Scout Review

The Scout is a full-size 42" dreadnought acoustic guitar that has earned a "best in class" value.

Features:	8.3
Sound:	9.7
Action:	8.7
Reliability:	9.3
Impression:	8.7
Overall rating:	8.9
Users rating:	4.7
Comments:	7

Featured review by: unregistered, on july 25, 2007

Price paid: $ 110

Purchased from: Al Corey Music

Features: Made in 2004 in China, this guitar came to life with a destiny to be loved by a budding guitarist. And that it has been. 20 frets on a maple neck, not sure of the fingerboard, as it's been painted black, but it looks like a fairly low-grade wood, nothing super-special. It's got a laminate top, some sort of laquer finish, maybe nitro. The body smells sort of like balsa wood, but judging from the grain I can see, I think it's probably a fir or spruce or pine. The finish is probably the best and most impressive part of this guitar. It's a sparkly, shiny, razzle-dazzle blue, and I've seen others in every color of the rainbow, and then some. It's the first thing that people notice on the guitar: "nice sparkly guitar, man!" Having said thus, it is my favorite part. The body is a bit smaller in comparison to other acoustics, but it's a full dreadnought, but the tail end is a little skinnier than ones made by Fender or Dean or Gibson. Tuners are, surprisingly, Schaller. Very nice and smooth, but a little high-geared (they don't tune "fine"). It came with a gigbag, which could be upgraded to a hardcase for an extra 50 bucks. // 8

Sound: I bought this guitar as a first guitar, to start off, see what I could do with it. When this was my only guitar, I played mostly light rock, indie bands and oldies. Modest Mouse was my primary band to draw on, since most of their songs could be played by an acoustic without much sound change. Also in my repritoire was Red Hot Chili Peppers, for the same reason, and Green Day. As my musical tastes evolved over the course of a year, I managed to sound out such bands as Tool, Dream Theatre and Opeth, as far as their lighter, more clean songs were concerned. I also used it to simply mess around, improvise chord sequences to see what sounded good. And for the record, the harmonics on this sound better than on my B.C. Rich Mockingbird on clean. The sound is like many other acoustics, though more saturated at the low ends, I'm not sure why. Many acoustic pickups don't work well with this guitar, once again I'm not sure why. In all, it has a very nice sound for a very modestly priced guitar. // 9

Action, Fit & Finish: It was set up perfectly for an entry-level guitar. It was simple: pick up the guitar, place in lap, grab pick, tune a bit, and play. On that subject, this guitar holds a tuning for months on end, with and without playing. I think that the only complaint I could possibly have is that the action is a little high, but that may be necessary to keep the intonation in tune. Other than that, it's all good. // 8

Reliability & Durability: This guitar is far too low-end to even think of being onstage. It's fine for sitting around with a bunch of friends and busting out a few songs, but for crowds? You're insane. Indiana makes several higher end models, which are just like this as far as value goes. If you think you only get what you pay for, these guitars might just surprise you. The hardware is definitely built to last. Everything here is built to last, if you treat it correctly. It'll withstand being in your kid's back closet, and them trucking it to all their friend's houses on the weekends (well, that's what I've done with it, anyway), and it'll still be going several years down the road (mine is). I've never tried the strap buttons, but they sure look solid. Like I said, I'd never want to use it at a gig, but I might use this as my backup if I were to need an acoustic backup at a gig. The finish is 100% solid. No chance of it deteriorating, ever. Except on the neck, it's started to wear away on frets one, two and three (a year and a half of chordwork add up after a while). // 8

Impression: It's a wonderful starter guitar, in all. If you need a very basic model to try out guitar, this is it. I've been playing this, my first guitar, for a year and a half, and it's still going strong. I'll never regret buying it, and I hope to keep playing it for long time to come. There's nothing to really be the "best" or "worst", it's an entry-level guitar. I compared it to a plethora of other guitars, and chose this one because of my $140 budget, a 5% sales tax, and the fact that I wanted a coffee at the time. Were it lost, stolen or otherwise incapacitated, I would mourn the loss of my first guitar, and then buy a higher end Indiana, and probably a Fender or Dean. Bottom line: if you're looking for a good entry-level guitar, look no further. // 8

overall: 9.8

Reviewed by: Spowell8787, on september 03, 2009

Price paid: $ 65

Purchased from: CrazyHorse MusicStore

Features: This was made in China, I don't know what year. It's got 20 nickel frets and diecast chrome tuners. It's got a Lindenwood top with catalpa back and sides, a rosewood fretboard, and a rosewood bridge. Mine is a beautiful blue dreadnought Acoustic with a high gloss finish and a black pickgaurd. My guitar came with a gig bag, and a 10 year warranty.

