Fender CD-60S Review – A Fantastic Fender with a Focus on Playability

Body And Neck:
Hardware:
Sound:
Value:

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Here’s a question – which beginner wouldn’t want to learn on a Fender? The iconic American brand are masters of the guitar, so it’s of little surprise that they produce a popular acoustic that’s great for beginners. Part of the Classic Design series, the CD-60S suits first-timers due to the easy playability, although it also offers players plenty of room to grow. Interested? Read on…

Body & Neck

There’s nothing quite like holding a real Fender guitar, and the CD-60S is exactly that – as it proudly boasts on the headstock. The 25.3” scale length dreadnought body of the CD-60S is simple, but good-looking in whatever finish you opt for (it comes in both glossy black and a natural). The natural finish shows off the grains of the woods, which is solid spruce on the top, and laminated mahogany on the back and sides. This is a classic wood pairing, and genuinely hard to fault for tone (more on this below).

The playability of the CD-60S is also top-notch, with a glossy ‘Easy-to-Play’ mahogany neck that features a very hand-friendly profile, and a rosewood fretboard with rolled edges, ensuring this is one comfortable guitar to get around. As for frets, the neck is joined at the 14th, while there are 20 in total. Even though it’s not a premium model, the overall feeling of this acoustic is certainly one higher than some of the simpler budget guitars you see aimed at beginners. So far, so good.

Hardware

The hardware on the CD-60S is also very commendable, and it doesn’t feature electronics – which is fine for beginners, as plugging in isn’t usually necessary. It does come with a set of chrome die-cast tuners, a quality rosewood bridge, and some very good Fender Dura-Tone coated strings, although the plastic nut isn’t anything special. Otherwise it’s all decent and about what you would expect from the price.

Meanwhile, depending on the marketplace, you can find the CD-60S comes with a host of accessories, including a hard-shell case, a digital tuner, and plectrums, which are all very handy additions for any complete beginner.

Sound

As we mentioned, the CD-60S uses the tried-and-tested pairing of spruce and mahogany, which results in a versatile, lively and very well-balanced tone, with good brightness and a nice warmth. With the dreadnought body, the projection on this acoustic is strong and robust, with the solid wood promising to open up and add further warmth and volume as the years go by.

Conclusion

For style, sound and playability, we can’t fault the Fender CD-60S – it’s great, and gives beginners exactly what’s needed to start out and progress. The price tag is higher than some entry-level models, but for the quality on offer that’s understandable. At the end of the day, a good beginner’s guitar is usually one that an experienced player would also enjoy, and this CD-60S is certainly that.

For more info about the Fender CD-60S, click here.
For more beginner acoustic guitars you might like, click here.