Zager Guitar Review
Product: Zager ZAD-80
Price Paid: USD 945
Submitted 11/25/2009 at 10:36pm by Luke Schmidt

Features : 9
This acoustic guitar has a solid cedar top with rosewood back and sides. It looks as good as any guitar four times its price with its abalone inlay around all edges of the face, sound hole, and fret board, in combination with gold plated "Grover" sealed tuning gears. Dreadnought size guitar with rosewood fretboard. Hand filed frets make it very easy on the fingers.

Sound : 10
This guitar has the most beautiful, deep, rich tone. The guitar resonates and has great projection. The sound easy fills every room that I play it in. Its intonation is perfect and harmonics are a breeze on this guitar.

Action, Fit, & Finish : 10
Here is where this Zager really shines. The action is perfect! I've spent hours in several music stores over several months playing all guitars from $850- $4000 and I can honestly say that my ZAD-80 is the best sounding and best playing guitar out of them all. I found a few $3000- $4000 guitars that either sounded as good as or looked as good as my guitar but I haven't found one that could beat my guitar in both sound and playability. The workmanship of this guitar is flawless.

Reliability/Durability : 10
I've only had this guitar for 6 months, but I have bumped it several times and it hasn't affected the guitar one bit. I also have a toddler that likes to help me play and my guitar has taken that abuse without skipping a beat. Zager has a lifetime guarantee on all their guitars. This thing is definitely built to last. It tunes easily and always stays in tune

Customer Support : 10
No "fine print" with Zager- they hold up to every claim they make. One of the biggest reasons I decided to try this guitar was because of Zagers 100% money back guarantee. I first ordered one of their guitars that had been discounted due to some marks on the guitar. It played and sounded perfect but the marks on the guitar were too much for me so when I let them know that I wanted to return the guitar they emailed me a prepaid UPS shipping label. And as soon as they received the guitar a 100% refund was issued immediately with no questions or problems (they even refunded my shipping charge!). No other company does that! Their customer service is hands down the best I have ever seen, anywhere! When I purchased my first Zager guitar, I sent them an email with several questions at around 9pm and to my surprise I received a detailed response within 15 minutes! Their knowledge about guitars has been invaluable to me even though I have played for over six years.

Overall Rating : 10
If you want a $4000 guitar for under $800 then a Zager ZAD-80 acoustic is the only way to go. I also own a ZAD-50 CE, which I love so much that when I found out that Denny Zager was retiring from making guitars I quickly purchased my second Zager guitar. This guitar is one of the best purchases I have ever made. This guitar holds its own against $2000 - $4000 guitars in every category. The thing that I love best about my guitar is the deep, rich tone and it's perfect action and playability. Take my advice and buy a Zager, I bet you'll love your guitar every bit as much as I love mine.

zager guitars
Product: Zager ZAD-80
Price Paid:$845.00 USD
Submitted Mar 26, 2010 by Gregg-ldcS8

Features : 10
Purchased Zager guitar for two reasons. (1) The economy has forced me to sell my two high end guitars, (2) I still wanted as close to high end product as possible without the high-end price. Well, I have more than met my expectations. The Zager is not only the easiest playing, best action guitar I have ever played, but the workmanship, materials, and details rival or best both my Martin D 28 and Gibson J 160-e. It is a truly beautiful instrument using materials as good as guitars 3 times the price and Denny Zager's personal set up is second to none.

Sound : 10
This acoustic uses a thinner bracing system than most. It is lightweight but has a sound which I believe is better than both the Martin and the Gibson. The Zager is brand new and beats the aged sound of my other two high end guitars.

Action, Fit, & Finish : 10
Here is where the Zager blows away the expensive competition. The set up is the reason people buy these instruments. Denny Zager sets them up personally. To me it's like having a guitar custom built for me. Can any other owner out there tell me the name of the person who set your guitar up at the factory? He even sent a picture of himself setting up my guitar! Yes, MY exact guitar. And he was kind enough to autograph it. Talk about standing up for your product. The action is ridiculously low without any fret buzz. I looked till my eyes hurt to find a flaw ( over-gluing, loose bridge, warping, saddle problems etc.). There are no flaws. Both my Martin and Gibson needed set up work AFTER purchase and the luthier still couldn't get low action.

Reliability/Durability : 10
I swear, I have heard so many testimonials from guys in bands who take their Zagers to a practice or a gig and the other band members gravitate to this guitar no matter what they are already playing ( from Martins to Taylor high ends). I haven't played in a regular band since college a long time ago but I will have this guitar forever. Even the gold plated Grover tuners just feel more substantial than the Martin or the Gibson tuners. The finish is a beautiful mirror gloss. If I blindfolded a doubter they would be hard pressed to tell the Zager from any similar model in any price range except the action and sound of the Zager would be better.

Customer Support : 10
When you buy a Zager...let me correct that....even before you actually buy a Zager, I exchanged many emails with Denny's son Dennis who answered all of my questions by email personally within minutes! After receiving the guitar I received a follow-up email to make sure I was satisfied. If there is a problem, you actually talk to the person who knows your specific guitar. Does any company ( not just the music business) do that? If I ever have a problem with this guitar ( which will probably never happen) I can talk to the person who knows this guitar. Amazing.

Overall Rating : 10
I have been playing for 30 years. Not only did I get what I paid for, I got more. When I opened the case upon receiving the guitar, I thought they made a mistake and sent me someone's custom made model. The guitar is that beautiful. This should be the only acoustic guitar I will ever need to play ( other than a prized Gibson B-45 12 string). There simply is no better guitar for the money or considerably more money for that matter.

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