Best Choice Products SKY4287 Acoustic Guitar: Full Review

The SKY4287 is an affordable beginner acoustic guitar offered by Best Choice Products. As part of their "Best Choice" line, it is designed to be an accessible option for aspiring guitarists looking to buy their first instrument.

Best Choice Products specializes in budget-friendly merchandise across a variety of categories. They are not a traditional guitar manufacturer, but rather an importer focused on keeping costs low. As such, their acoustic guitars cater more towards casual players and learners instead of professional musicians.

The SKY4287 features a traditional dreadnought body shape with laminated wood construction. It comes in blue, black, natural, pink, and sunburst finish options. Overall, it aims to deliver solid bang-for-your-buck as a starter acoustic guitar.

Appearance

The Best Choice Products SKY4287 acoustic guitar has a traditional dreadnought body shape with a natural gloss finish. It comes in several classic color options like natural, black, sunburst, and pink.

The natural gloss finish gives it an attractive woodgrain look. The dreadnought body shape provides a nice full and deep sound. The guitar has standard dimensions with a total length of 41 inches, body width of 16 inches, and body depth of 4.5 inches. This makes it a comfortable size for most players.

The headstock has a simple design with chrome tuning machines. There are dot inlays along the bound fretboard and soundhole. Overall it has an appealing, classic aesthetic perfect for any beginner acoustic guitarist.

While the Best Choice Products SKY4287 has a traditional and appealing look, there are many other good options for beginner acoustic guitars with nice aesthetics. For example, the Kala KA-GTR-NY23 is another acoustic guitar with an attractive appearance. It has a grand auditorium body shape with smooth gloss finish. The Kala KA-GTR-NY23 comes in several finish options like natural, black, sunburst and mahogany. The natural and mahogany finishes really showcase the beautiful wood grain patterns.

The Kala KA-GTR-NY23 has a spruce top with mahogany back and sides. The combination of spruce and mahogany not only looks great, but also helps produce a balanced tone. The satin finish gives it a very smooth and comfortable feel. The fretboard and bridge have a rosewood material adding to the visual appeal. The headstock has chrome die-cast tuners with a simple and elegant design.

The body binding and rosette help accentuate the shape. The overall dimensions are also comfortable for most players with a total length of 41 inches, width of 15 inches and depth of 4 inches. While the Best Choice Products SKY4287 and Kala KA-GTR-NY23 have different body shapes and colors, they both have an attractive classic acoustic guitar look for beginners. Considering aesthetics and appearance, you can't go wrong with either of these options.

Build Quality

The Best Choice Products SKY4287 acoustic guitar features a classic dreadnought body shape made from laminated linden wood. The back and sides are also made from laminated linden which provides a balanced and resonant tone.

The hardware consists of chrome covered tuning machines and a rosewood bridge and fretboard. The neck is crafted from quality nato wood. Overall the hardware is decent for a beginner's acoustic guitar in this price range.

The guitar has a smooth matte finish that gives it an attractive look. There are some visible joints and seams where the wood pieces meet, but the fit and finish is satisfactory considering the low price point. The smooth finish allows for comfortable playability.

While the materials and hardware are quite basic, the build quality is decent for an ultra-budget acoustic guitar designed for beginners. The use of laminated woods helps keep costs down while still providing adequate sound. For a step up in build quality, check out the Ibanez PC15VS acoustic guitar. It features a spruce top with mahogany back and sides, delivering a richer tone. The craftsmanship and attention to detail on the Ibanez is noticeably better. It has a gloss finish that gives it a more refined look. The binding helps protect the edges and adds a nice visual detail. The bridge and fretboard are rosewood, providing crisp note definition. While it costs more than the ultra-budget models, the Ibanez PC15VS gets you into intermediate level build quality at a very reasonable price point.

Sound Quality

The Best Choice Products SKY4287 acoustic guitar produces a warm, balanced tone with good resonance considering its entry-level price point. The combo of spruce top wood and mahogany back and sides provides a nice blend of crisp highs and rich lows.

While it doesn't have the complex overtones or projection of a high-end acoustic, the SKY4287 has decent sustain and an overall mellow sound. The spruce top contributes to a bright, airy tone while the mahogany boosts the warmth and bass response. This gives the guitar a balanced timbre across the frequency range.

The guitar's smaller body size reduces resonance and volume projection compared to a full-size dreadnought acoustic. However, the SKY4287 still has enough acoustic power for practice and jam sessions. The tonewood combination allows it to achieve good tonal clarity and articulation.

Overall, the SKY4287 delivers a pleasing, nuanced acoustic tone for the price. While not as booming or resonant as premium models, it provides nice resonance, sustain and balanced sound. The spruce and mahogany tonewoods give the guitar an impressive tonal range from the trebles to the low end.

Playability

The Best Choice Products SKY4287 acoustic guitar features a playable setup suitable for beginners and novice players. The neck profile is comfortable and easy to grip, with a slim taper that fits smaller hands well. The action is set medium-high out of the box which makes fretting notes easier on the fingers without buzzing.

