Fender Sonoran SCE Review: Acoustic Guitars Under $500 Review Series

Hello, and welcome to my Fender Sonoran SCE review.

In my latest trip to my local music store, I tried 3 new guitars costing less than 500. And one of those was the guitar I am reviewing here.

My first impression of the Sonoran SCE was that it looked like it was cheap but my impression had changed a lot by the time I was hanging it back up on the hook.

What this Review Will Cover

In this review I will take a look at the following characteristics of the Sonoran SCW:

• Sound (including videos so you can hear it for yourself)
• Playability
• Who the guitar is most suited to
• Whether or not this guitar is value-for-money

The Sound of the Sonoran

As I said, when I first picked this thing up, my first impression was that it was cheap.

The tuning pegs looked cheap, it had a cheap glossy look about it, and the electric style headstock (with all the tuners on one side of the headstock) just reeked of tacky to me.

Now, I didn’t know what materials the Sonoran had before I picked the guitar up, (something I purposefully do on all my reviews so that I am not biased in my opinion) but I got the impression they weren’t very nice ones.

But, to my surprise, the guitar had a nice tone to it, and was actually quite pleasant to play.

It didn’t have a distinctive sound, which makes sense (now knowing the materials that are used in its construction), but it had an even tone that you could strum pretty hard without it losing its poise, and was slightly brighter than it was warm, though it wasn’t overly bright, but not too warm either.

To my ear I’d say about a 7 out of 10 on the brightness/warmth scale length with 1 being muddy as hell and 10 being sharp and tinny.

The Materials

O.k. let’s take a quick look at the materials used and see what you can expect from this guitar.

Shape: Dreadnought – so it can pack a punch – not more than you’d expect from your average dreadnought, but enough so that if you want to get some good volume out of it you definitely could.

Top (soundboard): Solid Spruce – not saying you can’t, but when such a high percentage of guitars on the market have a spruce or mahogany top, it’s hard to get a unique sound. Of course you can but the Sonoran doesn’t – but it does have a nice solid sound. The Spruce does however enable a crispness of sound and a large dynamic range.

Back and Sides: Laminated Mahogany – can’t expect solid-wood back and sides on a guitar that costs less than $400.

Saddle & Nut: One of the nice little surprises I got was that the Sonoran SCE has a compensated bone saddle and a bone nut. Love the premium features on affordable guitars! I’ve seen guitars twice this price with cheap plastic nuts and saddles – so kudos to deciding on one of the best material for guitar nuts and saddles!

Bracing: Another pleasant surprise was that it uses Scalloped X Bracing

Bridge: The bridge is made from rosewood – but that is to be expected. When a guitar is cutting costs on the bridge then I’d start to get a little worried. Thankfully that’s not the case here.

Headstock: O.k. there’s no way around it, the tuners look like cheap plastic and they are cheap plastic. Luckily they’re easy to replace, which would be the first modification I would make to this guitar.

And the rest of the headstock, well….. I’m sure it doesn’t affect the sound but it doesn’t do it for me looks-wise. Now, don’t get me wrong, I do actually play electric guitar sometimes, and that headstock look works on electrics – but on an acoustic it looks like it’s trying too hard.

But that’s completely a personal preference thing, and some people think that this is actually a great feature of this guitar so each to their own on that one.

Videos of the Sonoran in Action

Check out the vids below to get an idea of the sound of the Sonoran for yourself.

The first video isn’t in English but it’s the best example of the Sonoran’s sound and you can just skip the non-English speaking parts and just listen to the guitar parts (unless you speak Czech that is).

To my ear, this second video makes the guitar sound brighter than it did in real life but it may just be that it’s plugged in. This doesn’t sound as nice as it did to me or as in the first video but for others they might prefer the sound like this, which would be achievable plugged in and playing with the EQ.

The Sonoran’s Playability

In general, Fender acoustic guitar history is huge. So, no wonder I was pleasantly surprised with how the Sonoran played. The action was still too high for my liking but this is normally the case.

Action

Given its height, I was surprised with its acoustic playing style. I would still have it lowered (the second modification I would make after changing the tuning pegs) but if you like it a little higher then this might be fine as is.

Neck

The neck is basically like an electric guitar neck. So if you’ve been looking for an acoustic that feels like an electric to play then this could be it. Of course the strings will steel feel different but otherwise it was a lot like playing an electric.

The neck really did feel like an electric and is even made from Maple (which is the most common neck wood for electrics but quite rare on acoustics). Can’t say I liked the look of it – glossy maple necks look good on electrics but not so much on acoustics (in my opinion).

The nut width is 1.69″ (43mm) which is a mid-width guitar neck. This is pretty standard and I like this width so that was good. It is a bit odd that the Sonoran S (one without the cutaway and electrics) is 1 5/8″ (41mm). I’m unsure why they make them with different widths.

Fretboard (Fingerboard)

The fretboard is rosewood, so if you decide on this guitar, you will have to learn how to clean rosewood fretboard. The typical electric guitar would have maple on the fretboard too (that said there are plenty of electrics with rosewood as well) so using rosewood is definitely a very acoustic quality.

Who this Guitar is Most Suited to

In terms of tone this guitar is pretty good across a few different styles. Yeah, it’s a dreadnought, so maybe not ideal for folk – and the tone is probably not warm enough for folk.

But it’s pretty well rounded and could handle blues, rock, bluegrass, country and pop really well.

Not necessarily a beginners guitar but wouldn’t be a bad guitar for a beginner provided the action was lowered. And the price is right for a beginner.

Anyone who’s looking for an acoustic electric instrument feel or look in their acoustic then this is definitely up your alley!

Value for Money

Yeah, totally. As much as I don’t want to say it, this bad boy is pretty darn good for the price-tag, considering other premium features.

You get a solid top, a compensated bone saddle, and a bone nut which isn’t bad at all (materials-wise) and it sounds and plays really nice for the price, overall.

Final Verdict

Disclosure: Links below are affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you make a purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you.

As much as I really want to dislike this guitar and everything is telling me I should dislike it, I just can’t help but like it.

Given that it’s Fender, and considering Fender’s electric legacy, I would trust the durability of the guitar; and given the sound, playability, and the value for the price, I’ve got to give it the thumbs up.

So if you’re looking for a dreadnought acoustic for any of the styles mentioned above, and it’s the price you’re looking for, and you dig the sound, then this would be a really good buy, in my opinion.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the review and found it useful. Any questions or comments very welcome in the comments section below.

More Info and Where to Buy

If you’re looking for more info on the Fender Sonoran, want to research current prices and availability or are ready to buy, then check out the links below.

>> Fender Sonoran SCE at Amazon.com

If you’re looking for more options in the under $500 range, or if you want to read more about the Fender acoustic guitars, our website is offering suitable results for all you guitar-driven interests.

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