Hilarious Guitar Scams

[@samuraiguitarist]

Get that sweet sweet Sammy G merch at www.shopsamuraiguitarist.com

[@JoeBidensAdderall]

gettin some milage (kilometerage sorry) out of that jelly fish. good on ya. youve gotten quite the return on investment. id say it worked out well for you

[@MrLogo1002]

bro why are the view counts so low? your vids dont usually do this bad unless mark zucc'ed you. i love your videos im subed and i have notifications enabled and i wasnt notified of this video.

[@veenoir1991]

Every time the jelly fish touches a string, i swear i taste metal.

[@dbfi01]

Next time you are putting a guitar down your pants, make sure you button up correctly, so it doesnt look like you cant dress properly. That would surely get the attention of anyone... Also... I cannot help it.... "Is that a guitar down your pants, or are you just happy to see me....."

[@zmeul_liric]

How do we know ir's not a scam? It's sounds too good to be true

[@andrewmize823]

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.

[@squatchjosh1131]

Lol that's almost not even being able to serve as a reliable product for this purpose. "Dammit! I wanted to at least have a guitar that LOOKED like it was intact before I smashed it to pieces!"

[@dylanposthuma3542]

My first acoustic was an estaban, my dad got it for himself, then gave it to me because he couldn't figure out how to play.

[@yuvgotubekidding]

He still paid too much. 😄

[@MichaelD8393]

@@yuvgotubekidding Agreed! I wouldn’t pay more than $5 for an Esteban guitar. And only for a prop guitar to smash like Andrew.

[@brianchaplin9085BEC.]

Anybody that knows anything about guitars knows that nobody sells Martins Taylors or Gibson for 95 dollars unless they are on fire.

[@cowsagainstcapitalism347]

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!

[@DyR4Ka]

You had me in the first half not gonna lie😂

[@Siska0Robert]

Lucky. My guitar only had five strings, and three of them were G.

[@dunxy]

Wow 6 strings! You're so lucky, one of my guitars only has 4 😜

[@iblockpuncheswithmyface1490]

Did it have a bridge too?

[@iblockpuncheswithmyface1490]

But yours came with the bonus. An extra long neck.@@dunxy

[@RJRonquillo]

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

[@duff3lB4g]

@CanyonSkyStudios bro wtf he’s verified

[@markopolo2172]

The single most elegant way of saying Made in China

[@MartyMusic]

😂😂😂😂

[@BruceLee-sj1ox]

@@MartyMusic FrerFs

[@poeter14]

@@markopolo2172 My Firefly is an all American guitar. I just removed the China sticker

[@radfury23g32]

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

[@corbinchristian7915]

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

[@stepanbandera5206]

😂😂😂👍

[@ichiro319]

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

[@propyro85]

And well placed.

[@robosing225]

I've used one back in the day, they are horrible. they destroy the strings near the strumming area and definitely dont make a 6 string sound like a 12.

[@svenred6eard757]

@@robosing225 I reckon it sounded quite good but I thought the same- surely it must damage the strings. It looks like a tiny nit comb.

[@terrypussypower]

They’re great for heavily effected electric guitars! For the likes of Sunn O))), Earth, Head Of David….that kind of noise!

[@genesmith3913]

Clifford3136 I think he must have really needed that $10 he spent at 15 years old.

[@kennyg823]

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

[@keithwellerlounge74]

And where the hell was I? - Frank Drebin

[@cryptidproductions3160]

He apparently released a truly astounding amount of albums through the hotel he played at from 1992 to 2006 but never really gained mainstream success outside of his infamy from putting his name on those shitty guitars From the videos I've found he's decent for a d-list event entertainer and the quality of his playing inoffensive enough, but he's not mindblowing by any means.

[@qua7771]

OMG! You never heard of Esteban? He's a legend. When I saw this, It felt like Mandela effect, Twilight Zone, or a glitch in the matrix.

[@MetalGodOfLegend]

Yall be saying random no sense. Hes a nobody

[@davidparker357]

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

[@ThreeUnremarkableWords]

Interesting. You might just be onto something.

