Ibanez ALT30 Altstar Review
The Ibanez ALT30 Altstar guitar is a hybrid acoustic built for electric players. This instrument has the neck and headstock of an electric guitar with an acoustic body. It is a really cool concept and a perfect way to transition between acoustic and electric.
If you are primarily an electric guitar player, you will love this acoustic and what it has to offer you. Are you an acoustic player looking to transition to electric guitar? Then you will find that this guitar is a huge benefit to you.
Specifications
Let’s take a look at some key specs of the Ibanez ALT30 Altstar guitar.
- Spruce Top With Different Finishes Available
- Sapele Back and Sides
- Maple Neck With Laurel Finger Board
- Thin Dreadnought Body Style With Cut Away
- Designed For Transitioning Electric Players
- Built In Electronics
- Great Build Quality And Sound
PROS
- Cool Design And Quality Build
- Designed For Transitioning Electric Players
- Easy to Play And Feels Great
- Thin Body And Cut Away
- Bridge Pin Design
- Built In Electronics
- Price
CONS
- A Set-up may be required out of the box
- Lower Volume When Not Plugged In
- Some May Find It Looks Odd
Altstar Body
The Ibanez ALT30 Altstar body is custom to this guitar type. The body is thin compared to other acoustic guitars. But is essentially a dreadnought in size and shape.
Because of the thin body, volume projection is lower. At least then your standard acoustic guitar. But this is the concept behind this guitar. It is designed for electric players or those who are transitioning over.
The concept of this guitar is an excellent idea. The body is comfortable and feels like an electric guitar when you hold it to play.
You can play and shred on this guitar like an electric without having to plug in to do so. There is plenty of volume for this type of guitar and I found it felt just right, especially when digging in.
Neck and Headstock
The neck on the Alt30 is designed for electric guitar players. It is a thin maple neck built for speed with a 15.7″ fingerboard radius.
The string spacing is also tighter like an electric guitar. This allows for the same feel but in an acoustic platform. The neck has a scale set at 25.5″ and 21 frets.
Thanks to the cutaway in the body, you are also able to shred on this acoustic with ease. All frets are easily accessible all over the neck.
The head is your standard Ibanez shape. And the inlays will make you feel as though you are playing an electric guitar!
Hardware
The build quality of the guitar is very good for the price. I would almost think they are loosing money making this acoustic. There are some plastic components as would be expected at this price point like the nut and saddle.
But the tuners are die-cast chrome and feel great when used. They also hold tune very well, as I did not have to tune it up much at all when using it.
Down tuning was also a breeze and the guitar responded well to it all. The built-in electronics are also a really great feature and sounds great!
The Fishman Sonicore pick up and Ibanez electronics when plugged into an amp are a sweet deal! Especially at this price point!
Altstar Sound
I am very impressed with this guitar and will be keeping this one for myself. The sound is excellent for this type of concept. The volume when not plugged in is lower than your standard acoustic.
But it is just the right amount of projection for what I would expect from it. Plugged in, the guitar sounds good as well. The pickup system is not humbuckers or anything like that, but they sound good.
This guitar is well-rounded in sound and really is a lot of fun amplified or not.
Playability
The biggest thing with this guitar is the feel. To have an acoustic with an electric feel is really cool. It has a great neck on it and does really allow you to play it like an electric guitar. The body is really thin, sits well on the lap, and is comfortable and light. Overall, I have to say, this is a pretty cool acoustic!
Conclusion And Final Thoughts
There are not many guitars like the Ibanez ALT30 Altstar and so it is really cool to be able to do a review on it. This guitar is great value for what it is and to be honest, every electric player should have one.
It sounds great, feels great, and is built very well. The concept allows for a great practice guitar, but still sounds good enough to perform with. If you are transitioning from acoustic to electric, again, this guitar will be a huge benefit to you.
The look of the guitar might have a few people turned off as it does have a custom look to it. But if you can get past that, then you will be very happy with it, the price just can’t be beat!