Description
Review of the Fender FA-15 3/4-Scale Kids Steel String Acoustic Guitar Bundle
The Fender FA-15 in Moonlight Burst is a three quarter scale steel string acoustic with a 23.3 inch scale, a nato neck, a modern Fender 3+3 headstock and a walnut bridge, sold as a bundle with a gig bag, a tuner, a strap, picks, access to Fender Play online lessons and an Austin Bazaar instructional DVD. The listing states it is sized for children between roughly six and twelve years old.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- 23.3 inch scale length. This is a genuine three quarter scale, not a full length neck on a smaller body. The frets sit closer together and the strings need less tension to reach pitch, which is what makes the difference between a child forming a chord and giving up on it.
- Nato neck. A stable, moderately dense hardwood, often described as eastern mahogany, which machines cleanly and takes a finish well. The listing credits it with a lively tone and feel.
- Clear age guidance. The listing states six to twelve years, which is more specific than most children’s guitars manage and helps a parent judge fit.
- Tuner and structured lessons both included. A tuner is the accessory a young player needs first, and having lesson material removes the problem of a parent not knowing where to begin.
- Gig bag included, which matters more for a child’s guitar than an adult’s since most damage happens between the bedroom and the car.
- Modern Fender 3+3 headstock with three tuners per side, which balances string pull more evenly than an inline arrangement.
Cons
- The description says the walnut is used for the bridge, while the specification table lists walnut as the fretboard material. Those are two different parts of the guitar and the listing does not settle which is which.
- The table gives the top as agathis and the body and back as sapele, none of which the description confirms, since the description names only the nato neck and the walnut bridge.
- The listing does not say whether the top is solid or laminated, which is the specification that most determines how the guitar sounds.
- The listed weight of 7.78 pounds covers the bundle rather than the guitar, so the instrument’s own weight is not published.
- Steel strings on a child’s guitar are harder on untrained fingertips than nylon, which is worth thinking about for a younger child at the six year end of the stated range.
- The bundle includes a DVD, which many households can no longer play.
Detailed Product Description
The defining specification is the 23.3 inch scale. Scale length is the vibrating length of the string between nut and saddle, and shortening it does two things at once: it brings the frets closer together so a small hand can reach across them, and it lowers the tension needed to bring the string to pitch so less force is required to press it down. Both matter enormously for a child. How sizes map to ages is covered in the guide to what size guitar for a child.
The neck is nato, sometimes called eastern mahogany. It is a stable hardwood of moderate density used across affordable acoustics because it machines predictably and holds a finish. The headstock carries the modern Fender 3+3 arrangement with three tuners on each side.
The body is listed as sapele with an agathis top, though the description confirms neither. Sapele is a West African hardwood closely related to mahogany in appearance and behaviour, and agathis is a softwood used widely on entry level instruments. The listing does not say whether the top is a solid panel or a laminate, and the difference is set out in the guide to solid top versus laminate acoustic guitars.
The bridge is walnut, a dense hardwood with the hardness a bridge needs to transfer string energy into the top without deforming. The strings are alloy steel over a fixed bridge, and the finish is a Moonlight Burst.
What Comes with the Product
- The FA-15 three quarter scale acoustic guitar in Moonlight Burst
- A gig bag
- A tuner
- A strap
- Picks
- Access to Fender Play online lessons
- An Austin Bazaar instructional DVD
No spare strings, capo, string winder or stand is listed, and the length of the online lesson access is not stated.
Who It Suits
This suits a child between roughly six and twelve who is starting on acoustic guitar, particularly one who will be having lessons or working through structured material. The genuine three quarter scale and the tuner are the two things that most affect whether a child sticks with it.
It suits less well a teenager who has already grown, since they will outgrow a three quarter instrument within a year or two, and it suits less well a very young beginner who might find steel strings uncomfortable, for whom a nylon strung classical guitar would be gentler. That comparison is set out in the guide to nylon versus steel string guitars. Worth comparing are the Fender FA-15 sold without the bundle, the Vangoa three quarter acoustic guitar kit and the Oscar Schmidt OG1P three quarter dreadnought. The wider selection sits in the kids and junior guitars section.
How to Maintain
Wipe the strings after every session. Alloy steel corrodes from skin oils, and children rarely wash their hands before picking up a guitar.
Keep the guitar in the gig bag rather than leaning it against furniture. Most damage to a child’s guitar happens when it falls over, and the headstock is what breaks.
Keep it away from radiators, sunny windows and car boots. An acoustic body is a thin panel under constant tension and reacts to heat and dryness far more than a solid body electric.
Tips and Recommendations
Use the included tuner every session rather than only when something sounds wrong. New strings drift for the first fortnight, and a child practising on an out of tune guitar trains their ear onto the wrong pitches. The process is covered in the guide to how to tune a guitar.
Buy a spare set of strings early, since none is included. A broken string with no replacement to hand is how a promising start quietly ends.
Plan for the guitar to be outgrown. A three quarter instrument fits a child for a few years rather than for life, and expecting to move up to a full size guitar around the twelve year mark is more realistic than buying something too large now.
Product FAQ
What age is this guitar for?
The listing states children aged roughly six to twelve years.
What is the scale length?
23.3 inches, which is a genuine three quarter scale rather than a full size neck on a smaller body.
Where is the walnut used?
The description says the bridge, while the specification table says the fretboard. These are different parts of the guitar, so the point is worth confirming.
Is a tuner included?
Yes, along with a gig bag, a strap, picks, online lesson access and an instructional DVD. No spare strings are listed.
