Overall Rating: I've been playing for 13 years now. I bought this guitar for home use primarily. Something to keep my hand busy while watching TV and working out song ideas. I would definately replace it if it was stolen, but I know I'd have a hard t...
Overall Rating: I've been playing for 13 years now. I bought this guitar for home use primarily. Something to keep my hand busy while watching TV and working out song ideas. I would definately replace it if it was stolen, but I know I'd have a hard time finding another Catalina. I've never seen this model anywhere else. As I mentioned, this piece has taken a lot of beating, but it is still in one piece, sounding beautifully. Not bad for a cheapo-guitar! Very good value for the money.
Features: I got this one in -91 I think. It is a korean-made Fender with 20 frets and no cutaway. This paricular one is black and didn't come with a case. It is not equipped with a pickup either, its an acoustic guitar plain and simple. The neck is sort of thick, but not uncomfortable to play. I have no idea what type of wood it is made out of, but I do think the fretboard is Redwood.
Sound Quality: I do occasional pub and coffehouse gigs and have used this guitar on a couple of occasions. My style is blues, rock and top 40-stuff and I play fingerstyle as well as with a pick. Since it does not have a mic, I have been using a soundhole-mic for gigging and everybody knows that no soundhole-microphones make acoustics any justice. Unplugged however is another story. Very nice, full, ringing sound that especially suits fingerpicking. It has a nice bite in the high-end and a pleasantly rounded bass. I have used it for home recording as well, and it sounded beautiful miked up. Serious bang-for-buck. I've tested countless of other, far more expensive acoustics that failed to impress me like this piece do.
Reliability/Durability: I've had the thing for seven years now, and it's still with me. It has been knocked over a number of times, and I even smashed a hole on the backside of the thing in sheer frustration over a difficult piece once. Yet it keeps on delivering. It does withstand live playing, but I am going to get another acoustic for live use, since I'm not very keen on using a soundhole pickup. The only thing that needs some work now is intonation. The B-string especially is getting harder to tune, but this is something every guitar needs at one time or another.
Customer Support: Never had to contact the company, so I'll pass this one.
Purchased From: Local dealer
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