Ashthorpe 38-inch Beginner Acoustic Guitar (Black), Starter Kit with Gig Bag, Extra Strings, Strap, Picks, and Lessons

I have to say that I am impressed. While I must admit that I'm a beginner at guitar (I'm a former drummer that can no longer play due to health issues), I learned a lot about guitars from an old band mate. This beginner guitar sounds nice, and is of a better size for me to learn on. I have an old acoustic, but the body is far too large for me. This guitar arrived a little over an hour ago. No nicks, dings, or cracks on it. Checked the screws on the tuning machines, everything was good. Since the headstock is more of a classical style than a regular acoustic, I took off the steel strings that came on the guitar and replaced them with classical strings (nylon - medium tension). While it's going to take at least a few days for the nylon strings to stretch out enough before they stay in tune, I did get it tuned up for a bit and played a few chords. The guitar sounds wonderful, with a good bit of volume. I think I'll enjoy learning on this guitar. If you decide to get this guitar and go with nylon strings (which you should), unless you go with 'ball end' strings, you might have to look up how to 'tie' the nylon strings onto the guitar, as some nylon strings that you can get will not come with a ball end. I had helped do this on a guitar decades ago, but needed a refresher course, and found the information online easily enough. The reason I say you should use nylon strings is because they require less tension than the normal steel strings. Since this guitar does *not* have a truss rod, you want to go with strings that do not need as much tension. Using steel strings can cause problems with the bridge piece (breaking or coming off), the neck (warping), and the tuning pegs. You might be able to get away with using light or super light tension steel strings, but that's your choice. I'm sticking with the nylon strings. They bring out the sound that I want from this guitar. They're also easier to learn with as a beginner, as they don't hurt your fingertips as much. Yes, it will take longer to build up the callouses on the fingertips, but hey...less pain when learning can be a good thing. But again, for an inexpensive guitar, this one is a good deal. As with any instrument, if you're not sure if you, or the person you get it for, are going to maintain interest in learning the instrument...going with an inexpensive instrument like this is always the best idea. As for the other bits that come in this package...the picks are good, the case is good enough to keep dust off the guitar, the strap is not all that great, and the tuner is pretty much garbage because the battery cover does not want to stay on (I have another one just like it, and it has the same problem), and the pitch pipe is 'meh'. The main thing you want in this package is the guitar. Just get some better strings, a good tuner (I have a 'Snark' that wasn't expensive), and a decent guitar strap...and you're set.

This is a really nice starter guitar for beginners, especially for younger players or anyone wanting something smaller and easier to handle. We got this for our 3 year old grandson and he loves whamming away on it trying to play. The 30-inch size feels more comfortable than a full-size guitar for him. It has a clean look and comes with the basic accessories needed to get started. The sound is really good for a beginner setup and works well for practice. The strings and tuning may need a little adjustment at first, but that's pretty normal. It’s lightweight and easy to carry around. The bundle setup makes it convenient without needing separate purchases. I feel like this is a super good entry-level option to learn on.

We just got this Guitar today. We opened the box and were very impressed with the appearance! This is a gift for our granddaughter and she loves purple. This guitar is the perfect color with a beautiful gloss finish. There are other colors a person can choose from. The guitar has wire strings which is what we were looking for. It comes with a strap, a cover, extra strings, pics, and tuner. It sounds great and arrived in perfect condition. We can't wait to give it to our granddaughter. This guitar was priced very reasonable, is very durable, and comes with materials that will help any beginner get started. I would suggest that you purchase a solid case to protect this beautiful guitar.

This guitar came already strung which was nice for my son who is just beginning. It was very easy for him to tune as well. It is a bit short as the neck isn’t as long as he would like but for just starting to learn it is great. The price for the quality I was a bit worried about but it is a great learner guitar especially for that price. It was delivered on time and nothing was damaged.

