The only thing that keeps this guitar from being a perfect low-guilt purchase is the feedback. If you want to mellow out or put a baby to sleep, it's dead-nuts perfect.

Sound
This is a smooth jazz guitar. They ship it with .010 standard electric strings, which don't make any sense to me. I string it with Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Swing Mediums, with a .013 top. I only use the neck pickup, and I roll off the treble a bit at the guitar, and turn the treble off completely at the amp. Add a bunch of fast-decay reverb, and you are swinging. It just makes you want to play jazz. Chords and runs all have "that sound". Think George Benson or Pat Metheny, with lots of odd harmonics. The pickups have a very "vintage" tone. It's a blast to play. Roundwound strings and the bridge pickup make a rockabilly sound, but there's no tremolo, and feedback would be a problem for this style. You can't play this guitar loud without bassy feedback, and it sounds best with a single speaker. I have bigger amps, but my little $89 Crate GX15-R is my favorite with this guitar.

Features
The guitar's looks are one step down from being made in Chinatown. It has bound flamed maple everything, including the soundholes and pickguard, and inlays in the inlays. Are they real? I don't know. Unless other people have a magnifying glass, they won't know either. It's real purty.

Quality
Where would you take it on the road? This is… read more a bedroom and coffeehouse guitar. It looks well glued, and has a sturdy case.

Value
If you want a smooth jazz box, you know what they normally cost. This guitar does the jazz thing for 25% of the usual price. If you want a second guitar for messing around playing jazz, and you don't have $1500 to satisfy the craving, this is a great choice.

Manufacturer Support
I've not needed support from Ibanez, or touch-ups by a luthier

The Wow Factor
My wife likes it a lot, and she's not sensitive to history or the usual measure of quality in fine guitars. It just looks good, and I don't drive her crazy when I play it. If find it fun and relaxing to play.

Musical Background:
Talentless fanatic

Musical Style:
Folk, Jazz, Fretless Bass read less