Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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45 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
great combo for the price, August 31, 2007
I am writing about the metallic blue guitar combo with the 10 watt amp. As of the time of this writing, the amp I received was not the one in the photo, but the same as the one seen in the photo of the Austin pink guitar combo pack elsewhere on this site. Other than that, everything was as pictured.
I am an adult who is learning the guitar. I have played the bass guitar on and off for years, so I have some familiarity with electric basses. I bought this because it was so cheap and I was willing to take a chance for the money. I am glad I did. The other combos I considered were closer to double the money.
The guitar: It says "Crescent" on the logo, not Austin, which was noted in another review on the Austin store front site. No big deal. The strings on the guitar are crappy, crappy. It did come with 6 replacement strings which are also crappy. It also came with a cheap gig bag, which will work if you only go to lessons and back and dont drop it, and will keep the dust off. The strap is cheap, leave it on the guitar and don't take it on and off. Don't trust it too much, either. I use it sitting down. It came with an amp cord that is OK. The pick is OK, hard to ruin that! Rembember this is a $100+ combo.
The guitar was dusty when I got it like it had been hanging around, not bad, but noticable. The finish is a blue/green sparkle kind of color that I like. (I am tired of black, white and red guitars). There were no mars in the finish. The nut had a very slight gap on one side that did not seem to overty affect anything, but I would prefer to see it flush into the neck. The neck was straight and felt good, although it was marred cosmetically by what looked like rough edges, but were actually smooth to the touch. There is a pick edge sized gap between the neck and body, more so than other guitars that I have but not alarmingly so. The neck does appear to be straight on solid with no movement and even with the body on checking. The fret edges were a bit rough, but not annoyingly so. There is some string buzz, but I think that is a saddle height adjustment issue that needs to be made. The machine heads feel cheap but seem to be holding a tune pretty well for now, I am hoping they hold up. The bridge looks good for a this price range. It came with a whammy bar that I am not using right now. The controls all seem to work pretty well and the 5-way switch is OK. No pot noise or dead spots, no loose or wobbly knobs. Nothing exciting, just very basic. The body is surprisingly heavy--I anticipated a lighter weight guitar. (I am female, so this may not be as much so for a guy) The sound is not bad for a cheapy, I have heard worse. It came with a truss rod wrench and an allen wrench for the bridge. I did have some trouble with adjusting the height on one of the strings--the screw kept slipping on one side of the B string.
The amp: I LIKE this little amp!! Remember it is not the one pictured with this guitar--look for the pink combo elsewhere on the website. This is a slim, lightweight amp with bass, treble, mid, gain, and volume knobs. There is also a gain button and a headphone jack. All are on the front of the amp for easy reach. The controls work well with no pot noise or dead spots or loose knobs. The amp actually has a clear, sharp sound, surprising kick for its size. It is attractively designed and seems pretty durable. It did come witha very slight ding on the top, which was easily pressed down and glued and is not noticable now.
My combo was not damaged in shipping at all and came at the designated time. Is this as good as a Fender combo? Guitar wise probably not quite, amp wise maybe better. If you can get a Squier guitar, get one, if not, and your budget is limited, this combo is very good for the price. I would buy another.
UPDATE: I did buy another Crescent guitar and it is even better than this one! It is also much lighter.
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29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Terrific starter guitar, great value / UPDATE JULY 2008, July 28, 2007
This starter kit is a terrific value - sturdy guitar, 10 watt amp, gig bag, extra strings - a steal for $110 at the time of my purchase ($125 with delivery).
The guitar is equipped with standard effects dials to bring out the treble or bass, and can create some serious grungy reverberation combined with the amplifier effects.
The 10 watt amp won't bring down the house, but is fine for home use - easily loud enough to feel the power of an electric guitar - even a modestly priced one.
The guitar and amp arrived in two separate shipments. My amp cord was missing, but Austin Bazaar sent it within a few days after I contacted them.
All-in-all, if you're looking for a starter electric guitar, I can't imagine being disappointed with this one. The electric blue is fine looking too.
UPDATE JULY 2008 - TWO STARS - My experience with Austin Bazaar turned out overall negative. My guitar's had two problems. First, a tuning key was stripped on the inside. Austin Bazaar replaced it, problem solved, but it was an initial red flag on quality. A bigger problem appeared - a persistent buzz on the low E string. I realized the root cause was the first groove on the nut was cut too deep. I requested a replacement nut June 3, 2008. Austin Bazaar asked for my Amazon order information, which I emailed. I didn't hear back from them, and wrote follow up emails June 21, July 2, July 7 and July 12 - with no reply. My takeaway - quality and customer service are not highest priority with Austin Bazaar. Take a chance if you're comfortable with the quality risk.
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
They did not send the product as pictured, February 7, 2008
I ordered the Austin Bazaar Double Cutaway Metallic Blue Electric guitar kit on December 27th 2007, and on Jan 5th, 2008, I got a plain deep blue guitar with a red amp. After contacting this company, they stated that they would replace the guitar with the one I originally ordered, but that they would not replace the amp for a color change. After waiting two weeks to receive a Fed Ex prepaid return shipping label from Austin Bazaar, I shipped the guitar back to them. It was delivered to them on Jan 31, 2008, and as of today, Feb 7, 2008, I still have no guitar. My A to Z guarantee with Amazon was denied. So here I sit with a Visa bill to the tune of $159.63 with nothing but an amplifier in my possession. Can't make very good music with the likes of this, I am afraid. Please order your guitar products from someone OTHER than Austin Bazaar.
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