Purchased from: Ebay
Features: The Artwood guitar model AW300ECE-DVS is an acoustic guitar made in Indonesia. It has a dark brown to black sunburst color on the top and solid black everywhere else. The guitar is made with a solid engelmann spruce top, laminate mahogany back and sides, mahogany neck, rosewood fret board, and bridge. The tuners are Grovers according to the paperwork that came with it, but they say Ibanez on them, and no where does it say Grover. They are very nice tuners either way. The saddle and nut are both made from bone. This guitar is very well built! // 8
Sound: The sound on this Ibanez is nice. It has a brighter sound than most dreadnoughts I have played. I believe that is because of the engelmann top. It's lacking a lower-end presence if you ask me, but overall the sound is nice. The electronics on this Ibanez are fantastic! It's a Fishman Sonicore system that has a panel installed on the side of the guitar that includes a slider to control the bass, midrange, treble, and something called "shape." Standard output connections on the other side for either hooking up to an amp and/or PA system. // 6
Action, Fit & Finish: The action straight from the box was great. I haven't adjusted it at all. Everything on this guitar is very well made. I can't find any flaws on it anywhere! This is one of the best Asian built guitars I have ever touched. It has strap buttons installed in the usual places, but I only use the one at the endpiece and tie the other end off at the headstock. // 8
Reliability & Durability: I have only played this guitar for 3 months, but it seems like it will hold up to some slight abuse. It has a nice gloss finish on the body of the guitar, but the neck has a satin finish that feels extremely comfortable in my hand. I can tell that extra time was taken on the neck when building this guitar. You can move your hand up and down the neck with ease. It is a C-shape style that is thinner at the headstock end then at the body side end. It is hard to explain how easy it is the move up and down the neck of this guitar. Every guitar I own has a nice smooth neck, but this one is way better. You will just have to try it to find out yourself what I mean. // 8
Impression: I play all types of music. This guitar seems better suited for Country and Classic Rock. I have played everything on it, but it just sounds terrific while playing Country and Classic Rock. I guess it's because of the brighter sound. This guitar is a nice guitar. I paid $225 for this guitar that I won in an auction on eBay. These guitars sell for $399 at every retailer I have researched. My guitar is brand new. I will say this, if I would have paid $399 for this guitar, I would be disappointed, it's not worth that in my opinion. I own a solid top Kona KG1N that retails for around $200 that sounds better. But, I didn't pay $399 for this Ibanez, so I am pleased with the price I got for it. It's worth $225. // 7
