Johnson JG-610-BL

Real basic acoustic. Dreadnought. Made in China. You can just get the guitar alone; I bought as a package with a gig bag, pitch pipe, string winder, pick, strap (and free shipping, natch). Wish it had another strap button. Because it has almost everything you need in a basic acoustic--which ain't much--I give it high marks in the features category.

The sound is amazingly good (see below remarks on durability for why this is surprising). It's very rich and warm, can deliver some real punch when I need it to. For my style (mainly classic rock), it's great.

There seems to be a LOT of quality variation between these guitars. If I'd read these reviews beforehand, I never would have bought it sight-unseen. I'm lucky, mine was OK right out of the box. The action isn't excessively high, everything's more or less as it should be. The cosmetics are pretty spotty--there are flaws in the trim around the soundhole, the pick guard looks pretty damn cheap, and the frets are tarnishing already. However, the wood is finished in a really gorgeous blueburst. In my case--and again, I wouldn't recommend buying one of these unless you yourself get to handle it first--it's a really nice-looking, reasonably functional guitar for the money.

This instrument is not built to last, as one look inside at the incredibly sloppy woodwork and the gloppy glueing will prove. The tuners are starting to feel loose already (two months after purchase), although it still keeps its tune surprisingly well. That said, this is an excellent first guitar. While you're learning to change strings and stuff like that, it's better to risk a cheap guitar to your tender mercies than to screw up a good axe. If you're playing live, for God's sake buy a real guitar.

Never dealt with Johnson, although the people at Aztec Guitars were extremely helpful with a mixup in my order.

I had never played guitar before I bought this instrument. I didn't want to spend $300 on a guitar that for all I knew was garage sale fodder. So, for a first guitar, this was ideal. But now that I know I can play, that I will continue to play, I intend to replace this ASAP. I got more than I paid for in that no under-$100 guitar has any right to sound this good.

This piece (of crap) was made in 2000 in China (where all crap guitars are made) with recycled monkey-wood neck, crank 'n grind tuners, multi veneer plywood made-to-look-like wood body & sides. The top appears to be laminated bamboo. No electronics - just the initial shock when I realized that I got ripped off. Body style is a dreaded-knot by definition. Came in a high quality corrugated cardboard box - no plush lining in this puppy!

This is where I had to stop playing and hold my sides laughing. The best part of the sound was the constant fret buzz! Tried stuffing newspaper in the sound hole and seemed to improve the overall vibration. The strings appear to be the most expensive part of this guitar so I will play this one sparingly! Adjustment of the truss rod beyond its maximum seemed to improve the neck action somewhat until I heard a loud CRACK. At closer observation I came to notice that the rod was now partially outside the neck. Improvements have their hazards! The overall sound is frail and pathetic (not to mention a little muffled...remember the newspaper?) Anyway, try not to drop your beer on it as this will definitely affect the sound.

The string action was set nice and high at the factory I think the term is called Shang-high where it was made. Anyway, major adjustments will be necessary just to get the strings to meet the fretboard (about 1/2 inch clearance). This guitar was a proto-type of flaws. The finish is a blasted on high gloss graffiti type spray paint. The guitar has alot of glue inside as well as outside which should keep it fairly intact in high winds. Interesting about the top, I book matched mine using real book matches which gave the top and finish a hot well used look. I like it. The frets are very sharp on the ends and I feel should be replaced with surgical steel ones of the same razor sharpness to help reduce infection when playing those heavy licks. The saddle also appears to be the same recycled monkey wood that the neck is made from. I discovered the saddle hanging from the side of the guitar one morning (after an all nighter) still attached to the strings. I gather they must have placed all the glue globs where needed and decided to spare the saddle to as not to diminish the cosmetics of the instrument. This is what design teams are all about!

Will this guitar last you ask? I think so. It's like a moped, it's fun until your friends see you. If someone stole this axe I would be relieved. Would I buy another one? Don't be silly. The guitar is suitable for other purposes - a great canoe paddle, car/house window remover, a drum, a machine gun look alike, get two of them and take the strings off and you have a great pair of snow shoes!

