Product: Indiana Guitar Company Scout MR
Price Paid: USD 105
Submitted
09/25/2009
at
09:24pm
by
Kitty
Features
:
6
This guitar is a standard Dreadnaught, I'd assume it's a laminate top for the price.
Finish is gorgeous, it's a magenta-rose color with metal flake in the paint. It has a few little imperfections, seems to be a QC thing.
The fretboard was rosewood, but had been painted black. To be honest I was rather upset with this, as the paint began to wear off after about a year.
Tuners were no-name, but not bad.
It has a rather Martin-esque style which is seen in the bridge and the headstock shapes. Even the logo is a bit reminiscent of Martin.
Sound
:
8
The sound, all things considered, is pretty good. It's full and warm, which works very well for playing fingerstyle. It had one buzz near the 9th fret, but that is to be expected from a guitar made somewhere in Asia. A good setup fixed it easily.
As for variety in the sounds, it's fairly balanced so you've got some wiggle-room. It gets nice and bright for strumming, and fingerstyle it's got enough bass to balance the sound.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
6
I don't think the factory knew they were supposed to make it playable. It came with pretty high action. A good setup did the trick. Neck feels alright though.
Fit is pretty nice. The neck joint seems fine. Frets are a little rough along the top and bottom...
Reliability/Durability
:
8
Never played it live, so I can't get into that, but I can say it took a beating! It was, for all intensive purposes, my first acoustic, so it got some bumps and bruises. Held up very well. Looking back on what I've put it through, I'm very impressed with the durability.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
The warranty is supposedly a 10-year, but doesn't seem very inclusive. I haven't really dealt with customer support though, so no oppinion.
Overall Rating
:
7
Let's be honest here people, a $100 guitar is NOT going to play like a Taylor. But for the price, it's great! It's a nice beginner guitar because of the price, the sound, and the neck. Also a great beater/camping/beach guitar.
Would I buy it again as my main axe? No.
Would I go for one of these as a beater? Heck yeah!
I have compared it to other low-end guitars, and it's pretty standard in most ways.
I do give it kudos for the neck though. It's a little sticky because of the gloss finish, but it's got a good feel. It's slimmer than many of the inexpensive brands out there, making it a good fit for small hands.
