30-inch Beginner Acoustic Guitar Package (Blue), Basic Starter Kit w/Gig Bag, Strings, Strap, Tuner, Picks

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.

Great beginner guitar. My daughter is learning to play on this. The color is beautiful and the quality is perfect.

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.

The Ashthorpe 38-inch Beginner Acoustic is in reality a small OO size parlor classical guitar. It has no truss rod which is the case with many classicals. It has a 43mm nut width and a scale length of 24 ¾". I like that. What I don’t like is that it ships with steel strings. The neck really isn’t designed for that. I may have given it 5 stars if it had shipped with nylon strings. The first thing I did was ditch the steel strings. I then gave it a quick fret polish with NEVR-DULL and cleaned up and treated the fingerboard with lemon oil. I then put on some D'Addario EJ43 Pro-Arte light tension nylon/silverwound classical strings. Again, that neck without a truss rod likely won’t last too long with steel strings. I lowered the action a little by shaving about 1.5 mm off the saddle. The vintage style tuners and brown finish look great! The nut is actually fitted very nicely and really requires no attention. I may clean up a couple of the slots, but it’s very playable out of the box. I generally swap out the nut and saddle with TUSQ synthetic bone, but it really isn’t necessary with this guitar. The neck and frets are much better than I was expecting. The neck relief with the D'Addario EJ43s is nearly perfect. For $62.99, it's decent little guitar! Just get rid of those steel strings! The electronic tuner is also pretty good. All the other accessories including the gig bag went straight into the trash. Overall, if you’re looking for an inexpensive little OO classical (to be re-fitted with nylon strings) this guitar is well worth the price!

A very beautiful instrument with a link to free lessons. I truly enjoy learning how to play.

Very nice and reasonably priced

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.