Probably dont need my review but here it is. The good: This guitar covers many of the desires that a guitarist would want in a modern guitar. Cutaway, built in tuner, 12 string, electric output etc. This guitar is well enginered. Comparable to other well built guitars. It has my respect in its price range and what it offers for the price.
The bad: yes, you have to remember the bad when buying discounted goods. The assembly is sub par. Sharp tuners that cut strings. Cracks occurred on the finish near the top frets from temperature changes. First time I observed such an extreme reaction to moderate changes in weather. I am a floridian, after all. Strings were popping while loosening, while adjusting the truss rod. Truss rod seems poor. It does not budge as much as one would expect. The solution is to adjust the bridge height and the nut via filing, as suggested.

This guitar is an excellemt choice for those willing to have them filed and adjusted to their liking. I can imagine they did not put too much effort into this because of the lower price tag. The good news is it is ,surely, not a garbage guitar. The bad news is you will need to invest a few (either time or money)into making it shine as the engineering would permit.

First off, you need to keep in mind that I'm 64 and haven't even picked up a guitar in close to 25 years, not that I was all that good last time I actually played. Strummin' and hummin'. That was about it. Decided on a 12 string because I don't see myself getting to the point where I would do a lot of solos and leads. Electric - acoustic would be nice if I end up sitting in with the church band. And I need a challenging hobby after retiring from a legal career. Something to keep my mind working.
Didn't want to spend a whole bunch, didn't want to spend that little that I'd be looking for a fancier guitar after some of my skills built up.
Knew the Oscar Schmidt name from way back, felt comfortable with them. Liked the looks of this tobacco/sunburst model and I was not disappointed: beautiful design, very well made. The guitar came from Austin Bazaar, order filled by Amazon. Came in a timely (no shipping charge) manner, packaged very well, included a power chord and Allen wrench. Wish it had come with some sort of owner's manual.
Sounds great right out of the box after tuning it up. The digital tuner is really, really precise, so the process takes a bit of practice, but a feature I wouldn't do without. Probably couldn't. Also ordered a Healing Shield Pick Guard in the Marbling-A pattern. Compliments the guitar nicely and gives you the protection. The D'Addario strings were a big plus.
If you're serious about your playing, there are of course better ways to go. But if you're serious about learning or just having some fun, this is a really good choice to do it.
And it looks cool hanging on the wall in my den.
At my age, "cool" helps.

Where do I begin??? For starters, I have been playing for almost 20 years and have been doing repairs on solid body electrics and acoustic guitars for 5 years now commercially. Not to sound arrogant - but I KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE....

The craftsmanship for this guitar is excellent. The construction is solid feeling and the paint finish is handsomely done. The bridge is glued straight and even onto the body with no exposed seams. The nut is precisely cut for the strings - they sit there nice and snug. On cheaply done 12 strings, you see that the nut is not cut very evenly. This guitar feature a NUBONE brand nut & compensated saddle & that makes for great intonation on this guitar and your strings will stay in tune much longer.

The tuners are standard sealed tuners and do well holding the guitar in tune. I normally like to replace the tuners immediately on my acoustics with "GROVER" brand tuners but after playing this guitar for a week straight - no less than 3 hours a day (seriously folks), I've only had to tune the guitar twice.

The guitar arrived with the action set perfectly. The strings were nice and low from the start and still had enough clearance for hard strumming with NO BUZZING. The strings didn't need changing either since the guitar has D'Addario XL strapped on - great bright/jangly sounding highs with nice clear lows!!!

The body has a spruce top with mahogany sides & back. This guitar sounds great. I compared it to my friends 18 year old FENDER brand 12 string and it sounds better than hers! (I told her it sounds just as good as her guitar so as not to hurt her feelings. But in reality this guitar beats hers....LOL)

The electronics are not top of the line - obviously. BUT... The wiring is neat and the sound when amplified is pretty darn good. Naturally, you need to reduce how much gain you use if you play really loud on your amp. But that's just the way it is when dealing with acoustic guitars anyway. I might in the future change it out for a PIEZO system but then again - I might not. It holds up well as is. The instrument control board also includes a nice handy tuner which always helps & it does the job accurately.
Kudos to the manufacturer for including an output jack for direct line connection to a soundboard/mixer besides the standard output jack you would plug into your amp. That's real versatility and very helpful. You usually don't find such versatility except on more expensive instruments!!! Very nice, indeed.

