Is there anything the Ibanez GB10 doesn't do well?

[MHeld]

I'm getting more into playing jazz. Really basic stuff like learning standards/chord melody/learning how jazz players approach improvising. Some of my favorite players are Grant Green, Kenny Burrell, Wes M.

Is the GB10 (Japan made) a good choice to learn and grow on? Does the small size it make a good "couch guitar" for sitting around practicing quietly unplugged?

Just hoping to do my research and make a purchase I'll be happy with as I grow as a player.

[Cunamara]

I bought a 1981 GB10 in 1983, I think it was. My first electric guitar. If you were to walk into my house with a gun and announce you were taking every one of my guitars except for one, that's the one I'd keep. Over my carved top, my ES-175, my Teles, my Strat, etc. I can play every kind of music I want to play on it. It's got the best neck I've ever found, it's comfortable sitting or standing (a little less comfortable sitting because of its small size as I am 6'3").

Once you learn to use the knobs to your advantage, it's got a wide range of tones and not just the bright, poppy GB sound. I will say it is a very immediate sounding guitar; the notes sustain but they don't particularly bloom. It is not a great acoustic guitar but easily loud enough to practice with unplugged.

What doesn't it do well? In my experience, overdrive and distortion. To my ears it just doesn't sound good under those circumstances. Subtle overdrive is fine, but if you want to rock out this isn't really the instrument for that. There is probably a YouTube video somewhere proving me dead wrong about that.

I should also note that mine was made in Japan; I have never played one of the budget versions of the GB10 made in Indonesia or China. I cannot speak to those.

[Jimmy blue note]

There was a time that I found the subdued resonance very discouraging. It's not the liveliest or most sophisticated acoustic instrument. But the neck, size, balance, and versatility were intriguing. I finally got one and actually living with it, playing on it and putting in the time for it to reveal its charms, I've come to think of it as irresistible.
I didn't like the modern (current) pickups and I replaced them with custom wound drop-in fit Seymour Duncans they made for me and it is one of those rare instruments I don't want to put down, always draws new music from me.

It's not for everyone, so do try one out. Better if you can work with it on a trial basis and get to make real music on it.
Hope it is a good match. There's nothing like it out there.

[deacon Mark]

They do most things pretty good. One being the percussive sound of bebop lines much like Benson's sound. For single line stuff it is pretty much as one would expect. The thing that I do not think it does well is chord melody with articulation that happens with a real carved top. The depth of this sound does not come from a press top like the GB10. On the other hand it is not at all a Gibson 175. I am not the great fan of the GB10 it and I prefer a larger guitar under me. So to me it comes down to yes a 175 would be my choice over a GB10 any day.

[John A.]

...I should also note that mine was made in Japan; I have never played one of the budget versions of the GB10 made in Indonesia or China. I cannot speak to those.

A friend of mine has one of those (GB40thII). It's a great guitar, IMO. FWIW, he changed the pickups to Lollar Johnny Smiths, and that did warm up the sound a bit, but I thought it sounded quite good with the stock pickups (though brighter). IIRC, the neck felt reasonably chunky to me (maybe a bit more so than the typical slim Ibanez neck).

[Sigmund451]

No matter what you try it wont do the dishes.

[Unclegrumpy]

But it will butter your toast

[djg]

No matter what you try it wont do the dishes.

only a gibson is good enough

[skiboyny]

You really can't go wrong with this guitar. It's well above its pedigree, in workmanship playability and price. It's not a Accoustic cannon by any means, but to me the size makes it a comfortable guitar, and unplugged is totally doable. It's the guitar that I have to say is a joy to play. In a way it will spoil you, in how it plays. I think it's a great choice for a first jazz guitar. I've found that the better a guitar plays, the more I enjoy the sound. YMMV

[Woody Sound]

The new-ish D'Angelico Soho is a similar alternative to the GB. (But it only has a neck pickup. I supposed a bridge floater could be added.) Thinline, 15", fully hollow laminate.

[MHeld]

The new-ish D'Angelico Soho is a similar alternative to the GB. (But it only has a neck pickup. I supposed a bridge floater could be added.) Thinline, 15", fully hollow laminate.

This is actually another option I've been considering. The used D'Angelico's I've seen lately are a couple hundred $ less than the MIJ GB10. There doesn't seem to be a lot of info on this D'Angelico model.

[Woody Sound]

This is actually another option I've been considering. The used D'Angelico's I've seen lately are a couple hundred $ less than the MIJ GB10. There doesn't seem to be a lot of info on this D'Angelico model.

It also has two more frets clear of the body than the GB. Just google D'Angelico Soho Mark Whitfield. I've played both, I'd say the Soho is a bit more "alive," or "resonant" than the GB. But you can't go wrong with either.

But be careful if you order a Soho sight unseen. Some of the early ones had a small solid block inside connecting the bridge to the back, more like a semi. It was actually a mistake in production. Supposedly they've eliminated that in the more recent runs.

[Oscar67]

What doesn't it do well? In my experience, overdrive and distortion. To my ears it just doesn't sound good under those circumstances.

Agreed. Anything clean or with just a bit of hair on it, the GB10 will do. And then some. I’d hate having to get rid of mine.