[@a.man_an.island]

I’m skeptical. I think we need more proof

[@colinflemington162]

@@a.man_an.island I’ll send him mine…

[@user-hp8uv9ey9y]

Has he tried a steel flea comb? More range 👍

[@dislikebutton2462]

what makes you think that?

[@fredygump5578]

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

[@daneswan384]

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 KZbin 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.

[@wendystarita7996]

Please, Dont burn your Estaban guitar. Its impossible to determine the variety of poisons that thing will produce when its burned. It might kill some baby seals.

[@daneswan384]

@@wendystarita7996 Duly noted ;)

[@willflint5014]

It was my first guitar and as a kid it made me “work for it” in regard to actually playing the damn thing. I remember it caused calluses to form so fast. I thought pain was a part of learning an instrument. It did help give me a love for guitar. So, it is on my good side. Never watched the DVDs. Family just paid for 1.5-2 years of guitar lessons. Ironically, I am 85%-90% self taught.

[@willflint5014]

@Hulk Hogan oh yeah I grew to kind of enjoy the feeling when I was a kid because I knew it meant I was working at it. I’ve been playing for around 13 years now.

[@Jasonmakesvideo]

albums with more than one disc used to be exploited for the same reason. maybe if labels didnt have the music industry in a chokehold artists wouldnt feel pressured to "top the charts" to "make it" thats why musicians should just register themselves to ASCAP or BMi cut out the middleman.

[@Chokum]

"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.

[@ningthalockdownedition3124]

True.. *we want

[@barretprivateer8768]

Maybe don't butcher it if you put it on a T shirt. Did you miss a word or what happened I feel like a had a stroke reading it.

[@nickbaugh8623]

I want a sticker for my truck that says that.. Society won't work if you put the things you want down your pants and walk out with them..💥😎

[@robertkorn]

Beat me to it, those are wise words to live by.

[@coryman125]

I want it on one of those inspirational posters with a dramatic photo of a guy climbing a mountain or something. Maybe shorten it to just "Society doesn't work if we all start putting the things we want down our pants"

[@Tr0llHunt3r]

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.

[@stewiepid4385]

As a metal guitarist since age 15 I agree 100% with this.

[@jeffreywells3884]

Yes if you're meant to be a musician,your start may be humble,but desire triumphs.

[@daemonspudguy]

Apparently some First Act guitars don't suck for the price. Others do.

[@Tr0llHunt3r]

@@daemonspudguy Do they still make those? This was roughly 20 years ago and they were...well, they made sound, I'll give them that lol.

[@daemonspudguy]

@@Tr0llHunt3r yes, First Act still makes beginner guitars.

[@darkinertia2]

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!"

[@stewiepid4385]

LMAO! So does the stomp box!

[@spaomalley]

Your mom has a solid spruce top

[@jnicksnewstart]

Sean O'Malley Durable and will never sag.

[@neuchigen]

@@spaomalley damn you. I wanted that one. . . High five!

[@Orieus]

Dude we still laugh about him and anything with a solid spruce top. I got a Mandolin recently and my buddy asked what is the the top made of ....soild Spruce top like Estebans garbage ! We laughed good .

[@sophiaengland8417]

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.

[@RabidChasebot]

Amazing story thanks for sharing!

[@garrettnorthrup]

Lol this is amazing

[@spicysalad3013]

the twist that all three were the same highly abused guitar is killing me 💀

[@danwlong]

Laughing so hard at this!

[@SkitzerPoindexter]

A $99 guitar with $1,300 in repairs. LOL

[@8Bitz]

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

[@JamesJLaRue]

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.

[@pl1guru]

Way back in 2010, my mom gave one of those for Christmas. Still have it. It came with hybrid bag/case (zips like a bag, but has hard foam to shape it like a case), an amp and 10 DVD's with Esteban "teaching" how to play guitar. It's basically him showing hand positions on the fretboard to different songs, no theory, scales, keys or anything, just him playing and you having to learn the patterns. Shockingly enough the guitar wasn't that bad. The set up was pretty good and the strings weren't high on the neck, so it could actually be played. I changed out the crappy strings with some Martin Bronze Nickel strings and the sound improved quite a bit. Other than that, it is average at best, and a $180 Yamaha beats it by a mile. Even though I still have it, I don't play it because I prefer playing bass or true electric guitars.

