Customer Reviews

Jasmine By Takamine S34C NEX Acoustic Guitar

5 star:		(110)
4 star:		(44)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I was thrilled when my guitar arrived and even more so after I tuned it and began to play.

My guitar is absolutely beautiful. The finish is flawless. And it's got that new guitar smell...ahhhhhh.

It does have a pick guard (that is not shown in the photo on any website or in any catalog) which pleases me. It would be a shame to scratch the surface while strumming with a heavier pick. I read one review on a music vendor's website where the reviewer complained about Takamine and Jasmine printed all over the pick guard. And they were right about that...but I found it very easy to remove all these words by simply peeling off this protective sticker. Dah.

The strings are a little heavier than I like but I'll be changing them in a few weeks anyway.

The sound and craftsmanship is anything but what you would expect from such an affordable guitar and everything you'd expect to pay more for. It has a rich, full bodied sound.

I am now a diehard Takamine fan.

I normally don't write reviews, but this is an exception because I've been so pleased with this guitar. To be up-front, I didn't buy this through Amazon, but instead through a local retailer, at a similar price.

To prep you for what I'm about to say, what I write is absolutely true, and from the heart of a pleased customer.

Starting at age 13, I've been playing steel string guitar now for the last 37 years. When I was 16, I loved guitar playing so much that I committed to save up an entire summer's worth of life guard wages to buy myself a Martin D-35 guitar. I did so, and still have and love this guitar today - my main guitar.

A while ago, I was at a local music store waiting for a non-guitar related service of some kind, and while I was waiting, I pulled a few guitars from the hangers on the wall, and messed around with some of my stock guitar riffs and pieces I know.

Among those guitars was this Jasmine S34C guitar. I was really impressed with the sound, and had to double-check the price tag to overcome my disbelief.

I probably played that guitar for another 1/2 hour, amazed at the great sound, appearance, and playability of such an inexpensive guitar. Action was easy and close, yet the neck absolutely straight, the fit and finish was flawless.

Over my years of guitar playing, I've sampled many guitars, often in settings such as this, and I have to say, I have not played a guitar that I enjoyed as much as this one selling for anything less that $700.

I've purchased a couple of these now for family members, and if I didn't have easy access to one around the house (my daughter's guitar), probably would have bought one for myself, just for a variety from my D-35.

I have to say that on one of them, I did need to file one of the high frets down slightly to remove a slight buzz - due in part to the very close action of the strings. I found that the action varied a bit among the 4 S34C's at the store, so you may find that you want to modify this slightly if you have the capability (fairly simple). I chose the one that had the most desirable action for my tastes, but all of them were acceptable.

Anyway, this guitar comes very close to closing the gap between low priced guitars (and this is a REALLY low priced guitar!) and high priced guitars over $1000, such as my Martin. Honestly, if my Martin were lost, stolen or destroyed today, I would not (even if I could) pay the high price to get a new one. Much as I love that guitar, the Jasmine S34C would be sufficient to satisfy me. It kind of hurts that such a high quality guitar can be purchased so cheaply! (makes my Martin seem way over-priced) If it weren't for name-brand appeal, I believe the high-priced guitars would be pushed out of the market place by ones such as this from Asia.

As mentioned in other reviews here, it is rather light-weight, which can feel a bit strange, if you're used to a heavier guitar, and the finish is matte, not gloss - also a bit unusual, but I like it.

All in all, I personally feel this guitar is an absolute steal, and would not hesitate to recommend it highly.

I had this guitar for three days. I opened it, looked it over, had a few dings and scratches, the strings looked good (no corrosion), basically looked like a $90 guitar.

But I will say this...It sounds pretty good!! For a guitar in this price range with the stock strings on it, it really shocked me how outstanding it did sound....so now onto the 3 star review

Anytime you get a new guitar, it is required by most guitar players to put your strings on it. As I was changing the strings, and I own three guitars so I am experienced in this regard, the nut flew off. I removed two strings and was polishing the fret board when it flew off, across my living room. I had to remove all the strings and was going to attempt to put the nut back on when I noticed the neck had a two inch crack in it now and the headstock was easily bendable

Most people would have given 1 star for this guitar if this happened to them. But I realize I bought a $90 guitar, that sounded good, decent quality, and more or less had some bad luck. Not all these guitars are flawed like mine (just check out the reviews) and as I return it to amazon, I seriously contemplate trying another.

