Jasmine S35 Acoustic Guitar Review

Manufacturer: Jasmine

Model: Jasmine S35

Our rating:

A bottom line budget acoustic guitar aimed more towards those looking for a beginner guitar for children, or for an instrument to take around on the road or to places where more expensive gear is at risk of being damaged.

Specifications

6-string
Dreadnought body
Quilted maple body
Solid spruce top
Mahogany neck
Rosewood bridge and fretboard
Symmetrical neck shape
20 frets
Chrome tuners
Chrome hardware
Laminated neck
Laminated body

Price

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Build

Even for a beginner guitar, and even at its price range, the Jasmine S35 still feels lackluster. Laminate is hit or miss with most guitar companies–usually miss–because manufacturers tend to believe that they can use extremely poor quality wood if they laminate over it to try and seal up cracks, large pores, and other imperfections that would otherwise make the wood unusable, and give it poor tone. Unsurprisingly, the tactic does not work with the Jasmine S35.

The guitar feels cheap, even for just over $100. There is not much to it, and for a dreadnought it is unexpectedly light, most likely due to the dryness of the wood. The hardware is cheap, and the tuners don’t grip the strings well enough to keep the guitar from slipping out of tune with more imposing bends. Overall, the guitar simply feels toy-like, which isn’t a good thing no matter if you are a beginner or an experienced musician.

Finish

Laminate just feels bad. Not only does it make the guitar feel cheap, it also makes the guitar feel odd, at times almost sticky. Laminate tends to get dirty very easily, and tends to stubbornly hold onto that dirt.

Action & Feel

Intonation is never perfect out of the box. Oftentimes, guitars need to be set up after purchase. It is something that most musicians expect, and it is an expense that should always be taken into account. What makes the Jasmine S35 a problem is that the intonation is just plain poor. The guitar is “set up” as if it was built, given a half-hazard tuning, and shopped out without being adjusted in any way. Even for such a budget guitar, this is simply unacceptable, as it makes the instrument virtually unplayable for less experienced guitarists.

The guitar itself plays decently. There is nothing special about it; it plays like you would expect a guitar in a slightly lower price range to play. For beginners, it is an instrument that will be outgrown very quickly. For experienced players, it will simply be a nuisance.

Sound

If there is one word to describe the tone of the Jasmine S35, it would have to be “wooden.” The guitar simply sounds bad. The tone is plucky, and not in a pleasant bluegrass way; it sounds damp, as if the guitar was run under a faucet before being packed in its box and flown halfway across the world. It’s a disappointing sound, to say the least.