Customer Reviews
Terrific starter guitar, great value 
2007-07-28
This starter kit is a terrific value - sturdy guitar, 10 watt amp, gig bag, extra strings - a steal for $110 at the time of my purchase ($125 with delivery).
The guitar is equipped with standard effects dials to bring out the treble or bass, and can create some serious grungy reverberation combined with the amplifier effects.
The 10 watt amp won't bring down the house, but is fine for home use - easily loud enough to feel the power of an electric guitar - even a modestly priced one.
The guitar and amp arrived in two separate shipments. My amp cord was missing, but Austin Bazaar sent it within a few days after I contacted them.
All-in-all, if you're looking for a starter electric guitar, I can't imagine being disappointed with this one. The electric blue is fine looking too.
The quality of the product is great. 2007-03-10
For the price and value of this product it is the best.This guitar is one of the best you can purchase in my opinion.
my son loves it 2007-02-10
Bought the guitar and amp for his birthday he loves it and is starting lessons real soon. Great sound and amp is great too.
Plenty for the money 2008-05-28
Hey, I just wanted to let everyone know when I got my set, she was beautiful. The picutre on the website dosen't do it justice. Its actually the light blue but its flecked making it stunning. Granted I'm just starting myself by my roomate has been playing for a few years and mentioned the 10 watt amp put out plently of power. Also we saw the slot for the wammy bar on the pic but when it came it actually included it. Amp is great, guitar is stunning, impressed my roommate.
Definately would be willing to buy from Austin Bazaar in the future!
(plucks burt's "E")
Very solid package for the price 2008-02-28
Package included gig bag, adjustable shoulder strap, 3/4 guitar, amp cord, 10 Watt monitor, 3 large picks, tremolo bar, spare strings and two hex keys, and a pitch pipe. I also ordered a GA-30 guitar tuner, which is not part of the basic package.
What I know about guitars you could put in one book without taking the matches out first, but everything is brand new and arrived in good shape. The packaging was adequate; the cardboard box the guitar came in was slightly torn, but the guitar itself was fine inside two layers of sheet foam and the gig bag. The monitor and amp cord came in a separate box, though everything came in one shipment (the tuner was also in the guitar box). Shipping only took three days, as promised.
There are some minor cosmetic scratches on the white plastic frontispiece, but I really do mean minor - you have get right up on it to even notice them. Other than that there were no dings or anything. The guitar seems very solidly put together to me, everything firmly seated with no gaps or warps. It's a bit heavier than I had expected, but that's what the shoulder strap is for I suppose. All the screws are firmly in place and do not show overdriving damage. The potentiometer knobs on the guitar are slightly raised rather than flush against the face (presumably to avoid sticking), seem solidly attached and operate smoothly. The tuning keys are neither too tight to turn easily nor too loose to hold the strings taut. The amplifier cord seats nicely and solidly into the recessed input jack.
The monitor is built to a similarly high standard, with all screws well seated and undamaged, etc. The power switch and drive button have nice positive actions, while the volume, bass and treble potentiometers rotate smoothly without any side play. The amplifier cord seated just as well into the monitor's input jack as into the guitar's, and once I'd found a large size headphone plug it turned out the headphone jack is equally good. The monitor is surprisingly slim and light and has a built-in carrying handle on top. A wire stand folds out from the back if you want it to lean upward rather than sit level; when folded in it has a spring-type retainer.
I tested that the guitar tuner recognized the notes from the pitch pipe, then I used the tuner to tune the guitar; all the strings came in with only minor adjustments. After an hour or so of noodling around (i.e. actively plucking and strumming) to test the various volume and tone controls I re-checked the tuning with the meter and it had held just fine, all strings still right in the sweet spot. After another hour and a half of the guitar sitting neglected while I did laundry (my son is the future rock star, I'm going to be his roadie) a couple had drifted just slightly off the perfect mark but they were all still good notes according to the meter.
All the switches and pots on the guitar and monitor work smoothly, varying what they are supposed to vary continuously with no dead spots. The effect of the two tone pots on the guitar was a little bit subtle to my ear, but I don't know how much effect they normally have. The volume range from the guitar knob was wide enough to be useful. The monitor puts out a good amplitude, especially with the drive button depressed (though it only goes to 10 ;) . Not to worry, the headphone jack also works! The equivalent volume in a pair of headphones is quite a bit louder, so when switching from open-air to quiet practice the player should be sure to start with the volume turned down to avoid overdriven eardrums.