I give this guitar 3 stars for the quality issue, not the sound. I see alot of 1 star reviews for this guitar based on the strings being "corroded" which is plain silly. Review this guitar on its build, sound, etc, not something you can correct. I do recommend this guitar, but keep in mind, it is a cheap guitar and a decent value! Some wil be great, some will have issues.

This guitar was a pleasant surprise.

It sounds great, full and resonant. Mind you, it will not have the sustain or rich sound of a quality solid wood instrument, but it is definitely a guitar that I would play without worrying about it sounding bad. Though I would never mistreat it, I don't worry too much about scratching up the finish since it is all satin and feels very nice to the touch. It is light, but by no means a cheap feeling light; it still feels solidly built.

The build quality is above average because the veneers are well matched, the wood is well cut and smooth, and the assembly is good (not perfect though). At close examination, don't expect to see perfect fret alignment along the edges of the fretboard. And, as some have mentioned, the frets are a little rough at the ends. Running my hand along the edges of the body, I can feel roughness at some spots along the binding from glue, or what not. So, some areas needed more finishing attention, but you can't tell from just looking at it. The tuners are definitely cheap, but I did not experience the guitar going out of tune, though expect some flattening until the new strings get conditioned. The bridge pins are also cheap and plasticky, but like the tuners, they get the job done.

About the action. Yes, it is a little on the high side but still very playable out of the box. But I didn't leave well enough alone. I took the saddle off thinking of doing some sanding, but found a shim under it from the factory. So I reinstalled the saddle without the shim. This lowered the action enough to cause some buzzing on he low E when fretted at the first position. This was remedied by loosening the truss rod about half a turn or so. I did this in three easy steps (less than a quarter turn each time), and tuning the guitar after each adjustment. I found that as I played the guitar, the neck would relax more due to the adjustment. So when you adjust the truss rod on this thing, don't expect it to fully react right away. If you do, you may make it to relaxed. Just take your time if you are going to do this, and retune it after every adjustment. Then play it a little and test for fret buzz each time. I left a little buzz on the low E when fretted on first fret and plucking harder than I normally do. After about a 30 minutes of playing, the buzz went away.

I checked intonation using a digital tuner and it was very close, only slightly off center on the treble strings. Nothing to complain about.

In fact, only the price puts this guitar in the beginner's class. I currently own a Martin, 2 Taylor(s), a Tacoma, and a Takamine (not to mention 4 other electrics). I bought this guitar because I am away from home and need to have something to noodle with. When I get home, this guitar wont be delegated to collecting dust, that's for sure.

So, if you are looking for an everyday peformer that is comfortable to play, sounds great; and not looking to put too much cash on the table, then this guitar is definitely worth considering.

Length:: 0:44 Mins

First the bad: this guitar came with low quality strings that were corroded and unplayable in my opinion. The first thing that I did before even playing it was to change the strings.

If you are a beginner this may be a problem unless you know someone who can do it for you. If not, I suggest you purchase a string winder (B0002E1G5C), a set of good strings (B0002H09RU) and a guitar tuner (B003VWJ2K8.) Find a web page or YouTube video that explains how to change the strings on an acoustic guitar. However you may get a guitar with a shiny set of new strings that sound great and this won't be a problem. But you will need the stuff that I mentioned later if you keep up with your playing. Actually if you are a beginner you will need a guitar tuner -- buy one with your guitar. You will never sound like you are making progress with an out-of-tune guitar.

The good: This is a surprisingly nice guitar for very little money. I needed a "crasher" guitar that I wouldn't feel guilty if I bumped it around and a second Takamine guitar for a gift. I purchased this along with the slightly less expensive Jasmine By Takamine S35 Acoustic Guitar (B0002F58TG). This guitar has a little better sound than the S35 -- deeper bass and crisper highs. Also different is the shape of this guitar's body which looks sleeker and cooler than the more traditional S35. Also this guitar has a cutaway for access to the higher frets and on my guitar the intonation up there was not bad.

