Want to try guitar, but are not ready to invest in an expensive brand, then hands down this is the finest guitar currently under $100 on Amazon - hands down. At an amazing price the guitar was shipped to me double boxed and even had packaging to protect the neck that is not included with more expensive guitars. So the guitar arrived unflawed by FedEx. Besides being a great first guitar to learn to play on, or simply to practice with, this is a great guitar to take camping or for instructors to supply to students. The package included a lightly padded gig bag of sturdy material for transporting short distances and/or keeping hands off it when not playing it. Because the package even included a clip-on tuner w/battery after removing the packaging and quality control tags I gently stretched the strings first then tuned the guitar in under 5 minutes - E, A, D, G, B, then E then one re-tune of B, C, G, D, A, and E. and a final check of high E. The strings come wrapped correctly and the machine heads feel very snug - better quality then I expected at this price. The temperature is ideal where I am so the guitar was playable as soon as I took it out of the box. After tuning the guitar I was surprised at the tone. The action out of the box is excellent and should not require a trip to your local luthier for a set-up. The quality of the finish, binding, back of neck, and even frets were smooth. The laminated Spruce top looks nice and is a nice sound board and adds stability for temperature changes. The guitar is manufactured in Indonesia - not China - and one of the best manufacturers of guitars in the world is there - Cort. So whomever made the measurements of the neck and heel to join it to the body knew their craft and inspected it properly as the inspection tag verified. The nut is cut and installed properly and the frets also seemed to be installed properly as my guitar has no fret buzz at the string action which is excellent for a learner. A functional strap was included, three pics to give you three different feels, and even an extra set of quality strings and string winder. The simplest way to change or improve the sound (tone) of your guitar is by re-placing the strings with your preference and by changing the pic you strum with. But use the included strings until a change is needed then you can upgrade your strings. I believe the quality and attention to detail on this guitar is equivalent or even better than many guitars costing 4x as much. I recently had to return an expensive name brand guitar because the measurements for the neck and inspection were made before the electronics were installed (it was an acoustic-electric) and the transducer that sits under the saddle in the bridge raised the action. Of course that type of error will not happen on a simple guitar such as the Barcelona. This guitar is almost on par with a Sigma sold on Amazon, which does have a solid Sitka Spruce top, but this guitar is a third of the price and the laminated Spruce top adds stability for playing outdoors when camping. I almost forgot, a DvD is included that will get anyone started playing before they need to consider any expensive lessons.