Ibanez EP-9 Euphonic Steve Vai Signature Model

beautiful satin finish. fishman eq with "aura" sound and tuner. beautiful perloid tree of life inlay in fret board, abalone inlay in headstock. all bound in off white. brushed, gold grover tuners with color matched knobs. very classt look. low profile frets, finished and smooth. more features as mentioned in other review.

I use this for blues and light rock. change the stock strings! they suck! coated, brass D'adario 11's did the trick. rich warm, resonant sound. very nice sustain. after string change, the sound is fantastic! I played against a rainsong, two takamines, taylor and breedlove as well as a taylor t5 and others. this unexpected gem held it's own very well against a much more expensive tamamine, the t5 and breedlove. played and sounded better than the others.in all, very full rich sound. bass is deep and warm. excellent mids. highs ring like a bell with out being over bright. thr rainsong was strong on the bright end, if thats your thing. i think the ver light finish allows the wood to move and produces a rich, full sound.

setup out of box was fine. strings were dull and tarnished. got great d'adarios for free in deal. excellent kneck. flawless finish with some great artwork. frets finished very smooth. beautiful woods, no lamination. rxcept for strings.... excellent!just a stunning piece of work. love the satin finish. beautiful woods used.

seems very solid. would use for pro gig. no visible weak points, except that you really have to change those strings.

never use. but my guitar center people have been great.

been playing for 44 years... ouch, when did i get so old? play EVERYTHING. own 9 other high quality guitars. I like this guitar very much. playability and tone of this axe are excellent after string change. sounded as good as other more expensive guitars and better than some. i'm starting to become an ibanez fan. i now own three high end new ones. they have all been VERY well made just stunning to look at, with excellent tonal quality. i've been shopping for an acoustic/electric for a year. very glad i bought this one. if destroyed, would purchase again. guitar center has made my last three guitar purchases, fantastic buying experiences. great guys!

Satin finished, semi-slim, cutaway acoustic-electric.
Grover Satin Gold tuners
25 3/4" scale, slim neck with rosewood FB.
2006 - Made in China
Solid Engleman Spruce top
Mahogany back & sides
Fishman p/u with built-in Aura System & 3-band EQ with tuner & anti-feedback switch

Fits any style that requires a true acoustic tone... plugged or unplugged.
Unplugged: It has a very well balanced, rich, warm tone with good projection.
Plugged In: The Aura System is a modeler... not of guitars, but of studio microphone setups. (Neumann U-47 @ 2ft, Shure SM57 @ Near, Soundelux E47 @ Close, Schoeps CMC64G @ Near, etc.) This thing sounds like the best studio quality you ever heard, even through the most basic PA system!
Plugged or Unplugged, you can FEEL exactly what you're playing, through its body!
It can be a little feedback-prone if the monitors are too close & are EQed with too much bass but that's easily & quickly fixed.

The EP-9 was set up perfectly when I bought it. (Factory? Store's guitar tech?)
It looked, felt & sounded perfect from day one.
The strings from the factory wore out quickly (from sweating all over them), but a new set of Elixirs fixed that.
I played it against Martins, Taylors, Gibsons & Laravees, the day I bought it and it sounded as good as any of them and played better than any of them.
Its feel was a perfect balance between acoustic & electric. (Mr. Vai's influence, I'd surmise)

I've had this guitar for 6 months now and I've played it at every gig, indoors & out. I've sweated all over it, spilled drinks on it & knocked it into things. A damp cloth removed all of the sweat & sticky drink residue and the knocks have yet to show any dings.
Although it has no pickguard, it shows no marks, even after my rather spirited flat-picking.
It feels light & delicate but it's built like a tank! VERY dependable!

No need for factory support, so far.
The store where I bought it offers lifetime setups, but I haven't felt the need yet.

I've been playing for 40 years now.
I started as a sax player in a soul band, in the mid-sixtys & picked up guitar, bass, keys & drums along the way. I've played soul, jazz-rock, power-funk, solo-acoustic & now classic-rock.
I own a Rickenbacker 4003 bass, an Ibanez bass, an Ampeg B2R amp with an Ampeg 410 cabinet, a Rickenbacker 330 electric guitar, an old Ibanez L6S replica electric guitar, an Epiphone Dot (ES-335 copy) electric guitar, an Olds Parisienne tenor sax & a Prophet 600 synthesiser.
If my EP-9 were lost, stolen or destroyed, I'd buy another one, without a second thought.