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Pros:
- Great quality tonewood
- Comfortable
- Good Sound
Cons:
- No guitar strap button on the neck
- Synthetic bone nut is not as high quality as bone nut, but some sacrifices have to made for lower price
Takamine, one of the leaders in music industry, dedicated to art of guitar craftsmanship brings a combination of the best qualities and affordability to the table with GD20-NS, a dreadnought-style guitar made of great tonewood and construction that produces beautiful sound fit both for beginners and experienced players. This is a great guitar if you are on a budget or for anyone who is not sure how far they want to go with guitars and how much they are willing to pay but yet do not want to taint their experience with bad guitars.
Build
It is remarkably hard to find a guitar at such a low price that sounds like a higher-priced model. Finding a guitar that sounds very close to a hand-made alternative that usually boast a better build, quality, and cost is almost impossible. But I think Takamine might have come very close to that goal. As you might have figured out by now this is a dreadnought guitar which is one of the most popular guitar shapes that combines comfort with great sound and volume. A thick solid cedar top makes this guitar great for heavy strumming while producing clear tones. The build is much sturdier than a lot of dreadnaughts in this price range and mahogany back and sides makes the guitar produce a warm sound with astounding volume. It is a great guitar if you are not sure what style of playing you prefer so far because it is equally great for any styles. A slim mahogany neck with a 21-fret rosewood fingerboard makes GD20-NS very comfortable to hold and all of this is finished off with a satin finish.
Hardware
Takamine does not stop at great tonewood and build, they have added some interesting features that will make your playing much easier and more comfortable. The split-saddle design of the pin-less rosewood bridge has two major effects: 1. It becomes much easier to change the strings with pinless bridge and 2. the intonation for sweeter-sounding chords and single-note runs. You also get the synthetic bone nut and split saddle with more accurate intonation. On top of that this guitar is equipped with Pearloid dot inlays, a rosewood headcap, and chrome die-cast tuners.
Takamine GD20 Sound
Sound is where the good quality tonewood really makes a difference. Cedar top and mahogany bring more volume, warmth, and clarity to your playing. And the bold tones with rich sound and great resonation is definitely all (at least almost all) things you are looking for in a great guitar.
Conclusion
Whenever you are trying to find a budget guitar it is always important to keep in mind things you cannot sacrifice and also have an understanding that cheaper guitars will need more maintenance and might have more problems in the future. If you are looking for something under $200, Takamine GD200-NS is not the one for you, but if you are willing to pay just a little bit more and get much higher quality and sound, then this is the one to go with.
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