 Pretty good guitar for a kid! |
| Review Date: May 23, 2009 |
| Reviewer: William Atkins, |
My parents gave me this guitar for christmas, and I've had this guitar for about 5 months now,and I have loved and hated some things about the guitar. let's start with the short list, the hated.
Hated: The strap is garbage, The wammy bar causes the guitar to go insanely out of tune, for about 2 weeks the frets cut your hands to shreds, When using one pickup, the amp makes a really annoying buzzing sound, so use the second to bottom or top setting on the pickup selector switch. The guitar does also go out of tune fairly easy by itself.
Now onto the loved: EXTREMELY STURDY AND STRONG. My guitar was dropped by one of my friends onto a concrete floor and the only damage done was a small chip in the finish by the neck. Amp is fantastic for it's size. Loud enough to fill a gymnasium full of screaming students. The tuner is fantastic, and the picks are incredibly strong. Strings sound good and are strong. Extra strings are a good bonus, just make sure you put them on right.
Overall a great guitar package for about $200, I'd recommend to any beginning guitarist. With a name like Fender, you can't go wrong!
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Must buy for the beginner!
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| Review Date: January 19, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Randigale H. Smith, Buffalo, NY |
I got this kit for my birthday because I want to learn guitar. It is totally ridiculous to invest much more than about $200 at the start of a new hobby. At the beginner level, you have no idea what you need, what you want, whether your even going to stick with it, etc. Luckily, Fender is selling this little gem.
I'm not going to lie--in this $200 package, you will not get a $700 guitar with a $150 amp and a Monster cable. What you do get is a guitar that sounds good and that you can learn on, an amp that makes your practice audible, and a DVD that... well, sucks. The DVD is really bad.
I highly recommend this package for the beginner.
(As for the DVD sucking--it says it's for beginners, but it moves much too fast. Get a book and teach yourself or, better yet, get lessons. Don't count on the DVD.) |
Perfect for a first guitar!
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| Review Date: December 22, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Mainiac, Portland, Maine, USA |
I got this for my fifteen yo son (aka "Even After Dinner, Giant Boys Eat"). (Okay, not because I was clever enough to think of it ahead of time, but because I stumbled onto one of Amazon's "lightning deals" at holiday time.) Perfect.
As you suspect from reading the description, this package has everything you need, which was really a blessing from my perspective. As others have suggested, we'll gradually replace things as he wants... strings, of course, the strap, maybe some new picks. I didn't realize there was even a tuner in the set, which is great.
One thing extra I feel we immediately need is a stand for the guitar. This is partly because things can get a little rambunctious in our house (e.g., the dog and the boy chasing each other around) and I want the guitar to be safe. I also don't really want him to put it away; I'd like to leave it out in the living room so that he's more inclined to pick it up and play.
I like the DVD, though I'm writing this just as soon as the gift has been opened, so we've only just started. To me, the lessons seem good, though my son is a trumpet player and played piano when young (so he knows musical things) and I've also played instruments (including acoustic guitar) before. We are far from being musicians, but it's not totally new to us, either. You're going to have to replay them a few times to get it; that's part of the learning.
Tips for beginners:
1. Tune your guitar to the DVD initially and don't mess with the electronic tuner. Everything will sound wrong if you're not tuned the same as the DVD guy, but trying to play along with him. Also, you should learn to tune your guitar to the low E string anyway (as he teaches on the DVD).
2. Make sure your low E and high E are actually the same note after you think you're done tuning (but yeah, in different octaves). My son thought he was tuned, but this test didn't pass so we adjusted.
3. Like everything else, you're learning to tune. But if you don't get this reasonably right, when you go on to chords, they'll sound like cr*p.
4. The first chord you're shown is a minor chord. (I question this choice, but there you have it.) This chord might not sound right to you anyway.
5. I think one strategy is to plow ahead till you get to an easier chord to listen to, maybe the regular E or the A. And then you might want to fiddle around a little bit between adjusting the tuning and trying the chord till the chord sounds right.
6. Note that you can find chord charts online for the "open chords", such as the one at Guitar for Beginners that I just found. Those first five chords should sound right if you're properly tuned (remember not to play all the strings for some of the chords).
7. You should maybe do just a little bit each day at the start (15 minutes or so) till your fingers build up calluses. This can also help pace the frustration factor of getting to the point of those first few chords.
