Donner Acoustic Guitar for Adult Beginners, Full Size 4/4 Cutaway Guitar Package 41'' Spruce Mahogany with Gig Bag Tuner Strap Strings Capo Picks (DAG-1C)

Product Information

As an avid guitarist with over 15 years of experience, I often get asked for recommendations on good starter guitars. In my search for quality, budget-friendly models for beginners, the Donner brand stands out for impressive sound at an affordable price.

Versatile, well-balanced, and smooth. That’s how I would shortly describe the sound of Donner DST-152. But let’s dive a bit deeper…

MSRP: (UK) £279 / (US) $299

Of course, as a low-budget guitar, it has some cheap parts such as the saddle and the nut that need to be upgraded. There are also some sharp fret edges, but it is not a serious issue.

Donner guitars are ideal for beginners from the value standpoint. Guitars often come with accessories or even all that you need to get started. Donner guitars are also usually easy to play, versatile, and sound good. Although it is a guitar made for beginners, it is a full-size 41” guitar. This means it is not suitable for children. However, Donner has the DAG-1M which is a 3/4 size guitar that is perfect for children.Serious beginners will appreciate the all-solid-wood construction of the Donner DAD-812 dreadnought acoustic. The solid spruce top produces excellent resonance and volume perfect for practicing or jam sessions. Despite its already affordable price, the Donner DAG-1C comes with everything a beginner needs – from a padded gig bag to a digital clip-on tuner, and even an Allen wrench!

The intonation is also crucial for acoustic guitars since it is hard to readjust, especially for acoustic guitars. The DAG-1C thrives on this aspect, too. The intonation of the guitar is indeed spot on. As this is a full-size guitar, it is also not suitable for children who want to learn to play the guitar. It feels pretty big even in my hand as I am used to playing electric guitars. This guitar will feel too big for small children, demotivating them as it would be harder to learn anything. The guitar has an 18.1” (460 mm) long fretboard with dot inlays on 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th, 15th, and 17th frets. The good-looking frets were well polished and without many sharp edges out of the box. The first is an Ovation Applause with old electric guitar strings (my beach jam guitar). It sounds tinny and buzzy, but it allows me to play along to songs as if I was playing my electric. The G-string is plain, not wound so I can bend it.Impossible to play out of the box. Action was probably 1/4” or more. Needed a lot of setup. To get to the specs I noted above, the truss rod is tightened all the way and I removed the shim from under the bridge saddle (why would they even put that in there? It made the action ridiculously high.). So, here is the list that I have prepared to help you determine which one is for you out of many Donner Guitar options: