Friday, July 2, 2010

Zager ZAD 50CE OM Review By Unclecurt

Features : 9
Concert cutaway model; sealed Grover tuners, spruce top with mahogany sides and back. Onboard Fishman electronics and electronic LED tuner. Rosewood fretboard and bridge. Abalone inlay rosette. Overall, a beautiful guitar and finish.
Sound : No Opinion
Full sound with bright highs. Excellent sustain and tone. The sounds EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT when used with an amp. Volume is a little bit lower than a full size dreadnought, but more than adequate. Came delivered, in tune, with Martin extra light strings. I prefer Elixir strings so changed them out a set of Extra Lights. Also tried a set of Custom Lights to see how the tone sounded. Sounds great either way, depending on preference.
Action, Fit, & Finish : 9
The action is very low and responsive. No buzzing. No issues at all with the frets. The set up on this guitar, as delivered, is great. I purchased this guitar as a "blem", but so far can not find any issues. If there is something wrong in the finish, it's pretty hard to find. The eletronics perform flawlessly.... a nicely set up guitar with no issues.
Reliability/Durability : 9
Everything on the guitar is solid. Time will tell, but I see no reason this guitar should not last a very long time. I would depend on it.
Customer Support : 10
No repairs needed. The money back guarantee, including shipping, is hard to beat..... but I'm not sending it back. No. I did called Zager a couple of time with questions : they answer the phone and answer any questions either by phone or email. Very helpful. Anything you want to know about Zager guitars is promptly supported by their customer service.
Overall Rating : No Opinion
No reservations on this guitar whatsoever. If it were lost or stolen, I would get another one because I consider it to be the best new guitar value out there for the money. I compared to several other manufacturers and models(Martin, Taylor, Breedlove), particularly comparing to the higher end models.
Sound quaility is a personal preference which can only be decided by playing. This guitar has a personality like any other - it depends on what you, personally, are looking for. I also play an Alvarez MD80 which has a completely different character, but I also enjoy it very much.
The only other thing I'd like to share is that the Internet is a wonderful thing. Prior to ordering I found comments on Zager guitars which are quite different from my own experience. Vitually all of them, however, were from individuals who do not own one nor have played one. The approach Zager uses on their web site doesn't appeal to everyone, but you get to be the judge on their guitars. If you order one and don't like it, they will pay the shipping on the return. The great thing about Harmony Central is that actual owners of instruments can share their experiences on all types of instruments.

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