[@SockbatReplicaOne]

He also said about the overdrive on the amp "with this you can sound like Metallica or any other rock band out there." might not be the exact phrasing but I do remember Metallica was the band name he dropped as the example of who you could sound like with his practice amp.

[@lancehowle2007]

@@SockbatReplicaOne you remember correct. I bought into the package as my first guitar. Guitar wasn’t terrible as a first but I could have definitely gotten better for the same price.

[@willflint5014]

My mom got me one in like 2005. It was my first guitar. She was sold on the “electric/acoustic” thing.

[@seanbeadles7421]

I have the amp and it’s kind of hilariously cool but shit sounding when dimed playing kyuss riffs but to be fair Kyuss recorded on shitty amps

[@blessedandhappy3921]

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!

[@fudgesauce]

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

[@christophermills9348]

Buy 5 get one free

[@DillonHnck]

The name ‘Esteban’ suggests he wanted to be a professional but his record got lost in the studio

[@MrBeardsley]

“More than five strings and nearly 24 frets!”

[@MedalionDS9]

so does it djent?

[@whaguitars]

"Not one, not two, not even three BUT SIX STRINGS!!" "This is a fantastic deal!"

[@darskay]

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.

[@MikeArwineGuitar]

I remember seeing him play in Arizona 20 years ago!

[@UMAMIMAMU]

Oddly enough, he actually DOES seem to be local to that area, or at least bases himself around there. Hopefully with the advent of Amazon and Wish he's stopped ripping people off with his hot garbage guitars and just stuck with the muzak.

[@BringMayFlowers]

@@UMAMIMAMU Apparently he was raised in Pittsburgh, but moved to Tempe in the '70s.

[@SwashBuccaneer]

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.

[@zerozipper4299]

They were known for that lol.

[@thingnumbertwo2]

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

[@SylphDS]

Imagine being that fly.

[@flaro38]

Not a native speaker here. What exactly is the finish in this case?

[@Eli-fj3sc]

@@flaro38 It would likely be a lacquer

[@Isaac_howell]

@@flaro38 the coating put on the wood of the guitar

[@flaro38]

that's incredibly gross 😆 thank you both

[@P-Bass_Pete]

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.

[@solarismoon3046]

Maybe he just liked the way that it felt? 😂

[@Bob-of-Zoid]

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...

[@atharvazodpe673]

I have the same guitar and the action is extremely high There's no way to fix it as the neck is bent in very awkward shape haha

[@mikeomatic9905]

Wikipedia says his name is Steve Paul. Not quite Polish, but definitely nothing close to Spanish. Also fun fact: he released 11 albums in 2001 alone!

[@andrejz8954]

@@mikeomatic9905 You serious? :O

[@propyro85]

I wouldn't be surprised if he got sued for trying to short change the people who filmed his garbage infomercial.

[@REDW1NG94]

@@atharvazodpe673 you could do what I did with a junk guitar at one point. Cut the top off of it, glue a couple boards inside it and turn it into a shelf lol

[@thefloridaman9389]

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

[@roblogified]

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 KZbin

[@TenthMan-ip2jp]

Now this is a sensible comment. All those other reviews saying it literally fell apart are just exaggerating for likes I believe.

[@neolordie]

​@@TenthMan-ip2jpI mean, it wouldn't surprise me if they were falling appart a few months or years down the line, but out of box that would be weird

[@TenthMan-ip2jp]

@@neolordie That's what I mean low quality I can understand, but "falling apart" seems a bit exaggerated.

[@Krunchtastic727]

One of my favorite guitars I had was 100 dollars. It wasn't an Esteban but it did last a long time.

[@thatguybob8257]

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

[@solarismoon3046]

🤣😂🤣😂😂😂😂

[@tridoc99]

I’m LMAO at your comment!

[@InventorZahran]

This scam is made of scam.

[@MrBeardsley]

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.

[@WisconsinPeaches]

Hmmm.....I could be blind...but maybe there's a connection 🤔?

