Hilarious Guitar Scams 

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A friend of mine bought an Esteban guitar used for about $20--for the sole purpose of having a prop guitar to smash. It was literally coming apart at the seams, so bashing it to pieces was an act of mercy as far as I'm concerned.

My dad has a guitar signed by Esteban, this makes it 10x funnier😂

My first guitar was inexpensive, but it also came with some really cool features you don't see on every electric guitar, like pickups and volume knob. It even had 6 strings!

My grandpa got me an Esteban as my first acoustic guitar and the string tension literally snapped it in half within the first year. RIP my Esteban guitar 2007-2008

His undying hate for the Jellyfish pick is astounding as ever.

Esteban missed a trick. He forgot to exclaim, "It has over five strings!"

"This guitar is so versatile....love songs, Bach...as well as rock...this is an all wood guitar!" Award winning writing righting there!

I feel like you missed the biggest part of the alleged Esteban scam. I learned guitar on one of those things. They're awful. High action, poor resonance, etc. The neck is weird... the finger board and neck are the same piece of wood. Looks like pine with a combo of stain, paint and varnish. You basically needed to be physically strong and a glutton for punishment to play one of those things (what does that say about me lol). I still have it (planning to throw it out). It didn't age well. I was using it with open string tuning until I recently bought a cigar box guitar, which sounds infinitely better. Right, the REAL ALLEGED scam. Every Esteban guitar came with a DVD of lessons (which actually helped a tiny bit) and a CD. It appeared like Esteban was using sales of his guitar as "CD sales" so he could chart. At least, that's what I always suspected. So he got your money because you were like me and were intimidated by music stores and thought the lesson DVD was cheaper than classes (no RU-vid back then), and then he used your naivety, to say he was a chart topping artist, because all those guitar sales were actually album sales. That was back when getting on music charts had real industry leverage. Getting on Billboard charts, for instance, was the difference between getting tour dates and getting in festivals vs. being stuck in tiny venues. That was the real alleged scam, it was leverage so a below average classical guitarist could get his way on bigger stages....Allegedly. At least that's what I suspected.

Esteban’s guitars are hand built in the exotic craftsman workshops of the Orient.

As a long time viewer of Samurai Guitarist, I have developed a theory. He doesn't like the jellyfish pick.

Luthenstein: The Mad Guitarists Nightmare My husband and I just recently found your channel and love it! He has played/built/repaired guitars for at least 30 yrs if not more and he has learned quite a few tricks from you. Im new to playing in the last few years. That being said, we have got an Esteban guitar story for you! My husband, Tim, says " I have only willingly repaired 3 of these and this is the story of one." A friend of ours had 2 girls in middle school that started guitar lessons and she got a deal on an Esteban for one of the girls. The 1st time it got damaged was from lying flat on the back seat floor board of a crew cab pickup. The truck was loaned to somebody for the day and when they went to adjust the drivers seat the guitar got crushed, from the sides. Broken head stock, crushed body. 2 weeks on rebuilding and no small amount of clamps. Note: it took longer to build a clamping jig to hold the damn thing then it did to actually repair the guitar. It was finally done everyone happy and it still sounded good. * I put this down to my husband's genius skills of ingenuity, but I'm biased.* 2nd time same guitar, same circumstance, middle of the headstock at the tuning keys was split in half as well as the base of the neck where it mounts to the body. Minor body damage, about 5 days to repair, still had the clamping jig. Sound was still sounding the same as it had started with, Tim is not sure how. The 3rd and final time we saw this.... guitar, was when our friend brought it back about 8 weeks after the 2nd repair. The kid had put it on the couch, other kid buried it in laundry, mom was too tired to put the clothes away and sat on what she thought was the edge of the couch. It wasn't. The pieces that we could here shifting around before opening the case just made me start laughing before Tim even opened it. I told him he better invest in stock of a certain branded wood glue ( Tim calls it monkey binder) 1st. About 4 weeks of custom shaped fittings, wooden braces, assembly, disassembly, and ALOT of swearing.* He was absolutely loving the challenge* Everything had to be fitted braced, glued, and clamped in one shot. I remember him distinctly telling everybody within hearing range to stop what they were doing and get out of the shop and don't even think of moving, breathing, or looking at the workbench on your way out. 2 days after it went in the jig it came out in one piece, got a sanding and a new coat of paint. The final finish was flawed with a visible crack but that was minor considering it looked like a broken windshield to start with. The moment of truth came after allowing it to cure in the corner for a couple of days when he strung it for the 1st time. It didn't shatter or snap. And the most amazing thing about this repair is that the sound that came from it after having been crushed twice, snapped several different directions, and now being at least 20% monkey binder, it had a much richer full bodied tone. We like to think it gained a soul. Tim will never touch another Esteban for the rest of his life unless its for kindling. Sorry that this is a little long but we had to share.

