Rogue Acoustic Electric Guitar For Sale (Jan 2023 Update)

I own a vintage guitar shop and try to keep inexpensive guitars around to give to deserving young students. I bought two of these based upon good reviews. I was first amazed at the quality of the guitar…no sharp fret ends, no high frets, no blemishes in the finish, intonation right on. The set-up was quite good out of the box. I did file the nut some, but I always do even on high end guitars. The guitar sounds decent acoustically, but plugged in is where it shines. It stands up to guitars priced over a grand when plugged in. I gave one of these to a Grammy winning guitar player who is also amazed at its quality and sound. He thinks it is a great practice guitar that he does not need to worry about getting broken or stolen.Gary

I have been playing about 2 years. I have an acoustic guitar and wanted to try an acoustic-electric without breaking the bank. I bought the RA-090 concert size because a dreadnought size guitar is too large for me. The built-in tuner, volume and tone controls are handy. The action is a little high but it plays fine. The top and body are all laminated and of course sounds different than my solid spruce top acoustic.I had realistic expectations of an instrument in this price range, and overall, I am satisfied with the guitar.John

I couldn't resist buying this guitar, in spite of the fact that I own several acoustics of better quality. I have been wanting to try an acoustic/electric for a long time, one with barn-door electronics, and this one was on sale so I thought I'd roll the dice. And that's exactly what you do when you buy a Rogue. For the money involved, don't expect consistent quality. Mine came with no glaring issues, with fret ends fairly smooth (I did give them a quick touch-up) and a reasonable finish, although the back of the guitar did have some spots that could have used more polishing, but black is a hard finish to make look perfect. The neck is rather beefy, and some may find it too big, but it fits my hand better than a skimpy neck. The sound unplugged is OK but not rich in tone, and the electronics work fine when plugged in, albeit a little harsh sounding. I'll have to work on that with some creative EQ. Taking a peek inside with a light and an inspection mirror, everything looked clean except for some shoddy drill work through the bridge plate. The truss rod turns easily, and came properly adjusted. The cheap tuners all work as intended with no slippage. For the bad, plan to throw away the strings immediately. And the intonation was considerably off, due to the saddle tilting in its slot from string pressure and a sloppy fit in the bridge slot. This was corrected temporarily with a cardboard shim in front of the saddle. Next I will have to address the nut slots (not deep enough) and the saddle being too high. All considered, this is a good buy if you want an inexpensive acoustic/electric.Jimmy J

Great for starting out! Tuner works well. Gloss black gets dirty but easy clean up. Tuning knobs are sturdy. Not sure how to connect a strap since there’s only a strap connection on the bottom. But I’ll figure it out. Good sound, just needs replacement strings because these ones give a lot of feedbackAzGuy

The instrument was pack well, and arrived with no damage noted. Kudos to UPS! I have not touched a guitar to play in public, for about 20 years. It was nice to have one that I could actually play. String action is excellent, I can play this without my left wrist hurting. Right now, I'm in "practice" mode, and will attempt the other uses checked, after a bit more practice. I have a Fender Frontman amp that I can plug it in to. It sounds great there. I have seen some acoustic/electrics sacrifice tone, usually on the acoustic end. Tone is great on both the acoustic and the electric ends. The only down downside I hae seen is that the tuner could use an instruction sheet.Doug

It is unplayable. Has extreme fret buzz and trying to adjust the truss rod doesn't do any good. The neck and fret board are uneven. Starting on the body side the fret board is high and then drops down in the middle of the neck. Trying to straighten up the neck by adjusting the truss rod only makes it worse. The guitars look good but are junk.Robert

I was very excited to see and play a highly reviewed 12 string that costs pennies compared to my 12 string Takamine, Yamaha and Ibanez. Once I got through the box I saw the guitar had the look of some cheap pressed wood. The sound was as weak as a cup of Finnish coffee. The darn thing couldn't stay in tune to save mine or its life. How this guitar gets rated so highly MUST be a result of fake reviewers OR I simply got the ONE Rogue 12 string that seemed to be made by the Fisher-Price Company. This is NOT a musical instrument. It IS an instrument to make noise with. My edition was not worthy of the effort one has to put forward to learn and play guitar. One must have to have an instrument meet the musician at least half-way. With this "musical" instrument, you have to cross the block, pick the guitar up and fight against it to produce close to a tone that sounds musical. Best to buy a used good name 12 string guitar. Or save your pennies and get a Takamine or Yamaha. The latter will be excellent and cost in the $350 range. But a Yamaha will play forever and stay in tune. I recommend my Yamaha over my ash Ibanez. The former just has a fuller tone. If possible save for the Takamine which is on another guitar plane altogether. But don't buy a guitar based on price and/or name. I've discovered many of the friends I play with can't tell if their singing and/or playing is in tune!!. And yet, they own $5,000 MARTIN GUITARS!! Haha. Quite simply a waste of money. Be like me buying a red-green "masterpiece" oil painting, as I'm red-green color blind. But I DO have a good ear and this Rogue of a guitar is worthy of no one's money or effort. M.F. has many more-though more expensive-options that will bring the performer YEARS if not DECADES of playing happiness. Only misery lies in a 12 string Rogue guitar. Avoid.muskoxmike