Overall I'm pleased with the quality of the package, especially given the very reasonable price. I'm not a musician but it sounded good to my audience-level ear and so should be quite adequate for a beginner's starter instrument. The shoulder strap is a bit cheap and flimsy but other than that everything seems solid enough.
They did not send the product as pictured 
2008-02-07
I ordered the Austin Bazaar Double Cutaway Metallic Blue Electric guitar kit on December 27th 2007, and on Jan 5th, 2008, I got a plain deep blue guitar with a red amp. After contacting this company, they stated that they would replace the guitar with the one I originally ordered, but that they would not replace the amp for a color change. After waiting two weeks to receive a Fed Ex prepaid return shipping label from Austin Bazaar, I shipped the guitar back to them. It was delivered to them on Jan 31, 2008, and as of today, Feb 7, 2008, I still have no guitar. My A to Z guarantee with Amazon was denied. So here I sit with a Visa bill to the tune of $159.63 with nothing but an amplifier in my possession. Can't make very good music with the likes of this, I am afraid. Please order your guitar products from someone OTHER than Austin Bazaar.
this is a joke! 2007-09-06
when i received this product i was very upset. the fret lines were so long they cut my fingers the neck was warped and the guitar was virtually unplayable. i sent it back! i would NOT recomend this product to anyone!
great combo for the price 
2007-08-31
I am writing about the metallic blue guitar combo with the 10 watt amp. As of the time of this writing, the amp I received was not the one in the photo, but the same as the one seen in the photo of the Austin pink guitar combo pack elsewhere on this site. Other than that, everything was as pictured.
I am an adult who is learning the guitar. I have played the bass guitar on and off for years, so I have some familiarity with electric basses. I bought this because it was so cheap and I was willing to take a chance for the money. I am glad I did. The other combos I considered were closer to double the money.
The guitar: It says "Crescent" on the logo, not Austin, which was noted in another review on the Austin store front site. No big deal. The strings on the guitar are crappy, crappy. It did come with 6 replacement strings which are also crappy. It also came with a cheap gig bag, which will work if you only go to lessons and back and dont drop it, and will keep the dust off. The strap is cheap, leave it on the guitar and don't take it on and off. Don't trust it too much, either. I use it sitting down. It came with an amp cord that is OK. The pick is OK, hard to ruin that! Rembember this is a $100+ combo.
The guitar was dusty when I got it like it had been hanging around, not bad, but noticable. The finish is a blue/green sparkle kind of color that I like. (I am tired of black, white and red guitars). There were no mars in the finish. The nut had a very slight gap on one side that did not seem to overty affect anything, but I would prefer to see it flush into the neck. The neck was straight and felt good, although it was marred cosmetically by what looked like rough edges, but were actually smooth to the touch. There is a pick edge sized gap between the neck and body, more so than other guitars that I have but not alarmingly so. The neck does appear to be straight on solid with no movement and even with the body on checking. The fret edges were a bit rough, but not annoyingly so. There is some string buzz, but I think that is a saddle height adjustment issue that needs to be made. The machine heads feel cheap but seem to be holding a tune pretty well for now, I am hoping they hold up. The bridge looks good for a this price range. It came with a whammy bar that I am not using right now. The controls all seem to work pretty well and the 5-way switch is OK. No pot noise or dead spots, no loose or wobbly knobs. Nothing exciting, just very basic. The body is surprisingly heavy--I anticipated a lighter weight guitar. (I am female, so this may not be as much so for a guy) The sound is not bad for a cheapy, I have heard worse. It came with a truss rod wrench and an allen wrench for the bridge. I did have some trouble with adjusting the height on one of the strings--the screw kept slipping on one side of the B string.
The amp: I LIKE this little amp!! Remember it is not the one pictured with this guitar--look for the pink combo elsewhere on the website. This is a slim, lightweight amp with bass, treble, mid, gain, and volume knobs. There is also a gain button and a headphone jack. All are on the front of the amp for easy reach. The controls work well with no pot noise or dead spots or loose knobs. The amp actually has a clear, sharp sound, surprising kick for its size. It is attractively designed and seems pretty durable. It did come witha very slight ding on the top, which was easily pressed down and glued and is not noticable now.
My combo was not damaged in shipping at all and came at the designated time. Is this as good as a Fender combo? Guitar wise probably not quite, amp wise maybe better. If you can get a Squier guitar, get one, if not, and your budget is limited, this combo is very good for the price. I would buy another.
UPDATE: I did buy another Crescent guitar and it is even better than this one! It is also much lighter.
