Jordan A.
I like the guitar. Needed some setup but is great for what I'm trying to do.
Mark S.
Guitar plays smoothly. Neck has a luscious satin feel. Once I had luthier do setup on guitar, plays like butter. Customer service is above par. Had a problem with setting my intonation , prompt responses from reps. even given time considerations( think based in China). Would definitely buy from again.
John C.
I am so happy I took a chance on this guitar. I have had it for weeks and can't stop playing it. Amazing instrument. Thank you Donner!
Edward B.
Right out of the box the DST400 was playable and the neck pickup sounded great. There was a rattle on the open E string. When I tried to raise the bridge sting saddle the screw legs were unstable and splayed out. I bought a set of solid metal saddles on Amazon for $17 and figured out how to install them. (I am not a guitar tech at all.) I adjusted all the string heights and the intonation. The gauge on the little card that comes with the guitar was useful for this. Out of the box the middle pickup sounded OK but not great and the humbucker sounded weak. I used the gauge (and a small Phillips head screwdriver) to adjust the height of all three pickups. Now all three sound very good and I continue to love the sound of the neck pickup. Despite the inadequate saddles, I found this guitar to be a terrific value for the price. I am very happy with it. On the basis of this experience, I ordered a "Hush" acoustic travel guitar. It is scheduled to arrive tomorrow. I am hoping for another positive experience from Donner.
Janos H.
Good looking, reasonably priced guitar. Satisfying playability and excellent electronics complete the quality list.
james b.
This guitar is fantastic! I bought it because of several video reviews I saw of it, all were positive. It was packed very well inside a nice gig bag, inside a well padded box. Sounded great right out of the box. Even the stock strings sounded great. I love the pop in tremolo bar. Highly recommend this guitar over any other brand in this price range. This is -THE- best strat style guitar for the money. Plus you get a humbucker and a coil split switch. Get one!
Ron D.
I am a beginner at 61 years old and didn’t want to spend a lot on a guitar but this is a great starter guitar at a great price and I’m very happy with my purchase
Thomas B.
Excellent service. Guitar is very nice.
Joseph T.
Surpassed all my expectations. Awesome value. Plays better than my American Strat.
Jose Antonio P.
Delivered in time and without any flaws. Some TLC was needed on four frets. Excellent finish. So a very nice guitar with good price benefit ratio. Changed strings and maybe will change the HH to a vintage type model.
Harold King S.
The guitar is surprisingly well built! It’s a really bang for the buck! The neck is fast and comfortable on my hands( I have short fingers ). The frets are rounded off, the action is low out of the box without any fretbuzz. The fretboard has no grittiness. Plus for the coil tap functionality and the 2 pt trem! I love this guitar and Donner’s customer service is fantastic!
Armando G.
It’s not the instrument, it’s how much you practice
Timothy C.
Pleasantly surprised with this guitar out of the box .very comfortable to play. Only thing I did was put heavier gauge string on it..with the right rig, I would not hesitate to play this guitar on stage..if any other colors are available , I would most likely purchase another one
David N.
Excellent fit and finish. Absolutely best guitar for the money bar none.
Paul F.
Very beautiful guitar and stays in tune after using whammy bar very excellent for the price
Zhong-Wei Z.
I ordered a green/blue DST400 from Donner. The package arrived a few days later in excellent condition. In addition to the shipping box, the guitar was placed inside a decent gig bag--a nice touch for a budget guitar.
The build quality is excellent. The neck is very smooth and the fret ends are nicely polished. I also liked the paint job on the body.
I did find one problem: the nut was not properly cut and the low E string was at the very end of frets. I contacted Donner customer service and they gave me a partial refund to fix this problem. I replaced the original nut with a bone nut bought from Amazon and put on a new set of strings. After a few minor adjustments, the guitar feels and sounds great. The turner pegs are very good and I don't see any need to replace them.
This is my first Donner guitar and I am very impressed by its quality. For the price, it is hard to beat. Assuming the nut problem that I had is a rare oversight, I would recommend this guitar to beginner and intermediate players.
Richard B.
I’ve never liked strat style guitars but , thought I’d give the Donner seeker a try. Pleasantly surprised. It’s the middle pickup that always gives me trouble so I lowered it down out of the way of my pick. Technically converting it into a HS. of course with the coil split it still has quite a bit of variation.