8. Once you get those first few chords, you're on your way! Then it's just practice, practice, practice.
p.s. Some musical friends have confirmed that this is an excellent guitar for a beginner. One points out that what you lose in this line (as compared to other Fenders) is the quality control. This was an interesting observation for me -- it's true of so many products, but I didn't apply it here. I think this might explain some of the variation in the reviews. Remember that you're buying from Amazon, and if you notice anything wrong, just Send It Back. |
Not a bad guitar
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| Review Date: May 3, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Lloyd A. Kuhnle, |
I can't believe all you get for around $200. For someone who wants to learn the guitar, and does not want to shell out a lot of bucks, this package can't be beat!
The amp isn't all that great, but who cares. |
Fender Starcaster guitar
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| Review Date: January 24, 2009 |
| Reviewer: P. F. Talledo, |
| This is my first guitar and I have been pleased with the guitar and amplifier. Anyone interested in purchasing an electric guitar on a small budget will be satisfied with the investment in this guitar |
So far so good
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| Review Date: February 21, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Esteban Castro Garcia, |
| I've had this guitar for a month now and have no complaints. It came well packaged. |
Great Stuff
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| Review Date: April 18, 2010 |
| Reviewer: N. RIOIS, Lancaster PA |
| This is a amazing guitar. I just got it and have been playing it for like 4 hours already. stopped to write this thing up. My fingers hurt! ahaha that's a sign of becoming a guitarist. well this stuff is great the only thing is i suggest you tune it to the mic and not the outlet. I sold my ps3 to afford this and that was i good move because this is better than any guitar hero i played. I haven't watched the DVD and don't intend to, I want to teach myself and have learned about4 chords and 1/2 a intro to Be yourself from audioslave. BUY THIS ITEM!!!! plus it comes with three picks of fender that they sell here for like 7 dollars and there white brown and green but they look shiny marble, i cant explain but they look really cool. |
Kudos Amazon
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| Review Date: December 27, 2008 |
| Reviewer: praggy, ohio |
| I was thrilled to receive my fender starcaster starter kit. It was delivered in just 2 days even though it was around christmas time. Everything just looked perfect inside. I have never had any problems when i shop at amzon. They offer the best prices not just for the item but also the shipping and taxes. Weather its books, electronics, households, toys etc. they give you the best deal and their customer service is also awesome. I will write another review when i start playing my guitar. But overall i would give them 5 on 5 for an excellent service. |
Great for the price.
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| Review Date: April 30, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Frequant Amazon Shopper #1,293,882, |
| I bought this as a starter electric after having learned on an acoustic. It's great for the price. The guitar: -After a few days I could tell the tremolo bar wasn't going to last very long so I completely unscrewed it and do not use it. So don't plan on using that heavily for very long, it's not made in a fashion to last. That's one of the ways the price is kept down on the guitar, I'm sure. The pickups and bridge definitely will need adjustment so find a good place online to learn about that, or hopefully you know someone who knows guitars or you know them yourself. After a few months one of the wires to the jack broke off, somehow, and I did have to solder that back on. I couldn't say how common of a problem that might be. It's recommendable that you keep the jack input nut tight to the guitar and don't let it get to where the jack can spin freely at all. Otherwise the tension will go to the wires connecting to the jack and that's probably what caused my problem, so lesson learned. If you can afford a higher quality strat and don't want any little hassles like that, then spend the extra bucks. But, if you're like me, and willing to put a tiny bit of work into keeping it working, the price to quality ratio is definitely in your favor. It's probably better for a first electric than something higher quality and more expensive anyways, because you're not so afraid to tinker around with it, take it apart and find out what makes it tick. I've had it for about 3 months now and have consistently been playing it at the very least 7 hours a week and still happy. The Amp: -It does its purpose. Not a very good amp, but it's solid, and doesn't have much to complain about. You know what you're getting there; A cheap little amp. The guitar strap: -Don't trust it. It will slip off the strap buttons; First day. Get some strap locks for it, or get a better strap. The tuner: -completely cheap and not even worth using. I put it up against a good/reliable tuner and it didn't even have the correct read on the pitch. I'm not sure what's going on there but I basically threw mine away. It looked like it was about to fall apart out of the package, basically. I recommend buying a different one straight away before the guitar even arrives, or tuning by ear is better. The four stars are based on the assumption that you're someone who is willing to get the screwdriver out once or twice and mess around with it. It's based on the fact that you're not needing the little things like the strap and tuner to be perfect out of the box. If that's for some reason important to you, then consider this a 2-star review. The four stars is also probably based on the fact that you either A: know some things about guitars already, B: know someone else who does, or C: are very resourceful and good at making something cheap work to its greatest ability. Hope this has been helpful. |
Good guitar for the money!
