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| Value: | |
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Pros:
- Great Sound
- Beginner Friendly
- Affordable
Cons:
- Not Stable Tuning
- Won’t age well
Looking for a new acoustic guitar but want the option to play something more electric as well? Need to be amplified into the room more than the usual acoustic guitar would let you? Then you might be looking for an acoustic guitar produced by Fender, especially if you are a beginner trying to understand which is better: acoustic or electric. This marvel of cheap engineering is incredibly affordable and might be the perfect fit for you. All we have to do is take a closer look now.
Build Quality
The body of this guitar is pretty standard throughout the world of acoustic electric and electric acoustic guitars. A very nice and bright spruce top with a slightly dark mahogany back and sides, all well put together, give it a sturdy feel and a rather handsome look. The shape is that of a nice folk guitar, with a slimmer body than with the usual acoustic guitars. This makes it very light and comfortable to play. The gloss finish of the guitar, while not optimal for any guitar, works for this affordable model.
The neck is mahogany, and is rather slim. Quite a pleasure to play for anyone, whether they are a beginner or a professional. The fretboard is made of rosewood and is smooth, with few to no issues reported regarding the ease of fretting. A good 20 frets should be enough for anyone, especially a beginner, to play. The neck is well fitted with the body, so you should not be having any problems playing the guitar.
Hardware
The hardware on this piece of miracle is rather average, just like you would expect of a standard, affordable acoustic-electric guitar. The bridge is made of rosewood, with a nice bone nut saddle, providing a good level of transfer of vibrations to the top of the guitar. The rest of the hardware has a nice chrome finish, with the tuners being die-cast chrome. This means the entirety of the guitar will last for a while, though some models might have a hard time staying in tune for a while. A beginner might find that annoying, but practicing guitar tuning might be a good idea.
Electronics
The electronics on this guitar are very basic, just like you would expect of an affordable acoustic electric guitar. You do get a nice tuner to assist you as well as a nice Fishman Isys III preamp system. You also get a standard set of controls, including volume, bass, mid and treble. All of these items you will find pretty useful, especially if this is your first time picking up an acoustic-electric guitar.
Fender CF 60CE Sound
So how does all of this sound? Well, as a result of complex arithmetic involving several variables, such as the tonewoods, the electronics, and other minor items that are more customizable, the guitar sounds rather amazing. The Spruce top of the guitar really brings out the high tones of the guitar, while the mahogany back and sides balance the sound by emphasizing the mid and low tones. The result is that the guitar can sound both warm and mellow, as well as incredibly bright and energetic, depending on what you want. The preamp system and the controls also allow you further control and are powerful enough to project your sound further than you thought possible.
Conclusion
It is not often you get such a good acoustic-electric guitar for such a low price. The Fender CF-60CE is definitely one of those guitars you will not regret picking up. The guitar is cheap, which shows, the lamination of the tonewoods. This means the guitar will not be having a nice time aging, but since you will probably end up buying a new guitar before this one ages, this should not be much of a problem.
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