Yamaha EZ Learning Guitar EZ-AG

Comment: I don't know how well this guitar works to learn on since I've played for years. I am also not (yet at least) interested in the midi aspect. What made me get this guitar are my arthritic thumbs which prevent me from being able to play my beloved Martin anymore. This guitar requires much less pressure and allows me to play again. OK it doesn't do all the things a regular guitar can do - can't hammer on really or pluck from the neck. Also for chords further up the neck than first position you have to use bar chords - because you can't muffle the strings you don't want to sound. Still I haven't been able to join in with my friends playing for some time and now I can. - Well worth the very reasonable price (though add on a bit more for an adapter and cord and a case.

Comment: I already play guitar and have for about 15 years so I didn't buy this to learn guitar. What I wanted was a midi guitar but didn't want to spend $1500. With a midi guitar interface instead of a keyboard I am able to use Garageband and other programs thinking and playing like a guitarist, not a piano player -- which I am definitely not! For me, this is really the only way to input music into my Mac. Two big caveats tho. One, you need a free software to make the midi interface work. Its SubtleSoft's MIDIPIPE. (its at the Apple download site). And if you'd like a tutorial on how to use it go to [...]for a quick tutorial or search online for MIDIPIPE and EZ-AG

And two, you need a midi to usb cable, or firewire interface to get it into your computer. The guitar has midi and headphone outputs only. Again, for a midi guitar this product is cheap and fun to use. As a "guitar" it sounds pretty good, can slide notes and use hammer - ons. The string action is a bit slow, but its always in tune and in fact can simulate Capo, Drop D, G tuning with a touch of a button. But you can't bend strings and you can't get those subtle rhythms that you can out of a guitar.

One last thing, when I bought this they did not provide a power supply. So make sure you get one with it. The battery life is pretty good but all you have to do is leave it on by mistake -- and easy thing to do -- and its off to the store to buy more batteries!

So to sum up. Looking for a cheap midi guitar! Want a guitar that's always in tune, or can tune quickly to alternate tunings to play around while you write or sing...this is it!

Comment: Great to deal with... Fast shipping and tracking emails setup from shipper. A+ Highly recomended!!!!

Comment: I bought this item thinking it was going to be easy to use and a great way to start learning (I have a classical nylon string guitar as well).
The Good: I has pretty good songs already loaded inside. The strings that you strum on are of a pretty good material, sturdy and flexible plastic/metal like.
The Bad: The plastic construction of the bridge is not sturdy, it feels like it might bread if you grab it from there. Feels weird pressing buttons instead of strings. Although teaches you to play chords, it doesn't teaches you to play tabs (arpeggio). Need an adaptor (does not come with one) since it drains the battery pretty fast (about 1.5 hrs of constant playing).
The Very Bad: What really annoys me is the fact that when you press the buttons on the fretts, it makes sounds, although you are not strumming. This is very distracting whe you're trying to listen to the chords you're playing. (I returned the item back to Amazon with no problems, although they charged me for shipping it back about 10 buck)
Tip: If you wanna learn to play a guitar, get a real one!

Comment: As a basic learning guitar (chords and strumming), I guess its okay, but it has the potential to be much more. First some background, I am a casual guitarist and have been playing for 10+ years. My comments are as follows.

The sound from the on-board speaker is frankly quite mediocre (but understandably so), the 'strings' could be a bit tighter, and they are not sensitive enough - when I hit (or pluck) a string, sometimes there is no sound... you have to hit it hard enough to get a sound. There seem to be no way to adjust the tightness of the string or the sensitivity.

The lighted frets only go up to the 6th fret. It would have been nice to go all the way to the 12th fret, but this is probably a cost issue. Also, rather than limit the guitar to just strumming and chords, it would have been great if it also taught you how to 'pluck, for example, simple classical pieces. Lighted frets right up to the 12th fret would be essential for this. Open string could easily be represented by an LED at the bridge.

If this was implemented, it would be so much better as a the 'teaching' guitar. As it is, it is very limited, hence the 2 stars. I would have returned it if I could, but since I do not live in the U.S. the shipping costs would have been very expensive.