This is my first masticating juicer.
The assembly is a little bit tricky as there is a couple things to remember. There's a little rubber stopper under the pulp spout that needs to be opened for cleaning. The trick is to remember to close it back up before using it the next time. The second thing is that whatever you're juicing gets stuck up the sides of the working chamber.
It's a little hard to seat sometimes and I always wonder if I got it seated correctly.
It does chew up apples, pears, bananas, ginger, beets, spinach, celery, grapes and pieces of lime and lemon without making the final juice bitter.
Add softer fruit in with hard fruits/veggies for better results.
For a starter juicer, I'd recommend this one.