Description
Review of the Fender Alternative Series Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar Kit
The Fender Alternative Series Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar Kit is a full size laminate acoustic sold as a complete starting package, with a padded gig bag, a stand, a strap, picks, spare strings, a two year warranty and a Fender Play lesson subscription. It is built for first time buyers who want everything in one purchase from a name they recognise. It appears in both the acoustic guitars and beginner starter kits sections.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- The kit includes a stand, which most bundles omit. A guitar on a stand gets picked up several times a day. A guitar in a case under a bed does not, and that difference decides whether a beginner keeps going.
- Dreadnought body with a full 25.3 inch scale. The dreadnought is the loudest common acoustic shape, with a deep body and a broad waist that pushes low frequencies, which is why it dominates country, folk and bluegrass. The scale length is standard, so every string set and every instructional resource will match.
- The C shaped neck is the easiest common profile to learn on. A rounded C fills the palm without a sharp shoulder, so a beginner can wrap the thumb over the top for open chords and drop it behind the neck for barre shapes without changing grip pressure.
- Sealed gear tuning machines. Enclosed tuners keep grit out of the gear, and stable tuning matters more to a learner than any tonal refinement.
Cons
- The specification table lists a pickup on a purely acoustic guitar. The pickup configuration field says “S”, meaning a single coil. Fender’s own description covers the body, neck, fingerboard, tuners and bridge and never mentions electronics, a preamp, controls or an output jack.
- The string material is listed as nickel. Nickel wound strings belong on electric guitars, where a magnetic pickup reads them. Acoustic guitars use bronze or phosphor bronze, which project far better acoustically. The listing gives no explanation.
- The colour field says “Pack”. That describes the bundle rather than the instrument. The guitar’s finish is described elsewhere as natural.
- The weight figure covers the whole box. At 11.28 pounds in a 42.4 by 19.25 by 9 inch carton, the published weight includes the bag, stand and accessories, and the listing never states what the guitar alone weighs.
- The series name is inconsistent. The title calls it the Alternative Series while the description describes it as part of the FA Series.
Detailed Product Description
The guitar is a full size six string dreadnought with a 25.3 inch scale, equivalent to 643mm. The top is spruce, the back and sides are basswood, and the neck is nato with a walnut fingerboard and a walnut bridge. Spruce is the standard acoustic top wood because it is stiff for its weight and moves freely under string energy. As a laminate face over a plywood core it is constrained, so the guitar sounds clear and controlled rather than resonant, and it will sound the same in ten years as it does on the first day. A solid top would open up over that period, and the difference is explained in solid top versus laminate acoustic guitars.
Nato is a mahogany substitute, comparable in weight and stability, and it is the standard neck wood across this tier. Walnut has become the common fingerboard and bridge material where rosewood supply is restricted; it is dense and closed grained enough to take fretting pressure and hold bridge pins without a finish coat. Basswood back and sides contribute little colour of their own, leaving the top to do the tonal work.
What Comes with the Product
The listing states the kit contains one right handed guitar, a padded gig bag, a stand, a strap, picks, an extra set of strings and a subscription to Fender Play with access to instructional videos at no additional cost.
Not included: a tuner, a capo, a hard case, a humidifier, and a cable, since there are no electronics to connect. The tuner is the notable omission, because a beginner cannot tune by ear and a clip on tuner is the accessory that gets used every single session.
Who It Suits
This suits an adult or older teenager buying a first acoustic who wants the whole package in one order, a household that wants a guitar left out on a stand where it will actually be played, and anyone whose taste runs to country, folk, bluegrass or strummed pop where a dreadnought is the traditional voice. The included warranty and lessons remove two more things to research.
Look elsewhere if the priority is tone that improves with age, where a solid top model is the better use of the same money, or if the player is small framed and would be more comfortable on a concert body. Comparable options are the Fender California Debut Redondo, the Fender FA-25 dreadnought, and the Yamaha GigMaker Standard package.
How to Maintain
Wipe the strings after every session, because acoustic strings dull from skin acid faster than they wear from playing. Keep the guitar out of direct sun and away from radiators, and use the stand in a room that is not next to a heat source. Condition the walnut fingerboard lightly twice a year with a purpose made oil, since unfinished boards dry and shrink away from the fret ends. Loosen the strings slightly if the guitar is being stored for months rather than weeks. Clean the finish with a barely damp cloth. Longer term storage advice is in how to store a guitar.
Tips and Recommendations
Add a clip on tuner to the order, since the kit does not include one and it is the accessory a beginner uses daily. Check which strings are fitted on arrival; if nickel wound electric strings have genuinely been supplied, replacing them with phosphor bronze will transform the acoustic volume. Register the purchase and keep the receipt so the two year warranty can be claimed. Set the stand somewhere the guitar is visible from a chair, because visibility is what drives practice frequency. Have the string height checked after the first month once the neck has taken tension, and a capo is a worthwhile early purchase for singing in comfortable keys.
Warranty & Support Information
The listing states a two year warranty on the instrument, and includes a subscription to Fender Play with access to thousands of instructional videos at no additional cost. No claim procedure, contact route or subscription duration is published in the listing data, so retain the proof of purchase.
Product FAQ
Can this guitar be plugged in? Nothing in Fender’s description suggests so. A pickup configuration appears in the specification table, but no preamp, controls or output jack is described anywhere.
Is the top solid? The listing does not say. The description calls the body all laminate, and the table lists a spruce top with a basswood back.
Is a tuner included? No. The kit covers the guitar, gig bag, stand, strap, picks and spare strings.
