Ibanez AW5412CE-OPN Artwood

The guitar looks very nice and sounds really good unplugged. Plugged in, you get the "classic" sound of cheap under-saddle piezo, which is to be expected.

When I got it, I was a bit let-down. It felt a bit cheap. I could not point out exactly what the problem was, but, for context, I was way more impressed with a cheaper Harley Benton guitar I had ordered a few months prior.

The action was a bit high, so I tried adjusting the truss-rod (since I do not have the tools neither the experience to adjust the saddle). It was a bit of a nightmare to find the perfect spot between low-action and no fret-buzz. I ended up sending it to a professional.

A few months later, my "cheap guitar" feeling where proved to be true. The amplification system stopped working out of nowhere. The preamp would turn on, but I would get no sound and no tuning capabilities. I went to a local guitar shop and the conclusion we drew was that the piezo pickup was faulty and not sending any signal to the preamp. The piezo sound was not great from the start, so I decided to put some money in and bought a passive magnetic pickup that I've attached to the soundhole and connected it to the built-in preamp using a TRS 3.5mm to TRS 2.5mm cable (and got rid of the piezo). Now the preamp system works as before (tuner, volume and eq are working) but the plugged-in sound is better than ever!

I have been playing this guitar in an Estonian folk band for exactly 3 years now. Overall I can say that the guitar has held up sound and playing wise - it still sounds big and bright plus the frets are nice and smooth. So playability wise, it is really good - the wider neck still feels fast, not bulky.

My favourite thing about using this guitar for performing is the XLR output (makes it really easy to connect it to any mixer and having interusability between cables which the standard vocal and condenser mics plus the guitar use on stage). Sound wise the piezo pickup isn't anything special - a dedicated separate acoustic pickup will sound way fuller and will serve better in mix with traditional instruments.

The build quality has however let me down. In 2025 while trying to restring it I discovered the saddle attached to the guitar body had completely warped outward due to a combination of the tension from the 12 strings being tuned to E standard and being hung up without a moisturizer during the dry winter. I had the bridge fixed and now it is completely fine. My recomenndation would be to keep the guitar in D standard and control the humidity level inside the guitar using specified products for it.

My verdict is that this guitar has completely transformed the default acoustic guitar sound I imagine be the 12 string sound. The instrument has really elevated my folk band's sound in the last 3 years and has served well as a robust tool in adverse weather and venue locations.