Please don't take this guitar to a gig okay? You'll need a backup - like a few police officers. This guitar will get you thrown out of the place! However, think of the laffs you'll get when someone says "I thought Johnson made outboard motors?"

You're on your own!

I've ben playing for 35 years. I wish I had not bought this guitar as I only wanted the strings on it.

This junker belongs on the roof of the car! Thought it was going to be simlar to a Martin D45. Man, was I wrong on that one!

This dreadnought was made in japan.The company I got it from said it was made of HIGH quality White wood. WHAT the heck is white wood?
It has nonlocking tuners(pretty crappy but they stay in tune pretty well) I have no Idea what kind of wood the fingerboard is made out of. ANYWHO it has all the normal features of a dreadnought so I give it a 8

NOW this is where the guitar should get a good rating. IT sounds great nice RICH/Full sound. I put a pickup on it and it sounded great It sounds almost as good as my other acoustic

When I pulled the guitar out of the box the action was pretty good and the finish was great. It has a blue burst kinda color(pretty cool)
The first thing I did was change the strings to Martin Maquies, that improved the sound alot. The only major flaw was that the fret wire was not properly sanded down so I now have a callouse on the side of my finger where it was rubbing up againt the fret wire.

This guitar will and has withstood live playing. I help lead the music every wednesday for my church youth group.And it has held up so far I would gig with a backup though(just because I would always have a backup no matter what the guitar was)I can totally depend on it

Never dealt with them (I don't think they even have a web site or phone #)

I have been playing guitar for 3 years and I needed a guitar to just mess around with and not have to worry about breaking. When I bought this guitar I didn't expect it to be so good. If where lost or stolen I would get another one

Johnson JG 610-BL. Made in China. Blue sunburst top acoustic guitar. I bought this online so it came with a basic package (tuners) and that's about it.

I'm more of a classical player, but this guitar has a very rich sound. That is, if you fix it up once you take out of the package. Once you fix it up with better strings or the newer silk core strings, it sounds GREAT (for a cheap guitar). However, it doesn't have the forgiveness of a high quality guitar so your left hand fingers had better be dead on when strumming the frets.

cheap guitar, so I expect a cheap finish. Action on the bridge was well over 1/4 inch so I had to raise the neck a bit. It was quite difficult to adjust the neck binding with the allen wrench. the bridge didn't have any adjustable screws, so I had to file out the excess. Plays badly right out of the box, but modify it and you can get its full potential. Not very good... But decent for its price range.

I wouldn't want to play this in any recital, mainly because the construction is so cheap. Soundboard looks banged up. Definitely made of the artificially dried woods. I guess this thing would last as long as you don't bang it up too much (but then, I'm a violent person... hehe) In a gig, this would be my backup.

not fluent in chinese.

Overall, this is the best guitar for the beginner. Pretty bad workmanship, but the sound and tonal qualities are great for a cheap guitar. I'm into my 2nd month playing the guitar and this instrument taught me three full songs (More than Words, Corduroy, and Somebody) before I moved onto my Ibanez.

This is a standard dreadnaught acoustic, made in China. The BL in the model number indicates it is blue, B for black and N for natural. The back and sides are a dark midnight blue (almost black) and the top is a blue burst, (dark around the outer edges and lighter towards the center)The neck and headstock are black. It has black binding around the body and fretboard. The binding is hardly noticable. Personally I think it would have looked better with white binding to give it some contrast. This is a cheap guitar and various flaws in workmanship are obvious. Flaws may differ from one guitar to another, but usually it is a cosmetic defect in the paint, or something not too serious.
I have not found one that was perfect. There have been more serious problems slip passed Johnson's quality control, such as split bridges,
and raised fretboards. Inspect the guitar carefully before buying.
For what these guitars sell for, you certainly can't expect the quality of a Martin or Gibson. The JG-610 is the bottom of the Johnson line. It features "el cheapo" covered chrome tuners, a body made of white wood, and a nato wood neck, and comes equipped with Martin strings.
(Anybody ever see a white wood tree?)That's a new one on me.

