The Talman is a thin-bodied guitar, and as such doesn't have a lot of projection; however, once plugged in it has a very pleasant tone that's somewhere between an acoustic and electric. It has a lot of sustain and the complex overtones necessary to musical expression.

The ability to change the sound of this guitar from acoustic to electric with a stomp is what attracted me to it. What I like is that I can connect to my pedal board add some delay/reverb and get a nice electric sound at a stomp, or switch back to an acoustic sound with another stomp. Very convenient for my gigs, which have a mix of electric-guitar leads and acoustic strumming. Sometimes there is insufficient time to switch back and forth from acoustic to electric, or the lead part is so minor that it doesn't justify bringing both types of guitars. I especially enjoy just bringing one guitar to practice that can give the rest of the band an idea of what the lead part will sound like, well enough to decide which songs we will include in the set. If we will be electric-guitar "heavy" on the next gig then I just simulate that during practice and bring whichever guitars will needed for the actual gig.This guitar serves a particular purpose, and I suppose there are few all-purpose guitars, but if you usually play plugged-in you will have a great little dual-purpose guitar. Even unplugged, it's nearly as loud as many full-sized guitars and great for practicing to recordings of our gigs while at home alone. Pop it into a well-padded gig-bag and its light weight won't burden you from van to venue and back.

Once properly setup it's very easy to get a variety of sounds, especially because the magnetic pickup provides a strong, full-spectrum signal that is easily modified. the thin neck makes playing very easy.

It must be acknowledged that this guitar, out of the box, requires a good set up to reach its potential. However, almost every guitar, regardless of pedigree will need some setup. Even my Taylor 714-CE had to have it's saddle lowered and truss-rod adjusted. It is very well finished, has no surface flaws and like many Ibanez guitars goes beyond functionality by being beautiful to look at and touch. Our drummer was impressed with its looks and estimated its cost at $600=$700.The red undertones of the mahogany body is a joy to behold, and the figuring of the ash top (I have the natural finish, not the red-burst pictured) is likewise very pretty. The cream-colored edging of the body and neck is also nicely done. The tuners are decent and feel about 14:1 ratio. The strap-buttons needed to be tightened as did the screws on the electronics panel and battery box, but those are minor assembly issues. The only other change I made was to replace the provided bridge-pins with brass ones (which I do with all my guitars anyway - the brass (being denser) transmits vibrations more easily to the bridge. Speaking of the bridge, Ibanez provided an extra saddle and two under-saddle shims in case you go a bit too far while filing the saddle down. That's more thoughtful than most guitar manufacturers to be sure. In addition, you get two allen-wrenches; one for the truss-rod and another to adjust the pickup.

Great value for the money and a joy to play and own. If Ibanez provided a version with a sound board transducer (like a B-Band) or even an under-saddle pickup with a "mix" control to vary the tone between the magnetic and other type of pickup they would have a best-seller.

Wow: the beauty of the woods. Wow: the adaptability of the guitar from acoustic to electric. Wow: the great thin-profile neck. Wow: the zZounds "Pay As You Play Plan" and their excellent returns policy.

I've been playing guitars over 40 years. Currently play on a worship team at our church.

Progressive Christian and Christian, Fusion Rock-Jazz

Beautiful tone plugged in or not. I was surprised by this guitar. For the price, I was expecting much less. It plays wonderful and has a bright sound with lots of resonance. When played through an amp I like a little chorus to go along with it -- makes the sound more full. If you want this guitar to play like an electric you'll need to put lighter gauge strings on it. I believe it comes with 12's on it. Of course, if you do that you'll lose some tone.

The only thing that I wish this model of the Talman had was an onboard tuner. I ended up buying a clip on tuner (PT-10) and it works great.

This guitar comes with medium gauge strings on it, so it is somewhat difficult to do full step bends. I recommend putting light strings on it, especially if you'll be playing primarily through an amp. Tension is high on the strings it comes with, which makes the action stiff. However, the height of the strings is perfect. No buzz, all frets were level and every note on the guitar rings out perfect, even when doing bends. The guitar came in perfect condition and it is a beautiful guitar. Love the Ash top and Mahagony neck/sides/bottom. Tuners could use improvement -- they are simple die-cast tuners.

