Ashton Acoustic D59SCEQNCM

Out of the box, it looks clean functional and all in one piece, which is always a great start. To test this instrument out, I played it in a writing session at my studio with a client. I played on and off for a three-hour period as we wrote, discussed and tried different ideas for the tune we were writing. First port of call for any session is tuning and I'm glad to report that once the instrument was at pitch, it held its tune quite well. Sealed machine heads with a nice ratio made this part a breeze. Can it be tuned ? Yes. Does it hold tune? Yes indeed!

The neck was rather thin for an acoustic. It reminded me of similar premium American guitar brand. It was easy to play, the action was good low but without rattling like a snake. Is it nice to play? It sure is. The spruce top is solid wood and sang nicely when the instrument was played, bright but not tinny or brittle. The frets were well finished and felt really nice under hand. The fingerboard wasn't the best I've ever felt but it was nothing to complain about either. As for sounding good… it does that too.

Pulling an Ashton acoustic out at a gig may not traditionally be a status symbol and by no means is this the greatest acoustic I've ever strummed, but make no mistake, this is a fine workhorse, probably best suited for beginner to intermediate players. However if Ashton continue to produce this sort of quality instrument, I think some of the other manufacture's in this market should be worried. The back and sides are made of mahogany, adding stability and strength to the instrument, the wood-grain on this one is quite pretty to look at.

I must say overall I am really impressed with this instrument. Without knowing the price initially, I estimated around $499 and I was spot on. If I had to give it a mark, I would rate this guitar 7 out of 10. I was very impressed with its playability, tone and quality of hardware and construction and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to any beginner or intermediate player. 

What it lacks is depth of tone that you can only get from an all solid guitar which would be two-three times the price of this unit, so it really is a case of horses for courses. Typically in this segment of the market for solid top guitars you consistently get thin brittle tones and a glossy finish to make it look attractive. This features a natural matte finish and is well constructed, no barbs on the fret ends, nice fingerboard and I didn't tire as I played up the neck. 

As for the electronics… the built-in tuner was quite handy and both accurate and sensitive, with four-band EQ on the preamp consisting of bass, middle, treble and presence plus a volume control. All were responsive enough to manipulate the sound out of the pickup with a decent amount of range cut and boost. I found it quite easy to tailor the tone to what I wanted to hear from the small PA I tested it with. The knobs were a little small and fiddly but it was no big deal to adjust the controls. Overall I found the Ashton D59SCEQ NCM a great value for money workhorse and an instrument I'd recommend for any beginner or intermediate player.