The trem bar is a bit of an issue you might address at some point. The only way to keep it in the trem is to remove two springs and raise the trem up to get to the retention screw.
P.I.T.A. Now you can’t get it back out. Not cool. I prefer the F.R.style trem system. Perhaps you can incorporate it into a model in the future.
It’s a well made strat style guitar. I will do some updates on the trem system. Otherwise, it’s a great ax for the bucks.
Lawrence B.
I received my Donner DST-400 ST Electric Guitar in perfect condition. The guitar was double boxed in its gig-bag, with a cable, strap, and adjusting tools.
My first impression was, what a beautiful looking guitar this is, as the green color finish is a bit translucent, as you can see the wood grain. The neck has a satin finish which I love, as your hand just slides over it when playing. I plugged my new guitar into my Fender Mustang Amp, tuned it up and started to play it and get a feel for this new Donner Guitar. The sound from these pickups are excellent, and to have the ability to split the humbucker bridge pickup is fantastic. This Donner Guitar for the price is well worth it with all the added extras you get on this guitar. I will lower the action to my liking but beyond that, this guitar is perfect for me. I will purchase another guitar from Donner soon!
If anyone is looking for a guitar with loaded features at a reasonable price, this is the guitar to consider first. Excellent Guitar at a very reasonable price!
ERIC H.
The DST-400 is the only HSS S-type guitar with a push-pull pot and alnico pickups in the $215 price point I found. While I have not had a Chinese Fender I believe you will pay twice as much for one to get similar quality. However the Fender will not have a translucent finish and probably will not have a humbucker pickup with a push-pull pot. Be sure to see Darrell Braun's review on youtube. FedEx shipping information was not as good as I expected but the guitar arrived in good condition.
Jovani G.
It’s built very beautifully and plays very well. Underrated in my opinion!
Philip B.
I love this guitar! It was made with really good precision and was set up so well that there was nothing to adjust when I got it. The neck bow was just right and the intonation could not have been better. Best of all, it stays in tune, rock solid, even with heavy use of the whammy bar. I loosened the tremolo so it "floats" as shown in the photo, this way it goes both up and down in pitch. Still, I let go of the bar, and it snaps back into tune. It also has a versatile switch system for seven pickup combinations, and the translucent paint job is really pretty.
Bruce H.
I was pleasantly pleased to see the quality of the build on this guitar and that it was tuned and ready to go...which is unusual for many. Stays in tune and the push pull is a welcome feature for changing tones. Overall a 100.
Music2000
It's a good guitar with laurel fingerboard and alder body. Has the look and feel of the top major Stratocaster brands and in some cases, like the body and fret wood, pickups, electronics etc. much better! Donner has some good products lately in guitars and pedals too. The FST400 guitar pricing goes crazy sometimes - I saw it go from $199 to $269, then to $169 within a week! Choose your purchase timing wisely for the best deal.
Steve R.
Absolutely everything I expected and then some I went through and read all the reviews first before my purchase I'm glad I did every review was right spot on
SeattleKevin
This guitar sounds great right out of the box. The single coil pickups are hot and the poles are staggerd but not like Fender pickups giving this guitar a unique sound. Very impressive.
Daniel S.
I love my new DST-400. Alder body, beautiful neck perfectly done, stunning finish, excellent hardware, very good pick ups. I think if you covered the name and asked someone to rate this guitar in terms of features and price it would fall well above the sub $200 price point it is currently at. I think it could compete with the Player's MIM Strat and certainy the best Squiers. Such a great instrument, and certainly not just a beginners instrument. I highly recommend and would have no problem gigging with this guitar while I leave the G&L at home. Grab one or two, you'll be glad you did.
Michael Lau
This is an excellent entry level guitar. With C shape neck with 9.5 radius neck and vintage style tuner that hold tune, makes this an excellent guitar for beginners and intermediate players. Finish on guitar is comparable to other guitars in this price range.
Gunnar H.
Intonation on guitar for the E, A, and D strings is horrible and makes the guitar unplayable.
Tried intonating the low E string but ran out of adjustment room. Will try to remove the spring to get more room. I wonder if the strings might be part of the problem.
Kathleen Flynn-Harkins
Been playing guitar for 50+ years. Have had just about every brand of high-end guitars. This one would be great for a beginner. For me, it just felt like a beginner guitar. The fret ends were sticking out. Not so much that they would cut you but they needed to be filed. It weighs 7.5 pounds, a tad heavy for a Strat. I wanted to have it be a project guitar, but I returned it because I would have to spend too much time and money to make it mine. Again, very close to keeping it but if you want it for a beginner, it is an excellent choice.
