Tiny Size, Big Sound
Pros:
Great learning guitar for kids or folks who travel. Good sound. Nice look.
Cons:
Tuning pegs. May need new strings right out of the box.
The Bottom Line:
On the whole, it's a solid, well-crafted, nice sounding guitar. A great, inexpensive first guitar for children, or a nice travel companion for players on a budget.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
Last year, I purchased the Carlo Robelli SX mini for my daughter's first guitar. She's 8 and was attending a music camp over the summer. Guitar was one of the classes she wanted to take, so I had to find a relatively inexpensive guitar, just in case she didn't want to continue with it. I'd been shown a Martin guitar that was similar to this one, and while the action on the Martin was silky smooth, and the craftsmanship top notch, the Robelli was somewhat comparable, and was about $200 less. An added nice feature was that it came with a padded gig bag, so that she could carry it to her classes without damaging the finish...or banging the tuning pegs!
The Look
NOTE: This isn't the black finish shown in the picture above. The one we purchased is a natural wood finish...very attractive. The guitar has a striking mahogany finish. The fretboard is rosewood. Tuning pegs are silver. Overall, a nice looking guitar, made to mimic its more expensive Martin counterpart.
The Sound
For such a small guitar, it certainly isn't small on sound. Although, some folks have complained that the sound is horrible straight from the store...after restringing, the problem is solved. I'm guessing that Sam Ash had recently strung this guitar, because the sound was good and the tone was warm right from the start. For a 1/2 size guitar, it sounds pretty good.
Playing it
I believe this guitar is the same size as a 1/2-size guitar. It's the perfect size for kids ages 6-10. My 8-year old daughter has no trouble manipulating the strings and fingering the fretboard from the 1st fret down. The action is very nicely set up on it. I will say that the Martin was slightly easier to finger due to a more narrow neck, but my daughter's hand had only minor trouble fingering the E6 string all along the neck. For a guitar of this size, at this price, the pegs hold it in tune pretty decently. Which leads me to my one critique of the guitar.
The Pegs
The one thing that I'll say that I don't really like about it are its tuning pegs. The slightest turn changes the pitch rather drastically. So even with a tuner, it's near impossible for a kid to tune. My daughter gets really impatient with it, and I found myself doing so at first. Tuning this little sucker takes some getting used to.
