Description
Review of the Yamaha CGS103AII Student Series Classical Guitar
The Yamaha CGS103AII is a three-quarter size nylon string classical guitar from the company’s student range, built with a spruce top, meranti back and sides and a rosewood fingerboard and bridge. The scale length is 23 inches, which is genuinely short rather than a full size guitar in a smaller box. It is made for children and for adults who want a compact nylon string instrument.
Pros & Cons
- A 23 inch scale is a real reduction. A full size classical runs around 25.6 inches, so the frets here sit meaningfully closer together and the string tension is lower. A child can form a first-position chord without stretching beyond what their hand can do.
- Nylon strings are gentle on new fingertips. Nylon sits at far lower tension than steel and is wider and softer under the finger, so a beginner can practise longer before soreness stops them. That is the main reason classical guitars are recommended for young starters.
- Rosewood fingerboard and bridge, not a painted substitute. Both are named specifically. A rosewood board wears well under string pressure, and a rosewood bridge carries string energy into the top more effectively than a soft alternative.
- The spec sheet is short but consistent. Spruce top, meranti back and sides, nato neck and a 23 inch scale all agree between the description and the table, which is not the case with most listings at this level.
- The listing does not say whether the top is solid or laminate. This is the fact that separates a guitar that improves with age from one that does not, and it is missing. The description gives spruce top and no more.
- The listed weight of one pound is wrong. A three-quarter classical guitar normally weighs three to four pounds. The imported figure cannot be right, so the actual weight, which matters when buying for a small child, is unpublished.
- The spec table lists a pickup configuration. It gives S, meaning single coil. This is an acoustic classical guitar with no electronics, no output jack and no preamp anywhere in the description. The entry is a placeholder rather than a specification.
- Nothing is included with the guitar. No bag, tuner, strap, spare strings, footstool or method book appears in the listing, so a first-time buyer has several further purchases to make before a child can practise properly.
- No nut width or fret count is published. Classical guitars have wide necks by design, and nut width is the number that decides whether a small hand can reach across the strings. It does not appear in the data.
Detailed Product Description
The top is spruce, the traditional soundboard wood, chosen because it is stiff for its weight and responds well to the gentle attack of nylon strings and fingertips. Back and sides are meranti, a hardwood used widely in student instruments, which keeps cost down while remaining stable. The finish is natural, showing the wood rather than covering it. Listed dimensions are 36.93 by 16.57 by 4.6 inches, so the overall length is around 37 inches.
The neck is nato with a rosewood fingerboard and the bridge is rosewood. Nato behaves much like mahogany and is the standard neck timber in this range. Because this is a classical guitar, the neck will be wider and flatter than a steel string neck of the same size, with the strings spaced further apart. That is deliberate: it suits fingerstyle playing, where each string needs room, and it is why classical guitars feel different even at matching scale lengths.
Strings are nylon and the bridge is fixed, with the strings tied at the bridge rather than held by pins. Nylon produces a warm, rounded note with less sustain and less volume than steel, and it will not cut through a room the way a steel string dreadnought does. That trade is what makes it comfortable to learn on. The nylon versus steel string comparison covers which suits which style of music.
What Comes with the Product
The listing covers the guitar alone. No gig bag, case, tuner, strap, spare strings, capo, footstool or instructional material is mentioned. Nylon strings stretch a great deal when new and need retuning repeatedly for the first few weeks, so a clip-on tuner should be treated as a required purchase rather than an accessory. A bag is the other sensible addition, particularly if the guitar will travel to lessons.
Who It Suits
This suits a child of roughly seven to eleven taking structured lessons, or a smaller adult who wants a nylon string instrument for classical or fingerstyle playing. It also works for an experienced player wanting a compact guitar to keep to hand. Look elsewhere if the learner wants the bright, loud steel string sound of pop and rock recordings, or if a complete kit with accessories is the requirement, since nothing is included here. Sizing is covered in what size guitar for a child. Comparable instruments include the full size Yamaha C40, the small-bodied Cordoba Mini II and the budget Master Play 30 inch starter kit. More sit in classical and nylon string guitars and kids and junior guitars.
How to Maintain
Retune before every session for the first few weeks, since new nylon takes far longer to settle than steel. Wipe the strings and the top with a soft dry cloth after playing. Keep the guitar away from radiators and out of direct sun, because a spruce top reacts to dry air by shrinking, which is what causes cracks and sharp fret ends. Condition the rosewood fingerboard occasionally when the strings are off, and never fit steel strings, which this guitar is not braced to take.
Tips and Recommendations
Buy a clip-on tuner and a padded bag alongside the guitar, since neither is included. A footstool or a support cushion is worth adding if the player is being taught classical technique, because posture is part of the method. When the factory strings go dull, a normal tension nylon set is the safe replacement; high tension sets are louder but harder on a student instrument. Retie the bridge knots carefully, as a slipping nylon string can mark the top.
Product FAQ
What size is it? Three-quarter size, with a 23 inch scale length and roughly 37 inches overall.
Does it have nylon or steel strings? Nylon. It is a classical guitar and should never be fitted with steel strings.
Is the top solid or laminate? The listing does not say. It states a spruce top with no further detail.
Does anything come with it? No. The listing is for the guitar only, with no bag, tuner or accessories.
