never had to use it.

Stay away from this thing. If you are looking for a beginner's guitar go with a Washburn or just about anything besides this.

Inexpensive dreadnought. Great sound !!!

I have VERY EXPENSIVE guitars like Martin D-42 or Taylor 714 or Gibson J-200
and yet when I saw this one partly damaged for $95 from some 2nd hand shop I
tried it and couldn't believe the sound: GREAT !

Actually in most dense recordings you will never guess it costs <$100 !

Unbelievable value but it seems that it depends from guitar to guitar ...

Fine, almost perfect

Mine is even partly damaged and still sounds GREAT ?!

perfect and unbelievable for the price.

I might sell my D-42 for $3550. - and keep this baby and I am NOT kidding !

Hohner HW-300: dreadnaught, "mahogony (supposedly) body (according to their website)", non-enclosed tuners, mahogony neck, rosewood bridge, plastic nut, plastic bridge. I think the body is some type of plywood (possibly mahogony i suppose). and it has some type of nearly indestructable finish/top on it. i've banged it a bit, and no marks at all (strange i think). i suppose that's good since i've had it since xmas '97. neck is pretty thin, easy for chords,etc. no gig bag. i'll give it a "5", it does look like a guitar.

if i could give it a -10, i would. it's horrible. real bassy. not much definition. the strings were so high, it should be a slide guitar. impossible to play in standard tuning. i've tuned it at times to double flat, and that works sometimes, but still very stiff. i've had the best luck w/ open D, open G. w/ the strings somewhat floppy in those tunings, it's possible to play it (possible, not easy). i think the only positive of this, was it was really impossible to play in standard, so I started experimenting w/ alternate tunings. It opens things up a bit as a guitarist. but the HW-300 as a guitar itself, forget it. I suppose one other positive, I was reading/listening to some John Cage prepared piano pieces and thought about doing that with this thing. Also, my 1 yr old son bangs on it like crazy, so it does have a nice percussive sound to it (boy he can really bang on it!!--and the finish still looks good!)

again, if i could give this a -10, i would. whoever set this guitar up should be fired. like i said above, the action is out of control too high. i pulled out the bridge when changing strings and there was 2 pieces of cardboard proping the bridge up, and even w/ them taken out, it's still high, and now i have some string buzz at frets 11,12 on the high E string. Also, after investigating the impossible-ness of playing it in standard, i measured the string length, and guess what, it's not at 25.5" but closer to 25.75 to almost 26". how about that for some inspection standards. there is also a bit of a twist in the neck--it's not straight by any means.

whatever that finish is on the body i'm sure will last forever. i wonder if it's some type of wood wallpaper looking thing.
who knows. i do know that my son bangs and bangs and bangs on this thing now, so i'm sure it will last. just playing it as a normal guitar will be impossible. if he gets interested at all in guitar, he'll beg me for something better i'm sure.

i guess they have a website, and an address is listed.
i plan on sending this to them.
i doubt i will ever hear from them again.

well, i've been as critical as i could. i've been playing for 19 yrs, and can say that my parker nitefly w/ the piezo through my digitech rp100 w/ the acoustic setting sounds better than this (and people, NO ONE GIVES THE ACOUSTIC SETTING A GOOD REVIEW on the rp100). i think that if the neck is mahogony and the bridge was rosewood, that those specific trees should have been left alone, when contemplating making this series of guitars. i'm sure the body was a wood by-product from scraps of dust on the ground. i will probably keep this guitar b/c it was an xmas gift from my wife and my son has fun banging on it, but when i think of the stupid sales pitch that my wife got at the music store, i get mad. she knew she wasn't buying me a martin, but this guitar's quality is not worth 99$ (i should add supposedly the retail on this was $199--supposedly-it was one of those xmas deals). i played a 30$ silvertone at a pawn shop that was better than this thing. the plywood should have been given to Frank Gehry so he could build a cool house for someone somewhere. i think hohner should stick to making harmonicas. please, do not buy this guitar.

"Mahogony" Back, top, and sides? (Thats what it says on their site) Ummm Don't think so. I think its prob Nato. Nice finishes, 20 frets. Very Very cheap tuners... the cheap tuners really ruin it.