Excellent quality control. This is probably the best Chinese made guitar that I've seen straight out of the box. It came with all the hardware for making adjustments. Intonation was spot on. Very glossy finish. It's a work of art. The only thing it needed when I received it (IMO) is a new set of strings to suit my playing style.

This guitar is, in my opinion, worth much more than what I paid for it. It is flawless, looks awesome, and plays beautifully. I've been playing guitar since 1978 and I think I've had enough experience to evaluate and review guitars. Hey, it's not a $2500 Taylor but for what it is and for the price point it is an excellent guitar. Perfect for all levels of players.

Don't know about support, since I've haven't needed it yet. But I can say that I have made Zzounds.com one of the first places to look when I want to buy equipment and accessories. Everything arrives promptly and in perfect condition. Plus, no tax and free shipping.

I chose this guitar primarily due to the compact size, styling, and I wanted and acoustic-electric. Sturdy guitar, high gloss finish, nice wood grain, fast neck. Like I said previously, the action is a little taut, but lighter gauge strings should remedy this (unless you like it that way). I compared this guitar to the Fender Stratacoustic and a couple of Ovations and felt that both had a lot to be desired.

Active Musician

Metal, Hard Rock, Classic Rock

I Like the Sound on this guitar. I've owned Alverez (acoustic only) and Ovation acoustic electric guitars. I've played over 30 yrs. I play 70's, 80's southern rock,(Eagles, Stones, Skynard, Neil Young, Tom petty, ZZ Top, Boston, mellow picking, etc. This guitar has a rich/crisp sound. Unplugged, it's only for practice or in a small room solo. Plugged in - Sound is really nice, crisp and rich - acoustic elec. (or mic it).

Really didn't expect too much here ...but it does what I need it to - basic treble, bass & vol. controls on the guitar.

Very Easy and Playable...Slim neck and easy action right out of the box. No adj. needed really. For practice I just left the orig. strings on, they sound great (when I replace them I'll stay w/ the brass (acoustic/elec. type strings in .10 or higher - I don't suggest 'slinky' or non - brass low end strings here.)

Beautiful Guitar! A really beautiful instrument. Amazing for the price. Finish is really nice. The tuners are really good...I've only had to make minor adj. to the tuning in about 2 wks. This Guitar holds it's tune better than my others. I pick it up and it always sounds great!

I belive this is a great value in a beginner to intermediate guitar (but it really sounds and plays above that)

Really don't know on this one - Don't think I will ever need to.??

Very High here - I Love the look and feel of this guitar. by the way, mine looks much better that the pics here...1st, the headstock is the Updated Talman Look, w/ the offset Tuners and thinner cutaway look. (I had seen this in some other pics or another site, and was hoping this site just had an old pic - They Did! Mine is the new look!) I think you will Love the look and feel of this guitar.

30 + yrs. Hobbyist / garage bands

Southern Rock, Rock, Mellow Picking / Southern country

The sound is pretty good, and the quality of it is pretty good. i guess for an inexpensive guitar, this is the one to get. I'm learning guitar, so for me, this is a GREAT beginners guitar. It's a pretty nice one.

It's very pretty, but it's not like extremely unique or anything... but it's, you know, pretty nice.!

it's really good quality too... i've hit my sister with it before (by accident lol) and it didn't break... i've also forgotten i was carrying it, and a couple of times, i banged it into a wall... nothing happened though... it's a great quality

yes... it's a nice guitar

i havn't dealt with the company... i'm sure there good though, b/c the store i bought it at carries pretty much everything that ibanez makes...

VERY PRETTY...

Hobbyist, soon to be Active Musician

Punk Rock

THis is a smaller body guitar, so the sound projection is not as intense as a full bodied acoustic,but is very good. WOW- plug it in to an amp and it sounds EXCELLENT!!!