Sound, WOW! This is where this cheap guitar excells! This guitar has a deep rich tone that some guitars costing five times more, don't have. It has excellent resonance and sustain, and rings like a bell!
It must be the combination of the Martin strings which it came equipped with, and the white wood construction. Sound is very impressive!

This guitar wasn't ready to play after I took it out of the box. The "A" string was up against the big "E" string at the nut. I had to cut the nut a little deeper in order for the string to stay in place. This took all of about two minutes and wasn't a problem for an experienced guitarist. This could have posed a problem for a beginner. Action is medium, but not bad. Finish is not perfect, but still pretty. Did I mention this is not a Martin or Gibson? Don't expect total perfection.

There is no reason this guitar should not be able to withstand live playing as long as you aren't embarrassed to be seen in public with a cheap guitar. Once the crowd hears the deep rich tone of this baby, any laughing will soon stop. These import Johnsons are fairly new, and it's really hard to predict how long it will last. So far, the neck hasn't fallen off. I always carry a spare regardless of the guitar.

I have never dealt with the company. I don't know how to speak or write Chinese.

I have been playing over forty years, and have more guitars than I have room for. I've lost count, but I think I'm up to about 50 guitars now. If it were lost or stolen I would defineately get another one. This is a very affordable, excellent entry level instrument. These are especially good for students if you are the teacher and have to furnish a guitar for lessons. They retail for about $69.00. Don't pay more than that. For what it is, you can't beat them. Just inspect them carefully before buying. None of them are perfect.

Its a nice little dreadnaught guitar... call it what u want, jus a normal acoustic to me.
Ahh.. it was brand new... made in China, probably by little children in a sweatshop.
They'd say 21 but how the hell u play the 21st one I don't know, hehe.
Its made of cheap white wood, with a blue burst sort of finish.
Other than that... it has tuners, a bridge, dot inlays on 5, 7,9, etc. Looks cheap, but then again... it was.
I give it a 9... just cuz well.. it has all the normal features.

Well, when I first got it.... It had some sort of crap strings on it... and it sounded like complete and utter CRAP. Bright twangy thing going on. I shoved new martins on it... it sounded okay. Its kind of an aquired taste... it's kind of tepermental to tune. It has an odd kinda light echo that I haven't figured out... but overall... its well worth the 70bucks I paid.

It uhmm... uhmm... setup...uhmm.... well here we go.
The tuners are okay, less the bottom left one that kinda sticks.
The action was Terribly high so I shaved the bridge spacer until it got low enough for me. I could probably make it a bit better by adjusting the neck a little, but its about as low as it can go without dragging.
Finish looks cheap. Pickgaurd looks cheap. Bridge glued on only... which I don't like all that much, but lots of guitars are that way. Looks cheap... but hey it still plays.

Well.. I've been beating the hell out of the guitar since I got it. Acoustic punk hehehehe. The hardware is cheap, but seems to be holding, but the bridge spacer is at a sharp angle, so when the strings break, they break there.
I've been wearing the frets' finish off since I got it, which is probabbly to be expected.
I don't think the guitar would die from abuse, but if you dropped it ... It'd smash, if you look at the insides, the glue is messy, craftmenship kinda sucks...
I wouldn't use it without a backup... just cuz its a cheap guitar, I wouldn't play it as my first guitar regardless... but its a great thing for a beginner. Its cheap... but it gets the job done.

Never talked to 'em

I've been playing for uhmm... 6months maybe... I don't really keep track. I bought this as my second guitar to take camping, or whereever and not worry about. Right next to my Epiphone PR-200... also a cheap beginner guitar but it sounds a HELLofalot better. But I've been singing for years, and trumpet for years, so I have a pretty good ear for things.
I compared and compared... this was the cheapest guitar I could find... and for cheap... its awesome. It's tempermental... it tunes funny sometimes... but I'm glad I bought it.
Yeah... one more thing... its cheap.