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| Review Date: October 4, 2008 |
| Reviewer: R. Bauer, USA |
I picked this pack up about 6 months ago. For the price, this is a great pick.
Out of the box, it sounds pretty bad. You may have to raise the string action (the height of the strings) if you get buzzing against the frets. Let the strings break in first though. Speaking of strings, the ones that come with it are pretty bad. Get some slightly heavier ones, GHS strings are cheap.
Use the digital tuner that comes with the guitar to set the intonation. Out of the box, mine got sharper and sharper as you work your way up the neck, making every chord out of tune, even if the open strings were in tune. If you run out of room and the intonation is still sharp, you may have to shim the saddle on the neck to make the string an even height. I did that on my large E string by cutting off a 1/4 inch section of an old G string and sliding it under the E in the saddle.
With a little setup, this guitar plays like a champ on the cheap! |
okay for a starter set
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| Review Date: March 6, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Joshua Fleet, U.S. |
I give this four stars for a starter set. the guitar, overall plays pretty well. It's a fender, of course it plays well. but, the 6th string and the 3rd string go out of tune VERY quickly. like, maybe two minutes after play without a tune up. the strap is a firestarter, good for about 2 months of regular play. the amp is great, good clear sound, even when its turned way up. the cable is also cheap, but fixable. it broke down after 3 months.
Personally, since I had been playing with my acoustic for about a year and a half previous to buying this, I regretted it. If you're alreay an intermediate guitarist, go for quality, not everything in one package. |
Good entry level product
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| Review Date: January 25, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Patrick Lechtenberger, Southern California |
| This appears to be a good entry level product, although I'm no expert so take my advice with a grain of salt. Based on my limited experience, I'm satisfied with my experience up to this point. |
Very good deal
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| Review Date: March 29, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Michael Stark, |
Got this guitar package for Christmas (in midnight blue, but oh well), and I am liking this a lot. As other reviewers have stated, you are not getting a $300 guitar and a $100 amp - you are getting a cheapo beginner's guitar with a wimpy amp.
THAT BEING SAID, it is worth much more than the measly $200 you spend! This is a GREAT package to get for a beginner to the electric guitar. The guitar is sturdy enough to handle some rough playing, and it seems to stay in tune somewhat well. The amp, while not loud or sturdy enough to use in a concert, is fun to mess around with and start experimenting with distortion, etc. I'm sure the picks are fine - I prefer hard picks, so I didn't even look at the ones in the package. I also didn't look at the DVD included, having known how to play acoustic for a few years prior.
The bad news: The strings died very quickly for me (both the already string ones and the replacements included). The tuner is finicky at best. The amp will die if you crank the volume and blast away for very long. The strap comes off if you glance at it.
However, for a beginner, this package is perfect. Once you get some practice and feel like moving on, you can get a new tuner, a new amp, and even a new guitar one at a time at your leisure.
TL;DR: This is a great deal for a beginner, well worth the $200. |
fun for learning
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| Review Date: March 13, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Kid rocker, Connecticut |
| Solid,good,kit for the price. Whole family has enjoyed learning to play. Perfect "1st" guitar. |
This is Not the beginner guitar you want
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| Review Date: March 16, 2010 |
| Reviewer: A. Mathew, |
Ok, first off, even if you are a beginner, I do not recommend this guitar.
Why?
One, this guitar has highly incremental buzz. Most people will tell you when you ask, that this is because of the amp, but this is because this is essentially quite cheaply constructed, and the parts aren't as good as a lot of others. The strings are too close to the fret, and this is one of the reasons.
Two, cheap materials, as I stated, are troublesome. After owning the guitar for one week, and having to take out and screw in the whammy bar, the screw part of it got stuck in the hole. Not shortly after that, we returned the guitar.
Three, the frets. Many people stated this, and this is a very big problem for anyone. The frets are NOT smooth at ALL and after just one week of use I had scars and a ripped up palm on my hand.
But if you want a good guitar in this price range, for beginners, here's what I recommend. Get a Fender Squier. At most sites, the base Fender Squier costs $119. About $90 less than this does here, and it has much smoother fret board, but it still has some of the buzz found in this guitar. I also recommend a beginner Epiphone Les Paul or SG. |
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