The Ibanez JGM family got a very special new arrival: The ELEVEN! And it is absolutely flipping beautiful.
The Ibanez JGM11 has three big differences from the JGM10:
- Wood - The JGM11 has solid mahogany back and sides, rather than pau ferro. The mahogany gives a warmer, rounder, slightly softer tone, as opposed to the darker, more throaty pau ferro. Mahogany is also lighter, so the guitar is less weighty.
- Tuners - The JGM11 comes with a pair of Bill Keith locking detuners on the 1st and 2nd strings, pre-installed and ready for glissando fun.
- Finish - It's not black.
But you'll also notice the stunning minimalist Passionflower inlaid on the neck, using only different woods.
The JGM11 has a AAA-grade spruce top which has been thermo-aged, giving it richer tonal character and a honey-coloured lustre.
It has ebony bridge and fretboard and super-long-lasting stainless steel frets, for clarity and volume especially when using tapping and other modern fingerstyle techniques.
I love the minimalist “mobius circles” rosette, which matches the unique JGM asymmetrical ergonomic body shape.
The depth of the mahogany's lustre is brought out by a water-clear gloss finish, and matches the mahogany neck with its two flame-maple stripes, for extra stability and just yet-more gorgeousness.
The pickup system is the same as the JGM10 and JGM5 - a triple-source system designed by Fishman, only available in the JGM series, featuring a magnetic pickup, an internal body-sensor, and a condenser mic. With your choice of simple blended mono, blended stereo, or separate three-way outputs.
And it's just amazing to see those legendary Keith Tuners ready-fitted on a guitar!
I hope you love this instrument as much as I do. I made an unboxing video along with a little first-play demo, and it sounded as amazing as it looks. I'll get it edited and posted as soon as I can. Until then, here's an action photo.
Look at that blonde-streaked pau ferro headstock! I think I'm in love, oh no...
