I teach classical guitar and one of my daughters is now old enough (8 yrs. old for a larger instrument but a full-sized guitar is still too big. I took a chance on buying this guitar sight-unseen but I have pleasantly surprised. It only arrived yesterday, but since I teach guitar it doesn’t take me a long time to assess the quality of an instrument. It’s not perfect, but is acceptable.

It came well-packed – the guitar itself is wrapped in a soft plastic wrap, then boxed, and then that box is inside another box. I could find no damage due to shipping and it arrived about one week before Christmas. The finish on the guitar is shiny lacquer, the machine tuning pegs work well, the action seemed to be just right at the frets near the body of the guitar, the construction seems solid, but what surprised me the most after I tuned it up was the voice it had. For a little, brand-new, inexpensive guitar it had quite a nice loud voice. And hopefully it will only get better with age.

So far I have found only 2 things that could be improved: The bass strings (E,A,D) buzz slightly when fretted on the lower frets near the head of the guitar if not fretted close to the leading fret (only teachers and experienced guitarists will probably know what I’m talking about). I think it’s just because of the cheap strings that it came with or possibly the nut may need to be a tiny bit higher, but I’m not very concerned because I think that with a good set of quality strings this problem will resolve itself. And if it doesn’t I’m still o.k. with it because the buzz is very slight and I tend to listen acutely for any unusual sounds. The only other thing I was not thrilled with and it’s only cosmetic and has no effect whatsoever on the playability of the instrument is that the bridge came unfinished. It’s stained a nice wood color, but was glued onto the soundboard with no lacquer or finish. I may polish it later or just let it be the way it is. I am a bit concerned that if the guitar gets wet this strip of wood has no protection and will absorb the water and possibly warp. I’ll have to keep an eye on it.

My daughter has not seen the guitar yet – it’s actually her birthday present which is a few days after Christmas. But I looked it over quite closely yesterday, wiped it down with a clean cloth, tuned it up and played it rather aggressively to hear exactly what it would do. I think it’s a very good buy and I will recommend this little guy to anyone who needs a smaller sized guitar. I expect my daughter to study using this instrument until she’s around 12 years old. Again, it’s voice was very good especially for a guitar this size and price. It is not a toy but a real musical instrument to be taken seriously. If you have a child roughly between the ages of 7 and 11, then this will likely be the right sized guitar.

**And just a note for those who might not know: This guitar is a NYLON string guitar. If you are looking for a steel-string guitar this guitar is not one. And never, ever put steel strings on a nylon string guitar or you will ruin it due to excessive tension. They are only built to withstand the tension from nylon strings. :o)
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UPDATE * UPDATE * UPDATE 3/14/10

I originally gave this guitar 4 stars but have since upgraded it to 5. I am simply amazed with this little instrument! The tone it has is unbelievably beautiful and it has a lot of volume. I am extremely pleased with this guitar. The buzz it originally had has completely disappeared and it just a wonderful guitar. My daughter has been learning at a phenomenal pace on this instrument and I have played it quite a lot myself just because it is such a nice instrument. I may have just gotten extremely lucky with this particular instrument – sometimes that happens. Other guitars like this one may be grossly inferior but I doubt that will happen. This has been the best money well-spent on a guitar I’ve bought in a long time!

We purchased this guitar at the recommendation of our daughter’s elementary school music teacher. He is teaching her how to play guitar and the Yamaha CGS103A 3/4 size is an excellent beginner instrument that she will be able to use for quite awhile as she grows. She is 8 years old and this guitar can easily take her through her teen years. Amazon.com had the best price, it shipped very quickly from Best Service Stores, and it arrived before the estimated date.

I bought this guitar for my daughter and so far it is proving to be the perfect guitar for her. The 3/4 size is just right for her hands and body size (9 years old) but will also grow with her for the next few years at least. The sound is very nice and impressed her guitar instructor. The guitar was shipped inside two separate boxes with adequate packing material and a foam sleeve, so needless to say, arrived in perfect shape.