I find the fingerboard to be a bit slow for faster lead playing but maybe the guitar just needs to be broken in.

This is a nice looking, nice playing and nice sounding guitar. Rather than take someone's word about the sound of the guitar, I made a video so you could hear for yourself.

You can't go wrong.

You can get a pretty good guitar for very little money these days.

I'm learning guitar on my own right now. This was my first guitar that I've bought myself and I have to say that I'm quite satisfied.

The people that have tried out the guitar have all given compliments about how nice it is.

The intonation is nothing to complain about.

One thing that should be noted is that the action is slightly higher than normal and it takes some getting used to; once you get used to it, it's alright.

And one final note, I purchased this guitar directly from the Musician's Friend website where I got free shipping.

I didn't really get any more than I expected from this guitar. First the bad. As others may have stated, the finish is not glossy like the picture and it has a pick guard, also not in the picture, but is OK. I had to change the strings as they were somewhat corroded. There were several minor finish flaws and there is a shadow of some poorly cleaned off glue or something that shows on the spruce top when held up to the light just right. Most people will never see most of these flaws as they are felt more than seen. Would have been nice to have a strap button by the neck. I use a leather thong at the headstock but will install a button on the body soon.

Now the good. The action on this guitar is medium to medium/low. The intonation is great for such a cheap guitar. It stays in tune pretty well. This is a good first guitar and I'm happy with it over all. I've banged into a doorway with it and chipped the paint... off the doorway. The guitar was fine.

I got Jasmine for a play anywhere anytime guitar and it's been great for that. My baby grabs and smacks it around and the semigloss finish hides his handprints. I don't really care. Someday it'll be his.

This guitar has become *the* guitar I recommend to students looking for a starter acoustic steel string guitar. The price has been this low for quite some time. The guitar is a full size guitar, same depth as a drednought and same width at the lower bout, but because of the NEX style body (which just basically means it has a very narrow waist like a Jumbo) it sits very low on your leg which gives it the feel of a smaller body guitar but all the desireable sound characteristics of a drednought. The cutaway is also nice, allowing better access to the higher frets. I have seen quite a few of these guitars come thru my door and they almost always need a bit of a set up (adjusting the string height etc) and a new set of strings and I always string them up with Elixir Acoustic Light Polyweb guitar strings. This brand of strings really works well with this guitar. For this plus the cost of a set up and strings, it is an excellent playing guitar for a beginner student or someone looking for a decent acoustic that wont break the bank. Of course it's not the great sound you would get from a solid top guitar but that would also run you hundreds of dollars more. Great value, good sound, certainly a guitar to consider as your first acoustic or as a value minded acoustic guitar.

This is my second Tak, and I am pleased to find that, despite the low price, it has that same Takamine quality to it. I have found none of the problems noted in other comments: I like the pick guard, which is clearly depicted in the catalog photo; the action does not seem all that high for an inexpensive guitar; the strings were in good shape; there were no noticeable finish problems. I bought it for knocking around -- beach, pool parties, etc -- not for serious performance work. This would have been a decent buy at $200 (I paid about $200 for my first guitar in 1977!); at $100 it is a very good bargain. The only criticism I have is that it arrived more than 10 days past the estimated delivery date. That's OK. A guitar this good and inexpensive is worth the wait.

I bought my son a thousand dollar Epiphone limited edition electric guitar for his birthday just a few months ago, so when he told me he would like an acoustic guitar for Christmas, I told him an expensive one was not in our budget.

We went to the local music store and tried out several models but he kept coming back to this one. The sound was absolutely fabulous, much better than his current acoustic guitar that cost more than twice as much as this one.

The store manager told us that for the price this guitar cannot be beat and that he bought one for his son as well. In my opinion, this was as good as other brands costing three times as much. I'm not sure how Takamine is making these quality guitars for so little money, but if you're looking for a starter guitar, or just looking to add another guitar to your collection, this would make an excellent choice.

I inspected the guitar we took home and found a few places where the finish was not quite as smooth as the rest of the guitar, but overall the quality and sound cannot be beat for this price.

We also went with this cutaway version so my son can have easier access to the higher frets vs. the Jasmine by Takamine S35 Acoustic Guitar, Natural.