Ashton D29CEQ Acoustic Electric Reviews 5

After owning an electric guitar for a few years i decided i finally wanted to broaden my horizons and buy an acoustic. I took a trip down to the local music and store and after browsing for some time I decided on the Australian designed Ashton D29CEQ acoustic/electric. I liked the feel and appearance of the guitar so i parted with a relativley small amount of $380 (Australian) of my hard earned cash for it.

The first thing that attracted me to this guitar was the apprearance. It is a dreadnought shape with a bottom cutaway and a fairly thick body. Mine has a flamed maple top with a cherry sunburst type of finish which i think looks quite attractive next to a regular naked looking guitar. After sitting this guitar on my lap i liked the way that it felt very smooth, clean and playable despite it thickness.

I must say that there are very few things that i dislike about this instrument. But at such a budget price some of the tiny flaws have to be excused. The only real flaws that i have discovered with this instrument are tiny, as most budget acoustics, and some expenseive ones, it can at times, when played through an amplifier, provide some undesirable feedback, reverb and other such ghastly sounds. These can however be thwarted through some minor tuning of the amp controls. Also upon taking it home i discoverd a that something was tumbling about inside the body of the guitar, it turned out to be a small piece of wood that was not cleaned out of the body, it didnt damage anything and was easy to tip out of the hole but that was just nitpicking. Some people may be disappointed to find that it didnt have a pick guard but they are ugly and due to the height of the strings from the body, pointless, also they are easily fitted if you want one thet desperatley.

The quality of this instrument is fantastic, especially for such a cheap guitar, there are no scratches or other inconsistancies in the finish nor are there any gaps or cracks in joins and everything feels silky smooth to the touch and to the ear. The tuners work well and it stays in tune, the fingerboard is easy on the fingers and the neck is a comfortable shape. All over great quality.

On your lap and in your hands is where it counts and this guitar excells there. Feels polished and easy to play and makes you look forward to getting it from its case and and lovingly strumming it. Sounds great also but i would probably say that it would be better for home use or smaller performaces rather than thrashing in a big gig. I love this instrument and i love to play it and thats what counts. You will probably enjoy playing it also, I hightly recommend it.

Type 0 - rated this unit 5 on 2002-04-28.

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