Howdy, folks! If you've been hanging out here, you know I'm not much of an acoustic person but I deem owning an acoustic guitar as necessary for serious guitar engagements because the unplugged nature engages the player in a different way as opposed to the drive-centric, amplified responses of a solid body guitar. Here's my take on the Ibanez AW54JR, a 2018 release by Ibanez with simplicity & delivery in mind.
Followers are leaders
It took a while for Ibanez to finally offer a scaled down version of a popular dreadnought without delineating it into a beginner's reference devoid of serious appointments & affordability in mind. The AW54JR here is a mahogany unit (solid top) less the fretboard & bridge which are ovankol. I was fortunate enough to be getting an out-of-the-box unit so it pretty much reflected the factory philosophy of a pre-set up guitar. Nothing bad to say here, every detail was spot on & the nut slot creak I expected wasn't even there to begin with. Tuning was smooth but a little unstable due to the freshness of things; strings look very new & not set in so a little stretching was due & done with. Unlike a travel unit, the AW54JR is devoid of that small frame, it's in fact about 80% of a standard size dreadnought reference & getting accustomed to it was rather immediate (especially for a small-built person like yours truly).
Let's not kid ourselves by believing Ibanez is at the forefront of this technology with reference to this model but in terms of QC & that forearm relief inclusion, they are indeed one of the leading names when it comes to quality-cost ratio.
Playability/ tone
We should not measure the AW54JR's performance against a standard dreadnought reference simply because it's conceived to be a different instrument in this aspect. The satin open pore finish is a chief contributor to pleasant playability. In fact, I'd rate this playing experience as excellent but may not appeal to those with larger hands & accustomed to gloss-neck finishes. This was further accentuated by the large frets on board (forgive the pun) so fretting was easy peasy as kids in school would say. Those with shred inclinations would also appreciate the bigger frets for accuracy & light touches.
One thing that got me the most was volume- this guitar was way louder than expected & manifested a balanced tone not treble-inclined as one would expect from smaller-bodied acoustics. The mahogany is responsible for this impression so all you acoustic-philes who rate spruce top highly, this would be an alternative tonal experience that would not throw you off. Mahogany is also a finger picker's wood of choice but the AW54JR is one heck of a strummer as well- thumbs up!
Parting words
The AW54JR is not the epitome of acoustic ear candy but it's a top notch offering by Ibanez for players who are not critical when it comes to features. It lists for more than $350 so there are plenty of worthy competitors out there in terms of price but playability & tone are the AW54JR's forte. A scaled down instrument was never designed for ladies or kids exclusively & shouldn't be relegated to such an understanding. The AW54JR is a worthy guitar with lots of inspirational moments waiting to be unlocked by the discerning players. Recommended. 👍
Model: Ibanez AW54JR (bag included)
Availability: Swee Lee Co.
Rating: 90%
Worthy competitors:
- Martin: Dreadnought Jr
- Taylor: Big Baby
- Sigma: TT-12E
- Yamaha: CSF3M
- Veelah: Mini Camper M
