Donner DST-100S 39 Inch Electric Guitar Kit

Donner is doing a great job competing with other beginner guitars. I’m coming from playing a Fender Squier Affinity (beginner series) and this Donner guitar is as good if not better in quality of the wood, and components.

That said, the components here are definitely all entry level. If you are serious about playing you probably want to replace the tuning heads (as these lose tune rather easily), the strings, probably the cheap plastic nut, and perhaps pickups (though the ones included are pretty good for the price).

The neck on this thing is just amazing for the price, and there’s very little buzz (though there is some) coming from the pickups. That is minimized if you use the switch to select positions 2 or 4 where you’re blending pickups. This buzzing is present on most entry level guitars and electronics so that’s not really a deal breaker.

In terms of initial setup, I noticed right away that the bridge rests flat on the body, and it should be floating. There are several youtube videos on how to properly set up a floating tremolo bridge on a strat, so you’ll want to follow one of those (just need a tuner (I’d recommend one of higher precision than what comes in the box) a screwdriver and that’s it). I made a slight adjustment to the truss rod in the neck, but you’re probably fine without it. Then I adjusted the height of the strings with the saddles (little allen key that comes in the box) so the strings don’t buzz against the frets when you’re fretting on the low frets. After that I had to adjust all the saddles (with a screwdriver) to fix the intonation of the guitar. (you want to ensure that the octave (12th fret) is also in tune after you tune the open string). Again guides for that are available online.

After all that was done, I now have a strat with a properly floating bridge, that’s in tune, and stays in tune when fretting strings.

The downside here, is all of the extra stuff that comes in the box (tuner, extra strings, picks, capo, and the worlds tiniest amp) are kinda garbage… You’ll want to get quality strings, better picks, a better constructed capo, and a more precise tuner if you’re going to be using this for any length of time. What’s included is enough to figure out if you (or a friend/family member) likes the feel of playing a guitar, but you’d be better served with higher quality accessories.

The gig bag is.. alright, it’s a basic bag and will let you store your guitar in a closet or something without it collecting dust. If you’re really going to be transporting this guitar I’d get something with more padding.

I wouldn’t trust the strap… if you’re going to be playing standing up I’d get something of higher quality.

After all my bashing of the included accessories though, this guitar, is really a steal for the price you pay. After properly setting it up, it would be a great beginner guitar for the first 2-3 years of learning, until you might consider something 2-3x the price. One other thing I’d strongly recommend you purchase is a proper stand for the guitar, you don’t want to have to put it in the bag and take it out every time.

Well here are my likes the guitar works as advertised and is pretty good quality as well. Tremolo works without it going out of tune with the strings that were on the guitar. Now here is my dislike and this is a musician thing please note I played saxophone professionally for 23 years and had a 1963 Mark VI actually from the Surfaris sax player. So I understand quality and as a music teacher much later in life I know beginning to advanced level instruments band and orchestra. I checked the intonation just on the low E string and it was way off the entire neck. So I definitely wasn’t happy with that. I’ve never played guitar but I know enough to check. So the guitar has been lying on the couch becoming a potato. I wasn’t expecting a $1,000 guitar for sure but intonation is everything even for a beginner like myself. The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars was due to the intonation. But other than that I believe this guitar could be made into a really nice machine given upgrades, but I could take it and play gigs if the intonation was correct. Good job other than that Donner, you’re making a good product. Oh and the amp is battery powered and needs to be charged before use. It gives you sound and that’s a really good start! Lastly, the extra strings, strap and the tuner, nice touch! I still recommend this guitar package for any beginner.

Wow, what a hefty amount of value in this bundle! For less than $200, you can be readily equipped with a decent entry level guitar with everything you need to hit the ground running! And it’s a lefty!!! Honestly….the accessories alone are worth the price. But they added a GUITAR. For the quality and value on offer here, this is a must buy. Been quite a few years since I used to play, wanted something affordable that wasn’t complete garbage. Not only is this bundle entry level quality, but for the price tag, it’s actually staggering the quality and quantity you get. This line mimics knockoffs like Samick, which is not a bad thing! Still beside myself with this bundle! If you’re on the fence and hesitant to hit the Buy It Now button, just hit it. You will not be disappointed!

Bought this kit to get back to playing the guitar. I stopped playing for about 15 years. I used to play a Fender. Donner has built a nice guitar. Everything about the guitar is quality. It was very carefully packed and arrived in perfect condition.
The accessories that come in the kit aren’t so good. The tuner doesn’t function and is trash. The amp does function, but is very limited. The clear setting is indeed clear, the distortion is almost non existent. The amp doesn’t get overly loud. The sound quality is about that of a cheap Bluetooth speaker, which by the way, it doubles as. The strings seem to have eternal stretch, I have to retune the guitar every 5-10 minutes.
If I were to buy again, I would just buy the guitar and find somewhere different to get the accessories. I believe Donner would do well to raise the price a bit and give you a better quality amp and tuner, they are selling a great sounding guitar and dragging it down with the junk that goes with it. Like buying a Cadillac and getting a cheap Bluetooth speaker to play tunes.
UPDATE- after leaving my original review, I was contacted by Donner Direct. Since I was dissatisfied with the amp and the guitar tuner, they wanted to make it right. They worked out a fair deal to make up for my dissatisfaction. I find this very admirable! I have changed my review to 5 stars because I am completely satisfied. Thank you Donner, for being a reputable company!

I’ve had no trouble with this guitar. It has great tone and stays tuned for me. It comes with a small electronic tuner that you clip onto the neck.
I did immediately remove the strings it shipped with and installed new Ernie Balls @ only $7.99. While I had the back plate off to change strings I also reconfigured the Fender style “tremelo springs” as this recommended in a YouTube video on new guitar setup that I watched. The springs are shipped in a triangular setup and it’s recommended to just have the 3 springs arranged straight through. This was very easy and intuitive to do with some decent needle nose plyers.
If I have to criticize something then it would be that the frets have sharp edges, so I know I’m going to have to take care of that. Presumably the maple has dried out some since it was built and it’s natural for wood to shrink. I’ll have to pay for someone to file the edges or buy some tools and do it myself, which is most likely what I’ll do.
Update 2 months after purchase:
I like this guitar today even more than the day I bought it! I’ve filed the fret edges down and at the recommendation of my online teacher, installed Ernie Ball 2225 series strings. The sunburst look, in contrast to what others here have said, in my case is nearly perfect. Maybe I was just lucky to get such a good specimen!? Even though I’m just starting out and I’ve only learned a few chords, it sounds amazing to me on the tiny little amp! The amp is rechargeable and I charged it up when I first received it and it’s still running without a recharge. I don’t turn it on that often, I mostly practice without the amp but still it’s probably been on for a couple of hours.

I bought this guitar for my daughter’s 13th birthday. It is a beautiful guitar. (I bought the lake blue.) Both her guitar & orchestra teachers agree it is a solid instrument. The only drawback is that the amp is not very good, but that was not enough for me to remove a star. I highly recommend it for any beginner. It’s a great value for the money.

Cumple con las expectativas