- Excellent build quality for the price
- Superb consistency with the craftsmanship
- Easy to play, mellow sounding acoustic guitar
- As the woods used may differ from variations to variations, these may slightly feel and play different
Hello there, back again with another acoustic guitar review for you! This time, we will be looking at a Fender CD-60 dreadnought acoustic guitar. This model is still in production; however, a couple of things have changed about the instrument. Currently, you can find CD-60s at Thomann in bundled packages, just like the Ibanez V50NJP & VC50NJP, featuring a gig bag, tuner, strap, and picks.
Table of Contents
During almost 3 years of my guitar testing, I had the chance to play Fender CD-60s almost every week, with a couple of occurrences. The Fender CD-60 was one of the top sellers of the day among its strong competitors. It was because of being very affordable, offered high value and was also very consistent in terms of quality.
Musical instrument consumers usually expect flawlessly built instruments; however, most of them expect this to happen at the very entry-level instruments, too. In reality, for most beginner-level guitars, you may come across cosmetic defects and, more critically, structural problems such as an unstable neck, badly placed frets, nuts and bridges. Since acoustic guitars are way more challenging to apply fixes post-factory, it usually causes the new beginner to lose excitement and even give up playing the guitar. This is one of the main reasons why you should always go for the brands that really invest in their quality assurance processes. 
Fender CD-60
Here on this blog, I’m trying to promote them as they carry the lowest risk for the buyer, and I never write good reviews about brands that don’t really care about their products. Fortunately, Fender is miles away from the competition and has always been able to deliver excellent value with its products while keeping them consistent! Fender CD-60 is considered to be one of the best beginner acoustic guitars, and I can tell you openly that among thousands of guitars, we tested when Fender CD-60s came in, we knew the testing would be a breeze! 
Sound Demo (no talking)
Before I list the tech specs, let me share some of the Fender CD-60 review videos here. In this first video, you will see a Fender CD-60 Sunburst colour option played by Selçuk Uzunhasanoğlu. The audio was recorded with a Rode NT5 matched pair.
As you can hear from the demo, it is capable of doing everything an acoustic guitar can do! Let’s have a look at the tech specs briefly below. Here’s an important set of information and changes you will find in this table. Fender CD-60 has been changed in terms of some of the components, such as the back & sides and fingerboard & bridge material. So if you want to purchase one, you will probably get the current version as stated below. 
Fender CD-60 vs Fender CD-60 V3 Tech Specs
| Model | Fender CD-60 (Old Version) | Fender CD-60 V3 (Current Version) |
|---|---|---|
| Design | Dreadnought | Dreadnought |
| Top | Laminated spruce | Laminated spruce |
| Back & Sides | Nato | Laminated Mahogany |
| Neck | Nato | Nato |
| Fretboard & Bridge | Rosewood | Walnut |
| Number of Frets | 20 | 20 |
| Scale | 643 mm | 643 mm |
| Nut Width | 43 mm (1.69") | 43 mm (1.69") |
| Strings | Fender Dura-Tone Coated 80/20 | Fender 880L |
I wouldn’t say these changes give this guitar a completely new vibe or timbre, but I would say a couple of per cent of change in total. And I’m not saying it’s better or worse. Most of the time, manufacturers have to change components due to restrictions on tonewoods, just like when CITES hit the guitar world. You can check out the price and availability below. Before I finish, I would also like to share another video featuring the old version of the Fender CD-60 vs the Lag T-66D. 
We loved comparing 2 products by using them in the same situation, which is basic A/B testing in short. In this video, I was playing the melody, and Selçuk Uzunhasanoğlu was playing the rhythm parts. In my opinion, LAG T-66D was way better than Fender CD-60, as a matter of fact, there was a price gap between the 2 models (around €40-45). But still, Fender proves its value, and I believe it’s one of the best value/money dreadnought acoustic guitars around.
Fender CD-60 vs LAG T-66D Comparison
As I have mentioned above, I have almost full trust in the Fender brand as they are one of the most consistent guitar manufacturers around. So if you are on a tight budget and at a beginner level, I would definitely recommend the Fender CD-60 as a very nice start. 
Pricing & Availability
As mentioned in the article, currently Fender offers the CD-60 as the CD-60 V3. It doesn’t necessarily mean that this is the latest and greatest iteration of the series. Instead, it’s just there to distinguish the materials used in the making of this series. As you know, there were many restrictions on certain woods used for manufacturing guitars, and companies had to try alternative wood combinations, therefore ever-changing the wood specs of the guitars.
CD-60 V3 is widely available at any retailer. You can definitely check out the options below to purchase one for yourself!
Check out the Fender CD-60 on Thomann here
You may also want to check out Reverb, as there are many used and brand new CD-60 acoustic guitars listed there.
Check out the Fender CD-60 on Reverb here
Lastly, you may want to check out Amazon, as there are still sellers (including the official Fender shop) listing CD-60 series acoustic guitars.
Check out the Fender CD-60 on Amazon here
I hope this has been helpful and also honest information here for you. Thanks for visiting my blog and supporting me so far! I will hopefully see you in the next review here!
