Zager zad80ce Guitar Review

Model: Zager zad80ce

How did you hear about this brand?

I saw a review on a website and decided to check out your site. Sure am glad I did. I now have the best guitar I have ever used.

How does this guitar compare with your old guitar, other guitars, or guitars you've tried in stores?

I own 12 accoustic guitars most are Epiphone, Ibanez, Crafter and a Taylor. I was out to purchase another top line guitar like the Taylor and was looking at the Gibson song writer Studio and the SJ200. I saw the reviews on your guitar and took a chance. I am so glad I did as this guitar blows all of them away and is much easier to play then any I own or have tried. Thanks so much

what's your favorite part about this guitar?

There is not just one favorite thing about my Zad80CE. It is crafted beautifully and the sound resonates so warmly, exactly the way you expect an accoustic to sound. It's sound with or without being plugged in is simply amazing. I have always had troubles with my fingers touching other strings especially on some tougher chords. This guitar makes me sound good and I don't touch the other strings. It fits me perfectly and is so easy to hold. No big dents in my finger tips. The first night I received it I played and was mesmerized by the sound and feel and almost 5 hours later I wasn't sore. This has never happened with any other guitar. I am in love :.)

If you didn't know the price of this guitar what would you estimate the price to be?

The Gibsons and the Taylors I was looking at prior to purchasing this one were all around 2700 to 4000 dollars. This guitar (Zad80CE) sounds every bit as warm and clear as these did and even better, but to me the ease of playing puts it way ahead of any of these guitars. I would have guessed a minimum price of 4 - 4500 for this quality. I am not kidding it is this good.

How would you rate customer support?

I had several questions prior to purchasing this guitar and Dennis and Jill answered almost immediately on every one of them. They even went so far as to pick a specific wood grain that I was looking for as they had a few of the Zad80CE's and I wanted one that was as dark as possible and they did a great job helping me out. I was totally impressed with the little extra touches that came with the guitar. A photo of Denny checking out the guitar, the certificate, some picks, a set of strings, info on help line should I need it etc. This means a lot to me and it shows they take great pride in their product and the customer satisfaction. I never got anything extra from any other guitar I purchased with the exception of the Taylor that came with a case. The personal touch is something I like to do in my business and was a very nice bonus on this purchase.

Would you recommend this guitar to others if so why?

I have already recommended and am allowing others to try out my guitar and will do this to anyone that will listen to me or my guitar. The day after I received it, a friend was over to see it and he belongs to a major band up here. He had never heard of Zager guitars before and was curious about it and had to see what I was so excited about. He played it and was totally blown away. So much so he contacted members in the band and told them about how good this guitar sounded and how easy it was to play. He owns a $ 2700 Ovation and the other owns a Gibson. I am going to one of their upcoming jam sessions and they are going to use my Guitar. I can hardly wait and maybe there will be two more sales for you. They really know their guitars and I am just an amateur and it was a great feeling to hear them talk about how good this instrument was. Just backed up what I already knew. I will let anyone else that will listen, know just how great Zager is.

Hiten/eStudying

Guide To Acoustic Guitar Strings

Acoustic guitars are hollow-bodied guitars that come with six or twelve steel strings and optional on-board electronic pickups. Acoustic guitars should not be confused with their acoustic cousin, the classical guitar. Classical guitars require nylon strings and, lacking a supportive truss rod in the neck, cannot use the high tension steel-core strings engineered for acoustic guitars. Acoustic guitars are sometimes called acoustic steel-stringed guitars to make their distinction from classical guitars clear.Acoustic guitar strings come in a handful of alloy ratios and gauges. The alloy ratio refers to the different metals that makeup the string, and the gauge of the string refers to its thickness or diameter.

Bronze acoustic guitar strings are referred to as 80/20 strings, referring to their copper-to-tin (or zinc) ratio. These are bright sounding strings with a clear, ringing sound, but are sometimes criticized for losing their brightness after a short initial period. Not requiring as much tension, they have a softer feel.

Phosphor-bronze acoustic guitar strings are 92% copper and 8% tin (or zinc), are corrosive-resistant and tend to last longer than standard bronze with a brassier sound. While stiffer than 80/20s, these strings are probably the most popular strings.

Brass acoustic guitar strings are 85/15 strings, thought by some to fall between the above two types of strings in terms of sound. These strings are also well-liked, though you might find them more sensitive to skin oils.