My uncle got me an Esteban, with complete love in their heart. I enjoyed it for what it was. A wonderful thoughtful gift.

"Society doesn't work if we all start putting the things we down our pants, and taking them without asking." My new favorite quote, and possibly a new merch idea.

me and my friend used to say "solid spruce top" to literally everything back in the day because of that infomercial lol "this line 6 spider III has a nice solid spruce top!"

Esteban was kind of a household name with boomers, and my dad totally fell for this scam and swears by it, so he must've gotten lucky because it's actually decent for a $100 acoustic before the days of Amazon and Wish. Plus it comes with a bunch of DVD lessons with Esteban, which surprisingly weren't terrible for VERY VERY basic lessons. This was before smartphones, and being able to get all the lessons you could want for free on RU-vid

I actually knew who Esteban was before those terrible commercials for those awful guitars. I saw him more than once at resorts here in Phoenix (I think my roommate sold him a home stereo or something). I doubt he was strictly local, and maybe had some sort of corporate gig where he travelled from resort town to resort town for Hilton. Very competent band, and a good mix if I remember correctly. Mostly classical sounding acoustic guitar over smooth jazz backing... resort-type music.

Esteban always made me feel like I just woke up from a coma. I loved his infomercials, which made it clear he was quite famous and perhaps the greatest guitar player ever. And I couldn't understand how I never heard of him , and wtf was going on

I dig Esteban's hustle, so ridiculous. I remember at one point the acoustic guitar he was selling had a pickup in it, and the Esteban amp had an overdrive button on it, so he goes on to sell it like "this guitar is both acoustic AND electric" as if that meant you were saving money instead of having to buy a separate electric guitar. And then he played the acoustic with overdrive on it. But the Zorro costume is the best part.

I got a Esteban guitar set (guitar, amp, case, etc.) for Christmas. My mom paid the fine price of $650, and I learned on it. Never had a problem with it until one day half the tuning heads snapped off during play... sounded great until it started falling apart

Ah, goold ole Esteban. I remember my mom getting me one when I was a kid back in the 90s lol. I remember plugging it in and it smoking.

"The finish had a fly in it." - This is gonna stick with me forever.

Lmao Esteban might’ve well had just said “Yes this guitar is made of guitar”

My main take away: "Society doesn't work if we all start putting the things we want down our pants and taking them without asking." Solid advice right there.

Esteban was a hotel guitarist, and private instructor. I often have to wonder if he got locked into some contractual agreement with the QVC folk, figuring it was a good financial opportunity, but lacking foresight of any kind.

I loved everything about the recreated ad. The acting, the costumes, the dialogue, everything.

When Marty McFly walks into your guitar store and stuffs a stratocaster down his pants, you know it's gonna be THAT kind of day.

"Society doesn't work if we start taking the things we want and putting them down our pants without asking." Wise words. A social thesis in the making here.

11:11 Is that a guitar in your pocket or are you just happy to see me? Careful with that joke, it's an antique.

