Thomann Classica Fusion 8 String Reviews

My guitar came with a damaged headstock

I will leave an unbiased opinion as this is my very first impression considering I've just unboxed it on delivery today. I really loved how well packed the guitar came, but still the headstock is damaged, clearly from an accidental fall on the floor, which makes me think whether it's been like this from stock or if this was during delivery. In case it was like this from stock, that's quality control for you. Still something that didn't make me happy, since I paid the full price for the product and expected the instrument to be in mint quality. Another downside of this instrument is that it came with 3 bottom E strings on the lows. I was expecting each and every string to have a different gauge. Who wants 3 E strings on the bottom lower ends? The "best" you can get out of it without getting frustrated with how muddy and flimsy the strings will become is to tune it as E D C on the bottom (e b g D A E D C) but like, seriously? I was really expecting to get the same tunings from my 8 string electric guitar, which are standard F# (e b g D A E B F#) or drop E (e b g D A E B E). I can't say I'm 100% happy with this purchase. In all fairness, the string situation, I can even overlook by simply buying new strings with thicker gauges (still not happy as this costs me even more money, not to mention how painful it is to find strings for this instrument), but there's nothing more saddening than opening a package which was meant to be my birthday present and bump into a damaged instrument. Well, there you go. The instrument itself plays well. No fret buzzing or sharp ends, which is a plus. A well built instrument for its price, so a win is still a win. I'm ordering German Lute strings in hopes to get the lower pitches in place for the 7th and 8th strings and play the instrument the way I was expecting to be able to play it (the way it's actually meant to be, honestly).

Great value for an eight-string classical

I decided to dip my hands into extended range classical, primarily for playing later renaissance lute music as well as experimenting. The price for this instrument is really unbeatable.

The sound, even with stock strings, is very rich to my ears. Appearance-wise, I'm very happy with the lighter toned bridge and fretboard. The grains of the acacia neck really stand out. The sapele back and sides are quite beautiful as well. There were noticeable lines of rings left by a palm sander on the back, but this doesn't affect my opinion so much. Same for a chip out of the headstock.

Playability-wise, the neck is very thick and the action is a tad bit high for my liking. It's a bit strenuous to play full-fingered chords due to this combination. However, I'll be getting the height adjusted in the near future. The height of the strings at the nut need to be lowered as well as the height at the saddle. All that said, I'm still very satisfied with this instrument.

It's quite affordable and shipped amazingly fast to the states. :)

Six Strings Good, Eight Strings Better!

I wanted to explore the extended range that the 8-string offered; I'd played an 8-course Renaissance lute for years and this beastie could be tuned the same manner, so no real learning curve there.

Overall, I'm impressed — there are other 8-string guitars out that at 3 times (and more) the price, but before making that commitment, this is by far the most affordable way to make the leap into this world of extended range playing.

The finish is nice and while I'd prefer a satin finish on the neck, this one isn't so slick as to make me want to get out the steel wool and take some of the shine off of it. The frets were finished well, no snags on the ends, well seated and so on. The action was pretty much dead on. I found it imminently and immediately playable.

My only negative — and it's not really a negative, as it's kind of a condition of having this many strings — is that I found the neck a bit heavy and thick for a classical guitar.

But all in all, I am quite happy with it, feel that it was an excellent buy and would certainly recommend it unhesitatingly to anyone interested in getting in to the world of extended classical guitar playing.