Ibanez TOD10N Tim Henson Signature Nylon Acoustic-electric Guitar - Black Reviews

I'm not big on acoustic guitars but I wanted something I could:
1. Play around with - just to start getting used to acoustic guitars and finger picking.
2. Play anywhere - I don't have any amps and all my amp sims on my computer. Problem is I'm at my computer all day for work and I play video games on it as well. Now I can go touch grass!
3. Not get too far out of my comfort zone - I didn't want something I just wouldn't play. I have learned that if you love the way your guitar looks that it becomes harder to walk by it without picking it up. I love the thin body on this and electric style shape. The inlay is just the right amount of flash. It's also great that I plug this in and play with effects and that it's not just one dimensional. As an electric guitar main, it's nice to have the Fishman Sonicore.

I also can't say enough about the Sweetwater experience. Their customer service is the absolute standard. No one else does what they do. This guitar was back-ordered and I found it available at guitar center earlier but decided to wait. When I did receive it, it looked perfect and came out of the box ready to play! Also.. candy! What more could you want?

I have had mine for about 6 months and it is my go to home guitar . it keeps sounding better and better !

I wasn't sure about this since I did not have much to go by when I purchased the guitar. It is very slim which makes it easy to carry around, sounds great, looks amazing! And if you are too lazy to plug the electric in to practice the high notes, this got you cover.

Neck is like in an electric guitar so it is easy to transition back and forward. I really like my guitar!

Absolutely love it, it looks great in person, and sounds fantastic! Bob is the best!!

Seriously, this is one of the best musical purchases I've ever made. This guitar fills the niche spot of being an acoustic guitar made for electric players (Thinner body, deeper cutaway, etc.). I've heard about some quality control issues that others have experienced, but I have not had any issues with this guitar since it arrived. It is now my favorite guitar that I own, regardless of price, and I haven't been able to put it down for more than 5-10 minutes at a time when I'm home.

I'm blown away at how great this guitar sounds and feels. Sweetwater regularly checked in to let me know the timetable for my order which I appreciated. Not a single complaint

I have finally found my last guitar. This is everything I had hoped it would be. Super light, fantastic sound, its an acoustic first, which allows me to play anywhere in the house (and my wife is grateful!). Now, I don't know who this Jim Henson is or what boomer bends are, nor do I care! I wanted an acoustic without the wider body, I've struggled for years to find the right fit because at least ergonomically it was simply uncomfortable for me to sit down with a traditional acoustic. I've been eyeing the Fender Acoustasonic guitars but they were a little more than I was willing to pay and the price range for this guitar was just perfect. I mentioned the sound was also what I was looking for, I love nylon strings and what you can do with them. Another super convenient feature is the onboard tuner. Lastly this plays nicely with the Roland JC40 I got last year. I figured one thing I would mention that I'm on the side of indifference, the body and materials. I've listened to a lot of reviews and some ding the quality of this guitar. It's really unfair, if you're looking for next level then drop the extra $ for the Fender Acoustasonic, It's a solid guitar but for my use its perfect. The quality is more than fine, again I can't tell you which I appreciate most, the slim body style or the weight? What else can I say I'm super stoked to finally completing my arsenal of guitars. Sweetwater won't like it but I can still buy other things on this site. I do need a bass though.... Finally before people lose their minds, who doesn't know Tim Henson? Great, great product and great performer!

This is a wonderful guitar - things to note - the action is comparable to an electric - the acoustic only volume in a quiet room is good enough to practice and has surprising low end especially considering how thin it is. The piezo pickup is nicely balanced across the strings, built in tuner fast and accurate, and controls have a good range with helpful indents at zero for the bass and treble. I have to thank my sales Engineer Greg Baum for landing me a beauty after a lot of impatient emails on my part - the 6 month lead time is worth the wait.

Depends on what you are looking for in your guitar. I've had this for about a month now and used it probably every single day. If you are a beginner, the combination of nylon strings, electric neck, thin body, and high fret access make this guitar easy to play for long periods of time compared to a steel string acoustic.