My first guitar was an Esteban. My grandma was obsessed with home shopping shows, and noticed I took a liking to music, so she ordered one. Couldn't tell you the quality since that was almost 2 decades ago and I couldn't tell the difference between a First Act and a Martin, but it worked and got me hooked ever since. Cheap guitars have their place as a disposable gateway into music if you're just wanting to try it out.

Dear SG, I fairly new to your channel and probably not in your key demographic ( I turn 60 next week). I am retired and enjoy finding interesting channels and broadening my horizons. Honestly I don’t know most of the artists you talk about and the overdrive sound is not my thing but anyone can see how passionate you are about your music and your channel. I can’t imagine how much time and work must go into producing 12 minutes of quality video. I just want to encourage you to keep up the good work. I don’t know anything about algorithms but it’s my understanding that liking, commenting on and sharing videos is good for the channel so I’ll gladly do my best to do this for you. I picked up the guitar at 12 yrs old and practiced for 20 yrs and at best I’m not terrible. You have a gift so by all means share it. Your wit and timing are really great. Thanks for video’s that are informative and entertaining without vulgarity or idiocy. Hang in there young man!

I’m actually impressed that someone managed to shoplift a guitar😂😂

Don't you dare say anything about my custom, one of a kind rosette

Someone brought me an "Esteban" guitar to repair not long after they bought it, because the neck joint was coming apart and the action was like 1/2" high at the 12th fret. The "Mahogany" wood he speaks of was some kind of pressed particle board more akin to cardboard with a paper thin veneer over it. The back of the neck was lumpy and you could clearly see pressure marks in it from a rasp, the kind you have to remove a crap load of wood to get rid of in sanding. The "Solid spruce" soundboards grain did not look like spruce, but some other pine, and the braces were thick as all get go, yet it was already warped! It too had a similar to formaldehyde smell to it. The older man who brought it to me pointed out the neck joint coming apart. I told him as it was: This guitar will never be a good guitar, and that I had seen the ads and suspected it to be a ripoff! Then he admitted it sounded too good to be true! Sad how easily people fall for a con. It was very most likely made in a sweatshop with terrible conditions! It looked like the wholesale price was under $20, and from what I heard that "Esteban" was exposed in media: and yes his first name was something like Fred, and his last sounded polish, not Hispanic at all! He was bombarded by people demanding their money back and was even sued, but not sure if for false advertising, or not paying the film crew...

Holy crap, I’d forgotten all about those hilarious “Esteban” infomercials. I just looked him up on Wikipedia, apparently he claims to have spent five years studying under Andrés Segovia in the ‘70s but the only proof he’s ever offered is an autographed book “with a flattering message” (the article also notes that Segovia was “known to have signed hundreds or thousands of such messages”). Also his real name is Stephen Paul, and he was discovered by the inventor of the Miracle Mop while playing guitar in the lounge of a Hyatt hotel.

I love the sound of the ends of the strings ripping down his pants when he tries to see if he could steal a guitar.

I love how the jellyfish pick is just a running joke at this point.

Esteban's real name is Stephen Paul and he's from Pittsburgh. He'd released one album that hadn't made it into the Top 200 when somehow he made a deal with HSN to sell these terrible guitars. Basically, the Home Shopping Network took a total nobody who's peak success was playing at a Hyatt Regency hotel, acted like he was famous and hoped no-one would notice. His greatest success came AFTER he appeared on HSN when he released an album that peaked at 54 in the billboard charts. Since then he's released a whole bunch of albums, none of which have broken 150 in the charts.

“this is an all wood guitar” hot damn, really? i’ve been looking for a guitar with wooden frets

5:46 "Who even is Esteban anyways? Has anyone even heard of this guy before the infomercial?" The funniest part of the Gift of Guitar infomercial was when it later went on to try to sell one of Esteban's CDs the informercial would go on and on about how this guy was a world renowned guitar player.

