Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Ibanez GA5TCE-AM Classical Guitar

I hate plastic output jacks. Sure, they're perfect for tight spaces. However, they aren't as robust as metal jacks. The output jack on this guitar was broken. More accurately, the tip of the hot contact had snapped off completely. So, I trashed the plastic jack and wired in a generic stereo jack. Now, how was I to install it? I could not get my sausage fingers in through the soundhole. Just then I remembered a tip Dan Erlewine had once shared in Guitar Player. Thus inspired, I got hold of a giant chopstick, pushed it through the jack hole, stuck on the stereo jack, pulled the chopstick and jack back through the hole; and fastened the washer and nut. I knew that giant chopstick would come in handy one day. Hooray for Kedai Dua Ringgit :) Now, some mundane specs, most of which was copied off the Ibanez website: 

Birthplace: China
Body Shape: Thinline Cutaway Classical
Top: Spruce
Neck/Back/Sides: Mahogany
Fretboard/Bridge: Rosewood
Truss Rod: Dual Action
Body Binding: Black
Soundhole Rosette: Classical Mosaic Design
Tuning Machines: Gold
Number of Frets: 21
Scale Length: 650mm (25.6")
Pickup: Ibanez Under Saddle
Preamp: Ibanez AEQ303 (3-band)
Finish: Gloss

This guitar plays well. The volume, bass, middle and treble controls on the AEQ303 preamp are simple but effective. Amplified, you can tell it's a classical. Not surprisingly, the soundhole label proudly declares: La Calidad en Guitarra Clasica -- "The Quality in Classical Guitar." Thank you Uncle Google.  Last but not least, this guitar was autographed by Hujan's Noh Salleh. Kewl!