[@solarismoon3046]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esteban_(musician)

[@deirdre108]

Wow! He was discovered!

[@watermelonhelmet6854]

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.

[@rcyalater...2305]

Not that a top 200 means success or notoriety but being a Pittsburgher has ruined my day knowing that terrible manipulative human is from my hometown. Boooo Esteban, boooo

[@batya7]

Sad to have Pittsburgh's reputation besmirched by such a poseur.

[@RobertNolan]

I thought he started on instructional videos first, either way these were terrible lol.

[@bronconv]

That’s funny! I ran across him playing at a upscale resort hotel in Scottsdale AZ, could’ve been a Hyatt Regency, back in the early 90’s 😂

[@JohnWilliams-qi9mg]

He is known for lying about I’m his training as well. He says he studied with Segovia and Segovia couldn’t say Steven so he called him Esteban, hence the name. My old teacher was in Spain studying with Segovia during this time and says that is not even close to true. He has tons of pictures and cannot seem to locate him. He is known for awful technique and selling these chunks of garbage. But he did play a lot in Scottsdale and made good money.

[@TheCyberianWonder]

"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.

[@twostep919]

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.

[@snakedoktor6020]

I just love how people write down something they heard in a video and think they've commented. It's cute.

[@spicysalad3013]

​@@snakedoktor6020 it is in fact a comment, and an extremely common format as well.

[@HavokTheorem]

@@snakedoktor6020 Mate, that's just called specificity. Yes, you can say OP doesn't add much to the conversation, but he does have new information: "To me, '___' part of the video was the most memorable.'" That might not entertain you as a viewer, but it is a form of feedback to the creator, and there is no getting around the fact that OP's comment is not the same in form and function to the absense of a comment.

[@TomJakobW]

⁠@@snakedoktor6020it’s called human interaction; you might try it one day… You might be autistic, in this case I explain the subtext to you: His comment’s goal was showing approval for the mentioned statement and commend the creativity of the mentioned statement, going above a simple and indiscriminate “like”, as well as provide a venue for other people to share their approval with a like as a proxy, as well as enable further interaction under the comment regarding the mentioned statement. Besides this it embraces plain human interaction of likeminded people for its own sake. glad I could help you understand humans. If you’d be so kind as to relay this to your colleague Mr Zuckerbot, that would be nice; thank you! 😊

[@edwardebel1847]

Maybe society WOULD work if we all put things we want down our pants...I mean, have we even tried it? I mean ALL of us? Society is pretty effed up now as it is. Maybe putting the things we want down our pants is the solution. I know, let's ask Esteban. No, wait...not sure I want to know what he puts down his pants...just sayin

[@brennoncox4705]

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.

[@MedicBroh]

i have that exact guitar but the headstock cracked..

[@mylastchannelgotdeleted6213]

I have the same exact story as you but replace dad with grandpa lmao.

[@itsame2755]

Pretty sure my dad has one around as well 😅

[@newjohn4201]

I bought one of these guitars about 20 years ago. This guitar was $199, and it it was pretty good quality. I didn’t have any of the problems you described. Your reviews were very funny!

[@screamoneo]

this comment was written by esteban and the positive replies are Esteban's alt accounts

[@alexanderjames5714]

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

[@joshuastone5862]

I think i got the same. Never used it, my teacher was good enough, but i was gifted like 6-10 DVD set. The packaging was nice, reminiscent of a 1957 Chevrolet bel air, but that was it.

[@alexanderjames5714]

@@joshuastone5862 yours sounds like there was more than mine. The one I got just had a DVD and a small book about the guitar, open chords, notes, scales. The box was nice though and it had magnets to snap shut and keep everything in place

[@K0r0n1s]

Loved the honest ad :-D The blues chord bashing made it perfect xD

[@InvestmentJoy]

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

[@stewiepid4385]

Capitalize the word Rosette ... damnit!

[@InventorZahran]

If that rosette is not on a solid spruce top, then I don't want it!

[@drummerdan95]

@@InventorZahran honestly I'd be happy if only I had some genuine chrome tuners

[@murphmurph2124]

Don't forget imitation pearloid reference dots

[@willdover6133]

Oh my God

[@BeastCake1349]

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.