Purchased this around December hoping to get my kids into it. As usually happens, it ended up being much more of a display use. I would imagine it was picked up about 12 times max total. It sat on display being ignored primarily. Still, by mid-June (in under 6 months) the bridge has warped and started to detach from the main guitar. I noticed this as I walked past it. The glue did not hold. Surprise though, because you can't just pull up a website for Rogue. I called Guitar Center for help to contact the manufacturer as this should be covered under their warranty. Guitar cCenter took my information and said they would forward it to their "contact" for the company and I should receive a response in 3-5 business days. It's been a few weeks now and I'm not impressed. No one called me back, they wouldn't simply give me an 800 number to call to handle it myself, and I still have no solution and no idea who to contact in order to make a claim on the manufacturer warranty. I am more than disappointed with Guitar Center's negligence to truly stand behind a beginner product they seem to offer a great deal of.Amanda V.

I'm so impressed by my RD 90. I think some reviewers are hesitant to give it the praise it deserves because it is an inexpensive guitar. I did a little work to lower the action and now it is perfect. Humidity and temperature changes cause it to need occasional tuning, no different that my other two acoustics. It has a full, rich tone. It plays easily. It makes me feel like I got a real bargain; I don't know how they turn a profit at this price.Charles

Rogue Starter Guitar. Bottom line: NOT for beginners, requires too much set-up work and the strings feel very harsh on the fingers. I really tried to make it work. I was warned against buying cheap, but I thought I wanted something I could learn on, that I wouldn't be intimidated by, and eventually donate somewhere. But it was not playable out of the box. At first the tuning was awful. I figured out why they include an Allen wrench, and eventually put on my big-girl shoes and adjusted the truss rod. There are no instructions included with this guitar, so here's a clue: the access panel is in the front of the head stock, and you need to open the rhomboid black panel to access it. It was difficult to turn, but I adjusted it and made it sound a bit better, even though I was afraid of breaking it. However – the D-String tuning peg turned out to be totally defective, the screw threads were not lined up. How can I learn what it's supposed to sound like if it never sounds right? We are still in the middle of Covid-19, and I was unable to bring it back to Guitar Center for repair or replacement for weeks, so I tried to work with it and continued my self-guided lessons. As soon as the shop opened to walk-in customers, I returned it. I will not be replacing it with this model. It did serve its purpose in a way, I researched the guitar parts and repair, and took it upon myself to try to fix the issues, so now I am not intimidated by a guitar.J-net

Sorry, I hate to write negative reviews but… in what world are these the same guitars? From the picture, the Red Burst guitar looked like a dark mahogany color. Instead it's a bright red with a black edge. I'm sure that's some people's style, but not mine. It also won't stay in tune, and it's a pain to retune it every day I pick it up. I picked this guitar because I'm just starting to learn and didn't want to sink too much money into something I don't stick with. I'm not sure if I want to spend the extra money to upgrade to a better guitar, but I at least plan on taking it into the nearest guitar center store and see if I can exchange it for another color. Even that will be a pain, since I'll have to take it on the train and I don't have a case for it yet. I just wish the pictures were more accurate to the product!Rachel

Bought for my ten year daughter. Action is insane for such a affordable price. Sounds good. Beautiful color. My guitars were too big for her. This one fits just really get. Love that the scale is normal still. Allowing for a great transition. When it's time to upgrade.Nick

