Epiphone Songmaker DR-100, Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar - Natural

This is hands-down one of the best sounding guitars in this price range (the $100-ish budget range). I am quite blown away by how great it sounds-- it's very similar to any of the solid-wood Epiphone Masterbilt guitars, which is also a great bargain because they sound just like their Gibson counterparts (e.g. the AJ) -- which sound somewhere between a Martin and a Taylor -- not too dark/muddy as some Martins can get, and not too harsh/bright which most Taylors are... It's just perfect. Really great projection/volume too when you do full strum, and clear articulation and voice at any volume. I keep saying to myself, how do they make any money off this thing? Almost all "beginner" or budget guitars that I've played sound very shallow and "boxy" (like the sound is coming from a small cardboard box). They all do this-- any cheap Yamaha, Takamine, Washburn, whatever. But this DR-100 (also known as PR-100 if sold by Guitar Center/Musician's Friend) is just miles above those other guitars in sound quality and voice. I would say this sounds like a $500-800 guitar. Whether you're an experienced player looking for a backup guitar (which is why I bought mine-- wanted a laminate guitar that I don't have to worry about and just leave out and play whenever at the office or take with me outside), or a beginner, this is the perfect guitar and most bang for your buck at $100... plus it's a Epiphone with a lifetime guarantee and not some no name brand... Of course, a guitar can't be perfect at this price range, so I'll tell you where they cut corners. They didn't cut corners on the finish-- the finish is very nice and glossy and the binding is very nice and has a lot of great details such as the nice big headstock. But here's where it needed some work: The frets. Ouch. They needed to be dressed BADLY. They were so sharp that I think you can really cut and bleed sliding up and down the neck... I spent a good 30 minutes just filing it down and smoothing it out as best as I could and now it's so much better. You can tell these were just pressed in by machines in a factory and that's it-- no one hand dressed them and filed them down and finished them-- that sort of manual hand labor is where it costs money and this easily can be a $500+ guitar... The other part that they cheaped out on are the tuner machines. They are not terrible, and fairly usable, but they aren't the best. If I had to modify one thing on this guitar, it would be to swap out the tuning machines with some good Grovers and call it a day. Specifically, when you turn the tuner, for the first 1/16 of a turn, it doesn't do anything, and then it turns and then sometimes it doesn't do anything... So it's not a 1:1 translation of turning it and the turning changing, which makes tuning the guitar a bit cumbersome. I was lucky to have bought the guitar and it didn't need a truss rod adjustment and the action was fairly good. I did file down the saddle nut about .5mm to lower it a bit more, but that's really it. Even with the crap strings that come with the guitar, it sounds good and that's what I'm basing this review on, so obviously with a better set of strings (I like the Elixir Polyweb in Light or Medium) it only sounds better. The stock strings corroded easily (noticeably changed colors) so I took off the strings from one of my other acoustic guitars and put them on this one. In short, based on just the sound of the guitar-- I'm amazed that a laminate guitar sounds like a mid-level solid wood guitar. At this price, I don't have to worry about it getting dinged up or whatever, and yet it plays beautifully. I believe the Tak Jasmine S35 also gets good reviews for its sound, but I haven't had a chance to play it in person, so I can't compare...

It's basic. But it looks great and sounds great. I don't need a $500+ acoustic... I'm not playing live shows. This is just something to strum away on when I don't want to use one of the electric guitars. The coolest thing is that the sunburst color really pops. Epiphone did a great job on the paint. The sides and back are just medium stained while the front is black with the orange burst. There is trim around the body pieces. The pick guard needs a good heavy wipe since the plastic sticker leaves residue. The Epiphone E is proudly displayed. Guitar stays in tune. Comes pre-strung with decent strings. I prefer a slightly lighter gauge, so these will be changed as soon as these start wearing. Includes a truss rod which you should NEVER use. I don't know why they included it. You can literally snap the neck if you don't know what you are doing. On a guitar this affordable, I just play with the factory setting. But if you want to raise the neck (to make the strings closer to the fretboard) then please have someone do it who is experienced with this process. Otherwise it's a $120 mistake. Came packed tightly in a good box, wrapped in protective covering and padded with much bubble wrap. Does not include any picks or capo or extra strings. No case. No strap. So basically it is the guitar as is. No frills. Which is good, because I hate paying for cheap accessories that I won't end up using or just replacing anyway. If this if your FIRST guitar (congratulation on getting a terrific guitar from an amazing brand!) I recommend getting picks if you so desire (I use Fender medium gauge celluloid). Also a strap if you want. A capo is important for many songs, so make sure to get one soon. And a tuner - mainly I use it when re-stringing (make sure it can tune both electric and acoustic - you set it against the guitar for acoustic and plug in for electric). Avoid a lot of the lumped together bargain deals on Amazon, these are usually lower quality. And a stand and case are also nice. Make sure to stow the guitar away from traffic areas since acoustics are much touchier than electrics (mostly), knocking it down can do irreparable damage if it dings the body, especially the back. Bottom line: don't get one of those off brand sub $100 guitars. I have read too many horror stories. Epiphone crafts good guitars and I have played many of their instruments over the years. My favorite guitar is the Epiphone Les Paul Classic (in black!). And since I don't want to spend $2500 for the Gibson version, Epiphone is just fine. Until you hit about $350, this is arguably one of the better guitars out there. At $350 you can get some amazing Yamaha acoustics and can even select your body material (love the mahogany). But sub $300, there are a couple of Fenders and a couple of Ovations that are good, but this is a solid choice. My one negative is that this is made in China and then inspected in the US. But for this price I guess you can't get an American or Japanese made guitar. Sadly those are going to start at about $500 for most quality brands.

