Product: Silvertone SD-11
Price Paid: US $150
Submitted
05/03/2005
at
12:11pm
by
Ralph Gonzalez
Email: rgonzale<at>ibl dot bm
Features
:
9
2005 solid Sitka top, binding, mother of pearl soundhole inlay, mahogany back and sides, with inlay, snowflake fingerboard inlay, gold grover tuners. I'm giving it a high rating because you shouldn't get all this for $150. I discarded the plastic stick-on pickguard because it detracted from the very nice aesthetics.
Sound
:
8
Nice full resonant sound. The solid top sounds so much better than the laminates you often find in this price range.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
8
I bought this on a whim at Sam Goody's while travelling. (I live overseas.) The first one I tried had too much bow in the neck and so was difficult to play without buzzing. It might have been fine with a bit of truss rod adjustment. However it also had a kind of unattractive grain pattern on the top. I exchanged it for the floor model which had a beautiful top and was set up perfect. So as usual you should try before you buy or else use a mailorder place which allows returns.
Reliability/Durability
:
No Opinion
It seems pretty solid, I've banged it around a bit at home with no marks on the finish yet. It also survived the airplane luggage hold in a flimsy cardboard box. But I don't know about long term yet.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Overall Rating
:
8
I would have been happy with a nice-sounding guitar with no binding or anything, but was amazed that I could go to a department store and get a $150 guitar which sounded good and looked beautiful. My daughter's guitar teacher was really impressed. The Grover tuners are solid and the overall construction inspires confidence.
If it were lost/stolen I would buy it again. However with access to a big mailorder store I'd also consider a low-end Washburn or something, since I don't really care that much about binding, inlay, etc.
