Product: Ibanez AEL40SE-RLV
Price Paid: EUR 380
Submitted
09/21/2007
at
02:34am
by
Antek
Features
:
9
*Finish: Resonant Natural Low Gloss
*Body style: Large jumbo with cutaway
*Tuners: Gold Ibanez Smooth Tuner AS
*Neck: Standard 646 mm scale, Mahogany
*No accessories included
*Made in China, 2006
*20 frets, wonderful wooden fretboard inlays
*Solid spruce top
*B-Band pickup with Ibanez SRT preamp/EQ
*Onboard tuner and EQ
*1/4" jack and XLR output
*Body made of flamed sycamore with solid spruce top and mahogany neck.
Sound
:
10
The sound is the greatest feature of this guitar, it is simply breath-taking. The basses are extremely rich and deep, trebles bright and beautiful. You can achieve a lot with a selection of right strings. Phosphor bronze give very pleasant bright sound good for rhytm accompaniment, while bronze makes this ideal for finger-picking.
I play variety of music: folk, alternative rock, sea shanties. I was giving the instrument to many professional musicians -- most of them playing folk -- and everybody was amazed with the sound quality.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
5
Wonderful looks. This is a beautifully looking guitar. No flaws in workmanship could be spotted at the first sight but...
Sorry, I can only give Ibanez a damn on the factory setup. It sucks! The factory action was improbably high. I tried to lower the action with the truss-rod, and it only resulted in string buzzing. I'd given the guitar to a professional luthier; he had to substantially lower the bridge and work on the saddle. He recommended replacing the frets. And he said that there was some problem with the pick-up giving a hum - he had to ground it.
What point do I really make? The guitar was hardly playable when I bought it. You could forget playing rhytm accompaniment unless you were prepared for terrific ache of your thumb and fingers or you used a capo to relieve the string action to some extent. After the set-up by the luthier (that cost me another EUR120) I got a perfect instrument that I could have expected to get right from the box...
My professional friend given the guitar before the luthier set-up typically asked: "What strings do you use? Are these the 0.013?! What? 11-52?! I could not accompaniment my band with a guitar like this one." After the set-up, everything is fine.
Another bad thing is the battery compartment. The batteries are loose there. And it is very easy to break the plastic battery compartment when it is open!
The finish itself is perfect. The low gloss natural finish is nice, althought it is easy to scratch. I never scratched it myself, but a friend did...
Reliability/Durability
:
7
Yes, this guitar will withstand live playing, especially as it is very well built regarding the neck and the body. Better do not drop this anyhow and take care not to break the battery compartment when it is slid out.
I am afraid about the low gloss finish that may wear over the time. This is the price you pay for the sound quality anyway.
The strap buttons are perfect!
Whatever I have said on the factory set-up does not change the fact that I rely on this guitar and do not need a backup.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Yes, this guitar has a warranty, but since I liked the guitar, I preferred setting it up at a professional luthier, so I did not use the customer support.
Overall Rating
:
8
I have been playing for one year now. I could be well of with another guitar, but did not find any other in the price range that sounds so great!
If I could ask Ibanez for anything before buying this guitar, I would ask them in the first place for a decent factory setup and making a better battery compartment.
If this guitar were stolen or lost... Hard question. I love the sound and the price is affordable. But I could probably do with a cheaper guitar, but properly set up right from the box.
The greatest facts about this guitar are: the sound and the looks for the price. And these were the things that made me choose this instrument. My friends say: "Beautifully looking guitar with wonderful sound. What amazing basses! Hey guys! Why do we pay more for our guitars?"
I have compared this product with other guitars. To get the some beautiful sound, you'd have to pay more. But most of guitars I tried had much softer feel on your left hand fingers.
