I thought I would never buy guitar made in China but this one changed my mind. It was love at first sound. Used it 2 years now - only had to change the strings to improve the sound. Easy to play, carry. Looks much better than the picture. Love it - only complaint is the steer horn enlay on the headpiece. FYI - sounds great with standard tuning but tune it up 5 frets for a great ukulele-like sound.

Realize this, a requinto is NOT A FULL SIZE guitar. Its roughly 3/4th-1/2 the size. The requinto specializes in lead rolls in emsembles.(Usually grouped with a standard guitar and a baja.) The pitch is higher than the standard full size guitar and its tuned in the key of A (B-E-A-F#-B)Requintos also use strings that are specifically made for them. (The first string has a tendency to pop, but that's with any requinto.)

Now my teacher recently bought a few of these for the guitar emsemble I play in. The sound is decent for its price. The cutaway feature comes in use frequently with the music we are given. The cheap tuning machines are the only thing that disappoints me about this product. The buttons frequently come loose or even break off. Other than that, its probably one of the better requintos that doesn't break the bank.

I personally prefer the Aria AC-50A requinto. It's far more expensive, but worth the quality.

I've been a student of the guitar for ten years now, and I've owned a large body Washburn Accoustic that I was very impressed with. My Oscar Schmidt Requinto is a very beautiful instrument that is very well made. It has a full, rich sound, and is just the right size for me as the larger guitars fill up my lap too much that makes it harder for me to play. The finish on my guitar is extremely rich and beautiful, and coupled with the limited lifetime warranty is a fantastic bargain. I also love the cedar top that gives the guitar's sound a rich, full texture. I have learned over the years that price should never be the criteria used to judge a guitar's worth, but rather, it's the sound and ease of playing that's important, and the Requinto meets and exceeds these for me.

The five-star rating reflects a neutral stance on the product. I do not own an Oscar Schmidt requinto. I own two requintos and have owned others in the past. The requinto is designed for specialized -- i.e., lead guitar; fast runs -- function in tríos (Puerto Rican and Mexican-origin ensembles consisting of two [classical] guitars and a requinto. These tríos popularized songs known as "boleros" (romantic ballads), as in, Edyie Gorme with the Trío de los Panchos in the 'sixties. Actually, requintos even use a different tuning for faster action, (and also saves wear and tear on strings, bridges, neck, tuners... )

Moral: Don't buy a requinto if you are shopping for a classical guitar. You wouldn't buy a cello if you were shopping for a string bass, would you?

I purchased this guitar and thought I was getting a full-sized guitar. But when it arrived, I was in for a surprise. It's only a 3/4 sized guitar. Sound is beautiful - as is construction. But should be advertised appropriately.