I got a Rogue about four years ago and didn't expect much because the price was so low. I was pleasantly surprised to see the finish and workmanship. This is a beautiful instrument, and the sound is incredible: clean, penetrating, and fairly loud with great sustain. I've added a pick-up so I can run it through my Fishman amp, so it's even better. The guitar is far from perfect. The fingerboard is very narrow, so it's hard to finger-pick on it. And the intonation, as someone else mentioned, leaves a lot to be desired. The notes become increasingly sharp as you go up the neck, and if you put a capo on it, you'll have to tune all over again. Given those two issues, I play mostly slide, and almost exclusively in open tunings. The instrument serves me well that way, and was a good purchase at the price. But it does have those definite limitations.Steve

A lot of the reviews are old, so I thought I'd add to the more recent reviews. Looked at these when they were on sale, and got enen further savings when I bought a return. Described as in "mint" condition and it was. Only issues right out of the box were minor. The ball end of the 5th string was not seated correctly and the 5th and 6th strings were not in their slots in the bridge. These issues led to unwanted vibrations, but were easy fixes. Quality control appeared to be an issue in the early days of MF selling this instrument, but this seems to have been solved, as more recent reviews have been generally positive. Couple things I would suggest. One, put some graphite (pencil lead) in the slots of the nut before you tighten the strings or when you change strings the first time so that it will be easier to tune up. Second, I got this from reading somewhere, tighten and replace strings from the "inside out" like 342516, to keep the bridge/spider in place (probably remove them in the opposite order, outside in, too). The finish on this instrument was flawless, grain on the top was tight (yes, I know it's plywood, but it looks nice) and I like the figure of the wood on the back. Tuners are cheap and not the smoothest, but they get the job done and stay in tune. I peeked down onto the spider under the cover and it looks neatly done (I know from reading that the spider from these inexpensive guitars can have excess flashing and that may need to be addressed) and it sits evenly on the cone from what I can see. Eventually I will change strings and probably take it apart to look at the insides, but for now things look good and it sounds good. Not a high end instrument, but for what I paid for it (and this was a return, remember) this will be a good introductory instrument for me and I anticipate that it will serve me well until I get good enough to start thinking about upgrading. I'll play this for a month or so then I might get back with an update.Thisoldman

Had this guitar given to me as a Christmas gift. Although I immediately took I liking to its volume and tone quality, I thought its intonation and parts were a bit of a disappointment. Its intonation certainly isn't the best since the notes do get more and more sharp the higher you are on the fret board. The nut was sort of cheaply made, some of the grooves not even big enough to hold the strings it came with. Tuners were okay but out of all the guitars I own, I think this own goes out of tune the most. Even my Squier Affinity Telecaster, which is a guitar that comes in a complete guitarist starter package, stays in tune more and has better intonation. I would definitely recommend this guitar, especially to those that are more on the novice level or want an affordable resonator. If you do buy this guitar I just want you to know that it does have great tone, but I suggest finding a local music store that fixes guitars because it can use some improvements. You may want to ask them to have the instrument intonated. As for the tuners, you may want to replace them with Grover tuning machines. They're often used on Epiphone Les Paul's. My Les Paul has these tuners and they can go a few weeks without going out of tune. The tuners on this guitar can hardly go a few hours without going out of tune. Just something to consider if you do buy this.J.R.

I have been playing for quite a few years but took several years off playing as my children were growing. This is my backup guitar excellent guitar for the price. Looks great, plays nicely, action on mine was very good, came packaged well in two boxes no damage whatsoever, perfect condition when it arrived. It arrived on the delivery date all I had to do was carefully unpack it, tune it up and it was ready to play really like the guitar for the price it is a very nice guitar not fancy but has everything you need and best of all it sounds good and is easy to play. Tuners work fine I was able to tune it with a chromatic tuner easily and after a couple of retunes it has held tune very well. If you are looking for good quality beginner or extra guitar this is a very good one and it plays well and the price is right. Got mine for about $70 with tax and its sounds great and plays well can't do better than that for this price !!! I highly recommend it for this price it ticks all the right boxes thanks much Guitar CenterEd

This guitar looks nice & sounds decent, but you get what you pay for. Had to adjust truss rod to the fullest extent before strings were useable. Had to file some frets & add shims under the nut & saddle to lessen the fret buzz. Tuning pegs broke and strings were junk. Not worth it.Joe

I can play verses well with this. The only thing I see is that the strings lie so close to the neck and frets. Is there a reason. I guess I've been used to my older guitar with a wider neck and space for the strings. But, I am going to really enjoy my years with the Sunburst. Nice sound, and good looks.Helen

