Customer Reviews

First Act Discovery FE433 Portable Electric Guitar

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I've played the guitar for 25 years and I wanted to get my seven year old his first guitar for Christmas this year (2002). The gift was from Santa and my boy's eyes lit up when he saw it this morning. He's been jamming on it all day and just having a blast. He is just running around strumming and I have not even bothered to tune it yet because the way he's grooving on it... it doesn't matter if it's in tune or not (if you know what I mean!).

He finally took a little break and I sat down to tune it when I discovered something that makes me want to strongly recommend not to buy this instrument for your young beginner.

The problem in a nut-shell is that the neck is poorly constructed. It is true that a well made guitar can have a neck of solid wood and it will be just fine, but the neck on this guitar is not that great and it lacks an internal truss bar. Because of this, the strings bend the neck out of shape. So badly that the change in tension on the neck that tuning a single string is enough to warp the neck and make the other stings go out of tune. This is bad enough, but when any external preasure is exterted on the strings, this slight change also will bend the neck out of shape. The net effect is that this guitar is VERY difficult to tune and goes out of tune by simply strumming the guitar or touching the neck or strings.

Obviously, if you are buying this as a gift to encourage a young learner, there is no way that they could ever learn under these conditons.

This is not a message to discourage anyone, there are a lot of guitars out there for just a few dollars more ... that are a lot better. The only advantage that I saw in this guitar was the smaller size of the body. The small size of this guitars body made it a great choice for a young learner. But if you can not keep the instrument in tune, then what's the point of the smaller body?

I would recommend that you learn from my oversight. Stay away from this item and go find a better unit that your child will really be able to learn and grow on.

Merry Christams from Austin, TX - the live music capital of the world!

I purchased this guitar for my young boys. The strings don't stay in tune long enough to tune them all together. I put lighter strings and new tuners on it, but that did not help. I didn't expect much, but it should at least be able to be tuned.

parents i teach guitar do not buy this item it is poorly made and if u want your kids to learn guitar you can get reduced size real guitars for the same price as this first off the amps built into the guitar and if your kid turns it up very loud it blows up and youll have nothing but static and more than likely your kid will second off it doesnt stay in tune very well this is the exact same guitar with amp built in nonsense toys r us had 15 years ago u want my advice for 89 bucks u can get your kid a real guitar with a reduced size like the epiphone les paul juniors they sell here on amazon or even get your kid a fullsized kramer focus for 79 dollars also sold here on amazon and u can get practice amps for 20 bucks that wont blowup when u turn it up both the lespaul junior and kramer are light weight but quality built it depends if u want a toy buy this cause this is a toy but if u want your kid to learn guitar THIS IS NOT the best option and kids really dont need reduced size guitars ive taught 6 year olds and 60 year olds guitar and they were able to use a full size guitar and once they get a little older they can have a guitar they can still use trust me u wont be playing this guitar when u get 13 or 14 and want a band the tiny amp built in is about as loud as a pin dropping i had 1 of these when i was a kid it broke a year later my mom bought me a memphis strat copy for 20 bucks at a garage sale at first its full size intimidated me but i kept at it and now 15 year later im compared to stevie ray vaugn and im a professional guitar instructor

Well...
This guitar is pretty cool. BUT.... It doesn't come with a pic, instructions, or anything, which really stinks if you get it for Christmas. I honestly know nothing about guitars, so this is good for beginners like myself. Hope this helps. Thanks!
PS I'm actually 14 but it wouldn't let me go any older.

I looked at the manufacturer's web site and they talked much about this being a wonderful guitar for children to learn on. They even suggested that some adults buy them for playing during travel. I wanted it for my Grandson, who now has an acoustic guitar and wants an electric. My main criteria was not price, I wanted something in a size he could handle. I believed it could be a good product because you can buy a beginner electric guitar made by Fender for about $130.00, and it plays pretty well.

This guitar would not even stay in tune. It was within its packaging and in a box, but still was scratched up enough that I wouldn't have given it as a gift. Also, only the bottom three strings would amplify to any degree at all and they sounded more like a banjo than a guitar.

This product was not made to play or for any other purpose than to con someone into buying it. Something to be hammered on a few times and then put into a closet and forgotten.

Don't buy it, it is a joke.

My son received this guitar as a gift and he thinks the world of it. He is always playing it and he thinks that it is the best gift ever. He is 8 years old and this is the perfect size for him to handle. The only problem we had which was easily fixed by a friend who plays guitar is that one of the strings became loose after playing around with it the first time. I would recommend this for any young wannabe guitar player.

I ordered it for my 6-year old son who loves it. Note however that it comes without a strap (you need to order it separately), without picks or even without an instructional booklet (how to tune it, or how to change strings etc.) I therefore found the "package" to be somewhat incomplete, which was a bit inconvenient.

If you have an aspiring guitarist who is ages: 4-8 who likes to emulate the "big boys" then get this guitar for the following reasons:

1. My 4 year old thought it "looked cool"
2. Has the amp and speaker built-in which makes it portable.
3. Is made by First Act which has proven to be reliable for my family of a 6 yr old girl and 4 yr old boy (we have had their acoustic guitar for a couple of years)

The educational value is what you make of it....right now, my son who has only had his electic guitar for a total of 2 weeks has begged me to bring it to school for sharing (I finally relented after checking it with the teacher) and has been pestering me for lessons. It's the lessons which make it educational - the guitar by itself is not educational, per se.

Have fun!

There are some real morons typing reviews for this guitar.
This is by no means a high quality professional guitar and don't expect it to be so. It's a beginners toy that comes complete with an amp for around $60! You can't get a real quality guitar with an amp at that price. There's no sense in paying more if you're not sure if the kid getting it is going to follow through with actually learning to play it.
I did have a string break while tuning it put replaced all of them for less than $6 and it actually improved the sound. I've been playing it daily for about a month and am still on the first battery.
Instructions aren't in the box but if they were the price would be higher. Go buy a quality "How to play" book at a music store and it will tell you everything from tuning to playing it. Online lessons are out there for free.
You can't beat this item for what it's meant to do, i.e. introduce a child/adult into playing an instrument.
Now, quit expecting wine on a beer budget and buy this model.

A great starter guitar. My 5 year old loves it. It doesn't stay in tune very long though.