Ibanez AW54-OPN

I feel I should point out that, before I chose this guitar, I ordered a Takamine GD10CE-NS, which I then decided to return. The return was handled well and with 0 complications. You see when I got the Takamine, I was very disappointed. Now the guitar itself was beautiful, truly wonderful to look at. But you know that feeling when you hold a guitar and simply do not know what to play, because the sound does not resonate with you, and you feel very uninspired as a result? That's the feeling I got from the Takamine. My friend did not like it either, and after a discussion, we simply could not pinpoint what is wrong with the sound, and came to an agreement that it simply "lacks soul". I changed the strings and the sound improved, however, it was still not dark enough, not right - a very bright sound that almost cut through you. Not my cup of tea.

Now this Ibanez... wow.

First of all, it looks absolutely stunning. The dark wood and the open pore finish is amazing. When I first picked this guitar up and played it, I did not want to stop. And instead of not knowing what to play, I discovered new ways of holding the frets, and played things I never did before. The sound to me is an old cabin, deep in the woods, and while the playing coming from inside it is mellow and slow, it is rich and full of vitality, heart and depth. A deep, rich, and not too bright tone. Perfect for what I wanted. The guitar has crazy sustain and the craftsmanship is simply superb. The Takamine was no worse in this respect, but the type of sound it projects did not resonate with me. I cannot believe this guitar is so cheap. And despite playing and trying out many guitars (none of which where all mahogany, however) I have not played any other guitar that sounds this pleasant to my ears. I already own a classic ibanez, and that one is amazing as well.
I would recommend Ibanez guitars and particularly this guitar to anyone!

This guitar was bought for a teenager who is a beginner, and it is going to be used at home for practice/playing/learning. It has replaced a very cheap classic guitar with nylon strings, and the difference is massive in terms of build quality, finish, and sound.

The guitar fills the room with warm tones, but also has lots of clarity. It was also perfect out of the box, with no flaws, and the tag said it had been inspected by Ibanez in Germany. It was almost in tune, right out of the box.

The setup is good enough. Slightly high, perhaps, but the fretwork is good.

Pros:
- It looks great, with the dark top, and open pore finish
- great value for money
- sounds loud, and clear, with a warm tone

Cons:
- for the price, nothing to complain about. Perhaps the setup could have been a little lower.

Overall, I would say this is a great guitar for a beginner on a budget. It's big and can produce a lot of volume, looks good and plays nicely out of the box. Definitely worth the price.

I bought this to have an acoustic around the house, I play a Tele mainly. It is a very good quality guitar for the price. Solid top, very nice open pose finish, it sounds resonant and full. The body size is not too big which suits me. There was no sign of poor workmanship, no glue evident in the body bracing.

The neck was slightly concave, the nut was cut quite high and the bridge was also high out of the box, this is not unusual in more budget guitars and was easily remedied by a set up at my local luthier. It now plays beautifully with 12 gauge strings. I bought it with a Thomann padded gig bag so including the set up I have a really nice looking, nice playing and sounding guitar for £250, a bargain.

I recommend this guitar and suggest paying for a good setup unless you can do it yourself.