[@arthurcordeiro6549]

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

[@danielrosadoguitar]

Oh, please, pleeeeasse yes. I would love to see that. 😄

[@PraetorianCuber]

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

[@solarismoon3046]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@nathanlejano8881]

I wish strings were wood

[@paperboy1975]

Yeah.. Wood pick up too🤣

[@ObsidianSnake12]

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"

[@solarismoon3046]

😂😂😂 Well put!! 🤣🤣🤣

[@lucashunnisett3066]

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

[@Dmitry9000YT]

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

[@sdiddles]

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

[@arnold3414]

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.

[@ErickC]

: genuine authentic sadtoan produced from only fine finest of toanwoods.

[@stewiepid4385]

I worked at Guitar Center Canton, MI. circa 2003-ish. We had numerous people bringing in this guitar to be 'set up'. I wouldn't touch it. "Not nice, no more neither."

[@TheRiverRyan]

Playing this guitar as my first acoustic, when I got a better one I was blown away at how easy the action was and realized how bad the esteban one was

[@nemesis1291]

Bless your father...

[@paulbeahm3891]

It's the thought that counts.

[@UncleKennysPlace]

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 ...

[@Colhogan06]

I never thought of that, but that does sound like a great use for that pick. No more using tee's or divot tool. This looks like it was actually custom made to clean club faces. 😎

[@Arkslippy]

Don't forget, you can use it to clean the "Hammer" driver that hits it 459yards off the tee as well, endorsed by tiger wooden.

[@JENDALL714]

It's for Rock Stars to comb the crabs out of their pubic hairs while they are on the road and can't get to a pharmacy.

[@solarismoon3046]

@@JENDALL714 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@sam_i_am6410]

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.

[@SockbatReplicaOne]

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.

[@HelterSkelter117]

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.

[@youngfornow]

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!

[@danielrosadoguitar]

That's the weird part of all of this. Some were fine, some were terrible. Apparently most if not all were made in China but in different factories with different quality standards. I've never played one but for many years I've read many personal reviews of people who have brought those guitars like in this video comment section and they are all over the place.

[@dzd2371]

​@@danielrosadoguitar I worked at a small music store the time those commercials were airing(before GC ran all those places out of business). The owner bought ten of them to use as lesson guitars for students to take home if they couldn't afford their own, and you really couldn't find a new guitar for under $100 at the time yet. Six of the ten were decent after getting new strings,nut,saddle, and a setup. The other four weren't worth the effort to salvage, they came with warped necks, belly buldges already showing, back already peeling apart, etc.

[@BouseFeenuxTV]

If you ever feel useless, just remember that the Jellyfish pick has a patent number.

[@mjallenuk]

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!

[@foot_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.

[@zryhmer]

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.

[@tenkaiechi01]

im not a luthier. But i did repair my Esteban. It needed repaired right out of the box, So many things were wrong. I still have it. Now that its lined out it sounds awesome. No Joke.

[@tenkaiechi01]

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...

[@conmancarl]

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

[@cheshirecynic3061]

She should've bought from Sergio Pampenheiser instead.

[@cedricrickdelsol9767]

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

[@THEWEIRDSISTERS69]

Nailed it

[@standardofexcellence]

Yes but its within the same area we have access to research with actual product ratings and reviews like Amazon for example

[@Titan12]

I mean, infomercials haven't gone away at all? You ever watch TV, especially at night? Infomercials are alive as ever love.

[@clementj]

They're not the same thing, at all... LOL. Sponsorships and advertisements are a common thing everywhere, but they're not infomercials, where the whole show is an ad for the product, which hasn't gone away at all. They still exists.

[@tridoc99]

You mean you don’t have clean shaven balls? Disgusting!

[@talesfromthetoiletseat8295]

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.

[@terrydionne1541]

I can still remember kringing and telling my dad " you didn't buy that piece of shit?!!.. he had bought one to have a cheap guitar play outside around fires and such but he never played it... we laughed soo much at piece of...