John M. Ivans
Very Nice No sharp edges. Neck and strings needs set up. Lost star for poor nut looked awful. I replaced it. Nut was overly glued and string notches were hacked up. pick ups work well.
Dan H.
Very nice guitar, quality is way above the price. I am thinking of trying the Tele style Donner looks like a great guitar also.
Lawrence
Great product when setup correctly. Hard to put down. Changed the neck and bridge to my preference.
chasferr
This guitar is not just for beginners . It will satisfy much more advanced guitarists. Company responsive
Luis O.
As soon as I opened the box, I was immediately surprised how beautiful this guitar was. I’ve been playing on and off for about 17 years and have owned several different guitars. Got the price I paid, I say this guitar surpasses that. It sounds and feels great, both clean and with effects. Amazing job!
John A.
Amazing guitar. Setup was decent (needed minor tweaks but even expensive Gibson's need that). Sound is great and has a great feel. The look of the guitar is amazing. Really looks better than my other strat and sounds great too. Donner consistently blows me away, that's probably why I've spent over a grand on their products in one year lol. Do yourself a favor and your wallet one too and buy a Donner.
eddie p.
Was perfect for what I wanted. Everything worked as advertised. Plays very well.
Better than expected.
Rocky B.
This is a pretty good guitar for the price!
Very nice fretboard and the frets are all smooth and filed nicely.
I highly recommend it!
Duane St John
It's ok nothing to brag about.
Sboj Evets
Playing this guitar for the last 3 days and I really love it. Bought 2 other bargain priced guitars and this one is my favorite.The guitar plays great and feels easy and comfortable. Most of the tones I'm getting sound great! I have Fender MIM HSS Player special with a Floyd Rose trem system, Love my Strat! Being totally honest, after I gave this Donner the tune up detailed below, I think I like the feel of the Donner better than my $900 Strat! Not comparing tone , just ease of how it plays and feels in my hand. So why don't I think this guitar is good for beginners even though its a great value even after spending additional money to get it right. Out of the box this guitar felt pretty bad. The finish is just okay. Listed as transparent Black, it appears just a low luster black until you look real close. You can just make out the wood grain through the black. could have used a bit more time on the buffing wheel as well. I'd say its a 3 out of 5 in the looks fit and finish department. The neck shape and satin finish on the back of the neck are great. The fret board was dry but a decent piece of Rose wood.Just needed a little lemon oil. It comes with a set of .009 -.042 D'Addario strings.... that had been sitting long enough to begin to rust. With a new set of strings I attempted to tune the guitar but it soon became apparent that the tuners were junk. If you're a beginner and don't know how decent tuners should feel or work, you might think you were doing something wrong. One of the tuners was slipping so bad it was almost unusable. So I ordered a new set of locking tuners for about $40. about the minimum for a usable set. The nut was cut okay but would need a little TLC. The fret work looked pretty good but there were about 4 frets that needed a bit of tapping down and even some leveling and minor re-crowning and a final polish Fret work is not difficult if you know how to do it and have the proper tools. This kind of Fret work runs about $75 or more if you need to pay someone to do it for you. The stock tremolo system (whammy bar) is pretty much junk. At first inspection its looks good and has a large trem block even though it appears to be some kind of pot metal , not brass or steel as it should be. After an hour of tweaking and adjustment I only managed to make marginal improvements in the feel but zero improvements in tuning stability even with new locking tuners and nut cut properly. There are many tremolo systems available and prices range from $20 to over $200 not including installation. Another task a beginner wouldn't want to attempt. I'm Hoping to find a suitable replacement in the $50 price range probably a Wilkinson. Until then I just don't use the whammy bar.or it will immediately go out of tune. Lastly the electronics. I'm actually very happy with the sound of the two single coil pickups and the humbucker in the bridge sounds okay clean to light couch tones. A high gain pedal and the tone and clarity suffers considerably. Changing pickups is another job I don't recommend a beginner attempt but the good news is the stock pickups are fine for a beginner as well as the stock electronics. I'm changing the bridge Humbucker to an EVH WG. At $169 new that pickup costs about what this guitar does. I got lucky and found an open box one for sale for $79. I'll most likely upgrade the pots and switch as well but they're working fine for now. I honestly think this guitar is a great value. With a total out of pocket of less than $500 I'll have a fantastic playing and sounding Strat type guitar. I just can't recommend it as a good beginner guitar unless you have a friend who is a guitar tech.
john v.