I bought this to have a remote guitar at a relative's house. I used a coupon, but even if I hadn't, it would be well worth the money. For less than c-note you will never beat it. I've been playing for 30 years and have been a professional musician for many of those. Back in the day, this amount of money would get you a tinny guitar that was impossible to play. This guitar sounds big and is easy to play. There was one buzzy fret, but no biggie. It is not complex tonally, but it sounds plenty warm, probably due to the large dreadnought body. The neck is comfortable and straight out of the box with no fret protrusion (at least in the humid Florida environment). It stayed in tune, and the tuners had a decent enough ratio to get it in tune without too much trouble. Intonation was on point as well. Really nothing to complain about at this price. If you need a camping or beach guitar, it's a great choice. Also a good choice for a beginner.Eric

I have been playing the guitar for twenty years, and I have to say, this little cheapo guitar outperforms guitars ten times it's price. My wife and I stopped by a guitar center a few months ago because I was looking for a new acoustic. I was planning to spend around $1,000 depending on the guitar. I was playing around on their Martin's mostly, and then grabbed this guitar to give me a reality check on the "good" guitars. That was a mistake. I kept going back to this little guitar again and again because I liked the tone more than the expesive guitars. Ended up leaving that day, but coming back a month later to find that same guitar was trashed by other customers. The employees pulled another one for me from the back, and it was just as good as the first, so I walked out with it! The fit and finish is definitely sub-par. There are gouges in the fret board from using cheap wood, the paint lines aren't straight, etc, etc. However, if you care about the sound of a guitar, and not the cosmetic stuff, then this is a deal you can't pass up.jl

I am novice player for over 10 years. I ordered guitar to use to practice and to play for Jail Ministry. I was at first disappointed by initial unveiling, until I tuned guitar and played. Very bright and vibrant sound and stayed in tune, I replaced the strings with a set of DAddario silk and Steel strings which brought this guitar to life for me with an amazing warm and energetic sound. I now really love the looks of the all black with white piping and she really invites you to play. I have spent hours just strumming chords, finger picking and just playing around. I have become really amazed by the low price, but high price sound. Would buy again if I had to..Acoustic Worshipper

I was very excited to see and play a highly reviewed 12 string that costs pennies compared to my 12 string Takamine, Yamaha and Ibanez. Once I got through the box I saw the guitar had the look of some cheap pressed wood. The sound was as weak as a cup of Finnish coffee. The darn thing couldn't stay in tune to save mine or its life. How this guitar gets rated so highly MUST be a result of fake reviewers OR I simply got the ONE Rogue 12 string that seemed to be made by the Fisher-Price Company. This is NOT a musical instrument. It IS an instrument to make noise with. My edition was not worthy of the effort one has to put forward to learn and play guitar. One must have to have an instrument meet the musician at least half-way. With this "musical" instrument, you have to cross the block, pick the guitar up and fight against it to produce close to a tone that sounds musical. Best to buy a used good name 12 string guitar. Or save your pennies and get a Takamine or Yamaha. The latter will be excellent and cost in the $350 range. But a Yamaha will play forever and stay in tune. I recommend my Yamaha over my ash Ibanez. The former just has a fuller tone. If possible save for the Takamine which is on another guitar plane altogether. But don't buy a guitar based on price and/or name. I've discovered many of the friends I play with can't tell if their singing and/or playing is in tune!!. And yet, they own $5,000 MARTIN GUITARS!! Haha. Quite simply a waste of money. Be like me buying a red-green "masterpiece" oil painting, as I'm red-green color blind. But I DO have a good ear and this Rogue of a guitar is worthy of no one's money or effort. M.F. has many more-though more expensive-options that will bring the performer YEARS if not DECADES of playing happiness. Only misery lies in a 12 string Rogue guitar. Avoid.muskoxmike

Purchased this around December hoping to get my kids into it. As usually happens, it ended up being much more of a display use. I would imagine it was picked up about 12 times max total. It sat on display being ignored primarily. Still, by mid-June (in under 6 months) the bridge has warped and started to detach from the main guitar. I noticed this as I walked past it. The glue did not hold. Surprise though, because you can't just pull up a website for Rogue. I called Guitar Center for help to contact the manufacturer as this should be covered under their warranty. Guitar cCenter took my information and said they would forward it to their "contact" for the company and I should receive a response in 3-5 business days. It's been a few weeks now and I'm not impressed. No one called me back, they wouldn't simply give me an 800 number to call to handle it myself, and I still have no solution and no idea who to contact in order to make a claim on the manufacturer warranty. I am more than disappointed with Guitar Center's negligence to truly stand behind a beginner product they seem to offer a great deal of.Amanda V.

