Montana MT106S-N

Montana Guitars is part of the Kamen Corporation. Dreadnought body, flattop, 20 fret. Rosewood fretboard with pearloid plastic dot inlays. Bridge base is rosewood, pegged into the body framing. Cream colored bridge pins with black center dots. Spruce top, very fine. Growth rings are close together, very straight, and it has a nice resonance. Just an excellent piece of wood. May have been really lucky on this one. Usual pickguard of tortoise shell plastic, glued to the top. Sides and back look like cocobolo or maybe zebrawood, although I don't know how they could have used wood like that in a unit so inexpensive. I say this from looking inside at the grain, very distinct with dark runs through it, both sides and back.
Split back with white stripe down the middle. Triple binding on the top.
No inlays on the headstock or around the soundhole, decals, but mounted under the finish.
Clean inside, with a ladder frame on the back and X frame on the top. Kerfs are all clean and well mounted inside. No excess glue. Overbuilt, actually, but has a loud, bright sound.
Tuners are closed, unknown brand, hold tune OK. Plastic nut, plastic saddle, of course. Semigloss clear finish on whole unit, but unfortunatly they used a dark stain under the finishcoat on the sides and back which covers most of the wonderful grain on the sides and back.

This is what sold it. Clear, bell-like sound. Round and not muddy at all. It has a wonderful resonance without any sympathetic string noise. Bass is just a little lacking, but the overall sound is bright, clear and just great for fingerpicking, strumming rythmn on a lot of pop/light rock songs. You don't have to attack it. It responds well with a light to medium touch. A lot of cheaper acoustics sound dead, or muddy. Not this unit. Bright and clear all the way.
Came equipped with Ernie Bell Earthwounds, Medium Light.
I like just about everything about this acoustic, soundwise.

Purchased from a pawn shop for $80, including a nice, clean deluxe padded bag, strap, pick and a chord book I found in the bag. Bag is worth $30.
Guitar was mint. No scratches or dents. Pawn shop owner said a small girl and her father came in and sold it. May have been too big for her.
Action is typical dreadnought. Slightly thicker neck, but low string action. No buzz. Actually, someone set this up very well. I simply tuned it up and played it. Barre chords are a breeze with this thing. Even left the Ernie Ball strings on. They are almost new. I did remove them to paste wax the fretboard, it was a little dry. Now looks like new, and the frets are good and shiny, not worn. This unit has very few hours on it.
Fit is good. Tuners are smooth and hold tune OK. Frets are finished well, and nicely edged. Finish is great save for the dumb dark stain on the back and sides of the body. Would love to see that grain on the wood. You can see it through the stain if you look under a bright light. What were they thinking? Looking inside, you see this wonderful highly grained wood, outside, dark brown sides and back. AARRUUGGH. Maybe this one I should refinish the sides and back.
But overall, the Chinese hit on another winner for little money. I believe this unit is only about $125 new, if still available.

This would be wonderful in a small setting unplugged. I'm not sure how a pickup would act with the brightness, no intentions of putting one on. Mic'd up, I think this would be great for a number of venues. It just projects the sound. Hardware seems solid. I like the pegged bridge, nice touch for extra strength. Top is glass flat. Framing is strong. This one will last, and I believe it should be about 4-5 years old, so the wood is starting to resonate better. Seems very dependable. If I gigged, this would be fine for unplugged music.

Have no idea. For $80 including bag, who cares?

A find, for sure. This unit was rated by someone on the electric guitar side of this site. He bought the wrong guitar for his child. He stated that it would a great guitar if set up right. He's right.
I bought it because of the brightness, the wonderful tone, ease of play.
What I like is the sound, and the easy playability.
What I hate is the stain on the back and sides that hides a wonderful wood.
I compared it to about 20 other acoustics in that shop, including some Yamahas, Jasmines and Samicks. This one was the best by far.
For what I paid, it's a winner.

Bought this guitar for my child to learn on, neck is a little big for a 10 year old. Reminds me of the 60's model gibson necks. This thing is made in China, has a solid top also truss rod. When I received it I put light strings on it. Tuners are ok, it stays in tune pretty well

Sound is kinda like the 60's Guilds. I play mostly bluegrass and 60's music, but i think it would work for any music.

Action was a little high. I think with a pro setup this guitar would be great. Of course its no Martin or Taylor but you get what you pay for. resette is a decal. Inside the sound hole finish is ok, A little overbuilt i would say. Bridge is bolted on, frets could have been cleaned up a little better but it is playable like it is. Neck is finished pretty good.

I think with a pickup this thing would be great for live playing. Its heavy and pretty well braced inside. has one strap button that seems to be pretty sturdy.

Not had to deal with company. Unknown

I have played about 20 years. My son decided he wanted to try and learn but with his very small hands we ended up getting him a little martin which by the way is great for kids or adults. The only bad thing about this guitar is it did'nt come with a case. Oh well.