Ibanez GA6CE Classical Nylon-string Acoustic-Electric Guitar

For the money, this is a nice guitar. Very convenient for my situation and easy to plug in. The volume of acoustic sound could be a little louder, especially since most of its use is unplugged. But it's not bad. The piezo sound is what it is. This is a good one, but if I had more money I might look at some alternative internal microphone systems. The jack could use some reinforcement but I have taken care of that. The guitar needs a little extra care when it's plugged in. If it were stolen I might buy this again if it was covered by insurance. I might not want to pay the new price and instead might opt for a classical without the piezo. But, it is really convenient to be able to just plug in and be heard over drums and keyboards. I would really miss this instrument if it disappeared.

Features: I don't remember where it was made. I bought this from ebay as kind of a factory second. It had a slight flaw in the top. The piezo pickup was hanging loose inside when I got it. I decided to keep it and fix the problem myself because the price was good. I had to do some work on the bridge area to seat the piezo pickup so that the sound from each string was even. Now it is just fine and has a really nice tone range from the built-in eq. This guitar has Fishman piezo and preamp that seem to be of good quality.

Playability: This is my main guitar at home and for giving lessons. It plays very nicely. The neck is ok for a classical.

Sound: The acoustic sound is a little quiter than I would like. This is perhaps because the guitar is a little too well built for a classical guitar. The overall sound has no unpleasand overtones and is quite bright in a pleasant way. This is a classical guitar and works very nicely as a versatile solo and occassional band instrument. I use it occassionally to play classical pieces in church and with the band. The sound is piezo, but it's decent - better than some others that I've tried. It's just so much more convenient than using a mike. In a live situation I think the piezo sounds just fine, although I don't think you will see a "real" concert guitarist use one. For recording, the sound is clear as a bell. However, a microphone suites this type of guitar much better. I haven't as much time as I would like to spend recording, but when I do I make two tracks, one with the mike and one from the piezo. You can hear a track that I made using this guitar with a not-so-special fender mike into an old (but decent)cassette tape 4-track. This is mostly microphone with a hint of piezo and some digital reverb added. Just go to my site - www.guitar-lessons.us then pick the (currently only) mp3 that is there from the right panel.

Durability: Although its a nylon string guitar, it has a truss rod. I never tried to adjust it although perhaps it would benefit from it when I get chance. It's built pretty solidly. It was actually knocked on the floor with the jack plug in place and broke a hole around the side where the jack is fastened. I fixed it by laminating some strips of clear plastic that I cut from a carton and bonding with crazyglue. The repair is more solid than original and has been reinforced substantially now, but around that area is a weak spot with this type of acoustic guitar: The jack is just fastened to the thin wood sides.

Looks great

Features: Great Neck

Playability: Kind of high action but tolerable

Sound: Sounds great plugged in with a little reverb

Favorite aspect is it's appearance and playability. Nice neck. The gloss finish is excellent. It has a great overall feel and a great tone. I would replace it if anything were to happen to it. It is a great guitar for the price range, I am very pleased with it.

Features: Made in China. natural finish. cutaway

Playability: Playability excellent with no flaws

Sound: I am using an Ibanez BZ10A amp with good results. I play the old standard pop music and some classical in fingerstyle. It also sounds great if you flat pick it with a soft thin pick

Durability: Durability appears to be excellent. It should withstand some hard playing,although I don't play it hard.