I was surprised at the quality of the guitar since the price was so low. Craftsmanship is very good comparable to an instrument over twice the price. I especially like the neck, the fret work is way better than some name brand guitars costing two to three times as much. Over all I am very pleased with this instrument. If you are looking for an entry level guitar I highly recommend Donner.
Rick H.
Amazing value. If every one of these is as nice as mine, you can't go wrong. Sounds and plays great. Needs better saddles, but these are easy to upgrade. Otherwise perfect.
Rick Humelsine
This is really a good instrument. Better than some similar products I have also bought. The workmanship, sound, and feel are as good as any guitar I have seen anywhere. The only thing that is not premium on this DST-400 are the bridge saddles, but these are easy to upgrade.
TCCM
Beginner, modeler, intermediate, you are simply not going to find a better guitar, period. Truly amazing value. Get it now before they raise the price. Playable out of the box, I spent 20 minutes setting up this guitar to play to my style. I will drop my favorite pickups in and polish the fret ends a bit more to make this play better than my stock $1600 guitar, (amateur luthier). I am simply in love with this guitar! Paint is green, dark green or blue depending on the lighting, pretty cool! Craftsmanship at this price is simply above reproach, period. I think they listened to the reviews and mine came with a bone, or at least a Tusq like nut. The bridge is at least as thick as my MIM. There is no tuning issues with the wammy once the strings break in. I was planning on changing the neck with an extra American tele neck I had, but rapidly changed my mind. The only thing I am going to change is the pickups for my Seymour Duncan’s. The ones that came with this guitar is going to my Classic Vintage build. They are that good. They market this as a vintage and it stacks up perfectly. I get excited every time I pull this guitar out of the bag. Seriously, get this guitar while its still $160. You will kick yourself if you don’t. The other manufacturers out there, this is the gold standard at this price point!!! I am not getting compensated for his review. I am just truly impressed. I wish I had a guitar like this 20 years ago when I started. Thank you Donner, please keep up the awesome work. Let’s get more people out there playing guitar!
Elantric
Excellent DST-400 Strat, perfect setup right out of the box , just peel away clear plastic overlays on pick guard , plug in tremolo arm, tune to A440 pitch and go play gigs. This guitar has comparable setup as a 2018 Fender Pro Am Strat, and great tone and sustain- and great polished fret job. I prefer thicker necks, but this one is very playable, with quality Kluson vintage style tuners and rolled steel Bridge saddles - great guitar
Venus
I'm sure I would have given a better review but when received the whammy bar wasn't on . Was in package but unable to attach
Charles Duncan
It's a very good guitar alder body nice neck frets need a bit of work on the one I got can play this guitar live doesn't need new pickups tremolo works good just have to set it up properly tuner are not bad might be the only thing you have to replace the guit nut is plastic but is cut very well I will be replacing it with graphtec nut
George Meadows
I've played guitar for many years. But also stopped playing altogether for a lot of years. The Donner DST 400 is the first guitar I've looked at to ease back into playing. The quality and playability right out of the box are both very impressive. I've looked at "budget" Strat-style guitars from 20 (plus) years ago and this guitar puts them all to shame. Very good hardware. Excellent craftsmanship on neck and body. I'm more than happy with my purchase. I would have spent much more on the same guitar and been satisfied. You can't go wrong with the DST-400. Beginners and intermediate players alike will love this guitar.
Robert S.
First off , I think Donner is headed up with this guitar . I have owned many guitars in the past 40 years , and with an Alder body , and Laurel rosewood fingerboard , this guitar is an excellent choice for an adult beginner guitar , or for that matter , a great backup guitar . The only complaint I have is the plastic nut needs to be upgraded , it’s up to the end owner on the pickups , but for me , they are fine for now .
The push- pull tone control for bridge p/u coil - tapping is great . Also , the bridge pickup already having tone control is a plus .
Daniel M.
This guitar punches above it's price point. The surprise for me was the selection on the third knob which turns the humbucker pickup into a single coil. Love the flexibility of tones. The frets were all smooth. The tuners hold tune quite well. This is the best strat style guitar for the money.
joseph l.
