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ZAD50 Solid Spruce/Mahogany Acoustic Black
In Stores:
$3,000.00+$1,695.00$1,495.00
$1,495.00
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$625 $0
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$195 $0
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Description
Possibly the last guitar you’ll ever buy. After 60 years of performing, recording, and teaching, Denny Zager brings an unmatched level of insight to modern guitar design. Understanding the needs of professional players firsthand, Denny crafted the Zager ZAD50BLK, a bold twist on the legendary ZAD50 Series, pairing its award-winning playability with a sleek, high-gloss black finish that turns heads under stage lights.
Beneath its stunning exterior, the ZAD50BLK features the same solid wood construction, hand-carved bracing, and Zager custom neck known for making playing easier, smoother, and faster. Every component, from the Grover tuners to the hand-filed frets, is fine-tuned for precision and comfort.
Performing artists using the ZAD50BLK often compare its tone and responsiveness to guitars in the $2000+ range, yet it’s easier to play and far more affordable thanks to Zager’s direct-from-workshop pricing in Lincoln, Nebraska.
As with all Zager instruments, the ZAD50BLK is backed by a 100% money-back guarantee (including shipping both ways) and a lifetime warranty, ensuring it’s truly a lifetime instrument.
Key Features
- Solid wood body that matures in tone over time
- Hand-scalloped bracing for powerful projection and depth
- Slim, fast neck design for superior comfort
- Custom string spacing for speed and clean articulation
- Zager soft-touch frets to eliminate string bite
- Adjustable truss rod to fine-tune action
- Ultra-thin black high-gloss finish for maximum vibration and visual appeal
- Hand-carved bone nut and saddle for professional-grade tone
- Hand-laid abalone rosette and pearl fret markers
- Ivory binding and zipper-back detailing
- Genuine Grover tuning machines
- 100% Money-Back Guarantee
- Lifetime Warranty
Description
Possibly the last guitar you’ll ever buy. After 60 years of performing, recording, and teaching, Denny Zager brings an unmatched level of insight to modern guitar design. Understanding the needs of professional players firsthand, Denny crafted the Zager ZAD50BLK, a bold twist on the legendary ZAD50 Series, pairing its award-winning playability with a sleek, high-gloss black finish that turns heads under stage lights.
Beneath its stunning exterior, the ZAD50BLK features the same solid wood construction, hand-carved bracing, and Zager custom neck known for making playing easier, smoother, and faster. Every component, from the Grover tuners to the hand-filed frets, is fine-tuned for precision and comfort.
Performing artists using the ZAD50BLK often compare its tone and responsiveness to guitars in the $2000+ range, yet it’s easier to play and far more affordable thanks to Zager’s direct-from-workshop pricing in Lincoln, Nebraska.
As with all Zager instruments, the ZAD50BLK is backed by a 100% money-back guarantee (including shipping both ways) and a lifetime warranty, ensuring it’s truly a lifetime instrument.
Key Features
- Solid wood body that matures in tone over time
- Hand-scalloped bracing for powerful projection and depth
- Slim, fast neck design for superior comfort
- Custom string spacing for speed and clean articulation
- Zager soft-touch frets to eliminate string bite
- Adjustable truss rod to fine-tune action
- Ultra-thin black high-gloss finish for maximum vibration and visual appeal
- Hand-carved bone nut and saddle for professional-grade tone
- Hand-laid abalone rosette and pearl fret markers
- Ivory binding and zipper-back detailing
- Genuine Grover tuning machines
- 100% Money-Back Guarantee
- Lifetime Warranty
ZAD50 Solid Spruce/Mahogany Acoustic Black
In Stores: $3,000.00
Regular price$1,695.00
Sale price$1,495.00
Choose options
ZAD50 Solid Spruce/Mahogany Acoustic Black
In Stores: $3,000.00
Regular price$1,695.00
Sale price$1,495.00
$1,495.00
What players say
I’ve been playing guitar for nearly 40 years and have owned Martin, Taylor, and Gibson acoustics. My Zager is by far the best-playing and best-sounding guitar I’ve ever owned. I didn’t expect that.
What surprised me most is how easy this guitar is to play. The neck is comfortable, the action is low, and my hands don’t fatigue. I honestly thought this was a $5,000 guitar.
I was honestly skeptical after reading reviews online, but after spending time with it, I can say this guitar blew me away. I’ve owned high-end Martins and didn’t expect this level of tone or playability.
After 30+ years of playing, you know when something is special. This Zager plays easier than my Taylor and sounds every bit as good as guitars I’ve paid twice as much for.
I’ve played for over 40 years, owned Gibsons and Martins, and this guitar is simply the best I’ve ever owned. It’s easier on my hands and sounds incredible. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it.