Overall its a very basic Acoustic guitar, and I like that. // 10

Sound: I get a nice warm Acoustic sound out of it. It suits my playing very well. It sounds nice with a pick, or finger style. It isn't an acoustic/electric so you don't have to worry about EQ and whatnot. Basically it sounds exactly like an Acoustic guitar should sound like. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: The action on this guitar was fine, I haven't changed it since I bought it. The only flaw I could find on this guitar were a few finish flaws around where the neck and body meet, but you would have to look really close to even notice them. This guitar is pretty much flawless. // 9

Reliability & Durability: This guitar is definitely durable. I let my boyfriend play it and he doesn't watch where he goes so it's been smashed very hard into walls numerous times. My cats have jumped on top of it when I've layed it down. The only thing this guitar has to show of all this abuse is a scratch and a small dent. I would use this guitar live and not worry about a back up. // 10

Impression: I play mostly country, and southern rock. This guitar fits it perfectly. I have had this Acoustic for a year and I don't dream of replacing it. Its a very basic Acoustic guitar, for a very reasonable price, and the best part is that it plays well and sounds even better! // 10

overall: 8.8

Reviewed by: l0rd0ct0d0rk, on june 04, 2008

Purchased from: Pawn Shop

Features: I bought the guitar used, so I don't know the year it was made, or where it was made. It has a thick neck, and it has a Dreadnought body. The bridge uses bone pegs to hold the strings in the holes. This is an acoustic guitar, so it has no electronics, what'soever. This guitar has great tuners, but they are factory made. I bought the guitar from a pawn shop, so I did not get any other accessories with it. // 7

Sound: This guitar has a great sound to it. It has no fret buzz yet, and the strings do not buzz open, either. It is a guitar that is well-suited for you to bring to a small gathering.(Backyard BBQ, Sitting around a campfire, Etc. ) It can hold it's own to a bunch of people talking loud. This guitar suits my music styles well. I play mostly classic rock. I also play everything else, too. Like I said, it is an acoustic guitar, which means I can't really use any amps with it. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: I bought the guitar used from a pawn shop, so I don't know any of the attributes it had when it was made in the factory. This acoustic guitar has a great body, bridge, neck, headstock, and fretboard. The wood is of excellent quality. The only rusted hardware I found on this acoustic guitar were the strings, which I replaced with a Brand New set. It also only has one strap button on it. // 9

Reliability & Durability: This guitar is one of the main guitars I carry around with me to practice with. This guitar has great hardware. However if I were to go hardcore with it, I would replace the tuners. It only has one strap button, which is pretty solid right now. I could depend on it for playing Live, but I always have a backup just in case anything were to go wrong. The finish is rather good for a guitar that I bought for less than $100. // 10

Impression: I play classic rock, and I also play country with this guitar. The acoustic sound does good with classic country songs. This guitar also sounds excellent as a clean guitar in classic rock. If it were stolen, I would probably buy a Brand New one. There's not very much to hate about the guitar. If it needed anything, that anything would be electronics. I compared it to five other acoustic guitars in the same price range, but this one sounded the greatest. // 8

Comments

[Darkage]

How come all the acoustics look the same? I mean they look the even though they are made by different companies. Anyway thanks for the review =)

[t0ker420]

Indiana does make great starter guitars.

[spiroth10]

Darkage wrote:

How come all the acoustics look the same? I mean they look the even though they are made by different companies. Anyway thanks for the review =)

it's because the shape of an acoustic greatly affects it's sound. It's all physics, really. The shape of the chamber in the guitar affects the way the string vibrations resonate inside to guitar to create amplification...

it's why a dreadnaught would pretty much always sound better than one of those hideous acoustic Vs that dean makes.

They do have single cutaway acoustics, and a few other styles too. Just they are a lot less common, and nowhere near as popular.

[Kid Fisto]

hey whoa, i wrote this review!! why didn't i get credit for it? i know i was logged in cause i'd just posted in forums....

[bass guy 129]

i got mine at al corey too! and im a pretty advanced guitarist, and i gotta say, it is a damn nice guitar for 100$

[ke69lm]

I got my Scout from a friend for free. he got one of Ovation's higher end lines for his birthday, brand new, so he gave me his Indiana because I wanted to learn how to play. He still has his Ovation, and he still asks me if I want to trade every two or three weeks XD

[ratlr]

Why such high reviews? I have played on a Scout before and they are crap. And I mean crap. They have absolutely no sustain, the action is is like the Grand Canyon by the time you get to the fifteenth fret, and they are laminate top. If you are looking to get an entry level guitar, I don't recommend a Scout. You could get a used Fender dreadnaught laminate-top for about the same price at a local instrument pawn shop or music store. Bottom line: they suck. Your fingers hurt like hell after an hour or less. Don't buy one.