Thomann Classic Guitar S 4/4

Purchased July 1. Received unit July 9 here in the Western US in 8 eight days -- intact with no damage. Thank you Thomann for the great and efficient service!

I am a seasoned player (40+ years) and wanted a decent practice instrument. I have owned / played many guitars (classical, electric, steel string acoustic, etc) in the past (ranging from the hand made to the very mediocre). I intended to use this unit solely for classical playing/practicing. My priorities in selecting an instrument are: Sound/Tone, Playability, and a distant third, Appearance.

I was swayed to buy this unit based upon online research, YT videos, and posted reviews (I had never seen this instrument personally ever).

As with most instruments in the lower end of the price range, this unit offers a mix of advantages and deficiencies.

From previous experience, I immediately set out to upgrade/hone aspects which are often lacking: I polished frets (using 0000 steel wool only). The surfaces were quite rough. Also replaced plastic saddle with bone unit. I raised the height of the fitted saddle to improve tone and overall volume slightly. Finally, I changed out strings (I prefer LaBella 2001 HTs). These changes made noticeable sonic improvement.

Despite the all-solid wood construction, I was still a bit disappointed that the high notes (fretted notes on 1st or 2nd string for example) don't ring as loud and clear as I had hoped.
The guitar does have that balanced solid spruce midrange-focused tone however.

Frets: One fret was not properly seated (13th fret, under high E string). I used a padded clamp to press it into place. There are a few frets that are a tad high during the fret-rocker test.
They are not bad enough to be a major sonic concern however.
Polishing seems to have circumvented fret height differences.
Overall construction of the unit is good however. In particular, the neck position and geometry are spot on (very important in absence of truss rod). Interior fitting/gluing is also very good.
The tuners are average. Mine bound and wound unevenly when I re-strung with high tension strings.
Wish list: thinner finish would work equally well. A matte type option would be very desirable (less finish generally = more sound).

Having said all the above, I do give a recommendation to buy.
It is worth the time and expense to get one and tweak/fix it up.

Footnote: finally, for those that also like to upgrade and maximize the sound of guitars like the S 4/4.. One thing you can do to help improve the sound and responsiveness of an acoustic guitar is to CAREFULLY place it on or in front of a speaker cabinet/stereo and play music loudly. The acoustic vibrations will invoke the wood (especially the soundboard) to vibrate and that ultimately will help your instrument sound better sooner. Sounds goofy but it works.

Planning on buying another Thomann or VGS guitar in the upcoming months..

(apologies for the long post)

Hi folks, first off i'd like to say I recommended this guitar to two of my guitar students....I was so impressed with it that I bought one for myself. I mean an all solid tone wood guitar for under £70, thats just crazy! But hey its a truly great bargain. I topped mine off with a solid hard guitar case and a clip on guitar tuner and still only had to part with £110.

I figure this will be my travel guitar. In terms of my other guitar reference points I own a Yamaha CG201S (all solid wood) and I also owned a Kenneth Roberts Luthier built guitar that cost £4000. I also have a Classical Guitar Diploma so here is my review-

The build quality is really nice, the top has a close grain solid spruce top and solid maple back & sides. I figure this will open up nicely over the years and develop into a really nice mature tone. The maple neck and beech fretboard feel absolutely solid, I can't imagine the neck warping as it feels very heavy perhaps slightly heavier than it should be.

Cosmetics, 9/10 there was one minor blemish on the neck but not sufficient to return the guitar to Thomann. The guitar is very young so its hard to judge its tonal qualities at this stage. Spruce ages very well so I have high hopes that this guitar will open up nicely in a couple of years time and continue to develop.

The tuners appear slightly improved on this model? In conclusion Thomann have a guitar that is built in Europe and with all solid wood construction, how can they make these for under £70 and with such attention to detail and intonation as well as a nicely balanced sound across all strings? It makes no sense so I say go buy one now before they sell out, you won't regret it.

I've been playing for decades and I do a lot of lutherie in my spare time. I own a nice Martin and have had Rickenbackers, Deerings, Fenders and other big brands that cost a lot. I've also made my own. But this is one of the best deals I know of. The sound is wonderful. You get not only a solid top, but an all-solid guitar, put together accurately for under 100¤. The fingerboard is beech wood rather than ebony or rosewood (which are not good to harvest if we want forests in Africa), the sides are male instead of mahogany. The sound is deep and the sustain is wonderful. They skimped on the right things, the things that don't affect the sound: no headstock veneer, decal rosette instead of inlaid wood, no fancy binding, no veneer on the heel, no inlay on the bridge. The tuners are very good - not amazing, but not cheapos. The saddle and the nut are plastic, which could be better. I changed the saddle to bone, but even before it sounded great. I thought I would check it out, see if I'm really interested in playing more classical, and then get a serious one, but I'm not getting rid of this one. I would seriously doubt this baby would fail a blind sound test against guitars that are 5 or 10 times the price. Maybe I'm wrong, but for 95¤ there is no reason to hesitate.