That's an interesting comment to me, cause mine plays very well. I've been playing electric guitar for almost 20 years, and decided to try out on acoustic about 6 months ago. It's just like starting from scratch, which is good, but also not so good, if you know what I mean. lol.
Anyway, I got the electric/acoustic Esteban guitar, and I'm quite pleased with it. Granted, it doesn't have the sound or action of an $800 Ovation, but then again I only paid $200 for the guitar, amp and DVD package. Action is good, sound is excellent. A number of my friends have tried it, and they were quite impressed, as well.
Maybe you just got a lower-quality one out of the line, possibly? I mean, I've seen top-dollar Fenders that play and sound like crap, too, so sometimes a guitar is just a matter of luck, and how it feels to the individual.
Based on the quality of mine, I would say that it's actually a name-brand guitar, but because it has a few cosmetic flaws, it was re-sold out to another company to put their name on.
BTW, I thought Esteban was a self-created character just trying to cash in novice guitar players, too, but if you check out one of his videos, you'll find the guy is an AMAZING classical guitarist.
PS - BTW, I do NOT work estaban, inc., although it may sound like it <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_wink.gif" border=0 alt="Wink"> But I, for one, am very pleased with this particular model. It's an Esteban American Legacy Master Class Cutaway Guitar Model No. ALC-200. I defintely would not agree that its master-class, but for the money I'm quite pleased. The DVD's are ok, I guess, but they're not the reason I bought it, so...
The one I bought was from this site, if anyone is interested in seeing which one it is:
<a href="http://www.estebanmasterguitar.com/?r=atlas&gclid=CNXe69z-oosCFSh6SQodO0UXfw" target="_blank"> http://www.estebanmasterguitar.com/?r=a … lid=CNXe69 z-oosCFSh6SQodO0UXfw</a>
Just my two cents. Have a good day, all.