I’ve been playing for over 35 years and have owned Martin and Gibson. The first thing I noticed with the Zager was how easy it is to play. It’s one of those guitars that just feels right the moment you pick it up.
If you handed this to me without telling me the price, I would have assumed it was a $4,000–$5,000 guitar. I’ve paid more than that for instruments that didn’t play this comfortably.
I’ve been playing guitar for over 40 years, and I’ll admit I was skeptical at first. After spending time with it, I can honestly say this guitar blew me away. I’ve owned high-end Taylors, and this holds its own easily.
After 30+ years of playing, my hands don’t tolerate stiff guitars anymore. The Zager is noticeably easier on my hands, and I can play longer without fatigue. That alone sets it apart from my Martin.
I’ve owned Gibsons, Martins, and Takamines over the last four decades, and this is the best guitar I’ve ever owned. The tone, the feel, and the attention to detail all exceeded what I expected.
Build Sheet
Dreadnought Size Dimensions
Dreadnought Style
Sitka Spruce Top
100% Money-Back Guarantee — Try One Free
Mr. Zager sells only direct from his workshop — no retail markups, saving you 50%. Every guitar comes with a100% money-back guarantee, including shipping both ways, so you can try it at home completely risk-free.
Play it in your own space, with your own hands, for afull 30-day home trial. If it’s not the easiest-playing guitar you’ve ever owned,we’ll arrange the return pickup—no restocking fees, no pressure, no questions asked.
This is the same guarantee Mr. Zager has stood behind for over 50 years.
Hand built to play easy
Custom neck design
The minute you hold a Zager guitar you immediately feel Denny’s 60 years of research in designing a neck that feels good no matter what your hand size. Players say it feels “natural” like an extension of your body. It’s slim front to back allowing you to get your hand around it with ease. It’s also wide enough (but not too wide) so that with Denny’s custom string spacing you’re not leaning on adjacent strings creating buzzes and rattles.
Lower string heights
Any guitar builder can lower strings, very few can do it without buzzing and poor sound quality. Few players know that if string height is too low it destroys sound quality. If you look closely at Zager guitars you’ll notice low string heights on frets 1-10 where players spend the majority of their time, but action rises over the sound hole for better tone and easier picking with the right hand. This also allows you to really get into it and play aggressively with no buzzing. Denny also incorporates a custom adjustment setting on his guitars so you can dial in string height specifically for your style of play.
Lower string pressure
When you barely have to press to form chords it makes a world of difference in your playing whether you’re a professional player or just starting out. New players with no muscle in their fingers are all of a sudden forming chords with ease as 50% less pressure is needed to make chords ring true. Advanced players no longer have to “muscle” chords and are able to play longer sets with much greater speed and accuracy. Denny achieves this using a lighter bracing system which actually flexes in the face as you press each string. This also provides more bass and power as more movement in the face produces a bigger sound.
Custom string spacing
Have you ever tried to form a chord and no matter how you adjusted your fingers they were leaning on adjacent strings causing buzzes and rattles? Denny solves this problem by using custom string spacing on his guitars. When you look at a Zager guitar you won’t even notice its spacing until you play it, but when you do you’ll immediately notice chords that were hard or impossible are easy. Just 1/32’s of an inch can make the difference between a chord that rings true and one that buzzes and rattles.
String height adjustment
Denny designs his guitars with a string height adjustment setting that allows you to dial in your guitar to your particular style of play. In this way if you’re a heavy handed player you can set the action higher so you can “get on it” for more power, and if you’re a lighter handed touch player you can dial the action low for greater speed and accuracy.
Solid wood construction
The best acoustic guitars in the world use solid tone woods – it’s as simple as that. If you want the highest quality sound solid woods cure as they age giving them a better sound year after year. The main advantage of solid wood is that it is far more resonant and thus has a far better tone. The other advantage is durability. You want your guitar to last. A solid wood guitar will better handle the normal dings and scratches that result from long-time use.
Genuine Fishman electronics
The industry leader in pickups for acoustic and electric instruments today. Our acoustic electric models allow you to plug into an amplifier or PA system and play them like full electrics essentially giving you two guitars in one. Unplugged they sound exactly like our full acoustics so there’s no acoustic sound loss. They also have built in auto tuners that tune your guitar in a fraction of the time it takes using conventional tuning methods. Our touring artists appreciate this as it saves time on stage and for beginning players the auto tuners actually train your ear so you develop a perfect sense of pitch.
Genuine Grover tuning machines
The worlds finest machine heads.” Original equipment on leading guitar brands Martin, Zager and Gibson. Lifetime warranty. Break a tuner and we’ll replace it free for life.
