Brand: Takamine
Color: gloss black
Feature: Dreadnought Cutaway Body
Label: Takamine
Manufacturer: Takamine
Publisher: Takamine
Studio: Takamine
MPN: ES31C

• Dreadnought Cutaway Body
• Top: Spruce
• Neck: Nato
• Rosette: Nato
• Electronics: DJ-2

Representing a price breakthrough for Takamine, this beautiful sounding acoustic/electric cutaway guitar is a tremendous value. A tuneful top made from select Spruce along with Nato back and sides give the ES31C great acoustic sound while the built-...

Customer Rating:
Summary: Great starter guitar for an adult
Comment: A very good cookie-cutter product, quite amazing in fact. Don't get it for small hands though. Other positive reviews reflect my same experience.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Good features, great value
Comment: This guitar is a great value, has great sound, and is easy to play. It has a beautiful black finish and seems to be well made. There is also an adjustment at the base of the neck which can be used to straighten the neck should it ever become warped. A friend of mine said that this was a good feature to have, especially if you plan to keep a guitar for a while.

I have only used the electric controls to plug the guitar into a tuner, so I can't evaluate the sound of the guitar when played through a sound system.

I did have one issue with the button for the strap at the base of the guitar; it became loose and looked like it might have pulled out of the guitar body if I really put pressure on it. But I found that it could be tightened and it seems OK now - but I am careful not to put too much pressure on it. This is why I rated it 4 stars instead of 5.

If you are looking for a good value in a guitar, definitely consider this model. But if you want to spend a bit more for an acoustic-electric, you might look for one that has a built-in tuner (this model does not). However, I was able to purchase a great Korg tuner for under $25, and this works fine. But it's one more thing to carry around...

Overall I am very happy with this guitar, and as a new guitar player I have found myself spending hours with this thing! It is addicting!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent instrument for the beginner guitarist!
Comment: The ES31C is a great deal, and I do not regret purchasing mine in the least! The sound is rich and resonant, and the guitar feels very comfortable to hold and play. The action is nice, and the dreadnought body (although obviously large)is very resilient and holds up to some tough playing. I purchased mine about 6 months ago, and aside from changing the strings every month or so, the guitar has really needed no upkeep. The only other issue I have had is when a friend scratched my pickguard up by playing excessively rough - but I fixed that problem by removing the old pick-guard and replaced it with a few dollar self-adhesive replacement that I purchased locally from Elderly instruments. I keep it clean and polished with Martin guitar polish (also an excellent product), and I use Martin SP strings (the strings that come with this Takamine are the guitar's only real fault - they just do not sound as good as they should, and are poor quality. However, that is an easily remedied problem, Martin SPs cost about $5. For the value price of this guitar, you can't really expect them to ship it stock with nice phosphor/bronze strings, so they give you what appears to be some sort of cheap nickel/iron. Oh well, took 5 mins to fix.

I play everything from Eric Clapton to Pink Floyd, Nirvana to Nickelback, and System of a Down to Stone Temple Pilots all on this one guitar, and it handles everything with no problem. If you are a professional, you may not be quite as pleased with this instrument, as the Takamine does use a maple neck, and is not made from the most expensive of wood (like those multi-thousands of dollar Martins and Washburns) - but anyone who isn't a professional (myself included) would never know the difference. Honestly, this guitar plays and sounds better than many I have tried that cost hundreds of dollars more. Buy it now, and thank me later.

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