I'm so impressed by my RD 90. I think some reviewers are hesitant to give it the praise it deserves because it is an inexpensive guitar. I did a little work to lower the action and now it is perfect. Humidity and temperature changes cause it to need occasional tuning, no different that my other two acoustics. It has a full, rich tone. It plays easily. It makes me feel like I got a real bargain; I don't know how they turn a profit at this price.Charles

I was very excited to see and play a highly reviewed 12 string that costs pennies compared to my 12 string Takamine, Yamaha and Ibanez. Once I got through the box I saw the guitar had the look of some cheap pressed wood. The sound was as weak as a cup of Finnish coffee. The darn thing couldn't stay in tune to save mine or its life. How this guitar gets rated so highly MUST be a result of fake reviewers OR I simply got the ONE Rogue 12 string that seemed to be made by the Fisher-Price Company. This is NOT a musical instrument. It IS an instrument to make noise with. My edition was not worthy of the effort one has to put forward to learn and play guitar. One must have to have an instrument meet the musician at least half-way. With this "musical" instrument, you have to cross the block, pick the guitar up and fight against it to produce close to a tone that sounds musical. Best to buy a used good name 12 string guitar. Or save your pennies and get a Takamine or Yamaha. The latter will be excellent and cost in the $350 range. But a Yamaha will play forever and stay in tune. I recommend my Yamaha over my ash Ibanez. The former just has a fuller tone. If possible save for the Takamine which is on another guitar plane altogether. But don't buy a guitar based on price and/or name. I've discovered many of the friends I play with can't tell if their singing and/or playing is in tune!!. And yet, they own $5,000 MARTIN GUITARS!! Haha. Quite simply a waste of money. Be like me buying a red-green "masterpiece" oil painting, as I'm red-green color blind. But I DO have a good ear and this Rogue of a guitar is worthy of no one's money or effort. M.F. has many more-though more expensive-options that will bring the performer YEARS if not DECADES of playing happiness. Only misery lies in a 12 string Rogue guitar. Avoid.muskoxmike

Purchased this around December hoping to get my kids into it. As usually happens, it ended up being much more of a display use. I would imagine it was picked up about 12 times max total. It sat on display being ignored primarily. Still, by mid-June (in under 6 months) the bridge has warped and started to detach from the main guitar. I noticed this as I walked past it. The glue did not hold. Surprise though, because you can't just pull up a website for Rogue. I called Guitar Center for help to contact the manufacturer as this should be covered under their warranty. Guitar cCenter took my information and said they would forward it to their "contact" for the company and I should receive a response in 3-5 business days. It's been a few weeks now and I'm not impressed. No one called me back, they wouldn't simply give me an 800 number to call to handle it myself, and I still have no solution and no idea who to contact in order to make a claim on the manufacturer warranty. I am more than disappointed with Guitar Center's negligence to truly stand behind a beginner product they seem to offer a great deal of.Amanda V.

I'm so impressed by my RD 90. I think some reviewers are hesitant to give it the praise it deserves because it is an inexpensive guitar. I did a little work to lower the action and now it is perfect. Humidity and temperature changes cause it to need occasional tuning, no different that my other two acoustics. It has a full, rich tone. It plays easily. It makes me feel like I got a real bargain; I don't know how they turn a profit at this price.Charles

I got this on sale and it's worth what I paid. Out of the box, it needed a setup including fret level, neck relief adjustment, action, intonation, nut, pickup height, etc. I needed to tighten almost every screw on the guitar as well. I setup the trem to float and I'm surprised how well it stays in tune. Also, the fretboard is the driest wood I've ever seen! I don't think it's rosewood, but even after oiling it's really dry feeling. I hope this will cure itself with heavy jamming. After all that, the guitar plays great! The humbucker is not bad at all. The single coils are not all that good, and the tone pot has some crud in there that I could not get rid of completely even spraying it with contact cleaner, but it's fine. I bought these for a couple of friends so we could have guitars tuned 1/2 step down to jam along with some different songs (van halen, guns n roses, 80's rock/metal). For this, the guitar will be just fine.Joe

