Great versatile guitar. Finish is good, but once you take off a couple of panels you see that they are made to a minimum spec - but that spec has everything working well at a fraction of the cost of a T5. I use a straight acoustic sound 80% of the time and it sounds great straight through the PA and the DSP effects are all very solid. Switching between effects 'on the fly' is a pain compared with foot-switching and every now and again you catch the switch accidentally and introduce a lot more overdrive than your celtic fingerpicking really needs! That's my one major criticism. The magnetic pick-up also tends to vibrate against the body causing an annoying buzz but a small piece of rubber has fixed this. Unplug it whenever you can as it uses heaps of batteries and when they are flat it doesn't go quietly, it 'ticks' at a very high volume meaning you can't even finish the song. Those flaws aside, the guitar plays very well across all styles and you get great sounds from AC/DC leads to Wes Montgomery flatwound jazz box to crisp acoustics. If you are plugged in most of the time I would highly recommend this guitar.

I have just purchased this guitar and love it. The neck is easy to adjust to get the playability you want. This guitar is beautiful from a distance but up close there are many finish flaws. The value is great after all it was built in China and that explains a lot about the finish flaws. there is some internal buzzing but does not come out threw the electronics. After all I bought this to be played out and plugged in and played out. I do not like the fret size they are a little to small for my liking being that I play guitar for a living.

I have played a T-5 and would choose the Montage over it any day and it is not because of the price either. It feels just as good to me.

Side Note *** Keep an extra set of batteries with you at all times, it does like to eat them.

I'm a hobbyist and have been for 40 years. I live in Japan and play in small and large venues with my band, which varies from 2 to 6, depending on work schedules. We play music to suit the Japanese as well as American audiences, which means we have to play everthing from blues to folk to reggae to whatever. So you can see some versatility in guitar sounds is a must. Where space is available, I'll cart (all acoustic/electric) a jumbo, jumbo 12-string and a ukulele. I play through a Fender Acoustisonic Jr. and the PA as necessary. When space is not available the Montage is all that I need, played straight through the PA. The on board effects are outstanding, and that's all I can say about that! The rubber-sleeved pots are a great feature for positive control. I'm not real sure that the double-jack configurations is really necessary except for folks who want just electric sounds. If you want that, buy an electric! The adjustable neck is out of this world. Where I live climate control is minimal so I have to have my guitars set up with each change of season. The first thing I did when I got mine was start tweaking he neck because of the change in weather from the US to the muggy Japanese spring. All together I spent about four hours playing and learning. Capo the strings and you can remove the neck and check out how the mechanism works. You can't break it so have fun! I'm not sure how the sound of the Koa model is different from the rest. On ukuleles it's a big plus but since the Montage is a hybrid, other the for the obvious beauty, I don't think I'd spend the extra bucks. That said, the finish is excellant. Some folks don't like the satin neck finish but I really do. It's smooth and predictable. The on-board tuner is dead on and I haven't had a need to use the notch filters. The tuners are positive but with lighter strings there is some jumping at the final tune point. The only reason for a 4.5 on the features is the five-position switch. I've had occasion to accidentally knock that sucker down into overdrive when I'm really working. But that just adds to the humor of our entertainment. Don't waste your money on the Taylor T5; this one does a much better job. While Ibanez is a Japanese company this guitar is manufactured for export only and I haven't been able to find out why. My local music shops love it but they can't have it!

I bought this guitar for playing with my dad's band. I just kind of sit in on a few songs so it's kinda impractacle for me to bring two guitars, an amp and effects. With this I simply plug it directly into the PA and I'm good to go. And the sound is great. Authentic acoustic, clean and overdrive tones.

I sing and play guitar (union soul band oklahoma city) in a red dirt band. When I need an acoustic guitar it's there and when I need a little distortion it's there and when I need a lot of distortion it's there and i dont need pedals or an amp to get it. Direct into the board and it's THERE !!