Damn - you got that guitar to sound like a 12 string resonator 😂

esteban's thing is basically: "guitar has guitar things for 99 bucks, with guitar things that guitars have, made of guitar, for cheap because i did something to make it good but cheap but guitar"

When I started learning guitar in grade 9, my Nona gave me Esteban’s guitar course for beginners. Never used it but it’s on a shelf. The packaging for the course is really high quality, but there’s not much information in it

I received an Esteban as a gift back then... geez... almost 20 years ago now? I was happy af to have my own guitar and did learn a couple songs on it. Kind of wish I still had it, just for nostalgia sake.

esteban also had guitar amps. sounded really good just before it blew up.he was a legit classical guitarist that was in a life threatening accident.

My Dad fell for the Esteban guitar when I was little lol. He thought he'd get into guitar but never played it. It sat around our house until I turned 15. I picked it up and learn my first chords, riffs, and songs on it. It's sentimental to me for that reason and I still have it hanging on my wall. I've been playing 13 years now, thanks to Esteban 😉 the quality is not bad at all! Mine might be a second generation though because it's Electric/Acoustic.

If the Guitar Player Transformer Samurai had a tv show, his arch-enemy would be the Jellyfish pick Decepticon

I have an Esteban guitar and you missed the major selling point.. you can stand on it!! My mom bought it for me because she thought"well if an adult can stand on it, it will be bullet proof for my kid" challenge accepted

You nailed this video. From Esteban to jelly pick to straight up jammed a guitar down his pants. Now I've seen everything lol

I'm gonna buy a Jellifish; the grooves in my golf clubs are all clogged with dried mud, and it looks like just the thing ...

They are hilarious, unless it happens to you. And it will likely not happen to you, if you can afford better guitars. The $95 one happened to me, because I always wanted a high-quality guitar, I have been playing since I was ten, and I wanted to start 4 years earlier. I paid through PP, before I even really looked at the site. But when I did, I knew I was screwed. After a lot of hassle and anger, PP refunded the money, either a real person finally looked at it, or they fired the people that were letting these scam businesses send fake tracking to PP to make it look good. But they don't send anything. Not a plastic toy guitar, not a mini pendant guitar that looks like the guitar, nothing. I felt and still feel incredibly embarrassed for falling for it. But they got me with the one thing I love. Guitar and making music. I still just have my old warped guitars.

The "Esteban" guitar I have had one for about 4 years now. It plays great. All i had to do was ...... 1 Replace the cheap plastic nut with a hand carved hardwood one 2 replace the cheap plastic bridge AND acrylic saddle and Bridge sleeve, (Def not all wood guitar) Also with hand carved hardwood. 3 replace the cheap strings with a set of Martin strings 4 Tighten all the tuning knobs 5 Layer of wood lacquer inside the body. 6 Reset the truss rod in the neck properly. 7 decent into madness 8 recover from madness with a few shots 9 play this beastly thing and Wow. It sounds great after all that. Not even kidding one of the best sounding guitars i have ever owned. and only took 2 weeks of work. 2 weeks and cost me 200 bucks initially. A week later i bought a 80 ibanez from apawns shop. It sounded great without any work done to it at all.... SO yea...

I remember seeing the Esteban ads as a young whipper snapper. I didn't know any better, so I begged my mom to buy me one. She wouldn't. She was the queen of QVC channel purchases, and even she knew better than to waste money on that.

My dad bought me an Esteban back in the early 2000s as my first guitar. I think it probably hindered me more than helped me learn to play. The strings were 3 miles from the fretboard and required a hydraulic press in order to make contact... and on the rare occasion you produced a chord it came out sounding hollow and flaccid, like the guitar was a 2x4 strung with rubber bands. The tone lacked the resonant fullness you would expect from an acoustic, it was full of only sadness.