[@solarismoon3046]

@@terrydionne1541 Well he can always throw it into the fire - it's made of wood and will burn! 🤣

[@terrydionne1541]

@@solarismoon3046 he actually just gave it to me to try and sell it to someone at a bargain price... there ain't no bargain prices for there pieces of shit!!. I ended up selling to a left handed guy because my dad was probably one of the only few who was hoggled into buying one of these abominations, left handed. I told the guy up front that the guitar was a laughing joke and he bought it anyway since it was his first guitar. He loved beating the shit out of it....

[@terrydionne1541]

It was still brand new and I sold it for 40$ Canadian... the acoustic/electric one...I still feel bad from selling such an attrocity..

[@terrydionne1541]

C'est vraiment la plus grosse arnaque pi la guitar la plus mal bâtie j'ai vue de toute ma vie... y'a rien qui se compare à ça..

[@lanierwexford2582]

"... 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.

[@danielnewby2255]

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.

[@davidschwartzguitar]

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.

[@motocrossx199]

“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

[@ObservantHistorian]

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.

[@davesplace144]

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

[@liquidsofa]

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.

[@420mastah]

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

[@Yesmanpersondude]

Lmao

[@davidthompson4649]

Funny as hell

[@slebastian617]

The Esteban was my first guitar i bought at a pawn shop for $100, it was semi playable if you didn't go up the neck to far. Frets stuck out real bad and it had a lovely buzzing sound!

[@snakedoktor6020]

*too

[@corpsman1980]

The magic is IN the buzz.

[@Satchmoeddie]

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.

[@taylorcothren7479]

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.

[@mcjohnson87124ify]

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.

[@drew2dee2]

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

[@mateomaderas5504]

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

[@xD3adKl0wnx]

My dad bought one of those Esteban guitars years ago. Not the absolute worst beginner acoustic, but it's certainly not great.. And it definitely, definitely, needs a pretty severe setup.. It sits at my parent's place, in the case where I left it the last time I took it out.. It's hard to play, so I'd hate to have to learn on it as a beginner, which is why my dad never learned anything on it... But hey, it has a pickguard! Edit: it actually reminds me of the "grand prize" guitar that my Nan won at darts.. Made to look okay, but playability and function take a back seat to what amounts to putting lipstick on a pig..

[@neaituppi7306]

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.

[@TheBanana93]

Ouch man. If its too good to be true it probably isn't! I fell for a steam scam years ago its the sort of thing you only let happen once "Pick 2 free games on steam" Picked em logged in boom account hacked... Not quite the same but the feeling afterwards of being duped is horrible! Glad you got your money back though!

[@tenkaiechi01]

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.

[@mrcool9672]

Actually bought an Esteban nylon cutaway as a beach beater. Overall It was good enough. Did replace tuners due to crumbling off pegs though 😄 Biggest disappointment- No Hat with starter kit 🧐

[@snakedoktor6020]

*of...?

[@saltybutsain6348]

The fork add was extremely convincing,

[@2802Bene]

this so much! i need that fork!

[@whaguitars]

I know right, where can I get one?

[@LightningDogg]

I was going to order one...but then I came to one in the road.

[@Bassmanx89]

I own an estaban I bought second hand back in my teenage years. It worked? But the quality is absolutely abysmal. Probably wasn't even worth the $40 i paid for it, and was a huge reason I never really built up any momentum on guitar and stuck to bass for so many years.

[@ZitherBeast]

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.

[@Cloudwalker2011]

The guitar down the pants theft is definitely possible. It happened at one of our music stores.

[@Jrez]

A series on music industry scams would be so great. Not sure if that's something you're interested in, but I certainly am.

[@_h1ghl4nd3r]

To be fair, I have the Esteban electric acoustic guitar, bought by my grandparents off of QVC in like 2004, it wasn't a great guitar but it was playable and meant for beginners. It came into my possession after my grandfather passed away so my dad and I had it modded by a professional luthier. Now it plays very nice and I still use it to this day.

[@Aaron-zh4kj]

That's kinda legit. As a hobbyist, I love asking people for cheap and broken instruments and seeing if I can turn them into playable instruments. I've got a Maestro by Gibson and I've painted and done it up beautiful. Best paint job on a guitar I've ever done (it's supposed to have a military jeep type look, with flat olive drab paint and orange stenciling). Put a new decent hot humbucker in it too. But I can't for the life of me figure out what is going on between the neck and body (they had to have done something super weird). the action is stupid high, even though the neck is basically straight as an arrow. One day, I'll figure out it.

