Watch It First
All-solid-wood acoustic for around 1,269 zł. That’s the pitch. Sounds too good to be true, right?
I spent proper time with the CLP-15ME and yeah, I get the hype. Little parlor body, solid Okoume top, back and sides, Fishman pickup already in there.
It’s not perfect. But for this money? Not a lot gets close.
Solid wood the whole way round
This is the bit that matters. Most guitars near this price use laminate back and sides – thin layers glued together. Cheap, does the job, but they never really open up over time.
This one’s solid top, solid back, solid sides. The wood moves as one piece and matures as it ages. You normally pay a good chunk more for that.
And no, before anyone asks – it’s not some hand-built boutique thing. It’s a factory guitar. But the fact all-solid even shows up at this price still feels like a spec-sheet typo. Harley Benton keeps pulling this off – their HB-35 VB does the same trick over in semi-hollow land.
Okoume? What’s that
African tonewood, basically mahogany’s cousin. Warm, woody, mid-focused – not bright, not boomy.
Which is exactly what a small guitar wants, because parlors can turn thin and nasal real quick. The matte finish helps too, no thick glossy coat choking the top.
Ends up sounding open and resonant for such a wee thing. People hear „budget African wood” and expect cardboard. It’s not that at all.
Specs
- Type: Parlor steel-string with pickup
- Top / back / sides: Solid Okoume
- Bracing: Scalloped X
- Neck: Okoume, Oval C profile
- Fretboard: Pau Ferro, snowflake inlays, 16″ radius, 18 frets
- Scale / nut: 628 mm / 45 mm bone nut
- Bridge: Pau Ferro, bone saddle
- Pickup: Fishman Presys II (built-in tuner)
- Tuners: Open Deluxe, antique copper
- Strings: D’Addario XT .012-.053
- Finish: Natural matte
- Price: ~1,269 zł
Quick one people miss: bone nut and bone saddle, not plastic. Better sustain, better tuning stability, clearer top end. That’s normally a paid upgrade at your local shop. Here it’s stock.
How’s the neck?
The 45 mm nut is on the wider side, which fingerstyle players will love – more room between strings, less accidental muting.
Neck’s an Oval C, so it fills the hand without feeling like a baseball bat. The 16″ radius is fairly flat, so bends and barre chords behave.
One honest heads-up: the frets are on the small side. Most folks won’t notice, but if you’ve got chunky fingers you might want to try before you buy. One owner literally called his „sausage fingers” the reason he swapped models, then got on fine once he adjusted. 🙂
The Fishman does the job
Want to plug in and gig it or record it? The Fishman Presys II has you covered – proper name, built-in tuner, EQ controls on the side.
That onboard tuner is genuinely handy. One owner compared it to his Polytune clip and said it tracked just as well. Nice not to need a clip-on for once.
Is the plugged-in tone as pretty as unplugged? Nah. It needs a bit of EQ to wake up, and a couple of owners mention it can sound a touch flat straight out of the jack. But as a stage backup or a quick demo take, it’s more than fine.
So how does it actually sound
Unplugged it’s warm and even, sweet mids, none of that harsh jangle cheap acoustics love to throw at you. Great for fingerpicking, and it takes a light strum without falling apart. Perfect for working through a few easy acoustic songs on the sofa.
It won’t fill a room like a dreadnought, and it’s not meant to. This is an intimate, focused voice – songwriting on the couch, quiet practice, travel, close-mic recording where you don’t want boomy low end fighting the mix.
Across 83 owner reviews it sits at 4.7 out of 5, which for a budget guitar is properly impressive. The love goes to the wood, the build and the value.
Play it next to a cheap laminate parlor and the difference is obvious – this one has depth and a bit of bloom to the notes instead of that flat, boxy thud. That’s the solid wood earning its keep.
Who’s it for (and who should skip it)
Grab it if you want a small, comfy body for the sofa or the road, you’re into fingerstyle, or you just want all-solid wood without spending four figures in euros. As a first serious acoustic it’s a lot of guitar for the outlay. Want to weigh up other budget options first? Have a look at these guitars for all budgets.
Skip it if you’re a hard strummer chasing big, loud, boomy volume. A parlor will always feel small to you – go dreadnought, no shame in it.
The niggles
No guitar’s flawless at 1,269 zł, so let’s be real.
Most reviews that dock a point mention setup out of the box – action a bit high, a little stiff. Nothing a truss-rod tweak and lighter strings don’t fix, and plenty of owners did exactly that and were instantly happy.
One person had a bridge crack after a few months. Rare, and Thomann’s return policy has your back, but worth flagging. The fretboard dot markers are also placed slightly oddly (double dots at the 5th and 9th), which trips a few players up at first.
Build and finish
For a guitar this cheap the fit and finish genuinely surprised me. The matte natural top looks classy rather than plasticky, the binding is tidy, and the antique copper open-gear tuners give it a bit of vintage charm instead of the usual shiny budget look.
The snowflake inlays are a nice touch too – small detail, but it makes the fretboard feel a step above the price bracket. Nothing here screams „corners cut,” which is rare at 1,269 zł and a big part of why owners keep raving about it. Harley Benton just keeps doing this – even the oddball Beatbass punched way above its money.
Verdict
Makes you wonder how the big brands justify their prices, honestly. All-solid Okoume, bone nut and saddle, a real Fishman pickup, and a warm little parlor voice – for about 1,269 zł. Spend a lot more and you’re into Yamaha SA2200 territory – lovely guitar, but not five times better.
Give it a quick setup, nudge the EQ when you plug in, and you’ve got a cracking first serious acoustic, a travel buddy, or just a fun couch guitar that punches way above its money.
Budget guitars have come a long way, lol. This one earns its 4.7 stars 😉
