With the Fender CD-60 you get a quality, budget acoustic guitar that is suitable for a beginner looking for a starter instrument or a more experienced player wanting a secondary instrument.
It’s a safe bet that Fender is not a name that you normally associate with acoustic guitars. Electric guitars? Sure thing! After all, this is the company that gave us the Stratocaster and Telecaster, so it’s not surprising that they aren’t known for their acoustic line. Fender has consciously chosen not to pursue the high end acoustic guitar market, deciding that such guitars should be left to other manufacturers. What Fender does offer, however, is a wide range of solid budget – midpriced acoustic guitars that offer excellent quality at a price most people can afford. The CD-60 is one of the company’s more popular budget acoustic guitars. Is it worth the cost? Read on and see!
Specifications
The CD-60 is a dreadnaught style guitar with a laminated spruce top with laminated mahogony back and sides and a gloss finish. The neck is Nato with 20 frets on a Sonokeling fretboard. The scale length is 25.3″ with a nut width of 1.69″. A multi-ABS rosette is standard as is black body and neck bondying. A Fender hardshell case is standard equipment.
Performance
Upon inspecting the instrument upon arrival, I was surprised at the quality of the included hardshell case. While it’s not flightworthy, it still does the job of keeping the instrument in perfect condition. As you’d expect, the guitar did need a small neck adjustment upon receipt. Once I adjusted the truss rod, the guitar played amazingly well. It’s really hard to believe that such quality can be found in sub-$500 instruments these days, but the ubiquity of CNC machines have increased build quality on such instruments substantially. The action was excellent, which makes it a perfect beginner instrument.
The tone was loud and bright, though the sustain wasn’t terribly good. That’s likely due to the completely laminate construction. However, the laminate build, ironically, also results in a very sturdy instrument. This is a guitar you could take to the beach or camping without worrying about it being damaged by the elements. It’s a pretty tough guitar. It’s available in sunburst, natural, or black finish. Being in a Johnny Cash mood, I opted for the black. While there were some minor finish imperfections, it was well within tolerance for a guitar in this price range (and black is a very unforgiving finish).
Final Thoughts
For a street price of $199.99, you shouldn’t expect high end acoustic quality such as a Martin D-20 or Taylor 814CE. And let’s cut to the chase. You don’t get that here. However, what you do get is a quality, budget acoustic guitar that is suitable for a beginner looking for a starter instrument or a more experienced player wanting a secondary instrument. For the price, it’s hard to beat the Fender CD-60.
Name of Gear: Fender CD-60
List Price: $269.99
Manufacturer Info: Fender Musical Instruments; fender.com
Pros: Excellent budget acoustic; sturdy construction
Cons: Finish imperfections; weak sustain
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