Nice deep warm tone (I know lots of people won't like this), but I like it. Definatly not for you if you want a bright sound. Sounds better than all other guitars I've played in the $100-$250 range.

The action was a bit high, but not that bad. No fret buzz. The finish had a bit of a weird spot on the top of the back of the neck.

I think the tuners will give out, then maybe the bottom strap button. The rest seems okay, but both of those look, and seem really cheap.

I think its a great Guitar, especially for the price. I helped a friend buy this (I have a $1000 Martin, and of course it doesn't even compare to that). The tuners and bottom strap button really worry me though. I have no clue how they will hold up over time. If anything bad happens, I'll make another review saying what happened. All in all, $99.99 is a good deal.

so called mahogony body, adjustable tension rod, rosewood neck, steel tuners. it does have a beautiful finish (transparent with a red tint)

the sound is ok, i bought it as a first new guitar, but my old washburn has a better ring to it, the guitar does hold tune for quite some time, my style is blues and this is NOT a good blues guitar!! I plan on giving the countryman away to my mother-in-law, who is in the process of learning to play!!

the action is set pretty high, i play slide guitar and the action still seems to high, its nescessary to keep pretty heavy strings on it to get a decent sound. The neck is a bit too thick and too narrow (i have wide fingers) compared to my washburn it just doesn't fit me right. the bridge is set good, i had no problems with fret buzz. the harware is pretty nice and the finish is perfect(i could find no flaws in it)

haven't had it long but it seems to have a sturdy finsh, my 2 year old has knocked it over too many times to list, but it shows no wear or damage. seems dependable

no problems so far

i've ony been playing 2 years, the sound is ok, for $99.00 you can't ask for much. my dad's alvarez cost him $500.00 and it doesn't sound a whole lot better. if it was stolen i don't think i would care. i plan on giving this guitar away as a gift. this is not a guitar you could fall in love with, unless you just like to look at a guitar (it is a pretty guitar)i have to say my favorite thing about it was the price. for less than $100.00 you couldn't beat this deal. I would recommend this guitar to someone if they weren't sure they were serious about learning to play, but for someone serious, go ahead and spend some money and get a fender or washburn!!!!

It's basically a Dreadnought-style guitar. Quoting their web page: "20 frets - Mahogany back, sides, top and neck - Covered machine heads - Rosewood fingerboard - Adjustable tension rod." LIARS - it is a plastic coating simulating mahogany over plywood. Ok, maybe not plywood, but a cheap wood that DEFINITELY is not mahogany. The fingerboard is rosewood though and it does have a tension rod. It was made in Indonesia.

Let's clarify one thing: this guitar is a cheap one. I bought it for $189 as my first guitar ever. After hearing and playing many acoustic guitars since I have decided this this guitar was a decent value for the money. It has a good sound, though it is rather weak compared to some of the other guitars I've played. My friend has a $1100 Taylor he bought new and it sounds better than mine, but not by much (ie. I wouldn't pay that much for a guitar). Another friend has a Fender Gemini acoustic he bought for $300 used. That kind of guitar is the kind I'll probably pick up once I get off my current obsession with electric guitars & accessories.
But nothing comes close to the $3000 Martin my friend's uncle has. Ahh to have the money...though I'd probably spend it on a 50's Strat.

Ok, the factory setup sucked. Fret buzz on the high E string. My guitar teacher adjusted the bridge and lo-and-behold it went away. Works great now. The action is high though and with medium string it is a chore to play.

The tuners keep tune, so that is nice. Oh yes two of the struts inside the guitar cracked and fell out. Sound goes down...play live with it? Hahaha.....actually I've never tried. I've always used my electric guitars instead. Yes the strap buttons are solid and yes it holds tune but to get decent sound out of it requires medium string and as I said before, its a pain to play. I much prefer my Peavey T-60.

Never dealt with them. What is the need?

Ok, I've been playing for a little over a year, nonwithstanding I've played many a guitar, Fenders, Gibsons, Martins, Takamines and whatnot. This is a beginner guitar. It is not a quality guitar like a Taylor or a Martin. If it was stolen I'd laugh because no pawn shop owner would buy it for that much. I like this guitar for sentimental reasons, it being my first guitar and all. But I'd recommend for a beginning player to not buy one of these, but buy a used quality acoustic such as a Fender Gemini.