ZAD20 Natural
Spruce top, mahogany body. Bright and focused, and the one most people start on.
Regular price$1,395 Price$1,195
See the ZAD20
A guitar that is hard to play does not make you a better player. It makes you a former player.
That is the whole idea behind the Easy-Play setup, and it is why Denny spent ten years rebuilding instruments before selling any. This page is the hub: the four series and what separates them, why they cost about half of shop retail, what the guarantee actually covers, and the guides that go deeper on each of it.
Everything worth reading before you buy
Eighteen pages, three questions: which one, why it plays easier, and whether it is worth the money. Start anywhere.
The basics, in one read
Two guitars can have the same woods, the same shape and the same price, and one of them will be twice as easy to play. What separates them is almost never the spec sheet.
The setup is the product
A factory guitar is set up to a schedule. The action is left high because that is the setting that never buzzes on a shop floor, and the neck gets whatever profile the production run called for. It is nobody's fault; it is just not set up for you.
Every Zager is finished by hand in Lincoln before it ships: the action taken down, the neck slimmed, and the string spacing set so the strings sit where your fingers naturally fall. That is the Easy-Play setup, and it is what people are describing when they say these are easier to play. It is also why a Zager does not need the paid setup most new guitars quietly require.
What changes between the four series
- 20 Series — spruce soundboard, mahogany body. Bright and focused. The most affordable full mahogany guitar we build.
- 50 Series — Sitka spruce with African mahogany and a more complex bracing pattern, which deepens the tone over the 20. Natural and earthy.
- 80 Series — solid cedar or spruce over rosewood, hand carved bracing. More projection, made for playing out.
- 900 Series — AAA Sitka spruce over AAA Indian rosewood, bracing hand scalloped by Denny himself. Deep, rich and powerful. Buyers usually arrive from a Martin D45, a Taylor 9 or a Gibson Hummingbird.
The setup, the guarantee and the lifetime component warranty are identical across all four. You are paying for wood and handwork, not for playability.
Why it costs about half
Nothing sits in a dealer's window taking a margin. A 20 Series is $2,000 at retail and $1,095 direct; a 900 Series is $5,000 at retail and $2,095 direct. Same instrument, one less middleman.
The trade is that you cannot pick it up before you buy, which is why the guarantee is what it is: send it back for any reason and the shipping is covered in both directions.
The Zager difference
Built so your hand works less
A factory guitar is built to a price and set up to a schedule. Denny spent ten years rebuilding instruments to work out why beginners quit, then changed the things that were causing it: the action, the neck profile and the string spacing. Every guitar gets that setup by hand.
- Low action and a slim neck, set by hand before it ships
- Built and set up in Lincoln, Nebraska
- Custom string spacing for cleaner chords and fewer rattles
- 100% money back with shipping paid both ways
See the range compared
Dennis Jr. walks through the four Zager series side by side — what changes between them, and which one suits how you actually play.
Zager EZ-Play Guitar Comparison Video · Loads only when you press play, so it costs nothing until you want it.
Four reasons people buy one without ever holding it
Buying a guitar online is a leap. Here is what makes it a small one.
Send it back, we pay both ways
A full money-back guarantee with the shipping covered in both directions. If it is not the guitar for you, it costs you nothing to find that out.
Set up by hand before it ships
Low action, slim neck, string spacing adjusted by hand in Lincoln. Most guitars arrive needing a setup you have to pay for. This one does not.
About half of shop retail
Nothing sits in a dealer's window taking a margin. A 20 Series is $2,000 in a shop and $1,095 direct. Same guitar, one less middleman.
Lifetime warranty on components
Tuners, electronics, hardware — covered for as long as you own it. Fifty-seven years of building means there is someone to call.
Guitars built around the same idea
Four series, one setup standard. Every Zager leaves Lincoln playable out of the box, whichever one you pick.
ZAD50CE Acoustic Electric
Sitka spruce and African mahogany, Venetian cutaway, Fishman electronics.
Regular price$1,795 Price$1,595
See the ZAD50CE
Parlor Mahogany Electric
Smaller body and an easier reach. Mahogany, with electronics fitted.
Regular price$1,195 Price$995
See the ParlorPlayed by people who could own anything
Zager has been building in Lincoln since 1969. These are working players who chose one — their stories are on the site, in their words.
Grand Ole Opry legend, and one of the most recorded voices in country music.
Johnny Cash's bass player for the last decade of his career, and a Nashville session fixture.
Ranked among the finest fingerstyle players in the world, and a Chet Atkins collaborator.
The part that makes it possible
Play it for a month. Send it back if it is not the one.
You cannot pick one up before you buy, so the guarantee does that job instead: full money back, with the shipping covered in both directions.
Every series, every finish · Shipping covered both ways · Lifetime warranty on components
Most read this month
If you only read three of the guides above, make it these.
How to change acoustic strings without nicking the bridge
The ten-minute version, with the two mistakes that cost people a saddle. No special tools beyond a winder.
Playing guitar with arthritis
What helps, what does not, and the three setup changes worth making before you give up on the instrument.
Is it the strings or the action?
A two-minute test with a ruler that tells you which one is making the guitar hard to play.
Common questions
Which series should I start with?
If it is your first good guitar, or you are coming back to it after years away, the 20 Series. It has the same hand setup as everything else we build, so it plays the same; what you gain further up the range is wood and handwork, not playability. If you already play most days and want more warmth, the 50 Series.
What if I do not get on with it?
Send it back. The guarantee is a full refund with the shipping covered in both directions, so trying one costs you nothing but the time it spends in transit.
Do I have to pay for a setup when it arrives?
No. Every guitar is set up by hand in Lincoln before it ships — action lowered, neck profile and string spacing sorted. Most new guitars quietly need a paid setup on top of the price; this is the main reason a Zager feels different out of the box.
Why is it so much cheaper than a shop?
Because there is no shop. Nothing sits in a dealer's window taking a margin, so a 20 Series is $2,000 at retail and $1,095 direct. The trade is that you cannot pick it up before you buy, which is what the guarantee is there to cover.
Do you make left-handed models?
Yes, and they are kept as a separate range rather than made to order, so what is listed is what is in stock.
Can I pay monthly?
Yes. Financing is available at checkout, which is how most people buy the 80 and 900 Series.
Free, no catch
Get the gauge chart and Denny's first lesson
One email. A printable chart matching every common body size to a string gauge, plus the first lesson from the Zager library — the four chords most songs are built on.
We send about two emails a month and you can unsubscribe from any of them. We never sell your address.
Still not sure which series?
Tell us what you play now and what your hands find hard. We have been building and setting up acoustics in Lincoln since 1969, and we will tell you which series actually suits you.
Money back with shipping paid both ways · Hand set up in Lincoln