Ibanez GB10

**Jx30510** · 05-31-2019, 03:16 AM

It's funny because I watched that watched that reggae guitar tutorial video just a few days ago!
It's nice and very straightforward.. I don't see many reggae guitarist play with a semi hollow by the way, more stratocasters or Gibson type solid bodies?

What is less funny is the guy sent me a mail yesterday evening to tell me his GB10 was sold... gosh..
Well there's another one a little higher in price 1700€ from 2009..
I shouldn't have waited so long for the first one.. I'm gonna try this one now

**Jx30510** · 06-26-2019, 04:55 AM

Well I'm back!
I have found another one at a fair price, from 2009, good condition>1650€
I've also found a GB40thII (blue one) brand new >1099€
And a new Gb10se for 1000€

I cannot try them and compare them before purchase, very different places

I read somewhere the Gb10se and GB40thII, made in China, are Very good

Can anyone that has compared them (2 of them, or all 3) chime in before I pull the trigger

I know the real deal is the Japanese one, but a few thoughts would be greatly appreciated

Merci

**Rhythmisking** · 06-26-2019, 03:59 PM

I've had the GB10 and GB10JS; the JS is (was) Korean made. Probably the closest to the current SE model. Playability-wise it compared fairly well with the MIJ one, but didn't sound as 'good', likely because of the different pickups. I had the JS first, and liked it ok, but was always kinda/sorta wishing it was a 'real one'. I eventually sold it and got a MIJ GB10 which is a better guitar no doubt. If you can find an MIJ one for a good price, I'd get that one. But if you just want to try out the feel of a GB10 without a big $ outlay, the SE would probably be the way to go.

AND OH YEAH! They sound great with roundwounds! You can still get a great jazz tone on the neck pup, and a surprisingly good rock/fusion sound on the bridge pup. If anything they are more versatile with roundwounds.

**Cunamara** · 06-26-2019, 07:35 PM

I have owned a 1981 GB10 for over 35 years. I prefer it strung with roundwounds to flatwounds. I have had 11-50 gauge strings on it many times and thought it worked fine. I just used it last night in a jam, actually, and it currently has Pyramid 12s on there. Great sounding, easy playing wonderful instruments. They are very versatile to a variety of genres. In addition to jazz, I have used it for straightahead blues gigs and have used it to play Grateful Dead cover gigs. I remember seeing a clip of BB King with his backup guitarist playing one of those.

**Jx30510** · 06-27-2019, 01:41 AM

Very interesting thanks for your insights.
Has anyone tried it with a TOM bridge (or abr-1)?
I've always prefered these to wooden bridges, for intonation, sustain and "zing"

**Jx30510** · 06-27-2019, 01:46 AM

One thing, I'll go for the Mij version
Otherwise I think I'll always regret it, even though the Mic ones are certainly very good

**pingu** · 06-27-2019, 04:30 AM

are gb10 ok to play sitting ?

joni mitchell plays a few of these on the shadows and light gigs
open tunings , rhythm sound
and sounds great !

**rio** · 06-27-2019, 03:53 PM

Originally Posted by pingu

are gb10 ok to play sitting ?

joni mitchell plays a few of these on the shadows and light gigs
open tunings , rhythm sound
and sounds great !

I’m currently playing a gb100 (same dimensions as GB10 except for a little deeper) that’s generously on loan as I don’t have an electric at the moment and it’s definitely giving me some significant back pain from seated playing. That is also extending to left arm numbness, which is something else I’ve struggled with when my posture isn’t good.

I am 6’1” so it’s probably partially going to depend on your size and you back. I’ve had back problems over the years but before selling my L5 never once had back problems from it with that guitar (one of the many reasons I loved it). 16” archtops were better than the GB for my back (still some pain but not near what I’m dealing with now) but still not optimal so I think for me 17” and deep was ideal. If you don’t already have back problems, maybe aren’t quite as tall and aren’t sitting for multiple hours at a time playing then it might be a non-issue, hard to say except that it is presenting some significant issues for me.

