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I’ve been a fan of Tanglewood guitars for many years, as a Tanglewood was the first acoustic guitar I bought. The reason I bought a Tanglewood was simple, I didn’t have a lot of money and and it was by far the best guitar I could get for what little money I had.

Things have not changed much since then and Tanglewood are still producing great guitars from £100 to £2000. The TFC-E at this price range could be described as high end entry level, it’s certainly not as cheap as many but it’s certainly not going to force you into a credit crunch.

Construction wise this guitar has had a lot of care taken to ensure that all the seams and joins are finished professionally. From the top the headstock boasts 6 rather oddly shaped Tanglewood machine heads that are actually wider than standard machine heads allowing more control when tuning. They are smoothly geared and very stable.

The Rosewood fretboard is well crafted with a very forgiving action and the Rosewood itself has some very characterful blonde streaks running the length of the neck.

The Body, as I mentioned before, is clearly constructed with a great deal of care. The Mahogany is seamlessly put together and the semi matt finish brings out the richness in colour.

Sound wise, the first thing that is apparent is the tightness of the sound. The shape of the cut away body produces a far less boomy sound than a standard dreadnought, this is also apparent when plugged in. The shadow preamp does a admirable job of reproducing the guitars tone and is very easy to use. With a simple 3 band EQ, volume and presence, it’s very quick to customise your sound.

This guitar is simply ideal if you wish to make your first foray into the world of electro acoustics, the build quality and wood and great for the price. Not to be missed.

Tanglewood TFC-E Acoustic Guitar: Buy Now at the Best Price

There’s lots of guitar packages on the market, so there’s plenty of choice for the beginner. The Encore Blaster pack is currently one of the most affordable kits out there, and also one of the best value.

Available for only £149.99 down from £196, this pack is available in cherry sunburst, black or left handed black variations. Included in the pack is the Encore E99, B.B blaster amplifier, tuner, carry bag, stand, lead, strap, spare set of strings and a plectrum. Also included is an instructional DVD and a Tutor listing to get your rock star career started.

So, out of the box you can expect the guitar to be out of tune, nothing untoward there. The paintwork is great for a guitar in its price range and the overall build quality is rather pleasing. As with most guitars a quick set-up would not go a miss, though probably not immediately necessary.

The remaining items in the pack are the amp and the smaller accessories that sort of speak for themselves. The amplifier is basic and suitable for practice only. At 10 watts the B.B blaster amp will not offend your elderly neighbours, and if it turns out that they have super-sensitive spy-sattalite style hearing, then there’s a jack plug for your headphones to stick into (head phones not provided). Other features on the amp include an overdrive switch marked as “zap”, you also get “beef” (bass) “tweak” (treble) and most importantly “enjoy” (volume).

Other accessories include the carry bag,strings, stand and lead. The stand and carry bag are both Kinsman brand. Kinsman are a well reputed brand and whilst the bag provided does not have the padding you may want it is certainly durable.

Overall, this is a splendid pack that is reliable, affordable and has a good standard of build quality. The pack is bundled with all the extra’s you need to keep you going for a good while. A great package for anyone interested in starting out the guitar.

Encore E99 Play Now Blaster Pack – Cherry Sunburst Finish