Hand carved bone nut
Mr. Zager uses only real cow bone nuts on his guitars and hand carves each one for each individual guitar. In doing so he cuts the string notches a millimeter further apart which creates more room for your fingers. Many players think Zager necks are wider but that would make playability worse as a wide neck is harder to get your hand around. Wider string spacing gives your fingers more room so you’re not leaning on adjacent strings creating buzzes and rattles. This not only makes your guitar easier to play but it also gives you more speed and accuracy. Players say they can move faster with fewer mistakes on Zager guitars and this is one of the reasons why. Lifetime warranty. Break a nut and we’ll replace it free for life.
Hand scalloped bracing
The technique of scalloping or shaving the braces can have a huge impact on the power and tone of an acoustic guitar. By reducing the thickness of the brace it becomes more flexible and therefore lets the top move more freely creating more sound. When done by a master builder the brace maintains its structural integrity, while making the top more efficient. The result is faster attack, longer sustain, more bass, more power, and an overall improvement in the whole tone system.
Hand filed soft metal frets
Mr. Zager hand files the frets on all of his guitars and uses a special softer grade of metal in building his guitars that’s easier on your fingers. By filing the frets he achieves two important things. When sliding up and down the neck your fingers will no longer get irritated and sore and you won’t suffer from “string bite” and overall finger fatigue. Secondly, when you file the frets by hand each fret will have the same uniform height. 9 times out of 10 when you have a buzzing string it has nothing to with your playing, it’s because you have a guitar with a fret that’s sitting away from the fret board hitting a string.
Hand applied custom thin finish
Many guitar builders use a thick gloss finish to protect their guitars. While their intentions are good, a thick finish actually harms the sound quality as it muffles a guitars vibration and blocks the aging process. Mr. Zager uses a special high gloss thin finish that provides the same protection as a thick finish but it’s extremely light and elastic and allows movement of the body. This is a crucial point in both the sound of the guitar and its ability to age—which is what makes a guitar sound better year after year.
Handmade Bolivian rosewood fretboard
Many high quality guitar builders these days are using ebony on their fret boards which is a quality wood, but it’s very dense in nature. Mr. Zager uses only Bolivian rosewood on his fret boards which is a little more costly, but he does it for two important reasons. Frets have a higher propensity for springing an ebony (due to its denseness) and to the dedicated ear ebony fret boards actually put off a slightly tinnier sound then rosewood which is tonally richer and warmer in character.
Hand laid pearl and abalone inlay
Abalone and pearl inlay is found on only the highest quality guitars. Laid by hand one piece at a time the color and translucence of each piece changes with different amounts of light
Hand wound Zager strings
Zager custom strings are designed by Mr Zager exclusively for his Guitars. We have players using all brands and gauges of strings on our guitars with excellent results, but these are the strings our customers like the most. Hand wound daily in our shop in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Perfect quality control
When you buy your guitar direct from the builder not only do you save money avoiding the middle man retail price mark up (usually about 50%), but quality control is higher because your guitar isn’t being sent through dealer networks going through multiple hands in the retail stores. When you buy your guitar from Zager it goes straight from Mr. Zagers hands to you with a 100% money back guarantee.
Compare models
Swipe to see more →
| 20 Series | 50 Series | 80 Series | 900 Series | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sound |
Bright and focused. Most affordable full mahogany guitar with a natural spruce soundboard for a bright, focused tone without sounding thin. |
Natural and earthy. Traditional tone woods: Sitka spruce + African mahogany, with more complex bracing for deeper tone than 20 Series. |
Warm, mellow and sweet. Rosewood + western red cedar pairing delivers beautiful warmth and a mellow voice. |
Deep, rich and powerful. AAA Sitka spruce + premium rosewood produce a special, unique sound. Hand-scalloped bracing for even more power. |
| Woods | ||||
| Sound board | Spruce | Sitka Spruce | Western Red Cedar | AAA Sitka Spruce |
| Back & sides | Mahogany | African Mahogany | Indian Rosewood | AAA Indian Rosewood |
| Neck | Mahogany | African Mahogany | African Mahogany | AAA African Mahogany |
| Headstock | Mahogany | African Mahogany | Indian Rosewood | AAA Indian Rosewood |
| Features | ||||
| Binding | Ebony | Ivory | Ivory with solid abalone line | Hand bound Curly Maple |
| Bracing | Classic X | Classic X | Classic X (tuned) | Hand-carved Classic X |
