Every time Chris started gesturing I got super nervous for that nice glass of scotch.

I gotta say as an acoustic snob and total purist, I have played some recent Ibanez acoustics at Sweetwater’s new showroom and I gotta say… they are making a KILLER guitar for $900. The jumbo body with german spruce top I played last month really shook me up. I have hand built luthier built instruments, but these were really something special.

Thanks guys. I didn't even know Ibanez made acoustics! It would be interesting to see you react to a Yamaha factory tour. They manage to pack a lot of features into a pretty high quality and budget friendly guitar.

Forgive me for leaving a comment so long after the video came out, just recently got back into guitar playing after a many year hiatus and discovered your channel and really enjoy it. I’ve made my living as a CNC mill set up, operator, programmer. There seems to be some similarities between what I’ve noticed in a metals shop as a laborer versus an engineer and having conversations with engineers that have little to no experience machining something compared to only designing something and the way the Ibanez video went. Almost like someone in the marketing department put the script together specifically for the purpose of selling the guitar, maybe with little experience playing or building guitars. I have no experience or knowledge in guitar building which is why I enjoy watching your videos. That being said, I have owned many Ibanez guitars through the years, acoustic/electric and electric. They were all lower end guitars as far as price range goes but have always impressed me with what I got for the money spent. When the time came when I had the money available to purchase a higher end acoustic guitar I really only considered two manufacturers: Martin and Taylor. Ibanez never came to mind even with my good experience with the brand. While watching their video and your comments on it I kind of felt they were aiming to reach out to people like myself, those who’ve had positive results from the more moderately priced Ibanez acoustics but would never consider Ibanez as an option when ready to look at higher priced acoustics. Just some of my opinions. Great videos, I have subscribed and will definitely be watching more. 👍

For this series I've started to watch the actual tour before watching the reaction so I can see which things you guys will pick out. On this one I guessed that you'd pick out the pencil lines on the bracing, the hand bending of the sides and the kerfing but I didn't forsee the other points. Anyway, thanks for another great video

I really never thought about how little the sides contribute to the sound before and the similarities between a snare drum and an acoustic guitar. Solid points my dudes!

In defense of Ibanez, at the 7:00 mark when they are hand shaping the top braces, they never said it was being voiced, they are just showing that the braces are hand carved. I'm sure the design has been voiced during building of the prototype, the templates just assure they are getting as close to the original design/voicing as possible. Anyway, it is a factory build guitar and not a single Luthier produced instrument, there is a big difference as very few factory guitars could come close to a custom build acoustic.

The guitar is painted with the neck on because the guitar is built with the Spanish system.On the Spanish guitar the body and neck are not separated. The guitar is assembled upside down. First the neck is glued to the top, then the sides are glued to the top and neck and lastly the back is glued. Once the guitar is assembled, it is impossible to separate the neck from the body .You can see this at minute 18.30 of the video, where you see the neck attached to the body before the back is glued. They do it this way to achieve the neck joint that is seen at minute 4.20. There is an English luthier named Adrian Lucas who uses the same neck joint, and assembles the guitar with the same system.

I see Matt, I click 🙌🤪

If you own an Ibanez Platinum, send it in so we can cut it in half!

I’d love to see what you guys think of Larrivée guitars

Platinum collection AAD400CE, AE410, JGM5, PA230E, PA300E

Kerfing is structural, but it is also what is responsible for a lot of the smell of a guitar from what I have heard. I think my Martin has Spanish Cedar Kerfing which smells delightful! Not sure that is why they do this, but it is one thing that makes my guitar so enjoyable!

Man, when are you going to do more on the 3000 year old build!!! It will be 6000 years old by the time it's finished :-o

I’ve been enjoying your “factory tour” commentary videos. And your other videos too. Would be interested is seeing one on Gallagher guitars.

You can use a machine to carve the soundboard braces. Use a vacuum to hold the board in place and then use CNC to carve the braces; it wouldn't be voiced however it would be craved beautifully.

Had to hit that subscribe button for your channel. This is the second video you’ve posted where my quest for knowledge of all things guitars led me to an answer. Thank you for sharing your minds expertise and desire to help find good ideas and answers.

“Bridge slotting” / “combing” might be done for the same reasons that most high end nuts nowadays carve “dips” between string slots (leading to that comb look)-the hypothesis being, from what I understand, less vibrating material directly between strings and, hence, less string crosstalk and energy dispersion.

And now I wanna build my own guitar. Thankyou. Love your vibe, great show!

I'm not even a minute in and I'm with you (whatever you say). Talisker. If that's the 10yo, we are on the same page.

