The Constantly Evolving Ibanez Acoustic Guitars

Since the 1980's, the Japanese Ibanez Company has made quality guitars from Nagoya, Japan. Although Hoshino Gakki, its parent company, makes acoustic guitars, Ibanez only hit the top brands list after Joe Satriani and Steve Vai endorsed their electric products. Since then it has been one of the key designers of custom guitars in the rock music world.

Ibanez acoustic guitars have been around forever as well as their acoustic electric models. Several of their models feature a semi-hollow body, unique to many guitar producers. The catalog of their products is vast, featuring many other body types, and even featuring other acoustic string instruments, like the mandolin and the ukelele.

The majority of acoustic guitars by Ibanez are built along the most commonly recognizable dreadnought design. This model is widely known and popular in addition to being effective for an electric model. The dreadnought design is what pops into most people's heads when they think of a guitar: classic shape, a round sound hole for resonance between the neck and the bridge, and no other cutaways. A pick guard is often placed next to the sound guard to protect the wood from fracture.

Along with Fender and Gibson, Ibanez helped to pioneer the classic cutaway design of acoustic guitar models. The cutaway design refers to on a normal dreadnought model, the body of the guitar is "cut away" to let the guitarist reach the frets higher up on the neck. Although there is no actual cutting of the guitar body, the model has coined this name due to its shape. Many newer models feature modern cutaway designs and integrated electronics.

Recently, the company has renewed commitment to developing quality acoustic guitars with world-class tonal quality in both their acoustic and acoustic-electric models, as well as the classic unique timbre they are known for. They continue to experiment on the wood, electronics, and body of their guitar, in a constant hunt to provide an improved guitar to the masses. Constantly improving, the Ibanez name will continue to turn heads for generations.