Zager guitars

[Bad Poppa]

Is that you, Denny?

[fazool]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

What they are, frankly, are very cheaply made guitars that have been set up for extra light strings. When you buy a Zager guitar you're paying a LOT of extra money for an entry level guitar that you could buy and get set up to the same specs by a local guitar repair tech for a fraction of the price you'll pay Mr. Zager.

Danny Zager saw that people were coming on this forum and asking us our opinions of Zager guitars, which were not favorable. So he decided to sign on as a sponsor. A few Zager loyalists came along at first and posted ecstatic reviews of Zager guitars, claiming they were wonderful instruments.

But they're not. They're really not.

Hope that makes sense.


Wade Hampton Miller

I will not comment on the highly priced guitars but I will make very specific complaints about blatantly misleading marketing and advertising as well as fraudulent SEO manipulation. They have multiple sham review companies set up with review websites that espouse their products (but which are owned by them).

They specifically manipulate search engine traffic (by restarting even negative threads like this) and have websites that crawl the search engines and create syntax you are looking for.

They also have a text dump list of virtually every guitar model so when you search for it, it redirects you to them, where they claim to have it. When you contact them for that brand new thirty-year-old guitar they claim to sell, they tell you "oh we just sold it and ran out of that model".

They fraudulently claim that all of their guitars are Zagerized with custom neck profiles including Zagerized Martins and Taylors. But that is fraudulent and they do not change the neck profiles of other guitars.

They fraudulently claim that Denny Zager is the biggest selling recording artist of all time.

I don't care that they buy cheap guitars, give them easy setups and overcharge for them (on the order of doubling and tripling the price of a plain cheap guitar).

What I despise and will not be censored about is that they are frauds who don't deserve anything but an arrest warrant.

They will probably never come back to this website again. They don't care. Even any negative comments shows up as recent discussion of the word Zager and is a boost for their Search Engine Optimization. They are masters of Internet marketing manipulation. They are not masters of anything guitar-related. That is the only reason they are a sponsor here.

[jpd]

"Chosen by artists year after year for use on stage and in studio, the Zager 80 Series is our flagship guitar. Most of our customers buying 80's these days are coming from Martin D28, D35, Taylor 7 and 8 Series, and higher level Gibson and Fender."




Wow! Let's here the names of some endorsing artists and/or studio musicians. I think the "Wal-Mart" rock star has a better product....

[Rockguy475]

The man never sleeps. If you go to his site he is at his computer desk checking emails and phone calls 24/7. Pretty insane if you think about it.

[robj144]

Originally Posted by Rockguy475

The man never sleeps. If you go to his site he is at his computer desk checking emails and phone calls 24/7. Pretty insane if you think about it.

Haha. Sure he is...just for ____ and giggles, I tried to chat with a Zager live on two different days. They are always in the recording studio, but they'll get back to you.

Also, the "live video" is a looped gif of him picking up a guitar. Hilarious!

[rogthefrog]

It's disturbing to see this kind of language on their site.

Denny finally decided to take matters into his own hands and began modifying his guitar in a way that had never been done before.

The 10 Year Rebuild

• In 1969 Denny rebuilt the neck on his guitar giving it a low oval shape unlike any guitar on the market at that time.

• In 1970 he replaced the frets using a softer, smaller gauge of fret wire.

• In 1971 he began testing saddles and by 1972 he had created a custom saddle which he matched with a custom designed nut.

• In 1973 he began lowering string heights and realized how much easier his guitar played when his strings were lower on the fret board.

• In 1974 he tested bracing systems and how they affected sound quality. Soon after he created his own bridge design as he realized he could produce more volume matching his bridge to his custom bracing system.

• In 1975 he tested string gauges and how they not only affected sound quality, but also playability.

• In 1977 he experimented with string spacing and how much faster he could move on the fret board when the strings were properly spaced.

"In a way that had never been done before"? All those things range from basic, everyday setup tasks to basic guitar building (shaping the braces, neck and bridge). And it took him almost ten years to do something a luthier does in a month or two.

And this doesn't ring very true:

Today Denny is recognized as one of the premier guitar luthiers in the United States. He's spent over 40 years refining his "Science" to a level that professional musicians and guitar builders consider absolutely astounding.

I have yet to hear his name mentioned in any conversation about good builders, much less "premier" builders.

