Stagg SW206CBB-N

OK this was bought for my wife who, although a music teacher, is not a guitarist and needed something of the right size to learn on that could be amplified if needed. It is a relatively recent model, bought about 2 years ago, ie 2004 and claims that it is hand made in China! 21 frets, shallow bodied, roughly OM shape single cutaway model with factory installed BBand pickup and preamp (hence the CBB-N suffix). Natural finish.
Can't say for sure what the woods are - back and sides laminate of some sort trying to look like mahogany, but I don't think it is. Top is spruce, again laminated I think. Finish is glossy.
Tuners are actually quite OK - metal sealed units with the brand's "S" on the back. They work fine and we have encountered no major problems that tightening the screws didn't solve.
Fretboard looks like rosewood although on this example there are areas where it seems like it has dried out. Will be looking into this with the help of a luthier friend and some appropriate fingerboard oil. The neck itself is nicely slim allowing for some nice soloing moments.
Features wise this guitar could deserve more than 7, but the quality (and uncertain nature) of the woods drags it down a bit.

Unplugged this guitar is OK for messing about with at home, parties and so on. It doesn't have the bite or ring that a decent solid-topped instrument would have and tonally it reflects its shallow body. Soloing over someone else with a decent dreadnought on the other hand it works quite well (and it usually competes with a Guild D35 and an Ibanez Artwood of some description).
Amplified however is another story entirely! The BBand pickup must be one of the best on the planet - we have tried this thing direct through an Allen Heath mixer as well as stand alone amps and it actually sounds really good! With a bit of tweaking on the external EQ to remove the usual excess unwanted mids this is one of the more natural pick up systems. Drawbacks? The BBand's knobs are so flipping small that on-the-fly adjusments mid-gig/song are nearly impossible (although accidental adjustments are, for the same reason, unlikely). Perhaps some sort of push out system would be ideal so that you can actually get your fingers around the controls when you need to. I know this exists on some preamp systems, maybe BBand have sorted it out here too. So, acoustic sound not much, plugged in it sounds a lot more than it's price.

The set up and action are fine, but as it was done by the store I can't comment on the factory set-up.
The finish. Oh dear oh dear, this is where this guitar lets us down. In a word, appalling: the stain on the back and sides (to make it look like mahogany) is messy and has leaked onto the binding in places, and doesn't cover the areas it is supposed to in others. The top however is bookmatched and looks perfectly decent although, as I said, I can't believe that it is solid. The bracing inside seems to be aligned OK but here too the builders have been very sloppy: glues has been allowed to ooze out from under the bracing and dry with no attempt to wipe away and clean up the excess. This can be excuseable just about on the inside on a guitar this cheap but the bridge!?!

Well, this guitar has withstood live playing as it is the backup! In fact it did a couple of gigs all by itself when the Guild had its Fishman fitted and some nasty dings seen to. Within its price range it is dependable and as it is used amplified its shortcomings as an acoustic instrument go largely unnoticed. It remains to be seen how the finish will last, and I really have reservations about the quality of the fretboard.

We have not dealt with Stagg direct, but our local dealer is very helpful and reliable.

Well I have been playing about 28 years (40 soon!) and have owned various guitars along the way. Now play on a Guild D35, Fender US Strat and a G&L (US) ASAT classic hollow body (and saving up for a Taylor 414CE). If it were stolen I seriously think we would save up and buy a Baby Taylor or something similar, the finish just isn't up to the job despite the good live sound. Having said that, at the price we paid (approx #150) you can't fault it too much and it does work and sound good amplified. Given that the pick up system itself costs a significant part of the overall price I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. As the instrument was being paid for by the local council (teacher training stipend!) we were a bit limited for choice that time. Next time though we will try various instruments to see what is going to have the best mix of build and sound quality at the right price. At this price though you can't expect a Martin, but you can expect them to sort out the finish...