Epiphone - built quality is far better than my yamaha guitars i have - This one with attached marshal strings goes so smooth - not d addario - or something - It will be very good if u are looking for a guitar that can last upto your last age . I m happy - just colour is too normal , not fancy for my kinda stage shows

Aun estoy aprendiendo a tocar y no quería gastarme demasiado en una guitarra nueva. Sin duda ésta es mi mejor recomendación. Una marca de calidad a un precio asequible. - La guitarra me llegó bien embalada y protegida sin ningún daño. - Estéticamente la guitarra es muy bonita, con mucho brillo en una terminación clásica, con el puente en mate y un clavijero grande característico muy elegante. - Tiene una forma más profunda en su parte inferior de la caja y más estrecho en la parte superior que la hace muy cómoda. - El diapasón tiene un tacto muy suave. - El sonido es potente y limpio, no me trastea nada. Trae una llave para ajustar el alma. - Como punto "negativo" solo puedo señalar al logo del protecctor, no es muy bonit, parece el símbolo del euro, pero es un detalle sin importancia. Una gran guitarra a un precio pequeño. 100% recomendable.

Très bonne guitare, ne vous fié pas au prix ! Beau son. Excellente qualité. Très important, le changement d'humidité ne l'affecte que très peu car elle est en bois laminé contrairement au bois solide (plein) qui est très affecté. Selon mes recherches sur le web, le bois laminé ne veut pas dire pas chère ... certaines guitares laminées peuvent coûter plus de 2000$ et certains experts ne voient pas la différence de son. Donc faites vos propres recherche ! Je donne un truc pour toutes les débutant en guitare acoustique Pour ceux qui ont de la misère avec les 3 petites cordes d'acier très coupantes ... il est possible de remplacer les 6 cordes par celles en nylon comme les d'Addario EJ32. Bien sûr le son va être plus doux et moins métalique un peu comme une guitare classique ! Par contre, l'effet tranchant va complètement disparaître car chacune des cordes tire beaucoup moins et les 3 petites cordes sont beaucoup plus grosses. Par contre, il faudra aller voir un expert (exemple un luthier) pour modifier la grosseur des encavures sur la NUT car les 3 petites cordes sont environ 2 fois plus grosses qu'en acier (donc ces 3 petites cordes n'entreront pas sur la Nut sans modification !). Le luthier relaxera aussi la Truss Rod un peu car les 6 cordes (nylon) tirent environ 90 livres contre 160 livres pour les cordes en acier. Le luthier ajustera aussi la hauteur des cordes au dessus du Fingerboard pour que les cordes demandent seulement un minium d'effort à presser pour atteindre le Fret. En se qui concerne ma DR-100, le luthier n'a fait qu'un léger travail pour mettre des cordes de nylon car tout était déjà pratiquement parfait dès le départ !

Je tiens tout d’abord à préciser que je ne suis qu’un débutant et j’ai acheté ce produit pour en faire ma première guitare. Elle était très bien emballée et protégée lors de sa livraison. La qualité est top pour son prix. A mes yeux elle vaut deux à trois fois plus chère. Extrêmement satisfait !

A beautiful guitar and excellent all around. First, and I appreciate that this may not be the same for everyone but its so good I feel I have to say something, it came stupidly quickly. I cannot highly recommend the seller enough in this respect, arriving in a little over 24 hours even though I paid for standard delivery. The guitar itself is beautiful and plays brilliantly. It is, bar a tuning, good to go out of the box and Im certain once you see it you will want to play immediately. It holds its tune well and dons't need constantly re-tweaking unlike other guitars I have owned. The action is set well so you don't get any fret buzz assuming your fingering is right, and even the strings that come with it are pretty decent. There isn't much more that I can say than that, for the price it is fantastic and is pretty much the perfect acoustic guitar. Brilliant for all levels of player not wishing the break the bank. I love this guitar.