Bought the ibanez Talman TCM 50 guitar as a blemished item on sale. Can't find anything cosmetically wrong with it. The strings were loosened possibly for shipment and I had difficulty retuning them. I brought the guitar to my neighborhood guitar luthier and he made a neck and some other minor adjustments, put on some new strings and the guitar plays beautifully. Very atractive dark wood grain. Very light weight. Battery is a snap to replace. I play electric guitars and wanted a small bodied guitar which feels like an electric--this it it!

Bought this as a blemished item (can't find anything cosmetically wrong with it) and saved a lot of money making this guitar an excellent value.

hobbyist

rock; pop; Christian worship

Have been playing for 35+ years

Christian. classic rock.

Good sound for the money, obviously not as good as a full body acoustic, but good enough for practice or light performance with a amp.

treble.....bass....volume......nothing special.

if you already play acoutics, not much of a stretch.

suprisingly, pretty good quality...for not being real heavy.

honestly, this should sell for $200, but i'm not disappointed with my purchase.

no issues, quick shipping.

just wanted something to pick on without amping up.

hobbyist

rock, country, jazz

The sound quality is good but electronically not so much. I've had to make some adjustments so eliminate buzzing from the pick up . The quality of assembly of the parts( soldering was substandard). The strap knob by the neck was stripped it was only threaded into a 1/4" of wood( not good) the thing that made me not return this guitar was the wood grain. I knew if I returned it and got another the grain would not be the same since I have seen a few others. Wood affects sound. To make this guitar better all you would need is better quality assurance.

Beautiful wood on the Mahogany. Bad electronics

Easy for intermediate guitarist

Electronically substandard. Don't think it will last long electronically

Just

This is a beautiful styled guitar

42Yrs-Guitar-Home use

Soft rock

Unplugged sound is far better then any guitar this size such as the Fender equivalent. Even tho it's not as good as full size Dreadnaught. It's got a decent projection and volume. Plugged in, it sounds even better but not great. I think Ovation CC057 sounds better plugged in. Definitely worth it for price tho.

Nice paint job. Very glossy and neck is thin and very playable like an electric. Soundhole pickup is a plus. Only 2 EQ and Chinese quality give this an 8. The frets also feel a bit rough and not smooth and shiny.

Chinese made. What can i say.

Well worth it and better deal then the Fender equivalent. Fender unplugged sounds terrible but this sounds like acoustic.

Just got it so don't know.

God i wanted this guitar for the longest time. I wound do alot with it but i might break her.

Aspiring musician

all but country

Have been playing guitar for 12 years

Rock, blues, metal

hey. i really like this guitar, this is the best choice for me! just smell it, u will know how good is the wood material of this guitar, and it makes amazing sound. very good guality. when i unplug it, sounds clear and a little bit metallic, u can hear every single string, and when plug in to speaker, i tryed to turn the bass all the way up. man, guess what, i thought it could be a bass guitar. god daem good!

tools go with this guitar, can fix it when it has problems. but the only thing is i wanted a bag goes with it, but it doesnt have that.

god daem good like what i have said.

home recording

punk rock, pop

not crisp at all very dry midrange oriented sound

had a truss rod allen wrench that didn't fit well and stripped out the rod, it appears that the cutout for the access to the rod is not angled right to allow you to get the allen wrench all the way in.

very limited in it's range of sound. The bass can be cranked up louder than any simliar guitar, I'm not sure if that's good or bad.

smooth frets, nice tuners, and it's beautiful to look at...the truss rod access is a problem though...otherwise it seemed better built than most guitars in it's price range

no, there are many products taht are a better value in it's price range

have not dealt with Ibanez

yes, it looks great

Proffesional Musician

70's easy listening, folk,

Like many before the unplugged sound of this guitar sound a little...well un energized..but when you plug it up and start playing it sounds just like my fathers seagull...

im just glad it has strap knobs..

Made in China...well thats ok the body is beautiful

very goood price for the rich tones that come from being plugged in..

no contact

Its freakin gorgeous!!! just look at it!!

I play alot but it's only been 2 years

Rock..oldies..punk..own creations