Hey guys! Great video as always. One question: Will you guys ever do a video on the build differences between a regular acoustic and a 12 string?

With the notches in the bridge you can sink the saddle deeper in the wood (or have the wood up higher on the sides of the saddle) without it getting in the way of the strings. Theoretically making the joint between bridge and saddle stronger

I saw the cort acoustic factory video recently. Interesting to see what you think about it. Showed pretty much the entire process.

The lining contributes to the tone because it supports the top just as much as your pocketed bracing.

Talisker Single Malt Scotch. Made by the sea!! Slainte!! 🥂

Your arm gave me so much anxiety every time you reached for the space bar Chris, good job on not knocking your glass ahahah

I've owned Ibanez's hollow body, and semi-hollow body guitars, grant it not the super high dollar range, but midrange guitars. They are pretty good quality guitars. At least the ones I have owned.

Yeah, linings/kerfed linings are a structural component and any tonal benefit are because of it's structural importance. Also, I totally agree with spraying finish with the neck on the body is not a good thing however... I don't have any problem with poly and uv cured finishes and they are reparable just not with the original product. Gluboost is amazing at repairing poly finishes and can be completely invisible. I really love these videos guys... thanks for the content.

You should do a Gibson USA electric video. Shocking finishing. I have 4 of them. But they all need work after they leave the factory.

Please please can you guys do Faith guitars?

I just gotta comment on Chris knowing where the fret beveler is in the cabinet immediately lol man knows where he puts his tools.

Chris is correct... It's all about the top and it's bracing.

Really enjoying the recent videos, you guys are like luthier “Car Talk”

Great choice of scotch

Hi guys, I've come across an Ibanez acoustic with a similar bridge. Here are what I can tell you about it. Firstly, it is not a new design as older models have used the same. For the slots, the area in front of the saddle is much thicker and the area behind it is thinner. I don't know if it's so the string holes sit lower for greater break angle or whatnot.... but the front area have those slots where the string runs. Can't say for sure, but it seems that even if the saddle is lowered below the bridge height itself, the strings will not be inhibited. I know there will be more problems if we get here but oh well, what can we do... haha. I hope you get what i mean. The itself guitar i came across has the saddle sitting a good healthy bit above the bridge so that's not an issue. Maybe it's just to reduce weight. Anyway, i hope ibanez gives us more information about the neck joint! If it really were removable it won't make sense to attach the neck before closing the body up. But if the neck were really not removable for whatever reason, I guess they don't have a choice to finish the body separately then... I mean it doesn't exactly look like a spanish heel, but what do you think? :)

i cracked up laughing so hard when it came to the kerfing part :D thanks for rewinding and pointing it out again! and again, let's hear it one more time :D

Hey Chris, #1- Thank you for your service to our Country, 🙏🙏🇺🇸🇺🇸 Iam new to building guitars and have only built 2 & for tenor Ike’s but I build my necks in a laminated fashion like you said it’s cheaper to but flat sawn wood but it’s a lot more labor intensive.

I'd recommend the Godin tour, done by Premier Guitar. Godin is a Canadian company that makes Godin electrics, as well as Simon and Patrick, Norman, La Petrie, Art + Lutherie, and Seagull acoustics. They have also made necks for Kramer and Jackson, and Alex Lifeson's 'Signature' guitar company. They own their own forest, and sell wood to other builders.

Ibanez make some truly beautiful guitars from a reasonable amount of money that the average person can afford without remortgaging the house.

I was waiting for, "The headstock is what gives the guitar its tone." Haha

Yep no question kerfing is strictly structural. It's like saying the truss rod contributes to the sound.

I looked up their "Advanced" line and found this to be the most expensive, Ibanez AAD300CE Advanced Acoustic Electric Cutaway Dreadnought Guitar Low Gloss Satin at $799.99. This explains a lot of what we saw in the video. They have a "Signature" line that runs as much as $1,599. I couldn't find anything else. Now to try them out to see if they sound worth a darn.

Loving these factory reaction videos

Hand voicing, maybe they use the template as a common measurment and then take the precission of the hand voiceing further from that? They are not specifically showing that in the video, but who is to say they arn't going to do it since they have the hand carving tool at, well hand. And why wouldn't they?

