Startone CG851 1/4

I wanted a small portable guitar and to experiment with shorter scale lengths.

Specs

The guitar is very small, smaller than would you think from the pictures. What I didn?t notice before I bought the guitar is that it has narrow nut length. It?s a bit difficult to play especially with the big nylon strings. The quality is ok for such a cheap instrument, the intonation is quiet good. I made some adjustments on the bridge saddle to fine tune the intonation. One thing I don?t like is the string spacing at the nut. You can see from the pictures that the outer strings are not near the edge of the neck, and that makes the neck feel even narrower. I used some tools and open the slots toward the edge of the neck and the improvement is noticeable.

The scale of the guitar is quite small, so if you want to tune the guitar in standard tuning you have to use extra hard nylon strings.

Sound

It plays and sounds fine. You cannot expect big bass sound, but it?s good for its size.

Conclusion

PROS
-cheap
-small size
-decnet quality
CONS
-narrow nut
-not perfect string spacing at the nut

For kids the guitars is fine, for adults who want to experiment with shorter lengths scale guitars, or want a small, portable instrument some adjustment are required. I am satisfied with this product.

I think the target market may be kids, but there are many who use these kind for travel. So, from this perspective, these are my notes:

Pros: Cheap. Small, the body fits in a backpack with the neck sticking out which I bag. I also use a 1/4 gigbag. Very good sound actually. I like the sound of top 3 nylons; tone is clear and easy to sing with (baritone). Surprisingly loud for its size.

Cons: Requires tinkering to get most out of it, see below.

Easy: I tuned this one 5 semitones up so it's exactly the same as standard with capo on 5, including fret lengths; ADGCEA. The strings become too loose for standard EADGBE.

Moderate/hard: The strings are too close together, and they don't sit in notches near the hole (!). I widened the strings and sawed small notches in the white part near the sound hole. Guitar stays in tune and strings are as wide as on a normal electric guitar.

If you want to attach a strap, you'd have to remove strings and drill a hole and attach at least the bottom nut. Though, the guitar is so light the strap may not be necessary.

I ordered this for my sons birthday, just so he can get a feel for holding a guitar and did not expect it to be much more then a toy.
Ob boy was I surprised, it is very well built, sturdy which is good for kids and for traveling. The sound is great, no fretbuzz nothing, all strings and every fret sound very clear.
However I did have problem finding a good tuning for it, then decided to do standart tuning which worked out great, it went out of tune after playing a few chords for the first week or so, now this little thing holds its tune very nicely.
For this price I am honestly in awe about what I received and I might just get another one for myself.

Three stars might seem a little harsh for a guitar of this nature, but here's why:

This was bought as a birthday present for my three year old boy. As an instrument for a three year old it is okay. I don't mind if he bashes the crap out of it, draws on it with texta, or generally destroys it, as long as he gets a feel for the guitar and is able to move onto a bigger and better instrument when the time comes.

But the quality was on the edge of me deciding to send it back. The fret work is non-existent, the painted finishes are sloppy, the fingerboard is rough - generally it just doesn't live up to the quality I've come to expect from Thomann (although to be fair this isn't a Thomann or Harley Benton product). Basically this isn't much better than a toy shop guitar, which is what I was hoping to avoid.

But, it is marginally better than a toy shop guitar. It does look like the real thing. I does play okay with a bit of work (don't waste money on a shop setup - you can probably shave the saddle and nut down yourself). And I guess because of the quality I am a lot happier with my boy treating this badly.

Having said all that I am about to purchase a 1/8 model as a first birthday present for son #2.

Got this tiny guitar as a birthday present for my brother, but before he got it I played a bit to tune it and check out the thing.

For this price you get a pretty nice piece! It would be great for your kid as first guitar to learn with, or cheap traveling guitar. As it's price is really low, I would get couple of these. The sound is okay, same goes for the quality, but the nut is narrow for big hands.

To sum up, I can tell you that if you're looking for a guitar for your kid, get this one. Tiny, smooth neylon strings, this guitar will serve good as the first one. Also nice, cheap traveling guitar, get this one and keep your expensive guitar home.

I bought this primarily for my 5 year old daughter as a birthday present, and for that purpose it is very good. It mostly stays in tune and it is a good for a small child (my child is on the small side compared to other kids)

I play guitar and I tried this guitar out and was pleasantly surprised. It is pretty good for a grown up as well. The string spacing is pretty tight at the nut.

I did some modifications to try to make it more playable. I filed down the bridge and nut to get the action lower so it is more comfortable to play for my daughter and myself (if you do this, file a little at a time and check, because if you file too much you will need to shim). I plan to maybe replace the nut to make the string spacing wider at the nut, but it is good enough as it is.

Recommended at this price point. It is really good for this price