Acoustic guitar strings are made in various diameters or gauges: extra super light, super light, light, medium, heavy, and extra heavy. Lighter gauge strings are thinner, easier to press to the fretboard for improved playability, and are generally preferred by pickers who need to bend notes easily and work the strings. Heavier gauge acoustic guitar strings are louder, fuller, stiffer and require more strength and skill to play but deliver a larger, brighter sound, preferred for strumming. Medium gauge acoustic guitar strings fall down the middle with some advantages of each of the other two categories. Your playing style and skill level will likely determine which gauge suits you best, but beginners and those with 12-string guitars should opt for lighter strings.

Silk and steel acoustic guitar strings are yet another choice. These strings can have silk cores wrapped in steel, or steel cores wrapped in silk, then wrapped again in steel. Silk and steel strings combine some of the mellower attributes of classical guitar strings, to produce a hybrid string with a distinctive melodic sound. Silk and steel strings do not put as much tension on a guitar neck as steel strings, so a neck adjustment might be in order when switching to these strings, particularly if switching from medium or heavy gauge strings. Aside from those who simply prefer the sound of silk and steel, beginners might find that silk and steel strings are friendlier than other acoustic guitar strings.

Pickups used in acoustic guitars are transducers, rather than electromagnetic pickups like those used in electric guitars. Transducer pickups magnify sound by picking up vibrations from the soundboard and bridge, so acoustic guitar strings do not require magnetic properties. Bronze and brass strings are not used on electric guitars because these alloys “can’t be heard” by electromagnetic pickups. Instead, electric guitars use strings made of stainless steel and nickel, or metals that have significant magnetic properties. Of the strings designed for electric guitars, some people use pure nickel strings on acoustic guitars, which have a smoother feel than bronze or brass strings.

Wisegeek

10 Things You Might Not Know About the Guitar

1. How many strings does a guitar have?

Traditionally, a guitar - such as an acoustic, classical or electric guitar has 6 strings, but it is not uncommon to find guitars with four, eight or twelve strings.

2. How does the sound get created in the guitar?

Normally sound from a guitar happens in two ways; acoustically or electrically. With an acoustic sound, the tone is created through the vibrations of the string resonating around the hollow body of the guitar. With an electric guitar, the strings resonate into an electric "pickup" which is essentially a small microphone. Other guitars may generate sound acoustically, which is then amplified using pickups or microphones afterwards. The sound is then amplified electronically which can then be used to manipulate the tone.

3. What is a Luthier?

A Luthier is the master craftsman traditionally responsible for manufacturing (and repairing) guitars and other stringed instruments. Famous guitar Luthiers include Antonio Torres Jurado (the Spanish luthier credited with developing the classical guitar), Paul Bigsby (the tremolo arm) and Leo Fender (Stratocaster electric guitar).

4. What's different about a left handed guitar?

You play it with your left hand, silly! In all seriousness, guitars can simply be re-strung to be left handed (to put the strings in the right order), or artists can play a normal guitar left handed (as did Jimmy Hendrix). Modern 'left handed guitars' are purpose designed for those 13% of the population that are left handed, and are strung differently, often with opposite shaping than those of right handed guitars.

5. What components make a guitar?

We're not going to go individually into what each one of these components are, but the components of most electric, acoustic and classical guitars are typically the following; headstock, nut, fretboard, frets, truss rod, inlays, neck, heel (acoustic), neck joint (electric), strings, body, pickups, electronics, lining, binding, purfling, bridge, pickguard, vibrato arm and guitar strap.

6. What is a guitar made of?

In terms of the materials used, the non electrical parts of a guitar are traditionally made of wood (such as cedar and spruce for the sound board) and animal gut. In more contemporary guitar designs, more synthetic materials are used such as metal (particularly the string nuts and on resonator guitars), plastic, aluminium alloys and carbon composites.

7. Who makes guitars now?

There are literally hundreds of modern guitar manufacturers in the 21st century, but arguably the most popular. Mass market guitars available to consumers are Fender, Yamaha, Dean, Epiphone, Ibanez, Ovation and Stagg amongst others.