[@TheBanana93]

@@Aaron-zh4kj Nut is too high maybe? I aint a Luthier but that's all I can think of!

[@williambebeau1506]

I once met a guy who heralded his Esteban guitar as if it were quite a serious luxury item... Had me strum and play a few chords on it, and my God it took an obscene amount of energy out of me to bold face lie to the guy and agree with him on how "great" it sounded. XDDD (Probably one of the shittiest guitars I've ever played to date, can absolutely confirm. XDDD)

[@SilverWatcher.]

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

[@HiVoltish]

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.

[@roberthofmann932]

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

[@kittyfarmer]

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.

[@Jreb1865]

And yet ding you for a meme you posted a year ago...

[@musek5048]

i got serious Tim and Eric vibes from your infomercial skit. Great Job!

[@Lovelockmm]

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.

[@gwoody4003]

Dude AC/DC on a 12 string lol. Epic. I made a Jellyfish pick with old string bits and epoxy when they first came out just to see, and it does sound neat sometimes. But beyond novelty, they are worthless. And you gotta give the kid who put a guitar down his pants some credit. If there were no cameras he would have gotten away with it. He may have done it several times before getting caught lol. Certainly wins the "wow the stones on you" award.

[@jrosner6123]

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.

[@RustyRaceHorse]

I think i kinda agree. I saw him play in the phoenix area around ‘96. I thought he was a great “flamingo” guitar player. If i spelled that correctly… anyway. The anything on qvc is tacky. He probably needed the money.

[@estebanb7166]

The guy was trying to make a living. It’s not that deep.

[@andrzejsawicki3770]

@@RustyRaceHorse you meant "flamenco" I think

[@troyjones2358]

He stood on one leg and played?

[@jrosner6123]

@@troyjones2358 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@dylangilman]

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)

[@solarismoon3046]

That's not true - I'll give you $5.00 U.S. American for it! 🤣

[@dylangilman]

@@solarismoon3046 That's a solid offer. I'll have to seriously contemplate it.

[@heatherhanlon2799]

Actually the jellyfish violin sound does resemble closely the sound of a beginner violinist. Source: I am a beginner violinist

[@Takimeko]

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

[@bobblowhard8823]

Don't even get me started on CraigsList guitar scams! Like: "Beautiful Rouge Acoustic Guitar for only $175".

[@BigHead2615]

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.

[@Jreb1865]

I wonder how those girls on those "Girls Gone Wild" DVDs feel about themselves now that they're in their 40s...lol...

[@kingkrollinvention]

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.

[@brianchaplin9085BEC.]

That thing about your amp sounding really good just before it blows up is true I have a 1965 Kay electric hollow body single coil pickup. And the original amp .and it did sound fantastic till it went up in smoke. Lol. 🤣

[@grantingtherant1465]

Oh hey, the Esteban guitar! My sister got that guitar and it was the first guitar I ever played. It was the hardest damn thing to play in my life and I'm surprised I kept playing guitar after that. You know it's bad when I considered a $70 Electric Acoustic Jasmine was an upgrade

[@timesurfingalien]

I have one. Watched a few videos and put my amateur luthier skills to work and made it very playable in about 20 mins. When my buddies come over to play, it's the one they grab. I really don't have any issues with it. BTW I got it for free because of some of the issues mentioned here. But 20 min, and a very basic knowledge of guitar construction I turned it into a player. It's even intonated all across the finger board. I guess shaving the bridge is not known. Oh well. I know what I need to know.

[@D3mon0fTh3F4ll]

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

[@IndigoJo]

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

[@alecmullaney7957]

To be fair, classical/nylon string guitars usually don't have a truss rod

[@MrGibsn1960]

Bro, I was a touring musician at the time and my mom was wanting that Esteban guitar. As much as I told her not to, she bought it anyway. It was really worse than any other student level guitar I've ever played. It was worse than terrible.