The Rogue Rocketeer Electric Guitar is clearly a beginner / try it out type electric guitar. The accessories are okay, but you want to consider spending less on individual components and shop around – though you may pay more in total. The included amp wasn't anything to write home about and was a bit better than a travel amp. That said, if you are looking to give this as a gift to a kid who is not 75%+ committed to becoming a rock star you will probably save more with this bundle, but be prepared to replace the strap and amp. I found the design of the guitar to be decent, but it clearly looks and feels like it's price range. Compared to other cheap guitars at a similar price, it was on par. I was more impressed with the "Rogue RA-090 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar" from the same company in feeling and value compared to the price during my demo review session. The build of this electric guitar was solid enough, so it looks like Rogue has quality controls in place and you will hopefully get a properly QAed and functioning guitar. Bottom line, if you are serious about getting into guitar I would recommend spending a bit more on different guitar and amp – but if you don't want to invest too much time researching, this bundle will give you a playable guitar which will be suitable to start on and you won't feel bad about passing this down or on to someone else when you upgrade. I am writing this review as part of a contest.EReviewer

I bought this guitar to check out a budget friendly offering from Yamaha. I have to say I was not disappointed! Excellent tone and volume, the top really resonates. The guitar was really well setup right out of the box. It needed about 3/4 of a clockwise truss rod adjustment, no prob. Other than that it didn't need any fret dressing whatsoever. That's really impressive for a Chinese guitar. Heck even one of my Mexican Martins needed fret dressing out of the box! Also intonation was spot on and this also is important in your guitar. Very impressed with this guitar, intermediate/advanced feel but priced at a beginner budget. You won't regret picking one up, I assure you!Big Bone Murphy

There is a point of quality when an instrument reaches when it stops being seen as "better or worse" but rather just a different flavor. This Yamaha has reached that point. You can play it alongside a guitar costing 5x more and it stands up well. Yamaha is also one of those rare companies with a long history of top quality across all kinds of products, and guitars are an area Yamaha knows well. This is just a beautiful guitar through and throughout. You can get beautiful uncompromisingly great studio recordings with this guitar. Hitting the low strings hard with strumming gives a nice deep and rich tone. Also, the hardware / tuners are nice.Scott

I've owned many acoustics over the years, MANY, and this Yamaha is one of the best sounding I've ever owned. Went to GC just to check out a few lower end acoustics to pick up for jamming on, and tried almost every one in the room. Picked this one up last just before I was ready to leave, and immediately was blown away by the sound and playability, brought a couple friends to listen and tell me which one they thought sounded the best, and hands down this won over all of them. It has the tone and warmth of a Martin D34, which I have owned a few, and it plays like a dream. The neck is so sliky smooth, easy to fly up and down with no effort. It has amazing sustain and beautiful tone, I fell in love with it and just couldn't put it down. I didn't expect a guitar of this price range to sound as good as it does, got it home and I couldn't put it down. Played for 4 hours straight, and even after trying to put it down to go to bed at 1am I found myself playing a for a few more minutes before I could actually go to sleep. Love this Yamaha more than any guitar I've bought in the last decade. The best thing about it is, It gave me the desire to pick up playing guitar again, after hardly touching any of my other guitars for almost a year it's the one I want to play more than all of them. Great guitar, wouldn't hesitate to buy another in a different color, if you want something that you won't be able to put down this baby has the sound and feel your looking for.Johnny D

This guitar model virtually always features in the number one or number two spot of all rankings for 'The Best Guitars to Learn On', usually along with one or two other models from the Taylor brand and I can entirely understand why. Specifically, it exceptionally well constructed, with a great tone, and no quirks that make it anything other than just a great pleasure to play either at home on one's own or out in sessions. If you are learning the guitar, it would be difficult to think of any better model on which to do it, given these qualities, and the added benedfit is that it is of such a high standard that you can use it all the way through your musical life, as it equally valid for professional performances.Simon W.

This is my first guitar. I am just beginning to learn. I had a sales associate play a number of different acoustic guitars and I also sat an held and played 1-2 chords with various guitars. This guitar sounded the best in the price range and was by far the most comfortable to play!Troy

As soon as I picked up this guitar, it felt like it had been my guitar my whole life! The narrow neck and quality craftsmanship make it probably the most playable guitar I've ever gotten my hands on. The materials and look of the guitar are absolutely beautiful, and it sounds even more gorgeous. The pickup and microphone blend option is amazing, so you can play percussion or really capture rhythmic slaps and plucks of your fingerstyle. The cut away gives you that extra freedom near that wonderful area past the 12th fret, and arrived out of the box with perfect intonation across the entire fret board. Cut away doesn't effect the quality of the sound, and also just looks very good. The gig bag is as nice as it gets. I could not be more pleased with this purchase.Colin O