As a 1st time Donner buyer I was steered to this purchase by watching Youtube video reviews of Donner guitars. As a guitar player and mod freak for 50 years I buy guitars I never heard of and do mods. Out of the box the guitars finish was very good. Smooth thin neck. Average at best vintage machine heads that don't hold tune. Many fret ends sharp. Bridge saddles are poorly lined up. Strings do not go over the poles on the two single coil pickups. The nut is absolute garbage, even after graphite powder lube, which renders the tremolo useless. Pickups sound just fine. All these issues are easy fixes for me. Except the single coil pickups are just too wide to have the strings go over the poles correctly. Will put hot rails type replacements in, problem solved. Maybe $120.00 to fix all issues. Paid $189.00 for guitar. With fixes over $300.00 investment. You figure if it's worth the money.
Gary P.
I really like this guitar. It was set up nice, plays well, it's light ( for an electric) and is comfortable and sounds good ( for my unsophisticated ear ). The tuners are very light and feel cheap. Besides that, I am very happy with this purchase.
Charles D.
I think this is a quality instrument for any musician from beginner to advanced levels.
https://www.reverbnation.com/charlesdicristofano
2inthevalley
I have played guitar for over 40 years. I am just noting that for context to my opinion. That said, my opionion is just that. But maybe my observations can be helpful in someone deciding I love playing music I grew up with from Beatles to Police, U2....So I have an Ibanez AS-73 and wanted to get a Strat style guitar with that sound. PROS: This guitar had that Strat sound but not as clean. Pickups seemed muddy...but for the price, they were acceptable and there is versatility in sound with single/humbucker switching combination with the bridge pickup. Some commented on it staying in tune. I tried using a 10 gauge set (my preference- Dadarrio xl110-46) and for me It seemed to stay in tune...I wouldn't use this Whammy bar for Van Halen dives- its not a floyd rose-but it is ok for a little bending effects like vibrato etc...like country and western stuff... CONS: Neck is comfortable for smaller hands, my hands are too big...this neck very narrow...seemed harder to play for me so I returned it. Not the style neck I am used to or looking for. While it had a versatile sound, the Korean pickups were not that powerful and were noisy. But, again, considering the price point they were very good. The Electronic/switching seemed good... but sound was not to my liking. OVERALL OPINION: Solid workmanship, guitar looks great and feels well made. For me the sound and the Neck style didn't work But had I just begun Playing guitar as a beginner....Yeah this guitar is nice to start with!.
jeanne
How can I turn down the volume ?
DON WILLIAMS
Just have to take time and follow use instructions!
Kaneisha Marshall
Simple and cute
Michael Theodore
It's good, but the sound is not good quality as I expected.
CB
good sound quality for the price
Raymond M.
I bought this guitar for my 12 year old son for his birthday. I also bought the Donner headphone amplifier and connected the guitar to the sound bar. I was impressed by the quality of the guitar and its good sound. My son is a beginner, but he found it easy to use this guitar everyday. He is enjoying it.
Rick
Sound quality is not the best but for beginners its just fine
lakshmisudha pallothu
My daughter really liked her piano set up and enjoys playing it
Henry Murewa
I just opened the box up and it don't work
I don't understand
update: The customer service assistant explained how to use it, and it is now in normal use
One day living this life!
Perfect for a beginner
Manny
For the price, it is good for someone who wants to learn and not spend much.
Jill K
Nice set up for a student. The sound isn’t as good as Casio brand, but it was inexpensive.
Suzzane
Looks and feels cheap for the price
Shevy1280
Hasn’t stopped playing it since he received it. Definitely a great idea for students in the distance learning phases. Music class at home.
D.Vera
Very impressed on the solid weight on this product.
It has easy to use tunes.
J. Hernandez
Very beautiful guitar, for now is a collectors edition until I learn to play it.
Kaitlyn
It’s ok for beginners practicing placement of their hands or matching reading music to notes, but I wish I would’ve spent a bit more money and gotten something better quality.
Vikcy Hanson
The adaptor broke after only a few months and we're currently looking for a new one.
BPP
the product cant work. I contacted the manufacturer for support, like it says to on this site, and they sent me back to here where there is no one I can find to help resolve this. Pretty unsatisfied.
Scott J
I bought this for my son as he wanted to learn, so I figured it makes more sense than letting him try a more expensive one lol.
Michael P.
