Product: Ibanez AW40NT
Price Paid: USD 160 USED
Submitted
02/24/2008
at
12:08am
by
TheGuigan
Features
:
8
This review has to be read remembering that the reviewer is a beginner.
However, this is a decent guitar with no other reviews on the site so I thought somebody needed to add in a review.
This is a naturally finished solid spruce top guitar. The top is glossy. Body is dreadnought, with mahogany back and sides, would have to be laminate at this price point. Neck is mahogany with rosewood fretboard and a very fancy "tree of life" design running up the fretboard. Tuners are Ibanez' own in gold. It is a pretty guitar. Body and neck are bound with white plastic ( it sounds cheezy but looks nice ).
One feature that the guitar is missing is a strap button by the neck ( important in my book ).
Sound
:
9
Well right now my style is "beginner". Basically the guitar has a sweet tone. What it would lack compared to more expensive all solid wood guitars would be bass depth. I have had a couple of friends who are "real musicians" drop by and it has gotten a very enthusiastic response from both. I started out on extra light D'Addario strings which I felt were not producing a good sound and a change to lights did add presence to the guitar.
Overall I think I lucked out. With so much eye candy on a pretty low cost guitar one would think that there would be a price to pay in the sound or playability departments, but no, it sounds as good as it looks. I did see a guy raving about this guitar in a forum thread on this site about the best guitars for $300 or less and I have had the same reaction from my friends who "know" guitars.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
9
Mainly positives here. Action is pretty low and easy. I am a beginner and I am not having trouble with bar cords or lack of finger strength. I am making good progress with my lessons and it is easy to look to blame the guitar when you can't do something but I haven't been able to play that game. Intonation is spot on as best my ears can tell. The guitar stays in tune and the tuners function unobtrusively.
One cosmetic negative - the two halves of the top are clearly different shades. Doesn't bother me but a savvy buyer would have negotiated a discount. I notice that the neck mahogany finish is matt whereas the back and sides are glossy. Doesn't bother me but it might bother somebody else.
Reliability/Durability
:
7
This seems like a solid, well constructed guitar with resistant finishes that will stand the test of time.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
No comments here.
Overall Rating
:
9
As I said above, I am a novice and I own very little equipment.
I paid $150 for this guitar in a pawn shop on a hunch that this was a decent guitar. I really lucked out and the more I play and get familiar with guitars in general the more I am sure of the great decision I made. I was thinking about upgrading to a "better" model if I stuck with the practice for more than a couple of months but I really don't think I have a guitar that needs to be replaced right now.
If I had to replace it I would definitely be using it as my initial first choice and audition some other models as "pretenders to the throne".
If you can pick one up for $300 or less you won't be making a bad choice.
