Amigo 1/2 Size Classical Guitar for Kids or Children

Comment: I am very pleased with the Amigo guitar that I recently purchased for my 6 year old's birthday. A close friend is a professional guitar instructor and has also given it his approval. He did lower the action on it and will add strap buttons before she gets it on her birthday. It plays well, has a nice sound and holds a tune. As I was searching for 1/2 size guitars for her to truly learn on, many others were reviewed as "toys." This one can be considered a true instrument.

Comment: I was hesitant to purchase this guitar but based on the reviews and the fact that this guitar is one of the top sellers I decided to buy one for my seven year old child. I didn't know what to expect since I have not purchased an Amigo before; the brand does not even have its own website. Overall the construction is good. The satin finish and unfinished interior look clean. I can attest to the fact that the top IS SOLID and not laminate.

The original strings sounded absolutely dead so I swapped them with D'Addario EJ45s. The tuners were fine but I went ahead and swapped them with Gotoh economy lyra style classical tuners from stewmac.com, which was basically a plug and play operation. I had to make two new holes for two screws; I basically used pressure to seat the screws. A gig bag does not come with the guitar so I had to search high and low for a nice padded gig bag that would fit the below dimensions. Action is high. I had to lower the height at the bone saddle and synthetic nut. I lowered the saddle by sanding it down with sandpaper. For the nut, I purchased some inexpensive (<$30) nut files and used them to lower the action at the nut. The fretboard looks dyed black. Fret ends are smooth.

Approximate dimensions: Overall length - 32 3/8"; body length - 15"; upper bout width - 9"; waist width - 7 13/16"; lower bout width - 11 1/2"; body depth - 3 15/16"; scale - 20 1/2"; nut width 1 3/4"; E to E string width - 2 1/8".

Now to the good part. The size is perfect for my child. With the new strings, the sound is surprisingly good. The tone, helped by the solid top, is enjoyable to listen to if not as resonant and rich as a full size quality classical guitar. The body does resonate when plucking the strings. Does not sound boxy at all. With some minor upgrades and adjustments, I am very happy with this guitar, although I did have to pay a little bit more to replace the strings, tuning machines (optional Gotohs from stewmac.com), purchase a new gig bag (purchased one on eBay from 2Kool4Skool, which fit perfectly!), purchase sandpaper and nut files (from eBay) to take care of the action at the saddle and nut.

Comment: When our son decided he wanted to take guitar lessons instead of piano like his older brother I was a little nervous. But we found a good classical guitar instructor and went shopping for his first guitar. I read every review for every 1/2 size guitar I could find here and other forums. I bought this one. My son loves it, but more importantly his teacher loves it. It is the perfect size for my 7 year old and it holds tune very well. The first few weeks he had it tuned everyweek because the strings were still streching, but it now sounds great. It has 3 nylon and 3 steel strings, typical for this type of guitar. If you are looking for a guitar for a serious student then this is the one. You'll love it!

Comment: Amigo 1/2 Size Classical Guitar for Kids or Children

I was very surprised with the quality of the sound. If you are looking for a small guitar for your young child, this one is a very good bet. A real classical guitar for the price of a toy one.

Comment: I shopped around for a low priced classical guitar and bought this one based on reviews. I was not only not dissapointed, I was very surprised with the quality of the instrument. I own three other premium guitars and have played guitar for thirty years. This guitar is a remarkable value at the price. One point to consider is that you will have to tune the guitar several times to allow the nylon strings to stretch enough to remain in tune as you play. This is common with nylon strings. There is nothing wrong with the tuning machines, as another reviewer has suggested.