I was shocked when I picked up this guitar for the first time, the neck has my favorite neck profile, a slim "C". To me it plays like my 1965 Fender Stratocaster. I love everything about this guitar. The pickups are full range, the tremolo works great. The setup is nice, no rough frets. The color is a beautiful translucent green with no obvious void fills. The weight is right on, not too heavy, not too light. Good tuners, nut, setup, controls, and finish. I am a 48 year player and I cannot believe I can get such a great guitar so inexpensively. I liked it so well that I bought a second one a different color and it is the equal of the first one I bought. These two will be my main guitars for when I gig. I always feel apprehensive when I take out a vintage guitar to play. I like it so well I may buy another!
Michael P.
I bought one just to see if was any good. I was greatly surprised, the neck has the perfect slim "C" shape that I love and is made out of Canadian Maple. The grain is running the correct direction, the frets were smooth and set correctly. The translucent color of the body shows the wood grain to be filler free. The pickups sound good, responsive, bright, and full of low tones. There is no hum or noise in the wiring and the controls work great. The Tremolo system was set perfectly as well as the setup. Nice tuners too! I liked it so well that I bought a second one. These are going to be my primary instruments when I play out and don't want to take out a vintage guitar. I am a 48 year player and I rarely see inexpensive instruments of such great quality.
Elizabeth
I bought this model because the one I wanted was out of stock.
Hereward Senior
The unit is functional and sounds good. At the price range, I would say that it is a worthwhile purchase, and it would be better to have a manual.
Andyk
Don’t know what experience others had but the first thing I checked, all keys are fine! Shipping was fast and it was all easy to setup.
Estelita
For. Beginners sound is good .
larena
Great for beginners and space limitations. It feels pretty good playing it and the sound quality is good for the price. A detailed user's manual with list of presets would be very helpful.
Juan Lopez
Where can I find the manual or how to use the different features?
Nic
Sound quality is amazing and it has a very elegant look
Just Me Jessica
Although the product is defective, the company's service attitude is very good, so it is recommended to buy
Ethan
Fast logistics, well pakage.
Steven Ferraro
Never got the amplifier though
James Campbell
After watching and reading a variety of reviews on this particular model, I figured I would give it a shot. I am a bass player and have been for over 30 years. I have had guitars in the past and got rid of them, but had the desire to get one again to just have around to noodle on. I didn't want to spend a lot of money and was very specific about what I was wanting: a Strat style guitar with an HSS configuration with the ability to coil split the humbucker. Most everything I read said that this guitar was a safe bet so I took a gamble on it. The frets are very clean and while they could use a good polish, there doesn't seem to be any need for them to be leveled or crowned. The fret ends are cleanly done and the rolled fretboard edge is very nice. My guitar had one weird dark spot in the finish on the back, but overall, the almost transparent finish is really nice. I did also have a strap peg that was really loose, but some wood glue and a toothpick solved that in short order. I do have some plans to change a few things on it to make it mine (tort pickguard, black pickup covers for the single coils, Graph Tech string trees and a Switchcraft output jack), but overall this thing is ready to go. I was really excited to find that it is NOT a plastic nut, but a bone or synth bone nut! Tone wise it is classic Strat for the most part, at least as far as my bass player ears can tell. The guitar is totally worth the price (I had a $40 off coupon that made it even sweeter!), even without the gig bag, strap or cable that comes with it. The strap is ok (but should probably be replaced at the first opportunity for something nicer), the cable is subpar (mine went in the trash can) and the gig bag is so-so (needs more padding to make me happy, but for the most part I'm a hard case kind of guy). Overall, this thing is SUPER impressive for what I paid for it. Shipping was quick and packaging was well done. This would be an AMAZING beginner guitar for someone and from what I have seen of the Squier Classic Vibe line at local stores, this thing is easily on par with them, if not slightly better. Way better than anything with the Affinity name attached to it, for a similar price point! Highly recommended! UPDATE: I wanted to add some new information. One, it isn't actually a synthetic bone nut. It is plastic. Bummer. However, it is NOT a cheap plastic nut, so still better than a lot of guitars in this price range. Two, the cable that came with this isn't actually bad at all. The problem I was having was with the output jack on the guitar being a little loose. I replaced that with a Switchcraft jack and everything is GREAT! I purchased a Musiclilly tortoise shell pickguard and tremolo cover. Was super pleased that ALL of the screw holes lined up! The Graph Tech string trees were a good improvement as well. At this point, I am pretty happy with this guitar and still have less than $225 in the whole thing. Doubt I will be replacing anything further as it totally gets the job done for what I'm using it for.