The rosewood fingerboard has a radius design that contours smoothly into the neck, providing a natural feel during chord changes and soloing. While more advanced players may want a faster, flatter radius, this rounded fingerboard is ideal for new guitarists building finger strength and dexterity. The fretwork from the nut to body joint is clean and uniform, with no sharp edges to irritate hands.

Overall, the playability and ergonomics of this budget acoustic guitar make it accessible for new players while still offering room to grow technique and skill over time. The neck profile, action, and fingerboard create a smooth playing experience right out of the box.

Hardware

The Best Choice Products SKY4287 acoustic guitar features chrome enclosed tuners that hold the strings in tune well. The tuners turn smoothly and have a vintage-style look.

The guitar has a rosewood bridge and saddle which provide good intonation and sustain. The saddle is cut for proper string height. The nut is also rosewood which complements the fingerboard material. Both the nut and saddle appear to be cut and seated properly.

Overall, the hardware components like the tuning machines, bridge, nut and saddle are decent quality for a beginner acoustic guitar in this price range. The hardware is functional and should not cause any significant issues for a new player learning on this guitar. The hardware is on par with other guitars in this affordable price point.

Electronics

The Best Choice Products SKY4287 acoustic guitar features standard acoustic guitar electronics. It comes equipped with a built-in piezo pickup located under the saddle of the bridge to capture the vibrations of the strings.

The guitar controls consist of volume and tone knobs. The volume knob controls the output level of the pickup, while the tone knob allows you to shape the EQ by cutting some of the high frequencies for a warmer, less bright tone. There is no onboard preamp or equalization on this beginner model.

The piezo pickup and simple controls allow you to plug the guitar into an amplifier or PA system for louder amplified sound in live settings. However, without an advanced preamp the plugged-in tone may sound a bit thin compared to higher-end acoustic-electric guitars. The electronics provide basic functionality for a starter acoustic guitar in this price range.

Pros

• The Best Choice Products SKY4287 acoustic guitar has a beautiful sunburst finish that looks more expensive than its budget price tag.

• The materials feel decent and sturdy enough for a beginner acoustic guitar. The linden wood top, back and sides produce a pleasant, balanced tone.

• The steel strings are easy on beginners' fingers and sound bright and crisp when strung properly. Intonation up the neck stays accurate.

• It comes with useful extras like a nylon gig bag for transport, a strap, pick sampler, pitch pipe, and extra strings. This is a nice value-add not always included at this price.

• The guitar plays comfortably right out of the box, with a slim neck profile and low action. It's easy for novice players to press down the strings and form chords.

• Tuning is stable, especially after a proper setup and string stretching. The chrome tuners keep the guitar in tune through practice sessions.

• Overall, the SKY4287 exceeds expectations for a budget beginner acoustic. As long as your expectations are realistic, this model delivers on tone, playability and looks given its very affordable price tag.

Cons

• The strings it comes with may need to be replaced soon after purchase, as some reviewers report they are cheap and break easily. This adds an extra cost on top of the purchase price.

• The included gig bag is thin and made of poor quality materials. It does not provide much protection for the guitar. You may want to invest in a hard case for more security.

• The fret edges are quite sharp on some units and may irritate your hands during longer playing sessions. Filing down the fret edges could help with this.

• Intonation and action may need adjustment out of the box. Some guitar setup experience is recommended for best playability.

• The laminate construction means less resonance and sustain compared to a solid wood acoustic. The tone is not as rich and full as more expensive models.

• The nut and saddle are made of plastic rather than bone. This can negatively affect tuning stability and tone. Upgrading to bone or Tusq may help.

• The tuning pegs can be stiff and slip out of tune occasionally. Replacing them with higher quality tuners could improve tuning stability.

• There are some reports of minor cosmetic flaws out of the box like scratches or dents. Quality control is not as strict as major brands.

• The electronics are basic and may generate some buzzing. An experienced guitar tech may be able to improve grounding.

• It comes with a limited 1 year warranty. Other brands offer lifetime warranties on low end models.

Summary

The Best Choice Products SKY4287 is an excellent beginner acoustic guitar for those looking to learn on a budget. It offers solid build quality with its laminate spruce top, mahogany back and sides, and rosewood fingerboard. The hardware is also quite good for a low-cost guitar.

While the sound isn't on par with more expensive models, it's very respectable for the price. The tones are balanced and warm. It plays smoothly and intonates fairly well up the neck. The slim neck and low action facilitate comfortable playing for beginners.

Overall this model provides tremendous value at this price point. The ideal user is a new guitarist on a tight budget who wants a decent instrument to learn on. While not for advanced players, it makes playing and practicing accessible and enjoyable for any budding musician. For novice players needing their first guitar, the SKY4287 is easily recommended given its quality and incredibly affordable cost.