Description
Review of the Ashthorpe 38-inch Beginner Acoustic Guitar Package
The Ashthorpe 38-inch package is a reduced size steel string acoustic in blue, built from laminated basswood with a high gloss finish, and supplied with a gig bag, a digital tuner, a pitch pipe, a strap, three picks, a spare set of strings and an instructional sheet. The listing gives 18 frets, six steel strings and a 25 inch scale. It is aimed at students and teenagers starting out who want one box that covers everything.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- 38 inch body with a 25 inch scale. This is smaller than a full size dreadnought in the body but keeps a near full scale neck, which suits a teenager who has outgrown a child’s guitar but not yet grown into a full size instrument.
- The accessory list is unusually complete. A digital tuner, a pitch pipe, a spare set of six strings, three picks, a strap, a bag and an instruction sheet cover everything a first week of playing needs.
- Tuner battery included. The listing states one CR2 battery is required and supplied, which is a small detail that regularly goes wrong in packages at this level.
- Laminated construction. Laminate is stiffer and far less prone to cracking than a solid top when humidity swings, which matters for a guitar that will live in a bedroom rather than a case.
- Light at 2.8 pounds, which makes standing practice realistic for a smaller player.
Cons
- The specification table records a pickup configuration of “S”, but the description sells a purely acoustic guitar and mentions no electronics, no preamp and no output jack anywhere. Anyone who intends to plug in should confirm this with the seller before ordering.
- The stated product dimensions of 3.25 x 3.25 x 38 inches do not match the description, which gives 38 inches long by 14 inches wide by 3.25 inches deep. The table appears to repeat the depth in place of the width.
- The fretboard is listed as basswood. Basswood is a soft timber normally used for bodies rather than fingerboards, where hardness is what resists fret wear and denting, so this specification is worth confirming.
- Top, back and sides are all laminated basswood, so there is no solid top here. That caps how much the guitar will open up over time.
- Only 18 frets are fitted. That is fewer than the 20 found on most full size acoustics, which limits the upper reaches of the neck.
Detailed Product Description
The top, back and sides are all laminated basswood with a high gloss finish. Laminate is three thin layers bonded together, and the glue lines damp the panel’s movement compared with a single solid piece. The practical result is a guitar that is quieter and less responsive than a solid top instrument but considerably more robust and far less fussy about humidity. For a first guitar that spends its life leaning against a wall rather than in a case, that trade often works in the owner’s favour. The difference is set out in the guide to solid top versus laminate acoustic guitars.
The neck is basswood, and the fretboard is listed as basswood as well. Eighteen frets are fitted and the scale length is 25 inches. That scale is only half an inch shorter than a standard dreadnought, so the fret spacing will feel close to full size even though the body is noticeably smaller. The combination is deliberate and it works well for a teenager: the reach around the body is easier while the left hand learns spacings that transfer directly to a full size guitar later.
Six steel strings in an alloy steel material are fitted over a fixed bridge. Steel strings are harder on untrained fingertips than nylon, and any player worried about that should read the comparison in the guide to nylon versus steel string guitars before deciding.
The guitar is right handed, finished in blue, and made in China. The listed weight of 2.8 pounds is low for an acoustic guitar of this size and probably describes the instrument alone rather than the packed bundle.
What Comes with the Product
- The 38 inch acoustic guitar in blue
- A nylon gig bag
- A digital tuner, with the CR2 battery included
- A pitch pipe
- A shoulder strap
- Three picks in assorted colours
- An extra set of six strings
- An instructional sheet
No capo, stand, string winder, polishing cloth or hard case is listed, and no online lesson access is mentioned.
Who It Suits
This suits a student or teenager beginning on acoustic guitar who wants a body they can comfortably reach around, and whose household would rather buy one box than assemble a tuner, a bag and a strap separately. It also suits a smaller adult who finds a dreadnought unwieldy.
It suits less well a full size adult player, who will find the body small and the projection limited, and it suits less well anyone who wants to plug into an amplifier, since the electronics situation in this listing is unclear. What such a bundle typically includes and leaves out is covered in the guide to what is in a guitar starter bundle. Worth comparing are the Smartxchoices 38 inch acoustic bundle, the Lankro A10 38 inch kit and the YMC 38 inch starter kit. The wider selection sits in the beginner starter kits section.
How to Maintain
Wipe the strings down after every session. Alloy steel corrodes from skin oils, and on a guitar that a student picks up daily the strings will go dull within weeks without it.
Keep the guitar in the gig bag when it is not in use and away from radiators and sunny windows. Laminated construction tolerates humidity changes far better than a solid top, but the neck joint and the finish do not. Warning signs are an action that climbs noticeably over a season or a bridge that starts to lift at its edges.
Remove the CR2 battery from the tuner if the guitar is being put away for several months, since a leaking cell will ruin the tuner.
Tips and Recommendations
Use the digital tuner rather than the pitch pipe for daily tuning. A pitch pipe is useful as a backup and as a way to train the ear, but it is far slower and less accurate than a clip on unit, and new strings drift enough in the first fortnight that speed matters.
Have the action checked if the strings feel hard to press down above the fifth fret. High action is the main reason beginners stop practising, and it is usually a straightforward adjustment. The details are in the guide to guitar action and setup.
Keep the spare set of strings sealed until it is needed. Strings oxidise in the packet once opened, so an unopened spare set stays usable far longer.
Product FAQ
How big is this guitar?
Thirty eight inches long with a 25 inch scale length, which is smaller in the body than a full size dreadnought but close to full size in the neck.
Is the top solid or laminated?
Laminated basswood, as are the back and sides.
Can it be plugged into an amplifier?
The description does not mention any electronics, although the specification table lists a pickup configuration of “S”. This should be confirmed with the seller before ordering.
Does the tuner come with a battery?
Yes. The listing states that one CR2 battery is required and included.