I didn't think I'd learn anything today, but "Society doesn't work if we all just start putting the things we want down our pants" is actually a pretty solid moral.

I bought the Esteban guitar around 20 years ago. For me it was very nice. I still use it. Although I upgraded to a Ibanez Aw54

I actually have an Esteban Guitar that was my grandfathers before he past. I honestly love it, It’s the only acoustic I’ve ever connected with. I had no idea this was it’s backstory. I kinda love it even more now. Thanks Samurai!

Man I remember watching those Estaban infomercials about 20 years ago! Many a late night playing guitar in front of the tv and laughing at the commercial. Also great was the extenze med that Ron Jeremy used to plug also! He had a fake “talk show” premise. Comedy gold. Amazing shit. Man so many good times.

What a great video. Had me laughing all the way through. That Esteban stuff, LOL. Also, that Jellyfish POS of a pick. I still have mine, do I use it, NO! It's worthless but I keep it as a reminder that not everything is what it seems.

Okay let's be honest though, infomercials haven't gone away, they just found their way to appear legitimate on social media because content creators are dependent on advertising them I don't blame anyone personally, I mean, we all have to eat, but Stevie T selling us razors for our balls isn't any different from Esteban selling us a guitar

I'm amazed every other comment isn't ... 'is that a guitar in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me?' Worth all the effort just to see how miffed you still are with that Jellifish... I want to see the video where you do something amazing with it that isn't trash related!

I was playing on a blue Esteban guitar for a while. Some gal had left it at my girlfriend's house and moved away. At the time I didn't have an acoustic, so I used it when jamming with my girlfriend and eventually even for a couple gigs. My opinion (having played guitar for about 30 years now)... I've played on worse, but I've played on much much better. The overall tone is pretty decent, the intonation is pretty spot on; but the action is stupid high. Playing on it actually increased my abilities in much the same way as an athlete practicing with leg weights. When I finally got a Godin and played on it, I was flying around like Django Reinhardt. Overall, I would say they are decent low end guitars. Probably worth about $100 new. So not exactly a scam or rip off... Just kinda hilarious as an add.

8:02 kills me everytime😂😂😂 To watch SammyG’s videos where he is always so calm, cool, and collective, and then you get this “the goddamn jellyfish pick” just out of nowhere cracks me up.

I spent so many Christmas mornings watching Esteban's infomercial waiting for the rest of Family to wake up. Thanks for the memories Sami G

I’ve played an Esteban guitar that was gone through by a luthier. The customer went a little far and added a Bridge Doctor. I don’t know why anyone would do that, but it played really nice. The moral of the story is: find a good luthier.

My favorite Esteban album was his debut "Songs From My Heart" in 1992. Tied for 2nd is all 18 of his albums from 2001 to 2003. All classics.

My wife had bought me an Esteban guitar, and yes it needed adjustment, just like other guitars that are shipped. He because a partnership with HSN, really targeted people that were wanting to pick up guitar playing. Also alot of people couldn't afford new guitars with accessories. So I had purchased other Esteban guitars and yes they played good and have good tone. They are still playable after 20-30 years. Just like anything if you take care of something it will last. And lastly remember it was the idea to bring Americana back into homes with families playing together and not on games but something to put ones on the path of a musical heritage that brings back the musical influences of our modern groups as well as the many various styles of guitar, enjoy and build onto the love of music.

Arizona native here. Esteban was a minor celebrity here in AZ as he played at quite a few of our higher end hotels and resorts making a name for himself. I vividly remember the ads for his “guitars” and lessons on our local TV. He put out a pretty horrendous electric also.

A couple years ago my wife and I were in Sedona, AZ to do some hiking, and while in town, I saw this huge sign advertising a performance by, you guessed it, Esteban! THE Esteban. Of course, we had to go. He played some competent, though uninspired, Starbucks-worthy flamenco crossover. He did NOT play “House of the Rising Sun,” which was heartbreaking.

