Takamine GC5CE-NAT2

After two consecutive deliveries of catastrophically defective concert guitars from another mail order company, I called Kirstein for advice and made a test purchase. I've been playing acoustic guitar for a few decades. I started with the concert guitar back then, as I'm sure many here and after all these years I want to play it again.

When ordering, I ordered the option express shipping to not have to wait unnecessarily long for the instrument. The delivery is pleasantly punctual via DPD. The packaging is undamaged, as are the goods. I take a look at the guitar, hold it under the light and examine the workmanship. It is flawless. The woods look beautiful under the high gloss finish. It plays very smoothly right away and has a warm sound.

The missing star...
It could be a bit louder for my taste, maybe a string change would help. The side position is simply much too high. Be careful, the bridge is clipped into the pickup and has a special fit. The pickup is a bit bitchy. If the bridge is not a hundred percent fit, some strings may be less amplified than others. I carefully sanded down the bridge about 2 mm. There goes another 1-2 down next time.
The plastic on the tuning peg mechanism feels a bit cheap. The built-in, relatively quiet PreAmp is useful for emergencies. The system is not sensitive enough for my taste, maybe it's the pickup. For starters, I placed a second external pickup right at the soundhole and am happy with the result for now. The bottom line is that the purchase was worth it.