This guitar is really excellent, plenty loud and round sound from the tight-grained cedar top. The saddle and nut are high quality, and the craftsmanship across the rest of the instrument is great! The headstock especially is beautiful. I purchased a scratch and dent instrument, there were several marks in the finish in seemingly random spots, hard to tell exactly what caused them. There were also a few pin-sized bubbles in the finish (specifically near the edges on the body) that easily scratched off, leaving a hole directly to the wood itself. Very minor, but unsure of it was a factory flaw or just the finish being naturally delicate. Of course, it doesn't really affect the sound or playability of this wonderful instrument!Dan

I just received my Solea SA-C guitar in the mail and I could not be happier with how beautiful this instrument is! I am quite literally blown away by the beautiful wood grain of the cocobola back and sides! The fit and finish seems very good although there are a few small imperfections that you can find if you look close but overall this guitar is a gem. I've never owned a classical guitar before and ordered this one after doing some research. I did not want a Chinese made guitar and I wanted all solid wood. I first ordered a Cordoba Solista but it was back ordered so I cancelled and ordered this Solea and I'm happy I did because it's simply gorgeous and sounds exactly how I had imagined it would. It's pretty loud and has a nice mellow balanced tone I would say. It sounds sweet to put it simply!Jesse

. Now let me set the scene… I am a guitar lover (I can even play a little too) and a quality professional so My expectations are somewhat higher than most looking at this product. An absolutely beautiful instrument, this is my second SA360 and although they are no longer. Made in Japan, be assured they have not lost any of the build quality or attention to detail. The guitar was really well set up, is great to play, feels good in the hand and sounds the bee’s knee’s. If you are looking to start out in guitar playing get yourself an Ibanez Gio to start as a first upgrade from that, then the SA series is where you want to be at.Timbo

. Now let me set the scene… I am a guitar lover (I can even play a little too) and a quality professional so My expectations are somewhat higher than most looking at this product. An absolutely beautiful instrument, this is my second SA360 and although they are no longer. Made in Japan, be assured they have not lost any of the build quality or attention to detail. The guitar was really well set up, is great to play, feels good in the hand and sounds the bee’s knee’s. If you are looking to start out in guitar playing get yourself an Ibanez Gio to start as a first upgrade from that, then the SA series is where you want to be at.Timbo

I have had the guitar for a few days now and have been thoroughly enjoying it. I played one at the NAMM 2020 and I was immediately hooked. Now that I have been able to play for a few days in a quiet environment I can say the 324 builder's edition is truly AWESOME. This guitar excels in low tunings, e.g. open C, C+2 (first string tuned to D), or Cm (1st string tuned to Eb)–it has this dark and intriguing voice from the bass strings and clear, liquid treble. When you fingerpick the sound is sweet and clear; and when you strum, the sound is smooth and rounded. I have had several Taylors (714ce, 514ce, 324e, GS Cedar/Rosewood, and a 314 Ltd), and this one is unique–it sings differently from your normal spruce or cedar top guitars. I know the mahogany is supposed to smooth things out but I suspect it has a lot to do with the combination of the back and side urban ash. The look, what can I tell ya, is simple and elegant at the same time. Try playing one. Just be prepared that you may want one.JB

I was excited to get this guitar. Mahogany top plus new urban ash as a builder's edition. I was stoked. The builder's edition finishing and beveled arm rest, cut away, and edges was so, so comfortable and the finish was amazing. I wanted so badly to love this guitar. But the tone was just not what I was hoping for. Mahogany is usually warmer in tone to me than spruce. Maybe I got a funky specific guitar, but I wasn't a fan of the Urban Ash. I finger picked, flat picked, chorded with rhythm, and ran riffs. I couldn't hear the high end for the bass which is so much opposite from any other Taylor I have heard. I'm not a huge fan of the typical brightness of Taylor's where the high end drowns out the bass. I took this back and traded it in for the standard 324ce mahogany top with Blackwood back and sides and THAT guitar is where it is at! Wonderful balance of tones and the warmth you would expect from mahogany. I do like the v-brace sustain and intonation. That was great on the builder's edition as well. Like I said, maybe I just got a funky example of the builder's edition or maybe the tone just wasn't for me. If you're in love with Taylor's, maybe it will be great for your collection. I have various high end Martin's, Breedloves, and Gibson's, but I was looking for a great mahogany guitar to add to my collection. The standard 324ce met that and actually exceeded what I wanted.CCC

