Ibanez AE15

I am writing this review without the guitar in front of me, or even available, so the features may be a little vague. As a matter of fact, when I got the guitar it didn't come with any list of features, a brochure or anything and I couldn't find anything online regarding it. So, I am going off my own recollection. Anyway, the guitar is made in Korea, has a laminate top that appears to be flamed maple. It uses the AEQ preamp, I presume this is Ibanez's own design. It has top and bottom cream and black binding. It also has an all gloss finish. That's all I can think of now.

When I first got the guitar I thought it was the greatest thing since Ice Cream. But, after playing it for several years (5+) I have grown bored with it, and probably gotten a better ear. My main style of playing is fingerstyle with strummed passages. I rarely plug in except to record and the sound is all treble. It's very hard to get a balanced tone because the bass has no sustain. Only when brand new strings are on do I get a really good sound, and that only lasts a week. The frets have worn considerably since I've owned it. I now have buzziness in several strings at several frets. It really bothers me even though no one else seems to notice. There is also a strange sound, kind of a vibration that I hear at certain frequencies and their harmonics. I finally determined that is was the two metal connection for the 9V battery. I've tried everything to mute the sound but it is very persistent. As I said, there is little bass. The treble is quite nice though. I like to play melodic passages on just the high E string and they really invoke a response from my listeners. I don't play on stage, but I like to sit in parking lots and parks and just jam. The volume is a bit quiet though. In fact, I'd say it's muted. Most likely due to the thick gloss coat and unresponsive bracing.

The action has always been okay. Except when the cheap plastic bridge cracked. Ibanez mounted the plastic bridge across two set screws which allowed you to raise and lower the treble and bass sides. Over many years that plastic broke. So I opted to put in a bone bridge instead. It was a challenge to get it formed just right, but turned out quite nice. Improved my sustain a bit too. The back is solid but the top is bookmatched and that looks good. The paint is a very attractive tobbaco burst. Where this guitar really loses marks is in the frets wearing so quickly and the binding. The binding wasn't put on straight nor well. Black paint was smeared over some of the white, and seams were very obvious. There is no doubt this is a production guitar. Inside, there is glue visible, glassing that looks terrible and visible spaces between the bracing and the soundboard. The frets weren't smooth to the edge of the fretboard. I also dislike the gloss on the neck. All guitars should have a semi-gloss or satin finish on the neck to allow for smoother, friction free playing. Amazingly, though, I've never had a problem with warpage or tuning. Everyone tells me this guitar looks nice, but the trained eye knows the difference.

The guitar does seem very durable. The finish in particular. It's probably a poly gloss, but with all the bangs I've never dented it once. The strap buttons have never shown a degree of movement. It doesn't break strings. If I were gigging with this guitar I think it would always be there for me. I plan to keep it even though I'm looking for a serious ax. It will always be a good campfire toy and serve as security if I ever damage my new one.

N/A

At the time, this guitar seemed great. But now, I would not buy it again. Not when there are so many good guitars out there for the same price that offer a lot more. I own a '96 1962 reissue Fender strat from Japan, a decent ax. I also own a 1999 Ovation 12 string legend. A very well built guitar, but also weak on the bass. Projects a heck of a lot better than the Ibanez though. I am considering guitars from Seagull, Carvin, Martin, Taylor, and others for my new guitar. I'm checking out Seagull's new Artist Rosewood Spruce model at the dealer this weekend. The bottom line, this guitar isn't worth the money. It worked fine for my first acoustic but there are a heck of a lot better instruments out there for the price. They may not have onboard electronics, but they sound, look, and feel much better. While I don't put a lot of weight on extras and niceties on a guitar, my score here reflects my overall opinion of it, not an average of the other scores. I truly base a fine instrument on its sound, but in this case with that being below par, the other things should make up for it. They didn't and hence the exceptionally low score. Sorry Ibanez, I'm sure that somewhere you do produce a good instrument, but not in this case.