Description
Review of the Kadence Frontier Series Acoustic Electric Guitar (KAD-FR01-EQ)
This is a cutaway acoustic electric guitar from Kadence’s Frontier series in a black finish, fitted with a built-in preamp offering volume plus a three-band equaliser. It is aimed at players who want one instrument that works unplugged for practice and plugged in for a small stage or a recording input, and the listing suggests players aged fourteen and over.
The model code is KAD-FR01-EQ, and the listing dates it to February 2021.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- A three-band equaliser rather than a single tone control. Separate bass, middle and treble controls let the player fix the two problems acoustic pickups always have: boomy low end in a small room and harsh upper midrange through a PA. A single tone knob cannot address both.
- The truss rod is described as adjustable. That means neck relief can be corrected as the seasons change instead of the action slowly climbing until the guitar becomes unplayable. Not every instrument at this level has one.
- The cutaway is functional, not decorative. Access above the twelfth fret on an acoustic normally requires reaching around the shoulder of the body. The scoop makes upper-position work and single-note lines possible.
- Bronze-coated strings. Coating slows the corrosion that dulls acoustic strings, which extends useful life well past an uncoated set, particularly for players with acidic hands.
Cons
- The dimensions field is not credible. It reads 40 by 16 by 40 inches. A guitar is not forty inches deep, and the figure appears to repeat the length in the depth position. Nothing useful about the case or shipping size can be taken from it.
- The neck is listed as spruce. Spruce is a softwood used for tops because it is light and resonant; it is not a neck wood, because it lacks the stiffness to resist string pull without moving. The description never names the neck wood, so this entry has nothing to confirm it.
- The body wood fields conflict. Back Material reads Spruce, while Body Material and Top Material both read Rosewood and Spruce Wood. Rosewood back and sides with a spruce top would be a normal specification; rosewood as a top wood would not. The listing does not resolve it.
- No pickup type is given, only a control layout. The pickup configuration field reads three-band EQ, which describes the preamp rather than the transducer. Whether the pickup is an under-saddle piezo, a soundhole magnetic or a contact type is not stated, and those sound very different amplified.
Detailed Product Description
The body is a cutaway dreadnought-style shape with a high gloss finish and a hollow resonating chamber. Spruce is the wood named in the description for the body, and spruce is the standard acoustic top material because it has a high stiffness-to-weight ratio, meaning it moves easily under string energy while staying rigid enough not to collapse. The specification table’s rosewood entries conflict with that, as described above.
The fingerboard is rosewood, and the bridge is Indian rosewood, which the listing describes as chosen for hardness and vibration transfer. That is the correct reasoning: a soft bridge absorbs string energy instead of passing it into the top, and a dull guitar is usually a bridge and saddle problem before it is a top problem.
The neck carries a truss rod so relief can be set, which keeps the string height comfortable through humidity changes. Scale length is not published.
The electronics are a built-in preamp with volume, bass, middle and treble. Strings are bronze-coated for corrosion resistance, and the tuning pegs are described as smooth in operation. Listed weight is 4.75 pounds, which is light for a full-size acoustic. A pickguard is supplied to protect the top from pick strikes.
What Comes with the Product
The listing states the guitar comes with a bag, a strap, three picks and a set of strings, plus the built-in pickup and preamp and a pickguard.
What is not included: no instrument cable, which is required to use the electronics at all. No amplifier, no tuner, no capo and no hard case. No batteries for the preamp are mentioned either, and active acoustic preamps normally need a 9V cell. Check that before the first plugged-in session. Whether an amplifier is needed at all is worth thinking through first; see do you need an amp with an acoustic electric guitar.
Who It Suits
This suits a player who has moved past the first months on a plain acoustic and now needs to be heard: open mic nights, a church group, a small band rehearsal or a home recording setup. The three-band EQ is the feature that makes it usable in those settings rather than just louder.
It suits less well an absolute beginner buying a single first guitar, because the electronics add cost and complexity that go unused for the first year, and the bundle does not include the cable needed to use them. It also suits less well anyone who needs precise specifications before committing, since the neck wood, body wood and scale length are either contradictory or absent. Fingerstyle players who want a small, balanced body should look at a concert or parlour shape instead; body shapes explained covers the differences.
How to Maintain
Keep the guitar in its bag and away from radiators. Acoustic bodies are thin and move with humidity far more than solid electrics do, and a dry winter room is what cracks tops and lifts bridges.
Wipe the strings after playing. Coated strings last longer but coating slows corrosion rather than preventing it.
Check neck relief with the seasons and adjust the truss rod in small increments, a quarter turn at a time, allowing the neck to settle between adjustments. If a preamp battery is fitted, remove it when the guitar will sit unused for months. Action and setup covers how to judge relief by eye.
Tips and Recommendations
Buy the instrument cable at the same time as the guitar. The preamp is the main reason to choose this model and it is unusable without one.
Start with the equaliser flat and cut rather than boost. Acoustic pickups almost always need the low end reduced in a room, and cutting keeps the signal clean where boosting invites feedback.
Product FAQ
What kind of pickup does it use? The listing does not say. It names a three-band EQ preamp but never states whether the transducer is piezo, magnetic or contact.
Is the neck really spruce? The specification table says so, but spruce is a top wood rather than a neck wood, and the manufacturer description does not mention the neck material at all. Treat that field with caution.
Does a cable come with it? No. The bundle is a bag, strap, three picks and strings.
What are its real dimensions? The dimensions field reads 40 by 16 by 40 inches, which cannot be right for a guitar. The listed weight of 4.75 pounds is the more useful figure.
Similar instruments are grouped under acoustic-electric guitars. Comparable models include the Kadence Slowhand, the Kadence A06-EQ electro-acoustic and the purely acoustic Kadence Frontier 40 inch.