| Tuning machines | Genuine Grover (chrome) | Genuine Grover (chrome) | Genuine Grover (gold) | Genuine Grover (gold) |
| Headstock inlay | Abalone | Abalone | Abalone | Abalone & Pearl |
| Fret inlay | None | None | Abalone | Abalone & Pearl |
| Fret markers | Pearl dot | Pearl dot | Pearl Cross | Pearl Cross |
| Back inlay | None | Zager stripe | Herringbone zipper stripe | Curly maple & mahogany |
| Neck inlay | None | Zager stripe | Herringbone zipper stripe | Mahogany inlay stripe |
| Nut | Bone hand carved | Bone hand carved | Bone hand carved | Bone hand carved |
| Saddle | Bone hand carved | Bone hand carved | Bone hand carved | Bone hand carved |
| Posts | Easy play soft nickel | Easy play soft nickel | Easy play soft nickel | Easy play soft nickel |
| Finish | Light, Electric High Gloss | Light, Electric High Gloss | Light, Electric High Gloss | Light, Electric High Gloss |
| Strings | Zager pillow touch | Zager pillow touch | Zager pillow touch | Zager pillow touch |
Compare sizes
Swipe to see more →
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|---|---|---|---|
41" Full Size Dreadnought:The most popular guitar size in the world. If you want bass, volume & power, the full-size dreadnought delivers the best blend of comfort, playability and sound quality. |
40" Orchestra Model (OM size):15% smaller than our full-size guitars with a thinner body and narrower waist — easier to hold and play with excellent comfort. |
38" Parlor Size:20% smaller than full size with a 2″ shorter neck — ideal for shorter arms — offering a richer, deeper sound than other small guitars. |
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Height: 41 in Box length: 20 in Waist: 11 in Widest bout: 15.5 in Depth: 4.75 in |
Height: 40 in Box length: 19 in Waist: 9.75 in Widest bout: 15.5 in Depth: 4 in |
Height: 38 in Box length: 19 in Waist: 9.75 in Widest bout: 14.75 in Depth: 4 in |
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Zager Artists
Van Halen
"The 900CE records so clean I barely touch the EQ anymore."
Dolly Parton
"My Zager feels like it was made just for me — smooth, balanced, effortless."
James Taylor
"On stage, the 900CE projects without me having to dig in — it just sings."
Lady Gaga
"The 900CE plays like it’s already been broken in for years."
Peter Paul & Mary
"My Zager stays in tune through the whole set — even when the lights get hot."
Bruce Springsteen Band
"In the studio, the 900CE just sits perfectly in the mix — no fight, no fuss."
Godsmack
"The 900CE plays like it’s already been broken in for years."
Tommy Emanual
Alice Cooper
"I’ve played every high-end acoustic out there — nothing touches the feel of this 900CE."
#3 Blues player in the world
Kid Rock
"The Zager just responds. Feather touch or heavy strum, it gives back what you put in."
Lainey Wilson
"I reach for my 900CE every time I want that warm, open tone on tape."
Garth Brooks Band
"The Zager lets me play three-hour shows without killing my hands."
Joe Satriani
"My Zager has that rare balance — mellow when I need it, bold when I push it."
Nancy Wilson Heart
"The 900CE feels alive — every note rings with intention."
Def Leppard
"I used to switch guitars between sets. Now it’s just the Zager."
Kenny Wayne Shepherd
"Every time I hand someone my 900CE, they’re shocked how easy it plays."
Johnny Cash Band
"My Zager has that vintage soul but modern playability — best of both worlds."
Sammy Hagar
"The 900CE makes fingerstyle feel effortless — it practically plays itself."
Blood Sweat & Tears
"I’ve got vintage Martins and Taylors, but my Zager is what I actually play."
Waylon Jennings
"The 900CE gives me the tone I used to chase with pedals and mics."
Merle Haggard
"My Zager has become my voice — it just feels natural now."
George Jones
"The 900CE records so clean I barely touch the EQ anymore."
Loretta Lynn
"My Zager feels like it was made just for me — smooth, balanced, effortless."
John Denver
"On stage, the 900CE projects without me having to dig in — it just sings."
Celine Dion
"When I’m writing, my Zager always pulls new ideas out of me."
Creed Fisher
"My Zager stays in tune through the whole set — even when the lights get hot."
Johnny Depp
"I’ve played every high-end acoustic out there — nothing touches the feel of this 900CE."
Third Eye Blind
"The Zager just responds. Feather touch or heavy strum, it gives back what you put in."
Glenn Frey
"I reach for my 900CE every time I want that warm, open tone on tape."
Arlo Guthrie Band
"The Zager lets me play three-hour shows without killing my hands."
Bellamy Brothers
"In the studio, the 900CE just sits perfectly in the mix — no fight, no fuss."
American Idol Ayla Brown
"My Zager has that rare balance — mellow when I need it, bold when I push it."
Hank Williams
"The 900CE feels alive — every note rings with intention."
American Idol John Foster
"Every time I hand someone my 900CE, they’re shocked how easy it plays."
Steven Seagal
"My Zager has that vintage soul but modern playability — best of both worlds."
Buck Owens Band
"The 900CE makes fingerstyle feel effortless — it practically plays itself."
Linda Ronstadt
"I’ve got vintage Martins and Taylors, but my Zager is what I actually play."