Clarabelle
I got this for my teen son who is a total beginner. The guitar itself looks great, the finish to me looks impeccable and it’s nice and smooth to the touch.
From the price point, it’s clearly a cheaper guitar but he’s been having a lot of fun learning on it.
It comes with a decent guitar case, a 10ft guitar cable, and a guitar strap. Although the listing shows a photo of an amp, however, it does not come with one. Fortunately, I already had one so he was ready to go when this arrived.
One thing I would recommend is to purchase yourself some NYXL strings to replace the ones that are on it, you will notice a huge difference in performance and feel.
Jason R.
Donner is a Chinese company that has been around a while now producing mostly entry level instruments, while it's not exactly a well known or high end name it is not one of those random brands with no history.
I'm no expert musician but have an entry level Yamaha electric that I play now and then. It was more expensive than this Donner, came with no strap and no case and certainly no cable, and all things considered materials and construction quality wise it is a bit nicer but not by a whole lot. I feel like with other brands beginner instruments, you're paying a premium for the name and honestly if you're shopping for a first guitar for a kid that is curious but nobody is sure will stick with it or not I think this Donner kit is going to be hard to beat. There isn't anything outright cheap about it, the quality is not anything like even a nice intermediate instrument but it doesn't look or feel like a piece of junk toy either. The biggest issue I've noticed with this over the short time I've messed around with it is that the tune drifts more than I'm used to seeing with my other guitar. The guitar sounds more than fine for the low cost and no beginner will know or care about the difference anyway while getting started. For the money, I can't see any issue. For around the same cost you can look at the Les Paul SL line of guitars, I haven't personally held one of those but they look even less premium than the Donner and come with no accessories - again, likely paying for the name.
The additional accessories are of better quality than I would have expected for "bonus" items, the bag in particular is actually quite nice, though I wish they would have put even the cheapest, lowest end, amp in with this kit for a bit more because anybody shopping for this is going to need that too. That way it would have been a one stop purchase to get started.
N. M. Ocampo
Great wood and precision. What else do you want?
Dacoda Clark
I must have got lucky got have received one with a tiger stripe neck I was so happy,
Mine needed a standard set up took less than 5 mins with the tools provided with the guitar.
The pickups wont disappoint you, get it now while you can, I'm not gonna bash names but I'll say this, you're on top Donner.
Mysterious Buffalo.
I thought I was going to get this product and be totally satisfied with it with all the reviews saying how great it is but I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this is the new d s t 400 this has tone control Push Pull single coil on the humbucker and Korean Wound pick up almost alnicov 5 quality sound the specs on this read like a fender players strat.the most quality stable start to your very own 700$fender like guitar you don't have to build
Liz
For what it's worth, I know nothing about guitars, as I'm more of a keyboards, & sax guy. I bought this to learn guitar for myself. That said, my guitarist friend, who's experience spans well over 40 years, played my new guitar with his jaw on the floor! He was impressed right away with the quality of the neck, and said it felt really good in his hands. He praised its ease of playability and the low string action on the neck. He loved that it's equipped with a humbucker and was floored by the power it put out. He DID suggest upgrading the tuning knobs, but was still surprised as to how long the guitar stayed in tune after making it sing like a cat in the rain. Finally, he commented on the beautiful tone it produced. When I told him what I paid for it, he couldn't believe it. He agreed that it's not really necessary to spend what he spent for his Fender Strat, for a nice sounding guitar like my new Donner. He said that he would definitely gig out with it. I guess this Donner is the new Fender, at least for me as a beginner. (Note: I also purchased the Positive Grid 40-Watts guitar Amplifier, which is loaded with options that allow for great sound as well.)
Jason .
Got mine while it was $169.00 and it's a fantastic deal. Pickups are solid and the coil split is nice for those chimey strat tones. The tremolo block is hefty and steel which is important for the tone.
Neck is really comfortable and there is no fret sprout. I needed to adjust the action and level one high fret down, but it was definitely playable out of the box.
The only things I'll be personally changing are the saddles, swapping out the plastic nut for a bone one, and getting locking vintage tuners. I'd rate this guitar around a Squier classic vibe which is easily twice the price. Great deal!
