Description
Review of the Jasmine S35 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar Bundle
The Jasmine S35 is a full size dreadnought acoustic with a Sitka spruce top, mahogany back and sides and a slim nato neck on a 25.5 inch scale. This listing is the Austin Bazaar bundle, which adds a gig bag, strap, spare strings, picks, an instructional book, a video and a polishing cloth. It is aimed at beginners and at anyone wanting a straightforward steel string dreadnought.
Pros & Cons
- Scalloped X bracing is a real construction detail. The listing states Jasmine’s advanced X bracing under the top. Bracing pattern is what lets a top vibrate freely while holding string tension, and it is rarely specified at this end of the market.
- Synthetic bone nut and saddle rather than plastic. These two small parts sit at each end of the vibrating string and carry its energy into the body. Denser material transfers that energy better than the soft moulded plastic often fitted, and it holds string slots longer.
- Full 25.5 inch scale with a slim nato neck. Standard scale means everything learned transfers to any other guitar, while a slim neck profile keeps chords manageable for a smaller hand.
- Satin finish is practical. A satin finish is thinner than high gloss, shows fingerprints far less, and does not leave the forearm sticking to the top in warm weather.
- The listing never says whether the top is solid or laminate. This is the single most useful fact about an acoustic guitar and it is absent. A solid top improves as it is played and produces more complex tone; a laminate top stays as it is. The description says Sitka spruce top and stops there.
- The spec table describes the body as spruce. It lists body material as Sitka spruce while also listing mahogany for the back. A guitar body is not one wood: this one has a spruce top with mahogany back and sides, and the table has copied the top wood into the body field.
- No fret count, nut width or body depth is published. Nut width in particular decides whether fingerpicking feels cramped or open, and none of these numbers appear anywhere in the listing.
- Dreadnought size is not for everyone. The listed carton is 43 by 21 by 6 inches. A dreadnought is a large, deep box, which is where its volume and bass come from, but a smaller player will find reaching over the top awkward compared to a concert or parlour body.
- No tuner is in the bundle. The kit includes a book, a video, strings and picks, but nothing to tune with, and a new acoustic needs constant retuning while the strings stretch.
Detailed Product Description
The top is Sitka spruce, the standard choice for steel string guitars because it is stiff for its weight and handles the attack of a hard strum without collapsing. Back and sides are mahogany, which tends to push a guitar toward a drier, more midrange-focused voice with a strong fundamental note, as opposed to the scooped, shimmering sound of rosewood. Together with a dreadnought body, that combination is what makes this shape a common choice for strummed accompaniment. The solid top versus laminate guide covers why the missing solid or laminate detail matters.
The neck is nato, described as slim, on a 25.5 inch scale with a rosewood fingerboard. Nato is a mahogany-like timber used widely at this price and behaves similarly under tension. The bridge is rosewood with a synthetic bone saddle, and there is full body binding around the edges, which protects the most vulnerable joint on any acoustic guitar from knocks.
Strings are phosphor bronze in a light gauge. Light gauge is the sensible default on a dreadnought: enough tension to drive the top, but easier on unhardened fingertips than a medium set. Listed weight is 5.8 pounds. The finish is satin in natural.
What Comes with the Product
The bundle includes the guitar, a gig bag, a strap, an extra set of strings, picks, an instructional book, an Austin Bazaar instructional video and a polishing cloth. It does not include a tuner, a capo, a stand or a hard case. The format of the instructional video is not stated in the listing. The gig bag is soft, so it guards against dust and scuffs rather than impact.
Who It Suits
This suits a beginner or an improving player who wants a conventional full size dreadnought with a proper scale length and real hardware, and who values learning material being included. It also suits someone returning to guitar who wants one dependable strummer. Look elsewhere if the priority is a compact body for a smaller frame, or if a confirmed solid top is essential to the buying decision. Comparable listings include two other Jasmine S35 configurations and the standard Jasmine S35 without the bundle, plus the Epiphone Songmaker DR-100 as a like-for-like dreadnought. What is in a guitar starter bundle is worth reading first, and more sit in acoustic guitars and beginner starter kits.
How to Maintain
Wipe the strings and the top with the supplied cloth after playing, because sweat left on phosphor bronze dulls it within days. Keep the guitar at a stable humidity: acoustic guitars are far more sensitive than solid body electrics, and dry air is what causes tops to sink and frets to feel sharp at the edges. Slacken nothing for normal storage, but do keep it out of car boots and away from radiators. Condition the rosewood fingerboard occasionally when the strings are off.
Tips and Recommendations
Add a clip-on tuner, which is the one obvious gap in the bundle. If the action feels high past the fifth fret, a saddle adjustment is a cheap fix and transforms how a dreadnought plays. Consider a soundhole humidifier if the guitar lives in a centrally heated house through winter. When the factory strings lose their brightness, a fresh set of light phosphor bronze will restore more tone than most people expect.
Product FAQ
Is the top solid or laminate? The listing does not say. It states a Sitka spruce top with X bracing and gives no further detail.
What is the scale length? 25.5 inches, which is full size.
What is in the bundle? Gig bag, strap, spare strings, picks, an instructional book, an instructional video and a polishing cloth.
What are the back and sides made of? Mahogany, with a Sitka spruce top. The spec table also lists the body as Sitka spruce, which duplicates the top wood.