8. How old is the guitar?

Well instruments similar to the guitar have been popular for at least the last 5,000 years probably stemming in ancient times from central Asia and India. The oldest known depiction of a guitar being played is from a 3,300 year old carving of a Hittite bard. The word 'guitar' comes directly from the Spanish word 'guitarra', which itself probably comes from the Moorish (muslim) introduction into Spain in around 8th century from the Arabic word 'qitara' and the Roman introduction of the 'cithara' eight centuries earlier.

9. What types of guitars are there?

In truth, there has historically been too many types of guitars to list. With a history of 5,000 years, most are probably lost in the sands of time. Those we know of any commonly use today include electric guitars, normally of a fairly similar construction, and acoustic guitars such as renaissance, baroque, classical, ten string, flat-top, archtop, resonator, 12 string, Russian, acoustic bass, tenor, harp guitar, extended range guitars and battente's.

10. What was the first electric guitar?

In the early twentieth century, the Electro String company experimented with adding electric pickups to guitar using a solid body. They released their 'Rickenbacker' guitar in 1932, which was the first of its kind. Now The Rickenbacker International Corporation, it is now the largest guitar company to manufacture all of it's guitars within the USA.

Clive Oliver Blacksmith

Just How Guitars Work

Guitars come in a variety of shapes, sizes, looks and design. The music world has classical acoustic guitars, semi-acoustic guitars, electric guitars, hollow body guitars, jumbo guitars, 'S' hole guitars etc. Every of these guitars has its own characteristic generic looks, characteristic sound and tonality, which attract their own respective following. Overall, guitars can be classified into two broad categories: acoustic guitars and electric guitars.

How Does a Guitar Work?

To know how guitar work, let us 1st see what is typical to the working of any guitar. Each acoustic guitar has a minimum of six parts - the guitar neck with guitar nut and headstock, fret board, tuning keys, Guitar Bridge, sound box and guitar strings. Each of these parts is essential to the good working of the guitar and plays its own roles to dole out music.

The guitar strings are long strands of metal or nylon wire, which stretch along by way of the major length of the guitar. You'll find normally six strings in a guitar (for the most common six-string guitar). All of these six strings run parallel to each other and are interspersed with a tiny gap between them. You'll find the sound generators of the guitar.

Strings generate sound for the guitar by vibrating along their vibrating length. The guitar bridge on 1 end and the guitar nut on the other end fix the vibrating length of a guitar string. The strings are tied onto a guitar under tension. The strings are plucked by fingers or with a pick. The tension within the string (varied about with the help of tuning keys) makes the string to vibrate.
Up to this point, the working of all guitars is the exact same. What happens next is what categorizes regardless of whether the guitar is an acoustic guitar or and electric guitar.

Acoustic Guitars

All guitars have strings that vibrate which are the principal sound generators of the musical instrument. If you pluck a string tied under tension (no, no! not on a guitar!) you'll find that the sound produced isn't what you will need to hear again and once more as you would like to hear the sound of a good guitar. Moreover, the sound from bare strings is quite soft and you'll barely have the ability to hear them. The sound has to be amplified so that men and women far and near can hear them. This is where the sound box from the acoustic guitar comes in. The sound box of an acoustic guitar is made as an hollow body constructed out of wood. It uses the 'acoustics' of the shape of the hollow body, material characteristics etc to amplify the sound generated by the string. The sound box of a guitar gives it its characteristic sound.

How Does An Electric Guitar Work?

Electric guitars amplify the sound generated by the guitar strings electronically. As opposed to the sound box of an acoustic guitar, an electric guitar has pick-ups and other electronic components. The pick up from an electric guitar picks up the sound waves generated by the strings and converts them into their corresponding minute electrical signals. You can find different kinds of pickups. Commonly used ones are magnetic pickups, piezo electric pickups, condenser pick ups etc.
The converted electric signal then passes by means of the various electronic components mounted on the guitar and finally into the sound amplifier which electronically amplifies the sound. The electronic components on the guitar modulate the converted electric signal to suit the guitarist. Most commonly found components on guitars are the volume control knob (which enables the guitarist to control the volume of the guitar sound) and tone control knobs (which enables the playing guitarist to establish the sound tonality).

5 Quality Beginner Acoustic Guitars by Johnny B Reily

So you've decided you want to buy your first beginner acoustic guitar. It can be frustrating trying to figure out which one to buy. With this post I've tried to make the process a little easier by doing a lot of research for you. All the beginner guitars reviewed for this post are from manufactures that have a reputation for quality and have been around a long time.