Well I don't know much about guitars but this is a very good guitar for ur toddler to learn to strum, it was super cheap, great color, just needed to tune it, sits good on the lap, light weight material,sits good on the shoulder, easy set up, came with a case

Granddaughter loves this. It's great for a kid. Needed adjustments to actually be playable but not bad. $50 worth or less depends on strings and labor. Strings are not the best that come with it. Might go and get your own same with strap. It's cheap. Let the shop do it strings or pop one like I did 😂. Or maybe worse and it'll piss you off.

This guitar is fun for the littles, especially if they want to copy an older sibling or a parent, but it's not a viable instrument for a child interested in learning music properly (unless you're willing to invest time in fiddling with stuff normally left to a luthier or guitar tech). As a toy, I'd probably give it 4.5 starts. As an introductory instrument, I'd give it 1 star or maybe 2 at the most. If you are looking for a "toy" instrument that your child can strum on and bang around, this will suffice. It's lightweight and has a decent strap, makes sounds, and comes with the extras you'd expect in a beginner guitar kit. However, if you are looking for an affordable beginner/student instrument for your child, I would recommend an actual instrument manufacturer that produces 1/2 scale and 3/4 scale instruments like Yamaha (their APXT2 acoustic 3/4-scale guitars are fantastic quality for the price point). You are simply not going to find a decent instrument in the $50-$60 range unless you hit a home run and find a used instrument from a reputable manufacturer on eBay/Craigslist/FB Marketplace/your local music or guitar shop. Entry level student guitars are typically going to be at least $150+ for steel string and $125+ for nylon string/classical if buying new. ISSUES: - TUNING: similar to most toy stringed instruments, the strings constantly drop out of tune, especially in the lower registers, even with continuous stretching and retuning to break in the strings. For an instrument this small, tuning up to G or A will help keep the tensions better, but the strings/tuners still tend to slip. The tuners appear to be plastic finished to look like metal. - ACTION isn't terrible (not the worst I've seen on toy guitars), but still a little high. - INTONATION: This is one of the deal breakers. As you fret higher up the fingerboard the pitches go sharp and don't stay in tune. The distances between the nut to 12th fret and 12th fret to saddle are close to equivalent, so it may be an action issue or a fret placement issue. If you want to have a fun DIY luthier project to mess around with, then maybe this is a good starting place. Perhaps fiddling with the nut and/or saddle height would correct some of the tone issue, but I doubt that's something you want to do. I haven't checked fret spacing, but there's a chance this isn't tonally salvageable unless it's refretted. - FINISH: decent finish, but there is overspray from the body color on the base of the neck. I could see some value in using this to teach basic notes and open chord shapes, with the caveat that you may have difficulty having those notes sound at the correct tuned pitch (and chords may sound dissonant). As a toy, it's decent value, and better quality than other options. As an instrument for a child earnest about entering into wonder and joy of the world of music, it sounds bad and won't provide a serious experience. The time, effort, or money you'd have to spend to make this playable would be better invested in an actual student-grade/entry-level guitar.

I bought this as a Christmas present for my son, and honestly it’s been one of the best gifts we got him. Since Christmas morning, he’s picked it up every single day to play. That alone says a lot. He was so excited when he opened it and couldn’t wait to start strumming. I love that it came with everything he needed right away, so there was no frustration or extra things to buy. It actually made him want to keep practicing, which I didn’t expect. Now it’s just part of his routine he grabs it, plays for a bit, and shows us whatever he’s learned. From what I can tell, it looks and feels like a true guitar, just a bit smaller. Not too thick to fit under his arm and definitely adjustable based on the players height. The size is perfect for him, it sounds good for a beginner guitar, and it’s held up really well even with daily use. It’s been really nice seeing him get genuinely interested in learning something new instead of losing interest after a day or two. If you’re looking for a Christmas gift that doesn’t end up collecting dust, this one was a win in our house.

Had to return as I had ordered it for myself (an adult) and because it’s not well listed, it’s actually a child sized guitar. Was very disappointed, as I really wanted a pink guitar.