Description
Review of the Lankro A10 38 Inch Acoustic Guitar Beginner Kit
The Lankro A10 is a 38 inch cutaway steel string acoustic sold as a full beginner bundle, with a waterproof gig bag, a digital tuner, spare strings, a strap, picks, a capo, a cleaning cloth and a printed guitar book. The construction is basswood for the top, back and sides with a bridge the manufacturer describes as technical ebony. It sits across the beginner starter kits and acoustic guitars categories.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- The accessory list is unusually complete. A capo and a cleaning cloth are the two items most bundles omit, and both are here alongside the tuner, strap, picks and spare strings.
- The gig bag is described as waterproof. Most bundled bags are thin nylon that soaks through, so weather resistance is a real difference for anyone carrying a guitar to lessons.
- X bracing is specified. X bracing is the standard internal pattern for steel string acoustics, spreading string tension across the top so the guitar can take steel strings without collapsing. Listings at this price often do not state a bracing pattern at all.
- The 38 inch size and C shaped neck suit smaller players. A shorter body and shorter string length reduce the reach across chord shapes, and C is the shallowest common neck profile and the least tiring for a hand that has not built strength.
Cons
- The spec table lists the top material as both basswood and ebony wood. The manufacturer description makes clear the ebony is the bridge, not the top, so the spec table has folded two components into one field. A buyer reading the spec table alone would conclude this guitar has an ebony top, which it does not.
- The listing describes the same guitar three different ways. The Amazon title calls it an adult cutaway acoustic, the description calls it a three quarter size steel string, and one bullet calls it an acoustic classical guitar. Steel string and classical are different instruments with different neck widths and different string tensions, and 38 inches is not an adult full size.
- The fretboard is listed as basswood. Fretboards use dense woods so frets seat properly and the surface resists denting from string contact. Basswood is soft, and this is a durability compromise rather than a neutral specification.
- The battery type entry reads alkaline. No part of an acoustic guitar takes a battery. This refers to the included digital tuner, but as written it suggests the instrument has electronics, which nothing else in the listing supports.
- The digital tuner is listed twice in the same accessory bullet. That is a small thing, but it means the buyer cannot be certain whether one tuner or two is supplied.
- No scale length, nut width, fret count or truss rod is stated. Without a documented truss rod there may be no way to correct the neck if it bows later.
Detailed Product Description
The body is a cutaway shape in basswood, with the cutaway on the treble side allowing the fretting hand to reach the upper frets. On a beginner instrument that access is rarely used in the first year, and the shape also removes a small amount of body volume, which slightly reduces bass response.
Basswood for the top, back and sides gives a light, even sounding instrument. It is soft and cheap to work, which is why it dominates this end of the market, and tonally it is neutral rather than warm or bright. The listing does not state whether the top is solid or laminated, which is the specification that most affects how an acoustic sounds and ages. The guide on solid top versus laminate acoustic guitars explains why manufacturers at this price often leave it out.
The bridge is described as technical ebony, meaning an engineered composite rather than natural ebony. Engineered bridge material is dimensionally stable and hard enough to transfer string vibration into the top. The tuning machines are described only as high quality, with no brand or gear ratio given. Strings are alloy steel, which confirms this is a steel string instrument and means the single reference to a classical guitar can be disregarded.
What Comes with the Product
The listing states the bundle contains the guitar, a waterproof gig bag, a digital tuner, extra strings, a strap, picks, a capo, a cleaning cloth and a printed guitar book.
Not included and not mentioned anywhere: an amplifier, a stand, a string winder and any online lesson access. There are no documented electronics, so an amplifier is not needed. A stand is the useful gap to fill, since a guitar left leaning against furniture is a guitar that gets knocked over. The printed book is described only as a guitar book with no stated level, page count or format.
Who It Suits
This fits a younger teenager, a smaller framed adult or anyone whose hands find a full size dreadnought a stretch, and who wants every accessory in one purchase. The completeness of the bundle is its strongest argument.
It does not suit a full grown adult who wants a full size instrument, despite the title calling it an adult guitar, because 38 inches is meaningfully smaller than a standard 41 inch dreadnought. It does not suit anyone who wants a nylon string classical, in spite of one bullet describing it that way. Anyone unsure whether a smaller body is the right call should read the guide on guitars for small hands, and the guide on what is in a guitar starter bundle is a useful checklist for comparing packages. Similar 38 inch bundles include the Ashthorpe 38 inch kit, the Smartxchoices 38 inch bundle and the JOYMUSIC JG-38C kit.
How to Maintain
Wipe the strings with the supplied cloth after each session. Steel strings dull mainly from skin oils rather than playing wear, and this one habit roughly doubles their useful life. Store the guitar in the waterproof bag rather than leaning it on a wall, and keep it away from radiators and sunny windows, since basswood dents easily and a cutaway body has a thinner section near the heel that is more vulnerable to impact.
Because no truss rod is documented, keep the guitar in stable conditions rather than relying on being able to adjust the neck later. If it will sit unplayed for months, slacken the strings a little to reduce sustained tension on the top and neck. Replace the tuner battery when the display dims.
Tips and Recommendations
Use the capo early to move chord shapes rather than learning barre chords in the first month, since a beginner hand rarely has the strength for a clean barre and that frustration ends more first years than anything else.
Expect to retune several times a day for the first fortnight while the new strings stretch, then far less often. Leave the spare set unopened until the originals sound dull. If the strings feel stiff, a lighter gauge set reduces the effort to fret a note without any change to the guitar. A simple stand is the one accessory worth adding, because visible guitars get practised.
Product FAQ
Is this a full size guitar?
No. The title calls it an adult guitar but the description states three quarter size and the overall length is 38 inches, against roughly 41 inches for a standard full size dreadnought.
Does it have nylon or steel strings?
Steel. The string material is listed as alloy steel and the description repeatedly says steel string. The single reference to a classical guitar in the listing is inconsistent with the rest of the data.
Is the top made of ebony?
No. The spec table lists ebony under top material, but the manufacturer description makes clear the ebony is the bridge. The top is basswood.
Why does the listing mention a battery?
The alkaline battery entry refers to the included digital tuner. The guitar itself has no documented electronics.