I would advise against buying the cheapest guitar you can find. Even though you're beginning to play the guitar you want a decent sound. You want a low action so it's easier to play and learn on.
Since the beginner guitar player is usually not going to go out and spend big money on a new acoustic guitar I've taken a look at some guitars under $400 dollars.

They're all top sellers at the online guitar shops and get high ratings from people that use them. The reviews are in not particular order.

Seagull S6 Original - This is a great beginner acoustic guitar. It’s consistently a top seller at all the online music stores and the Seagull S6 Original Acoustic Guitar
/won the silver medal in Acoustic Guitar magazine’s player’s choice awards for 2008. It won the gold for “the best beginner acoustic guitar” in 2006. 

Seagull S6 comes out of Quebec’s Godin Guitars and they have been building well regarded and low cost acoustic guitars since they started in 1982. The Seagull S6 model has been a popular, high quality and affordable acoustic guitar for many years.

Most guitars in the $300-400 range in are made in China, Korea, Indonesia and places like that. Wood – particularly cedar, like in this model – has to be treated properly: allowed to dry to a certain moisture level, allowed to season at the correct humidity level, and those kinds of things. A lot of times you don’t get that in acoustic guitars made from those regions.

Gorgeous domestic wild cherry back and sides provide a unique tone blending the warmth of mahogany with the crisp definition of maple. A rosewood fretboard is easy on the fingers while specially aligned machine heads make for quick, stable tuning.

The Seagull S6 cedar acoustic guitar is a great-looking a beginner acoustic guitar. It’s an award winner that has the perfect combination of precision and low price!

Fender CD60 Dreadnought - The Fender CD 60 has a relatively low action which is good for the beginner guitar player. The dreadnought shape really brings out the low sounds so your chords sound deep and really rich. The reviews around the internet are great on this guitar.
You might be skeptical that you can get a good guitar with a hard-shell case for $200 bucks. The fact that the Fender CD 60 comes with the case makes it a fantastic deal.



Jasmine by Takamine S34C NEX Cutaway - The Jasmine by Takamine line of acoustic guitars has consistently been one of the top brands for the beginner guitar player.
The Jasmine by Takamine S34C NEX Cutaway Acoustic Guitar is a great sounding beginner's guitar at a great price. Spruce top, nato back and sides, 21-fret mahogany neck, dark-stained rosewood bridge and fretboard, and covered chrome tuning machines.
The wood looks great, the sound and tone is pretty good and plays surprisingly loud.
It's really a decent guitar for the money and you break away for the normal dreadnought guitar and get a cutaway.
The Jasmine by Takamine S34C NEX Cutaway is an excellent choice for the beginner acoustic guitar player because it's inexpensive yet highly playable.

 
Washburn D10S - If you compare this guitar to others in the price range the Washburn D10S acoustic guitar is in the top of the class. This absolutely is a great beginner guitar or for someone who wants a good sounding guitar but can't afford to break the bank. I read an article about the Washburn D10S in Acoustic Guitar Magazine and they rated it the best guitar for under 500 bucks!




 Yamaha F335 - This is a good guitar to start learning on and will be quite helpful for a beginner guitar player because the action is low. Action refers to the space between the strings and the fretboard and a low action is much easier to play for the beginner.
The Yamaha F335 guitar sounds pretty good, plays good for the beginner guitar player, and the F335 is the easiest on the budget of the five.

Buying a Cheap Guitar - Is it Worth It?

Most people perceive cheap guitar as low quality, poorly manufactured guitar. In fact, some people will be intimidated by the fact that it wasn't US made guitar. You may never consider Chinese or Korean made guitars and may never buy a cheap guitar, until recently.


Many big guitar manufacturers have already started producing their guitars in Korea, China and India to offer more affordable guitars for the regular guitar player. Not everybody can afford a $2000+ Fender or Gibson guitars and there is a large market for cheap guitars under $400.

Most of the Epiphone cheap guitars models which is own by Gibson now are produced in Korea. Kramer, which is another company owned by Gibson produces most of its cheap guitars in Korea too. Fender bought Jackson a few years ago, and now most of its Jackson guitars are produced in Korea and India. BC Rich low-cost guitars and many Ibanez guitar models are made in Korea too.
The low cost of labor may help to produce cheaper guitar, but that alone cannot be the only reason for lowering guitar prices.

