Ibanez AVC9CE-OPN Artwood Vintage Thermo Aged

What we say:

Kudos to Ibanez: this new range of Artwood Vintage acoustics feature a technique called ‘torrefaction’ on their solid mahogany tops to simulate the ageing process and vastly improve the sound of the guitar. With other manufacturers, this process normally adds a huge amount to the price but Ibanez have kept this range of electro-acoustics at a very reasonable level, allowing the torrefied sound to be enjoyed by guitarists of every wallet size. Hats off to Ibanez!

The torrefaction process involves exposing the wood to an atmosphere of extremely high temperature and low oxygen: baking them, basically. Tests have found that this alters the very genetic makeup of the timber, making it sound almost exactly like century-old tonewood with a thoroughly vintage tone. The science is there and it does indeed vastly improve the sound of the guitar: you get a more strident, clear, rich sound.

This model, the AVC9CE, is a cutaway Grand Concert sized guitar made with Mahogany and sporting a v-shaped neck (with an Ovangkol fingerboard) for further vintage verisimilitude. A Fishman Sonicore pickup and Ibanez AEQ-SP@ preamp gives you a faithful plugged in sound with control over the EQ and a tuner. For the money, this is nothing short of astounding.