I have an Ibanez artcore hollow body acoustic/electric that I absolutely love,basically the same as the Gibson ES 335. I would put it up against the Gibson any day. Very impressed with how it plays especially since I got it and a Boss Katana amp for 300bucks

So glad I found your channel, loving all the informative vids. I'm mainly an electric "strat" guy but have always played takamine acoustics, mainly my 1999 santa fe so would love for you guys to critique the takamine factory tour and hear your thoughts!. Many thanks guys, keep the vids coming, new sub 👍👍

I have a feeling the slots in the bridge are there to prevent having to shave the bridge down in the eventuality of neck movement. You get to use almost the full saddle depth before having to do a neck reset. Brilliant if on top of it, the bridge is actually shaped to maximize the bracing pattern they have in there.

I'd assume those notches in the bridge are for future saddle shaving. They would allow you to take the saddle down super low without maxing it out. Perhaps the neck on spraying won't be an issue at all if it won't need a neck reset at all. Just my two cents.

Nice picked factory to comment on! They seem to have taken after Cort Guitars that makes their higher end Acoustics called Gold series. (I have one Gold O6 and it's an amazing built Guitar, sounding and feeling better than some Taylors.) And Ibanez calls their higher end acoustics Platinum now... pretty similar. Cort used to make guitars for Ibanez, so it might be a connection.

I’m no luthier, but I am a less-than-absolute-novice guitar player, a woodworker, and a good detector of BS. These types of ads aren’t designed for folks that watch this channel.

I hate the angled file block because it can scratch the frets up and on heavily radiused boards like fenders it can slip off . This way seems like a good alternative and i will be trying that on a future fretjob.

Superlative language anyone? LOL. I always enjoy your commentary of these videos. It separates the marketing from the actual craftsmanship. Keep it up guys!

is that Talisker? very good choice :)

my choice, this evening is a laphroaig quarter cast single malt whisky from schottland, my ibanez collection startet in 1980 V300L till 2020 with a jemjun lefthand, I love ibanez guitars

I'd like to see your reaction to the Alvarez-Yairi factory tour

Was going to order a Driftwood acoustic but now I know your kerf cuts aren't tamboring.

My understanding is that Bourgois guitar is cutting the braces by CNC but still doing individual voicing. I think Dana himself does that bit.

Being that the neck joint is some modified version of a spanish heel, is it that big of a sticking point that they finished it in poly with the neck attached? I thought a spanish heel made it near impossible to reset the neck without deconstructing pretty much the whole guitar.

Awesome content Chris and Matt. Been binge watching your videos this past week. Well worth the time 👍 Not sure if this has been recommended, but Ruokangas Guitars has a build series on their Unicorn model. You can react to the neck build video because what he did was to "laminate" a neck blank by cutting it to three pieces and flipping the middle piece. You might want to check that out.

Full marks for not putting ice in your Scotch. It's usually how you can tell if someone is from the USA when they are in the UK. Ruining good single malt. (Apart from the baseball caps). If they did that in Scotland they might not get home.

Thanks for the tour videos and the insightful commentary. My one takeaway from this video however is that I want a glass of scotch.

I’ve seen plenty of budget level Ibanez acoustics but I had no idea they made higher quality ones either. When I think of them I’m thinking shredder axes. Thanks for the videos Driftwood 🤙

You should check out the luthier on luthier podcast with Trevor Gore. I think you would find it really interesting. He talks extensively about the way sides interact with the soundboard from the POV of mechanical impedance. Trevor really knows his physics / acoustics inside out so it's good knowledge.

I’m not a guitar builder! I’m barely a player! But I understand physics. Kerfing looks and feels structural. I feel like structural voicing braces, depth, top, and the size of the sound hole matters more for sound than the sides do. This is just my observation, but the side always seems to be a bit fancier and denser wood. Therefore, in my mind it doesn’t matter one bit. Also there is binding most of the time and that also makes it more dense. For those that want to argue with him please feel free! I choose not to cause it makes sense.

An excellent tour of an (alas) defunct factory is the Ovation factory, by Premiere Guitars. It is 35 minutes long. Detailed descriptions of each station including many hands on demonstrations of the work. Also, I have seen the Fender factory tour after they took over Ovation in the same building, with many of the same employees and craftsmen.

I'd love a Takamine factory tour. Thanks for this one.

I have two Ibanez that have similar bridges, both older low end models. My theory is that it might possibly allow the saddle to be lowered to a greater extent before a neck reset is necessary, but not sure really other than aesthetic 🤷‍♂️

Oh, go ahead and criticize. We can take it. In fact, we love it.

Ibanez aren't very renowned for acoustic building, much more known for electrics. Would love to see a video of the K Yairi factory or even takamine factory. While takamine is more mass produced than K Yairi and ibanez platinum I believe they're a more experienced acoustic builders :)

smashed like for the Talisker. Keep buying good Scottish produce, thanks!

could the gaps in the bridge to be to allow the saddle to be cut down deeper as necessary over time as the guitar approaches the need for a neck reset?

