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The Takemine G30CE-NAT is a Truly Lovely Guitar. It was a little dirty coming out of the box, it was a waxy like build-up on the fretboard caked on at the edges of the frets. It also had a very small patch on the back side of the neck that was just slightly rough, a good cleaning and polishing pad took care of it in less than a minute. It also had a small section of binding on the backside of the cutaway about an inch long that was worn through the clear coat. Probably happened at the manufacturer during the final polishing with the industrial buffer wheel. really hard to notice anyway, but two minutes with my polishing pad and you can't even tell. However the guitars overall quality and condition was and is excellent.I feel it is important to note that UPS delivered my guitar and I was not happy about their service. As it arrived at my home, I had seen them pull up to the house and so opened the door. As the driver brought the package up to the door he failed to pay attention and literally slammed the box into the concrete steps as he began climbing them(there are only two steps). He then pushed the box at me (which was mashed at one end, turned and went back to his truck without so much as a word, let alone a signature. Like I said 'not happy'! Who knows how they treated it throughout the rest of the shipping process! Though it was packed well and nothing was broken.OK back to the important part of this...the guitar.I'm not a big fan of the D'Adarrio EXP bronze coated strings that come on the guitar. They are ok strings, though a little rough on my fingers and I find them a little duller in tone than I prefer. Since she needed a good cleaning anyway, I pulled the strings and replaced them with a set of Light Gauge Elixir Polywebs and she sounds awesome! Great Resonance, Tone, Harmonics, Warmth really a very lovely sound, nice bright, clean and crisp.The Pre-Amp / Tuner is great. Tuner is spot on and she sounds awesome plugged in (though my preference is still acoustic. Easy to use 3-band EQ, nice sized gain knob makes adjustments easy and precise, easy and intuative tunner display, that turns itself off after just a few minutes to save your battery and the quick battery change access cover is a nice addition as well (battery was included). The Pickups are the Under-Saddle variety. In fact the Saddles actually clip into the pickup right inside the saddle slot of the bridge. Direct Tone Feedback...Awesome!The most impressive part to me was the way she came set up out of the box. 'Perfect' couldn't have been better... Neck was spot on, Saddle adjustment was spot on, and the nut was notched spot on... This gives the guitar a wonderfully low action, nice and fast, easy on the fingers with great inntonation. Really great work. I can do all of that work myself, (and regularlly do so of others as well), I am very focused on the details and strive for the best results possible. I didn't need to do any adjustments to this guitar, she played liked a dream right out of the box.The Neck is not gloss coated. It is a flat finish with no clear coat and has been treated with tung oil, I love it! It keeps the neck smooth when playing even if your hands get a little moist.The Solid Spruce Top is beautiful and elegant and still provides great tonal qualities. The craftsmanship is excellent. you can barely see the seam between the two pieces.The Mahogany back and sides are absoluetly beautiful. This really is a lovely guitar. Do yourself a favor and give Takemine a try, you wont regret it.The new Thread Through Bridge style they are using is nice and easy to use, though if you have fat fingers youll want a pair of needle nose pliars during string changes to help get the strings up over the saddle(s) as you thread through. its a simple design that looks and helps make the guitar sound great.The Duel Saddle is an awesome addition that really helps with the innotation and turns the undersaddle pickup into Two seperate pickups so your B and High E string have their own pickup. it really makes those high notes ring when shes plugged in.I have been fortunate enough to spend some time with a few other models of Takemine recently the GN30-CE-NAT which is Takemine's NEX body style of this same guitar, still beautiful with great tone, just a little smaller body style. Great for someone that find the Dreanought a little bit big. The other was an EF340SC in their higher end guitars (discontinued now) and to this day is probably the nicest acoustic guitar I have ever played. Seriously though they have something in about every price range. Give them a look and give one a try, you won't regret it!So to sum up...Issues:Dirty Guitar, Small Rough Patch on the Neck and a tiny clear coat issue on the back binding. (5 minutes to resolve all of them)Not a fan of the intial set of strings (personal preference, Elixir Polywebs - Light )UPS Delivery... (crappy package handling)Wows:Beautiful Guitar, Wood, Hardware, Neck...Amazing Set up right out of the box. SPOT ON!!!Great Sound! Reasonance, Tone, Warmth, Brightness...Really Excellent!I am very happy with my purchase! I got a great guitar for the money without having to sacrifice my wallet to pay for a big brand name. Takemine is well know and respected in the industry, you're just getting more guitar for your money.A TRUELY LOVELY GUITAR....

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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.

This is my first Takamine, and I am really impressed. The fit and finish, setup, action, sound, electronics, all top notch! It sounds great out of the box with a little tuning. Get one you won't be disappointed.

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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.

I tried many guitars at this price point and higher. Takemine in general makes great guitars so the risk of getting shipped a bad one is very low. The craftsmanship is spot on, electronics are better than most, the playability is great. Set up was perfect out of the box. The sound is just as good as any at triple the cost.

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