Description
Review of the EASTROCK 39 inch Full-Size Electric Guitar Kit for Beginners
The EASTROCK 39 inch electric guitar kit is a full size solid body in a pink high gloss finish, built on an alder body with a Canadian maple neck and a rosewood fretboard, with a pickup selector, a volume knob, two tone knobs and a tremolo bridge with a removable whammy bar. It ships with a 10 watt amplifier, a bag, a capo, a strap, a spare string, a cable and picks. It is aimed at a beginner who wants a complete kit in a conventional single cutaway body style.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Amplifier, bag, capo, strap, cable and picks are all included. This is a kit that produces sound on the day it arrives, which is the main reason to buy a bundle rather than a bare guitar.
- Rosewood fretboard on a maple neck. This is the conventional pairing: maple is stiff and stable, rosewood is open pored and smooth under dry fingertips.
- Alder body. Alder is a genuine tonewood rather than a budget substitute, light enough to be comfortable and the traditional choice for this body shape.
- Rounded fret ends are specified. Sharp fret ends are one of the most common and most unpleasant faults on inexpensive guitars, and naming it suggests attention has been paid.
- Two tone controls plus a selector switch, which gives more sound shaping than the single tone knob found on most kits at this level.
- Removable whammy bar, so the tremolo can simply be left out by a player who does not want it.
Cons
- The description specifies H-S-S pickups while the specification table records the pickup configuration as “H”. H-S-S means a humbucker at the bridge and two single coils, which is a very different instrument from a single humbucker, so this needs confirming before ordering.
- The table lists the back as alder and the top as maple wood, while the description calls the body solid alder with no maple cap mentioned. The two accounts do not match.
- No scale length is given anywhere in the listing, which makes it impossible to compare fret spacing or string tension against other guitars.
- The listed 19.71 pounds is a package figure covering the amplifier and accessories, so the guitar’s own weight is not published.
- Only a single spare string is listed rather than a full set, which is of limited use.
- A tremolo bridge on a budget guitar is the usual cause of tuning instability, since the bridge pivots and the strings must return to exactly the same position.
Detailed Product Description
The body is alder, which is worth noting because most kits at this level use basswood or paulownia. Alder is light, even grained and has been the standard body timber for this style of guitar for decades. On a solid body electric the wood matters far less than the pickups do, but alder is a real choice rather than a cost saving.
The neck is Canadian maple with a rosewood fretboard and rounded frets. Maple is dense and stiff, which is why it is used for necks, and rosewood is open pored and slightly oily, which is why fingers move across it easily without dragging. The tuning pegs are zinc alloy and the strings are described as copper.
The electronics as described are H-S-S: a humbucker at the bridge for a thick, high output sound suited to rock, and two single coils for the brighter, clearer voice associated with cleaner playing. A selector switch moves between them, and a volume knob and two tone knobs shape the result. If the specification table is correct and only a single humbucker is fitted, the guitar loses that entire clean range, which is why the discrepancy matters rather than being a technicality.
The bridge is a tremolo with a removable whammy bar, allowing the pitch of all six strings to be lowered at once. The trade off is tuning stability, since a pivoting bridge has to return exactly and budget nuts and saddles rarely allow it. Leaving the bar out is a reasonable choice for a beginner.
The amplifier is rated at 10 watts. That is a home practice figure, and why wattage matters less than most buyers expect is explained in the guide to guitar amp wattage for home practice.
What Comes with the Product
- The 39 inch full size electric guitar in pink, right handed
- A 10 watt amplifier
- A carrying bag
- A capo
- A shoulder strap
- A spare string
- A guitar cable
- Picks
No tuner, stand or instructional material is listed, and the amplifier’s power supply arrangement is not described.
Who It Suits
This suits an adult or older teenager beginning on electric guitar with nothing at home, particularly someone who wants the versatility of a mixed pickup layout rather than a single voice. The alder body and rosewood board are better specified than most kits at this size.
It suits less well a younger child, for whom 39 inches is a full size instrument, and it suits less well anyone who needs certainty about what they are buying, since the pickup layout is reported two different ways. Anyone still deciding between instrument types should read the guide to acoustic versus electric guitar for beginners. Worth comparing are the Ermik 39 inch HSS kit, the Fesley FST100 starter kit and the Donner DST-152 HSS kit. The wider selection sits in the beginner starter kits section.
How to Maintain
Wipe the strings after every session. The listing describes copper strings, and copper alloys tarnish from skin oils faster than nickel does.
Coil the cable loosely rather than wrapping it tightly around the amplifier. Cables fail at the plug and tight wrapping is the cause.
If the tremolo causes tuning trouble, the usual culprits are the nut slots binding and poorly wound strings at the tuning posts. Stretching new strings properly before playing resolves a large share of it.
Tips and Recommendations
Buy a clip on tuner and a full spare set of strings at the same time as the guitar. Neither is properly covered by the kit, and both will be needed within the first month.
Confirm the pickup layout with the seller before ordering if the clean sounds matter. An H-S-S guitar and a single humbucker guitar are used for different things, and the listing does not settle which one is in the box.
Use the capo early rather than saving it. It lets a beginner play songs in a comfortable singing range with only the chord shapes they already know, which keeps practice from becoming repetitive. Its uses are covered in the guide to the guitar capo guide.
Product FAQ
What pickups does it have?
The description says H-S-S, meaning a bridge humbucker and two single coils. The specification table says “H”. This should be confirmed with the seller.
Is an amplifier included?
Yes, a 10 watt amplifier, along with a cable to connect it.
What is the scale length?
Not stated anywhere in the listing. The guitar is described as 39 inches, which is its overall length.
Is a tuner included?
No. The kit lists an amplifier, bag, capo, strap, a spare string, a cable and picks, but no tuner.
