Startone CG 851 1/2

It is a 35 bucks 1/2 guitar and when I ordered it I was somewhat affraid of what I will actually get as it was a gift. And I was pleasantly surprised by the quality and looks of the guitar.

Ok, it looks really good. The first glance at the guitar did not reveal anything that would show its low price.
I was also affraid that the fretboard and frets will be sharper, but they are not. My girlfriend (150cm) to whom I have bought it has been playing it regularly and has no problems with scratches and all these annoying things some cheap guitars cause.

The sound is fine. Took it to a friend who is a long-term guitar player and he did find only a few things which could e really improved (e.g. the neck is not completely narrow, it was just slightly bend).

The only problem with in terms of function is with the tuning machines - they cannot keep the tune well and the guitar has to be re-tuned every 2-3 days. Maybe different strings would help but as it is the review of the product delivered, I should talk about the product which came in the box without any changes.

In terms easthetics I also have only one problem. The insides of the guitar really smell of glue. I would say that they REEK of glue. You cannot really smell if you just hold the guitar, but when you inspect closely you can really notice it.

Overall it is a great product for the value. You cannot get anything of this quality cheaper or even close to the price. If you are just a beginner or getting it for a beginner than I would not stop you from buying this one. At this price you can always upgrade without any remorse and use this just as a back-up guitar or a travel guitar.

The Startone CG 851 Classical Guitar is available in the folowing sizes; 4/4, 3/4, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8
Its not available in 7/8 size.

I had all available sizes.
I thought they would look nice, all in a row, hanging on a wall.
But they didn’t. Because the 1/8 has of course a smaler scale length but it has a bigger body than the 1/4. All 5 together looked strange.
So I kept the 4/4, the ½ and the ¼.
Hanging on a wall in a row they look really nice and of course I really play all 3 sizes.
Also they have slightly different body shapes what you maybe cant see in the thomnann video. Also the colours are slightly different. Some are a light yellow-brown, some are darker and a more a light orange-brown. Some pictures on the thoman website show brown guitars, mine were not brown at all. I wouldn’t call them Light Brown, as in the description.


This one, the Startone CG-851 1/2 Classical Guitar, is of a “ok, quality” its playable, also by adults with big hands. Indeed its quite handy for me to play it on the couch or the balcony.

Its sound is nice, the laquer is a bit thick, action is ok 3.25 mm at the 12 fret. It holds the tuning well. I still have to find good strings for it.

for this price, its great (4 stars)

It’s a nice sounding handy beauty, get one yourself I recommend it.