5:56 Esteban looks so happy meanwhile Steve is like "alright lemme just figure out a cool riff real quick"

I inherited an Estaban from my late grand father, for years I thought I was the problem and wouldn’t ever be able to play guitar. Recently got an Ibanez electric and it’s worlds different. The Estaban now sits stringless gathering dust in a corner.

My wife got me the Esteban guitar back in 2004. After you tune it , play it quick

"Society doesn't work if we start putting the things we want down our pants and taking them without asking" - Samurai Guitarist, 2021

my father actually bought me Estebans set. My guitar teacher at the time even told me "I've never seen an Esteban before! so cool!" what I didn't tell him is that in the booklet you recieve with the guitar, he tried to tell you that your guitar is not tuned in EADGBe tuning. it's something like EBGDAe

Dude those Esteban infomercials were tucked way back in the recesses of my memory and have now been brought back out.

(7:14) Great infomercial!

"... society doesn't work if we all start putting be things down.our pants and taking them without asking." Sage advice my good man. Keep it up.

'The finish had a fly in it'.. nearly spat my tea out! lol

my chemical romance's guitarist actually played an esteban while headlining stadiums in the mid 2000's, which i just think is hilarious

The fork add was extremely convincing,

Years ago one of the music shop chains in Sydney went bankrupt and had a clearance sale. I walked in on the last day expecting to just find old straps and picks. Instead, they had an Epiphone LPJ for $90. This guitar sells for around $700-$800 in Australia. Needless to say, I bought it. Sometimes things that seem to good to be true *are* actually true!

I'm old, old AF! Started playing in cover bands at 14, around 1980. Never heard of Esteban until I saw this commercial late with band mates. We were rolling.

Often times typos and grammatical errors are a tactic, not a mistake. The theory is that if people are thickheaded enough to not catch on to it immediately, they are more likely to fall for the scam. That way the scammers waste less time on people with a bit more common sense.

“Society doesn’t work if we all start putting the things we want down our pants and taking them without asking”. Wise words from Sammy G

That add you made up was incredible. Great job.

My father actually saw Esteban live in the mid 90's. It was at a corporate gig for his companies national conference.

I actually charged someone MORE than he paid for his Esteban to repair that guitar. The bridge was glued on over the finish and obviously it popped off. I have to admit this guy probably got the 1 in 10,000 that was actually not that bad to play.

Pointing out the obvious like Cassandra: Wow. '64 Fender Stratocaster in classic white with triple single coil pickups and a whammy bar! 😮

I remember those infomercials and laughing my a** off.😂😂😂

My first guitar was an Esteban.. Definitely not the best, but it’s enough if you really want to play. I now play music full professionally full time.. so yeah. I wasn’t graced with a 2-3K guitar to learn on.. but music was in my blood, and the Esteban guitar opened the door for me to learn multiple other instruments (as well as really build my callouses 😅)

In 1968, my father decided to surprise both my brother and me with $10 guitars from Western Auto. The Esteban guitar quality sounds about the same. The action was high enough to drive a car under, and the thing (oops, almost typed "instrument") was impossible to tune. The neck was like a piece of lumber. But at least it only cost ten bucks! We had wanted guitars ever since a friend across the street had gotten a Sears electric guitar...with a genuine amplifier! Our wood boxes were unplayable. We went to group lessons a few times ($1 per person in a group of about 20!), and then just gave up. A couple of years later, a friend with a Yamaha FG-75 taught me to play Lennon's "Working Class Hero." I took my money to the instrument store, figuring on getting the same model. They didn't have one, so I went for the only other Yamaha they had in stock (since it was all I knew), an FG-180 Red Label. That was my first real guitar. It's a nice D-18 style guitar - I still have it. I don't play it much anymore - the arsenal is rather bigger now - but I'll never part with it.