Might be hard to tell from a quick sit down but last time I was at guitar center they had one of the cheap GB10s there, maybe you could find one and sit to play for a bit to get a sense of how it would do for you.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

**ROCK1** · 06-29-2019, 09:57 AM

Could someone who owns a GB10 give me a weight on the guitar? I've looked all over the internet, including the Ibanez site, and I run into a dead end.

Thanks

**rob taft** · 06-29-2019, 04:08 PM

I used to own one and if my memory serves it was just a bit more than 7.5lbs. Calling Big Mike.

**jzucker** · 06-29-2019, 05:51 PM

typically 8lbs. Every once in a while you find one closer to 7 but it's rare. I keep searching. I had one that was 7.2lbs. Wish I had kept it.

**BigMikeinNJ** · 06-29-2019, 06:04 PM

Somewhere between 7 and 8, as the boys said more toward 8.

TH · 06-29-2019, 07:27 PM

They tend to be about 7.5 lbs but a notable exception seems to be the GB10JS which was made in Korea. All the JS models I've seen (and I have one as well as a MIJ), have been maybe up to a pound lighter and to my ear were more acoustically responsive. They had rosewood (as opposed to ebony) fittings and fingerboards and who knows what the top laminate has that's different, but strangely enough I always preferred them as players. Otherwise, spec for spec and even that great neck contour, they're virtually the same instrument. I consider them a find when I run across them.

David

**Cunamara** · 06-29-2019, 07:41 PM

I am 6'3" tall and nearly 60 years old with some back troubles. I do find that playing the GB10 without a strap while sitting down makes my lower back hurt because I am more hunched over than I am with my 17 inch archtop. I always use a strap when playing that guitar- whether seated or standing- and that seems to solve the problem. Plus I find the playing position a little better; due to the small size of the body, it sits a little low for good left hand position. I was 27 when I bought it and for the first 25 years or so it wasn't a problem to play it seated.

**TedBPhx** · 06-30-2019, 07:04 PM

My GB10se was made in China three years ago, has an ebony fretboard and weighs 7.9lbs.

**Jx30510** · 07-01-2019, 04:15 AM

Normally I should road trip this week end to come and purchase a 2009 Gb10 (MIJ).
Looks like to be in very good condition, 1600€.. I suppose it's a pretty good deal.. Can't wait to try it

Maybe I'm going to purchase a TOM bridge to try (a Gotoh bridge is 30€ or so.. No big deal.. You always need a spare anyway)

Can someone tell me what the string spacing and stud spacing are?

I'm going to put 11-49 d'addario roundwounds
Will that be enough to get the acoustic properties of the guitar work?
I have a bluesy, Gilmourish style on certain songs and really need (and want) to bend those strings!

Maybe I'll be the first guy to play Gilmour style on a Gb10

**Jx30510** · 07-03-2019, 02:44 PM

I've just watched one these strange Korean guitar reviews on YouTube, well kind of informative because they always measure the guitars and weigh them (they even make a poll before weighing it, 3 guys giving what they think the guitar weighs.. strange I tell you..) and the Gb10se they weigh -scale in front of the camera--is merely a little more than 3 kgs, 3.02 kgs to be precise, which is just about 6.7 pounds.
That's pretty less than the ones here?
Maybe a strange Korean scale

**TedBPhx** · 07-03-2019, 03:55 PM

My technique of weighing me with and without the guitar in hand on the bathroom scale, digital, is not extremely accurate but the GB10se feels about like a Les Paul so about 8lbs is what I’ll stand by.

**Jx30510** · 07-03-2019, 05:17 PM

I've ordered one 2 days ago
I'll weigh it when it arrives on Friday and will report
8lbs is very heavy for a hollow guitar!
I'll try to put the link of that vid

**TedBPhx** · 07-03-2019, 05:27 PM

I’m curious. It “feels” as if it weighs as much as my 2016 Memphis 175. I do believe those are the heaviest of the many 175 variations Gibson produced. Both guitars supposedly have less feed back than other hollows because of the weight. Don’t have enough experience to verify the claim.

got the GB10se in spring of 2016 and the 175 in fall of 2017 in the CME frenzy. Been playing the 175 since but all these GB10 threads of late has me playing it again. Nice guitar, different in feel and tone from the 175 but holds its own. Was considering selling it until I started playing it again. It’s a keeper.