On the control panel for the electronics, the buttons are a little stiff when you press them. The knobs are a little too small to grab and a little too tight when you turn them. You have to have a moderately "soft touch" when pushing the buttons and a little more strength when using the knobs. Personally speaking, I tend to leave the "tone tweaking" alone on the actual guitars I own and always use my amp or pedals for tone shaping alteration anyway. So i won't be using the buttons or knobs too much anyway.

Lastly, I wish it came with a pick guard. Oh well, I just ordered a nice one with a fancy hummingbird design on it.
Problem solved.

What's the bottom line, people???

BUY THIS GUITAR !!!!!!!!!

You'd be a fool not to. You get so much for under $200. What the heck are u waiting for???
I'm seriously gonna get a second one.

The media could not be loaded. The guitar came in a box with three small pieces of styrofoam and just a thin sleeve of packing wrapped around it. It did come with a hex key for neck adjustment, but was missing guarantee and instructions paperwork.
Frets are a little sharp and it came badly out of tune,but for what it cost I really can't complain too loudly.

Despite a two day delay in UPS hub in Louisville, KY, my delivery was a day sooner than originally expected as UPS upgraded the service due to the delay. I was supposed to get it on the 24th, I received the instrument on the 23rd via UPS and it got to me in perfect condition, tuned down about a step which is a good thing when shipping or storing a 12-string unused for an extended period. I immediately tuned it to concert pitch and had to tweak the truss rod just a bit to get rid of a few string buzzes, but otherwise it was otherwise pretty well set up and the tuning drift is well within what one would expect from strings that have just been tuned to concert pitch for the first time. Playing the Bb bar cords at the first fret is easier on this than on most 6 strings I've played. Beautiful instrument but no front strap post but the neck seems rugged enough to use a guitar strap with the attachment strap just above the nut. Good action, brilliant, clean tone and the tuner was close enough that it will get you well within an acceptable range. My sister and I played a duet, with her guitar tuned on another tuner and it was close enough that we didn't need any tuning tweaks to sound good together.

I have been playing since I was 13 and am now a part the Geritol generation with a bad back but nimble fingers and good ears and this is one of the nicest 12 strings I have ever played. The neck is a bit thicker than some 6 strings 12 strings I've played in the past, but the instrument is very well made, quite attractive and has a very good degree of tone and balance up and down the neck. The harmonics are spot-on at the 12th and 7th frets and with the flat fingerboard, capos a lot better than many 6 and 12-strings I have played. I am imagining that my descendants are going to be using this instrument a long after I'm gone.

This is one of the best bangs for the buck I have ever found out there and I would recommend this as a viable guitar for anyone who wants to play a 12-string. It may not have a fancy name and not cost more than a 2010 Hyundai, but it is a serious, good quality instrument. This is the second 12-string I've owned. My previous 12-string was a very high end Yamaha bought in the 1990s and this plays and sounds better than one I paid over twice the price for (or almost 4 times as much for in terms of 1990s dollars) and would undoubtedly sell for at least $800 nowadays.

One thing is does have is both 1/4" (6.35mm) and DIN sockets so it will be good for any kind of sound setup. This is a serious instrument and Taylor has done a really good job of keeping their sound in what is essentially to Taylor as Applause is to Ovation. It may be relatively inexpensive, but it is a serious instrument with all the features that make high-end instruments easy to set up as well. Even if it doesn't project as well as a few higher end makes, it will hold up to most situations and the pickups sound good enough on an amp where this is essentially an non-issue as the equalization on the pickup is very nicely done. The guitar came with both a 1/4 guitar cord and the Allen wrench for the truss rod and that is all one really needs if the guitar is well made. The machine heads are a good design, and are the kind that are adjustable, if you know what you are doing - just use the proper sized Phillips screw driver in excellent condition to prevent damage to the screw heads and tweak it in stages to prevent over tightening which will accelerate wear on the machine heads. The overall quality of components, plus a quick look at the interior bracing and construction with an angled inspection mirror and flashlight showed good, well-glued bracing and over all good construction. An extremely good instrument for the price.