Love your reaction videos. How about doing one on Santa Cruz Guitars?

How about : For each individual guitar, hand voicing to that guitars specific Top/piece of wood .

I've been watching some of the tour and it's wild. My poly guitars neck needs a re-set soon it's totaled but since I'm doing it myself I'll at least learn something. And yes the finish got rocked at the joint but it can hold a thin guitar pic and plays decent for now

I hope you have a shop with wood stacked up like that one day too…

The sides, being curved, just don't possess the geometry to significantly contribute to the tone of the guitar. I suppose the kerfing perhaps affects the movement of the top/bottom?

you guys should watch the yairi factory tour

As a youngster many moons ago, I worked hard doing an assortment of jobs that eventually got me enough money to purchase a brand new Ibanez Artist AR50 electric guitar. It was 1981 and Ibanez were in their 'lawsuit era' with Gibson. I duly got my Ibanez and thought it was the coolest thing on the planet. That was until I discovered motorbikes. I sold the guitar and bought bike... Anyway, I came to realise that I made a mistake in selling my cherished Ibanez guitar. Many years rolled on and one day a few years ago I saw an AR50 in the local ads. I went to look at it and sure enough it was my old guitar and in the same perfect condition as the the day I let it go. As I type this, it sits on its stand taking pride of place in my living room. If I remember correctly they were marketed as 'The Les Paul killer '

LOL, I need a shirt that says "just Kiln Dried"

Glad you aren't needing to wear your aprons for a reaction video

I find it interesting that traditional luthiers talk about hand voicing to make the top ‘musical’ without any real explanation or repeatability and then criticise others for ‘not doing it’. Check out Gore/Gilet for a more scientific and actually repeatable method for designing a guitar.

Haha I thought the exact same thing before he paused it and said "Its called Kiln" 😂

I'm totally distracted by the Talisker. I heard nothing anyone said. A naked woman with her hair on fire could have walked in the room and all I would think is, "wish I had some Talisker." Time to go to the store.

Mahalo for making these videos and taking on the issue of “marketing fluff”. There is a risk in doing this. I read a comment below saying it sounds like ‘sour grapes’. I think this video has a neutral/objective tone which is much needed. Lutherie has so many variables involved already without the marketing and “branding” embelishments. I commend you both for taking this topic on directly. I think your tone and approach is getting better. The Taylor review kind of sounded like a rationalization of hand building vs factory building in a few places. Here it didnt feel that way. Keep ʻem coming.

Nice choice of tipple 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Anyone else just waiting for Chris to knock over that glass of scotch while motioning with his hands? Lol.

Takamine has a nice factory tour video. You should check it out

Jim Beam straight from the bottle with my trusty Guild M-120 in hand. Feelin' a bit underdressed for this particular party.

Shirt idea: "Squeeze out is for pimples, NOT guitars"

You need to do an Alvarez with a direct coupled bridge. I have a DY 40 (6 string) and a DY 80 (12 string - Canyon Creek).

I'd really like you guys to do a breakdown of a Furch guitar. I recently bought a Furch Blue Gc-CM which sounds more resonant and richer in tone than my Martin 000-18. I'm not a builder but love your videos on the 3000 year guitar.

Great video, as always. Entertaining, as always. The difference in audio levels between Chris & Matt and that of the Ibanez video is a bit too much. The Ibanez video is very quiet

Have you guys watched the Hofner factory tour? I have watched it quite a few times and really enjoy it. The video is 17 minutes long.

There are some great videos on the interwebs for the Maton guitar factory in Australia which would be great to hear your thoughts on

Is that Ibanez?? Or Fujigen guitars factory?. Check out Maton guitars, 2 great things to watch, sanding and final fretboard radius.. Kerfing could be translation issues..

I heard there masterworks tiaras use 50+ year old wood

I have had Ibanez guitars sine the early 1980s and my son now has an acoustic Ibanez. They and other Japanese manufacturers make consistently good guitars' I accept your criticisms on terminology but they are all good.

haha at 4:54 ... isn't the goal to keep temprature and moisture absolutely constant? director: "screw it! I want some digits moving on that thing!" ... meanwhile the camera assistant slightly breathes into the moisture sensor :D

For that 2K price point, I would purchase something by the K. Yairi shop.

Nice bottle of apple juice. Always a nice touch when relaxing at the shop 😉