After playing for over 20 years, hearing hundreds of guitars…you tend to not be blown away when picking one up for the first time. This has happened 3 times in my own playing journey, and the third time was picking this guitar up for the first time. I couldn't put it down. I had shown up to demo a few different Taylors (and a Martin or two) and this was not on the list being considered. After playing a few Grand Concert style bodied guitars (and much preferring it in recent years), I was hesitant to pick up a Grand Auditorium body guitar. They've never been quite comfortable for me to play, and this is a major exception to the rule. Comfort here is top tier, a whole other level. The beveled arm rest, chamfered edges, and beveled cut away should be on every acoustic guitar. It creates a "slim" feeling while maintaining the full body size and scale length. Incredible, to say the least. The tone that pours out, the dynamic ability to play loud and immediately transition to softer, tactful playing…it's honestly mind blowing. This guitar sits right in between the "midrange" that Mahogany is known for and the "brilliant highs with deep base" that a combo of Spruce and Rosewood typically brings. The pairing of Mahogany on the top, with the Urban Ash sides brings the best of it all. Warm tone, but shining top end with great low end delivery. You don't miss a thing when it comes to sustain either, the notes can ring for what seems like 10 times longer than it should. The clarity within the decay is unreal. The fretboard and neck? Smooth, comfortable, wonderfully shaped. The feel of the satin finish? Divine. The Gotoh tuners? Insanely accurate and fine in rotation. The setup out of the box? Literally, perfect. I couldn't have asked to find a better guitar after looking for a new acoustic for the last few years (replacing a Martin 000). This was the one.Will

Overall: Bought this guitar when it first came out. It's HPL so the finish doesn't really matter compared to other HPL back and sides but the neck feel and solid wood neck improves pliability from the previous earlier HPL models I have owned. From the first strum I knew I had a good one and I doubt you'll regret buying one of these. Big Martin sound for not a lot of money.Lewis

This guitar was in tune when it arrived, I highly recommend this to musicians who don't care about buying collectors art. My step-dad has over 30 k in 5 American Martin's. They are amazing, but i can take this work on the grip truck. The action is subperb.. buy this guitar, the help from ams was awesome go Glenn! This is probably best cheap quality acoustic electric for the 700 under marketConor

I mostly play for my own amusement, but I've been at it for about 40 years. The FS5/FSX5 is a well built, nice looking, and easy playing guitar. Setup was about perfect out of the box… I might take it down just a touch at the bridge, but it was definitely in the ballpark. The neck feels comfortable, and I have had no issues with buzzes or rattles anywhere on the neck. Tuners are smooth and accurate. Out of the box, the guitar sounds very full and open, with good balance between the strings. The sustain and volume are also both pretty good. The guitar responds pretty well to dynamics, and you can dig in a bit before it starts to hit the ceiling. I've played some that have a little more dynamic range, but the FSX5 hangs. Offers pretty good clarity for fingerstyle, and I have no problem bringing out the notes I want to emphasize. I am really happy with how it sounds with strummed chords…rich, yet clear and punchy. The aesthetics are low-key, but still classy and elegant. The A.R.E aged top under the satin finish is a lovely warm orange-gold, and the simple black binding with smaller white inner bands frames it nicely. The ebony pickguard is a nice touch.. much richer look than simple plastic. The electronics get the job done. I like about an 80% mic blend, and a bit of a bass cut. I run it through a Fishman Platinum EQ and Preamp… and would recommend a good preamp to get the most out of this pickup system… you can dial in a good tone without one, but you'll get the best results with a preamp. Overall, I think Yamaha made some great decisions with this guitar. Although some of the basic fab work is done in China, the finishing touches fall under the auspices of the Japanese craftsman. They used quality materials for the build (bone nut and saddle, ebony bridge), but otherwise kept the "bling" to a minimum, and concentrated on delivering quality in the sound and feel. This is a players guitar, and the price is right for what it is.Vognell

This guitar is actually solid. After getting it setup with a bone saddle and bone nut, it sings. The frets were perfect polished and the intonation was spot on. The neck did require less relief, but who cares. That's a simple job. Amazing playability, and once you swap that plastic crap out for bone, I don't know you'd be able to find an acoustic this cheap that plays like this one does.Don

Being a guitarist since 12 I've always had a hard time playing acoustic. Since I've always played electric guitar. Low and behold the Alt30 came into my life! And this guitar has changed everything! Being that it's fret board is styled after an electric. I have never felt more comfortable playing and writing acoustic music now! Thanks AMS and Ibanez for this truly amazing guitar!Bryan