While it isn't bad, figure it's going to need a bit of work to make it play well. First off the screens at the top of the body were completely unattached from the body. Because they were loose it appears they scratched back of the guitar which I had to buff out. The frets were sharp on the ends and desperately needed to be leveled and crowned. After that the neck truss rod needed to be adjusted so it wouldn't buzz. Of course the strings needed to be replaced. After all that it very plays well. The electronics are pretty much standard issue and do a great job. What it comes down to is that if you don't know how to do the work it's most likely going to cost you around an extra $100 or so to get it playing & sounding good but if you do you'll be rewarded with a guitar that plays as well as an instrument that would cost considerably more. Out of the box I only would give it 2 stars but after the work I give it a five star rating. It now plays better than my friends Gretsch. I'll be using it for a gig this weekend & if I have anything to add after I will. It'll be nice not to have to retune my Martin for the slide songs.I make over 30 custom handmade guitars each year, have owned over 180 guitars, and can say with some confidence that this was a good purchase. I see from the varying review ratings that the guitar you get may not be the quality that this one is, but Amazon does have a fine return policy. First, the shipping--it came fast in a shaped styrofoam mold inside a shipping carton, protecting everything--and I mean everything. It came with a beginner-quality pitch pipe, adjustment wrench, picks, strap, and a thin carrying case. The finish is one that I would be proud to have made, except for the smudges on and around the small sound holes, which buffed out easily. The neck is straight and aligned with good intonation, and the fret ends are acceptably smooth. The action needed no adjustment and is easy to play right out of the box. Electronics work well. I'll see how it holds up, but for now I have a Gretsch resonator that I paid 3 times as much for, and this one matches the quality. A good buy.Had this for a while now and I LOVE IT. Had others, hound dog, dobro etc. These can be better. Mine arrived looking great and mostly setup. I did unscrew the cover and recenter the sound pan when I got the guitar. It is very well built inside for sure, I saw it up close and personal. If I want lots of pan sound I pick close to the bridge, for softer sounds i pick further up the neck like the 18th fret. I play a broad variety of music in modal tuning's as well as slide. This is quite a Guitar even if it cost a LOT MORE. You might have to make final setup adjustments or have your guitar guy do it. The effort is very much worth it. A 1930's excellent model will sound better as will very high end modern ones. BUT NOTHING EVEN AT A #X PRICE POINT COME CLOSE TO THESE GUITARS. The electric pickup is very similar to my Fender and Martin Guitars with acoustic under bridge pickups. Excellent finish, easy player. I have been playing in performing bands for nearly 50 years so far, if that indicates qualified judgement.I consider myself a fan of the blues, and I set a goal of learning to play guitar. This may not have been the wisest choice as a first instrument, but I have no regrets. If you're a professional or are committed to your art, you are probably not looking here. If you have around 170 bucks to give it a try, why not?I see there have been some whose instrument arrived damaged or defective, but mine was fine. It's a challenge to find a case for this, but gig bag is okay. I keep mine handy in the living room at present, and a picked a used Squire mini strat that fits in my suitcase as a travel guitar, so no big deal for me. I have since bought a standard acoustic, and it's better in lots of ways. Even so, I think this guitar is a hoot, and don't regret buying it.A good introductory steel guitar to practice on, but not professional by any standard. The steel resonator just doesn't quite have that same quality as a true dobro or other top-end brands. But, a good product for the price. The small round resonator covers were not attached when it arrived, but a little bit of glue took care of that issue. Overall this is a good product that is about what I expected, but is perfect for the student in your life.I took the time and the expense to have this guitar professionally set-up but I didn't pay to have the pickup for the preamplifier replaced because I wasn't sure if I would like this guitar. But, I really like the guitar just for practicing and I'm using it just to play and mess around in the house. It has a good feel and it plays really well for an inexpensive guitar. I am planning on having that pickup replaced now. I thought that I could do it myself but I will probably bite the bullet and have it done. I didn't pay much for this guitar and despite the problem, I recommend it.The guitar is amazing at the price I paid. The only problem being that the battery holder is very fragile and the tab broke the first time I tried to install the 9 volt battery.After calling support and trying to explain my issue which was difficult because the person didn’t seem to know anything about the product.After sending photos and all the required information I still wasn’t confident that the person understood the issue.Now it’s probably been more than a month and I haven’t received the ten cent part that I need.The over -all finish of the instrument is very nice and the action fair. The pre amp and piezo pickup work nicely. The hole for the resonator cone is about 1/16 of an inch smaller than the cone so it sits on top rather than in the recess. The cone is loaded excessively so that it doesn't resonate giving a very dead instrument. As soon as I manage to get the cone properly fitted in a larger recess I will be able to actually see if the instrument has any merit. The fit and finish of this instrument would be a real winner. If the cone were properly fitted and operational this would be a great instrument.. Basically the instrument needs a lot of quality set up to perform.The sound bridge has a rumble on some strings especially the #1 or thinnest as to strum an open chord theres a kind of rumble not good for sustain i could imagine the vone needs adjustingPlugged in is more pronounced turned at any level.The guitar arrived with a dent in the bridge cover. Might be the reason why? Don’t know how as box shows no damage I must return with great sorrowI opened the box straight from the delivery guys handsIt was retaped with clear tape and a box staple on one corner was torn out like it had been opened before or mishandled at some pointNo tape holding the styrofoam closed!I will tape the styrofoam shut for returnI guess i got a blemIt would be Ok if factory inspection was more thorough. I had to return it because there was a loose fragment inside the resonator causing buzzing vibrations when a string was plucked. Also the fret board had a longitudinal split from the nut to the first fret. A small nit was glue not cleaned off the ring around one sound hole. I put a raised nut on it and used it as a lap dobro. It worked OK .My daughter was very happy its her first steel guitar so its great for someone just starting out