**Jx30510** · 07-05-2019, 03:14 PM

I received the Gb10se today
I'm not that overwhelmed
I find the hardware to be quite cheap feeling, the volume knobs go from 0 to 10 with very little progression.

I had to fix the pickguard with superglue, the little mounting plastic thing was loose.. On of the grips on a knob is moving..
The tailpiece is in cheapo metal, the bridge pickup is very very weak in volume (and close to the strings so no solution here)
The ebony fretboard is dry and does not have that oily aspect.. Doesn't look of very good quality
Playability is very good, but the fretboard feels somewhat "light" and plasticky.. Hard to describe

I'm a 100% sure, obviously, that the Japanese model fixes every bit of what I don't like on the Gb10 se..
So it's going back tomorrow..
This one, by the way, is from March 2019, and built in Indonesia
Weren't the first ones built in China?
And maybe better?
Don't, it's not a "bad" guitar, but absolutely very much sub-par from what I 'm used to from my Japanese AS50

Well, you get what you pay for. Ibanez are honest in a way, a 1150€ guitar cannot reach a 2500€ one, which is not always true with the big names in the guitar world

I' ll be picking a used Japanese Gb10 in a very near future because I love the feeling of this particular model

**TedBPhx** · 07-05-2019, 03:42 PM

This a new GB10se? Ibanez has very high quality QC and missing parts is unlike them.

**jzucker** · 07-05-2019, 03:52 PM

i wrote about this before with the lgb30, extremely cheap hardware and electronics. even the pick guard bracket was cheap and easily bendable

**Jx30510** · 07-05-2019, 04:10 PM

I do not say it is bad, it is a pretty good guitar, but I suspect it will not age very well
The hardware and electronics seem not to be very durable, and the guitar has a very strong smell of fresh glue..

I'm not very confident to be honest, it feels somewhat not like a high end instrument, which is logic regarding the price.

The playability on the other hand is very very good

I have a deal on 2009 Gb10 at 1650€, and I think that the 500€ gap is very much worth just returning this one and getting "the real thing" once and for all

I was telling myself today, I would have had this Gb10se 20 years ago I would have been totally crazy about it.. But, I'm a more experienced player now, I have more financial ease, and I know what a very good instrument is.. And life is short, I just want the high end one..
And the return policy the store I purchased it from made me buy it knowing that I could send it back just in case.

But in all honesty, I feel that this more economical model is cheaper for a good reason.. It does feel a little cheap undeniably

Maybe the Chinese ones are better, I suspect

TH · 07-05-2019, 08:49 PM

Originally Posted by TedBPhx

This a new GB10se? Ibanez has very high quality QC and missing parts is unlike them.

As someone who worked at Ibanez, it's just not true that the quality is good across the board. Picture a dozen to 20 factories across Asia, some dedicated to the highest standards of Japanese workmanship, some putting together instruments that look like the Japanese ones but are made from really light Indonesian jungle wood of extremely inconsistent quality and variable stock density. All these little (and not so little) guitar factories have one thing in common: The Ibanez name on the headstock. That's it.
You know, there is no Ibanez factory, right? It's the craft shop in Japan or sweat shop in Indonesia that makes guitars for Ibanez and very likely makes the same guitars with the Epiphone, PRS, Cort, Samick, and very likely a bunch of smaller names you wouldn't think of touching no less buying.

Ibanez (Hoshino) knew their reputation was set with George Benson's Fujigen guitars, but what to do about the market that could never afford the real thing? Some knock off factory in Indonesia likely made a copy and maybe it made somebody some good money. It happens. So why not have the name Ibanez put on those cheaper knock offs and make the money directly without the lawsuit.

Branding is a funny issue. A good brand will sell more than knowledge or quality will.
But if you can play like George Benson, it doesn't really matter what guitar you play.

David