That needs to be a Sammy G tee shirt..."Society doesn't work if we all start putting the things we down our pants"!!! LMFAO

Ok.... I must have gotten insanely lucky. I was just starting out on a cheap electric guitar when these Esteban guitars came out. My Dad bought me one as a gift and upon getting it I took it to my local music store whose guitar technician was a personal friend. He fixed the nut and bridge, threw on some new strings, and that guitar played GREAT! It also sounded surprisingly decent. I had that thing for like 6 years and ended up selling it to a friend. I have seen other Estebans and they are awful. For an end price of $100 mine was actually great!

The Esteban guitar (my friend had one) had an extremely high action. She was just learning how to play and bought one (with included DVD lesson) off Home Shopping Network. She asked me to come over and tune it for her. I got it to somewhere around E standard, but it never stayed there long. It was completely unplayable beyond the 8th fret; the strings were 3/4 of an inch off the fretboard. Oh, the fretboard: it didn't have one. The frets were inlaid directly into the neck. The bridge had clearly been designed for a guitar with a 1/4 inch fretboard, which was why the action was so high. I took it home and filed the nut down nearly to the wood. Then tried to intonate it. It was a nightmare. I ended up removing the bridge, sanding it down to about half its thickness, regluing it, and it was nearly playable then. I put new tuners and bridge pins on it. The finish was cracked already, so I sanded it down and redid it in Tru-Oil. I was pretty proud of the end result, but it was quite literally one of the worst guitars I've ever seen. Even the $40 Wal-Mart First Act acoustic was more playable than the Esteban.

I’ve reported those guitar sale scams to Facebook several times and they never get taken down even after more than a year. As long as the site is paying for ads Facebook does nothing. Facebook is corrupt to the core and carelessly complicit in criminal activity.

"All wood construction" reminds me of guitars that used to have "steel reinforced neck" on a sticker. Yeah, it has a truss rod.

I read the rows and rows of comments here, and I'm still wiping away my tears... not tears of joy, or even tears of laughter. No, these are tears of inconsolable grief (combined with one or two tears of embarrassment at myself). I was gifted a Peavey Predator and some 212 Crate Combo amp when I was 11. As my first electric guitar (up until then, I had a Lark classic guitar, and taught myself with sheet music), I was really excited. After about a year of practice, and not seeing any significant improvement, I wondered what I was doing wrong. I went online to an old gear message board and read so much hate regarding Peavey guitars, AND solid state amps. I was convinced that my gear was crap, and I quit playing for a few years. Now I'm 35, and genuinely wish I had kept that guitar and amp... The people who were gifted an Esteban guitar do NOT wish they could ever get it back. I was a lucky child and never knew it!

My dad was given an Esteban guitar with 2 of the Esteban amps in early 2000s and the guitar honestly for the price wasn't that bad. In hindsight I think it was a rare occasion and that one turned out good but I still have one of the small amps and it's my go to practice amp when it's too loud to play electric acousticly and I want to lay on my bed or couch. I wouldn't call it a scam per se but especially by today's standards of what a scam is. You paid for it, you got it, it did the thing.

Esteban! My first acoustic. Played like trash out of the box, but I still have it. I used it to teach myself how to set up an acoustic guitar so it plays actually pretty decently now, even if the cheap clear coat is flaking off the neck. I'll probably never sell since it was my first guitar (and it's not worth shit to anybody else but me)

Oh, my god, I remember that Esteban infomercial. That was back when those Girls Gone Wild infomercials would come on late at night - and I feel weird that I know of that and am mentioning it. I remember SORT OF wanting one of those guitars back when I didn't have an acoustic guitar, all I had was my first guitar (a Cort Stratocaster), and I was still new to guitars and didn't know what to or what not to look into. Luckily, my uncle is a musician, and helped my mom pick out an Ovation Celebrity acoustic/electric for a Christmas gift for 2002. Although, I'm kind of sad I never got one of these for a joke or parody type of video or performance, maybe smash it or what ever.