And:

Genuine Grover sealed tuning machines are found on only the finest guitars made. Look at tuners on $2500+ acoustics and you will see the majority have "Grovers."

This hasn't been true for 20 years or more, if it ever was.

Etc. Lots of questionable copy on their site.

[robj144]

Originally Posted by rogthefrog

It's disturbing to see this kind of language on their site.



"In a way that had never been done before"? All those things range from basic, everyday setup tasks to basic guitar building (shaping the braces, neck and bridge). And it took him almost ten years to do something a luthier does in a month or two.

Hahaha! His was "famous" since 1969 and I assume he started playing well before that. It took him at least four years to notice action can be lowered and then another two years to determine that string gauges can affect tension?!

I'm not sure I would proudly advertise that.

I wonder how long it took him to realize that when different frets are fretted, different notes are played.

[Captaincranky]

This actually sounds patently stupid:

• In 1970 he replaced the frets using a softer, smaller gauge of fret wire.

[robj144]

Originally Posted by Captaincranky

This actually sounds patently stupid:

That whole list with its chronology is stupid.

[Captaincranky]

Originally Posted by robj144

That whole list with its chronology is stupid.

True. But,"softer frets", is saliently beyond stupid. I probably should have said, "moronic".

[leatherguy]

Originally Posted by shadow714

Does anyone own or have played a Zager? I would like some opinions.

[Kip Carter]

AOL still has faithful subscribers and the forum still has Zager guitars on its sidebar as a sponsor. To the point, Zager consistently will perform to their warranty and back their product and word faithfully and for that they deserve the utmost respect.

They focus on a target audience and market which perhaps has been marginalized by improved technology and manufacturing being able to produce consistently better and better quality instruments to spec and understanding what that spec should be to be 'playable' out of the box. It is astounding how many guitars today you can pick off a wall at a guitar store that are very good players opposed to those of many years back. I believe that that has a lot to do with quantum shift in the industry over the top of Zager marketing model.

Then there are those who are taking dead aim like Epiphone with their PRO-1 series identifying that market segment and attempting to fragment it to break off a piece because they believe it is worthy of the investment.

Having owned one for a time. I think I am qualified to say of the company and the product the following:

• They offer a product to a market that attempt to reach which is of reasonable quality.
• They back their products with their warranty faithfully.
• I was mistaken to believe that what they offered was unique to the industry and at the time, thought that the Zager 'setup' was the answer to my physical limitations I was suffering from at the time. I didn't realize there were a multitude of other options available.
• Education comes at a price
• Time heals all wounds

[roylor4]

Originally Posted by Captaincranky

True. But,"softer frets", is saliently beyond stupid. I probably should have said, "moronic".

Not fair Captain. I was thinking of upgrading my frets to uncooked fettuccine. If they are not soft enough I will simply cook and reinstall.

[Rosewood99]

I thought we had a 500 post limit on the subject of Zager.

[roylor4]

Originally Posted by Italian Spruce

Zager Guitars were created by Master guitar builder Denny Zager to play easier than any other guitar. What makes a Zager so easy to play?

Lower string heights: So you barely have to press to form chords
Custom string spacing: So you're not accidentally bumping other strings
Lower string pressure: Increases speed & accuracy, reduces buzz
Custom neck design: Feels natural in your hand, increases comfort
Special fret design: Reduces string bite and overall finger fatigue
Special bracing system: Produces a richer, more powerful sound
Perfect quality control: Each guitar worked on personally by Mr. Zager

Chosen by artists year after year for use on stage and in studio, the Zager 80 Series is our flagship guitar. Most of our customers buying 80's these days are coming from Martin D28, D35, Taylor 7 and 8 Series, and higher level Gibson and Fender. Price is about 1/2 of those models because you're bypassing retail dealers and buying direct from our workshop in Lincoln, Nebraska. The ZAD80CE "Electric" takes it to the next level with a Venetian cutaway box design for even easier playability and built in electronic transducer pick up and automatic tuner which allows you to plug into an amplifier or PA system and play it like a full blown electric. It truly is like having two guitars in one.

"Master guitar builder"

"Most of our customers buying 80's these days are coming from Martin D28, D35, Taylor 7 and 8 Series, and higher level Gibson and Fender."

"It truly is like having two guitars in one."

Hear that guys - Having a pickup in a guitar is like having two guitars. Wow, my collection is bigger than I thought.