So, why some guitars really dirt cheap and yet some guitars are outrageously expensive?

There are several factors determining a guitar manufacturing price.

The first factor for making a guitar cheap or expensive is the actual guitar manufacturing process. Was the guitar hand-made or was it produced in a highly automated modern guitar factory? Hand-made guitars are usually more expensive, while the guitars coming out from an automated factory are usually cheaper because the highly automated manufacturing process doesn't require much manual labor such as guitar building, quality control.

Another factor which will determine a guitar price is the quality of material used for producing this guitar. This can include the woods used for the guitar neck and body, the paints and finishes. Cheaper guitars use inexpensive woods like plywood for building the guitar body, while more expensive guitars use quality woods like mahogany, rosewood, alder.

The third factor for making a guitar cheap or expensive is the quality of electronics and hardware that go in the guitar. Cheap guitars usually have cheap bridge, tuners, and stock pickups. Expensive guitars are made with quality hardware and electronics. For example the cost of a single Seymour-Duncan pickup may be much higher than the price for a decent cheap guitar made in Korea.

Cheap Guitars - Does it worth to buy one?

It really depends. Not everyone will use a cheap guitar. If you are professional musician and the guitar is your tool of trade, then you probably won't want to buy a cheap guitar. Although most cheap guitars nowadays have a very good quality, professional musicians prefer hand-made electric guitars created by professional luthiers.

If you don't want to spend several thousand dollars on a Gibson Les Paul guitar, then you might have a look at cheaper guitars. Bear in mind that cheap guitars are no longer no-name guitars. You can still buy Ibanez, Jackson, ESP, Epiphone, Fernandes, BC Rich, Squier, and many more famous guitar brands for less than $200!

I bought a cheap guitar made in China by Fernandes for just $150. The guitar has a licensed Floyd Rose tremolo, a very good, easy-playable neck and nice sound. This guitar is able to put "cheap" and "quality" in one sentence. My cheap guitar is worth much more than $150 and it's actually of a better quality than some US made Fenders I have played.

Would you rather buy the cheapest US made Fender Strat model for $500 or would you rather buy a Japanese made Jackson, with Duncan-designed pickups, Floyd Rose tremolo and super-fast neck for $300? This decision of cheap / expensive guitar is yours.

Rod Low

How to Choose a Suitable Guitar - 3 Helpful Answers for Beginners

Most music lovers who decided to have a guitar as their instrument would commonly ask experts on how to choose a suitable guitar. Guitars are the most promising musical instrument for beginners because of its versatility for it could be used as either an accompaniment or for solo performance. Guitars could also play almost all types of songs from classical, pop, country, R&B, and heavy metals among others.

The guitar belongs to the family of fretted stringed instruments that consist of a body and a neck where the strings are attached. These strings that are usually six in numbers are being played by means of the fingers or a pick. Traditionally, guitars are made up of wood and nylon or steel strings. While the modern ones are composed of polycarbonate materials. Basically, guitars are classified into acoustic and electric families. How to choose a suitable guitar will then depend on your type of music.

1. If you love classical music, then you must have the classic guitar for a start. Aside from being light, this type of guitar is easier to play making it popular for most beginners. On the other hand, acoustic and electric guitars could both be played on any type of music from pop, to R&B, to modern or to heavy metals. Acoustic guitars are played especially for producing loud sound because it is hollow while an amplifier is required if you want to project the sound from the electric guitar.

2. Consider the guitarist. If the player is a child, then a smaller bodied guitar with ½ to ¾ size nylon strings would be perfect. Guitars with nylon strings are easier to press down. Nylon string also perfectly fits with smaller-framed guitars.

3. Choosing a good store. If you cannot afford to buy in one payment, there are shops where the "rent-to-own" policies apply. Some rental shops are also offering special services such as tuning up your guitar before you take it home. This may require an extra amount to pay for but good quality guitars will definitely save you from disappointments and hassle for maintenance from time to time.

These tips on how to choose a suitable guitar will surely guide you on finding your perfect match. Try asking for some personal advice from your friends who are already in to guitar playing since it is also better to have first hand tips from them. Nevertheless, there a lot of information available online that could help you throughout the course.

Jennifer Hinds