I would buy another without hesitation if this were damaged or stolen. Only the Music Man Luke may sway my decision, but it's $1,000 more!

Sound
First of all I have to say that it's my first venture into this design of guitar, as I'm usually an ES-335 player. I wanted something as extreme from the Gibson as I could get while maintaining the high quality I'm accustomed to. This guitar fulfills my needs perfectly. Not only is it beautifully made, but it has a very diverse range of sounds, and an incomparable tremolo system. I'm into more of the Larry Carlton style, and it's a cakewalk with the Ibanez. It sounds great in all pickup configurations, and when played through a Fulltone OCD/ Fender Blues Junior 111 combination, or a distorted Fender De Ville, it is perfect for any kind of hard rock. I only gave it a 9 because it does lack some sustain higher up the neck when played clean.

Features
The tremolo...... simply a fantastic design that refuses to go out of tune, and is so simply adjusted for spring tension. Ball bearings instead of the usual two-point system. Smooth as can be imagined. The super slim, titanium re-inforced neck. No need to worry about warpage here. Locking Ibanez tuners that work perfectly. All the controls feel solid, and should stand up to many years of use, be it on the stage or just playing at home. Excellent choice of wood, with a lovely lightly flamed maple top (mine's… read more Sapphire Blue...... looks gorgeous, especially with the matching headstock).

Ease of Use
No real learning curve apart from stringing up the tremolo for the first time. I'd never used a "Floyd Rose" type system before, but for those who have, it's a breeze. My small rack consists of the Fulltone OCD (as I mentioned), EH Corona Chorus & Hall of Fame reverb, plus a Boss DD-3 delay & Digitech Hardwire TL-2 Metal distortion (for my mad moments!), and all of them respond beautifully to this guitar. Apart from my Music Man Axis Super Sport, I've never played a faster neck. The fretwork is impeccable, with beautifully dressed frets, and not a sharp edge in sight.

Quality
I live in Japan, so I've become accustomed to the outstanding work of Japanese guitar companies & luthiers. For the price, you'd be very hard pushed to find anything better built. The guitars are built by Ibanez's Custom Shop (J-Craft) and they are renowned for their quality control and attention to detail. As I said earlier, I think these guitars are built to last, so that's not really an issue.

Value
It's worth every cent (or yen) that you pay for it and more. It may be only around US$1,500, but plays like a $3,000 instrument!

Manufacturer Support
I'm giving it a 10 in advance, because I well know what Japanese after sales service is like. Coming from Australia where after sales service is next to non-existant, I know to expect nothing but the best. BTW, I've had this guitar for 10 months now, and it's still singing like a little bird, with only minor tweaking of the intonation on occasions.

The Wow Factor
I HAVE IT! It looks great just standing still on the stand. Just begs to be picked up & played.

Musical Background:
47 years! A sofa player these days. The ES-335 will always be my favorite axe.

Musical Style:
Rock, Fusion, a little folk. read less