Disney Hannah Montana 3/4 Sized Acoustic Guitar

I bought this guitar last spring for my daughter's birthday. Being a musician myself I figured it would probably be a typical cheap type guitar but good enough for her to start strumming around and learn to play. I was however very impressed. The guitar is made by Washburn and it really plays nicely and has great sound. In fact, I find it holds tune very well and a lot easier to play than my own full size guitar. The action is set low and easy for a beginner. It has dot indicators on the side of the fret board to help beginners with learning the fret positions. This guitar is well built and even nice looking for being a celebrity signature item.

My 6 year old daughter loves the graphics, although a little disappointed it doesn't say Hannah Montana on the guitar, just "HM"
on the neck. This is an OK 3/4 guitar for girls who just want to fool around with it, but it definitely is not "cheap." You are obviously paying for the celebrity endorsement, even if it is made by a guitar vendor. There are plenty of high quality 3/4 guitars for kids that are better quality in this price range, made by top manufacturers such as Yamaha & Ibanez. This guitar has a bright sound, but definitely doesn't hold its tune very long. This can be really annoying.
If I would do this over I would get my daughter a "Daisy Rocks"
guitar in the bright pink "sparkle" model. The Daisy Rocks guitars are designed specifically for girls, hold their tune, sound great, much better quality & look hot too.

I found one of these Hannah Montana 3/4 sized guitars cheap and picked it up, being a sucker for such things. I have lots of "real" guitars, as well as high quality 3/4 sized guitars by Martin and Taylor, so I know what a good guitar plays and sounds like.

My expectations were generally low, given the relatively street price and the fact that this is being sold as a mass market Hannah Montana tie-in, not as a serious instrument. However, it is made by Washburn, who (at the higher end of their line) make some fine instruments.

This guitar is, without surprise, made in China. Although the high gloss finish makes it look like a plastic toy, it appears to actually be made of wood (which is good).

My guitar required nothing but a tuning out of the box. The action (distance of the strings to the fretboard) was decent--although for a beginner I'd probably like a wee bit lower. The strings themselves were fine--not corroded able to be properly tuned,...Read more