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First Act, a Boston based musical instrument company, has a distinctive mission: Provide an extensive line of quality musical instruments for everyone. From the Discovery line for children to habit designed instruments for professionals, First Act has the right instrument no matter of age or playing ability. To skeptics, First Act makes ‘department store’ instruments, available at most huge retailers. True, the company does have a big presence in that market, principally with their Discovery line of instruments aimed toward children and adult beginners. That alone may steer the severe guitar player away, but once you comprehend First Act’s system of belief and check out the higher end models, you may think again. A friend and I visited First Act’s guitar store/studio in downtown Boston to check out galore of their higher end instruments. My friend is a guitar purist, and only plays major name brand instruments, but was more than willing to give First Act’s offerings a shot. We were both very impressed by the professionalism of the staff, and evenly impressed by the offerings on display at the store. The company’s flagship store is designed with the best interest of the player in mind, letting the shopper undertake out any instrument at their leisure, with no pressure sales tactics. Upon returning home, I ordered one of the guitars I liked from First Act’s SFA line, geared toward the professional on a budget, which regrettably was not available in the color I wanted in the store. As I opened the box that my new transparent black Delia was snuggled in, I was struck by the quality finish and that special ‘new guitar’ feeling. The hardware looked solid, was nicely plated, well fitted, and I could see the pretty wood grain under the finish. The guitar was larger than I had remembered in the store, but felt comfortable and solid. The slim neck and nicely dressed frets feel just right. The sound is rather in an unambiguous manner dissimilar in a good way, and different from likewise styled semi-hollow electrics. To my ears, this is what I like with regards to these instruments. They have a sound all their own and do not try to be something they are not. Electronics consist of two Alnico magnet dual-coil pickups, a three-way toggle and volume and tone controls for each pickup. First Act’s exclusive through the body string system gives the guitar added sustain with a solid brass fitting running vertically through the body under the bridge. Though the guitar necessitated no adjustments, they are effortlessly made with the ‘tune-o-matic’ style bridge. As a company, First Act is very active in the community, specially in the musical arts. Their generosity and passion for music shows in each aspect of their mission and philosophy. In addition to their regular guitar and bass line, First Act also has a habit shop in Somerville MA, and has made instruments for numerous well known guitarists, as well as a great deal of not as well known. These habit guitars and basses may get into the thousands of dollars, and are well worth it for the severe player not concerned with a budget. I will be reviewing First Act’s acoustic guitars soon, and I suppose that they will be as good as the electrics. For the beginner to the working professional, First Act’s merchandise are well worth a severe look. |
The place to begin for the beginner!
! Be sure your book comes with an audio recording (optional way back when this series introductory came out). 
A good place to start