Ibanez SA460QM has luxury guitar features for cheap

This is definitely an Ibanez that's a diamond in the rough.

It continually amazes me how sometimes certain guitar makers release guitars that are packed with luxury features for so little money, and the Ibanez SA460QM is one such example.

Now when I say "luxury features", that refers to both things that are for appearance and for function. Some guitars are built just for ornamental reasons and others for just utility. But this one has both.

For appearance, the two standouts here are the body binding with abalone ornamentation (as in a nice shiny/sparkly line that follows the body binding,) and matched burst headstock to the body. Ibanez could have just painted the headstock black and that would have worked, but they went the extra mile and matched the burst seen on the body. Very nice touch. And of course, the quilted top really works here.

For utility, that's basically the entire rest of the guitar. This axe features my favorite output jack ever on top of the body (think of it as a modernized Stratocaster jack, it's really nice,) bridge made of good steel, a well-balanced pickup set, great tuners, a body with arched top, and near-perfect body balancing (you'll never get neck dive on this guitar.) The neck is a bolt-on, but there is no neck plate, which is something usually reserved for higher end guitars. And the bottom horn is also scooped for easier high fret access. This axe is just loaded with goodies.

The best feature however is that this is an every-player guitar with nice luxury bits while still being just a great guitar overall. The SA460QM suits any player age, any play style and fits in any genre. That can't be said for many guitars, but can be said for this one.

Oh, and the price. For what you get, it's not expensive. Truly, it's not.

Pick this one up. It's a keeper.

Published 2018 May 30