One thing I did not realize as this is my first nylon string is that getting the sound that you want out of bends is harder vs steel strings (at least for me). If I primarily played jazz or other songs that require a lot of bending and this was my only guitar, I would probably get a different one.

Otherwise, as a primarily steel string amateur fingerstyle for fun guitar player that does not gig, this is perfect to use and not so loud that I would disturb anyone I'm living with trying to play the same song over and over again. I do think the Cordoba stage sounds better than this guitar, but this one feels nicer. Body tapping is obviously not as loud as on a full size acoustic. If this is something important and you are still looking for a thin line, there are others that have body mics.

I had no quality issues despite seeing reports of bridges popping off. Straight out of the box, the action seemed fine, and even the underside of the bridge looked undamaged from the nylon strings so far. I did get bridge beads to add on the next time I change strings. I like the look and am a fan of Polyphia so it is also worth the extra $ over the FRH10N for me.

Overall subjective things I liked:
- Lightweight
- Easy/fun to play
- Fret access. Can pretty comfortably play to the 15th and 17th fret, only starting to get weird at 19 + , but still doable.
- Quiet

Things that are not necessarily the fault of this particular guitar, but reasons I would not get this as my only guitar:
- Nylon string tension or material makes it harder to manipulate the pitch to me vs steel strings or I just suck which is equally viable. I would use a different guitar for songs or styles that heavily use bends
- If you play fingerstyle arrangements that use percussive body tapping and need it to be loud, this has no body mic. Unplugged I also feel a bit afraid to hit it
- No pick guard. With this finish if you miss if will show up on the guitar. I lent to a friend and luckily was able to wipe it off.

Cons:
- Finish is hard to clean.

You could get a decent real classical nylon string for this price, but if you are a polyphia fan or just casual guitar player like me I think this is a good pick for noodling around.

I absolutely love this thing. CJ my salesman ordered me one up when they went on pre order....I said hell yeah...great decision on both parts. This is my first nylon guitar but the feel and playability of it are just awesome. I run it through a stereo rig and it just sounds so damn good. Even if ya don't have a killer set up like I do it's still worth it. It stands on its own as a true Ibanez

It's pretty, yes. It's stylish & unique. It feels just "right" when you hold it. Balanced, slim, light, smooth. The aesthetics are there and that's a big part of this model's appeal.

More important, however, are the sounds you can elicit from this instrument. It just sounds different.

Not as loud as steel-string dreadnaughts, but not too quiet either. The strings just feel great after a while. They are spaced perfectly for chord voicings, and have a warm tone from bass to treble. Playability will vary based on the string tension, I found it a bit challenging to acclimate to the 'looseness' of the strings that came with the guitar.

One thing I noticed, especially with 'normal' tension strings, is that 'boomer bends' don't work. You bend the string during a note, it sounds the same. This guitar sort of forces you to voice each note for what it is. Hammer-ons and pull-offs sound great. The real magic is when you fingerstyle multiple notes simultaneously, the way it was meant to be played.

The real star of the show is the two pickups. This guitar makes for incredible sounds when ran through some effects. New sounds. Inspiring you to play in the 'direction' that it encourages you. It has expanded my skills in new ways and encourages you to play with the instrument, not against it. Slowly but surely, I'm falling in love with this model and playing more than usual.

100% love it.

Bought this for my boyfriend as a christmas gift. Sweetwater team was so helpful and knowledgeable. The guitar came sooner than expected and in pristine condition. Plays beautifully and exceeds expectations.

I love playing it. It was a late B-day gift to me from my dad. It's absolutely one the best guitars I've ever played. It's super comfortable and versatile. I've never had a single problem playing it. It is definitely worth the price and is a great guitar for any sort of player. Very happy with it and I hope whoever buys it will enjoy this beast.

This just came in after ordering on 10/13, so worth the wait. First, compliments to Sweetwater: I will order any new equipment through them here on out. Perfect communication between a dedicated sales engineer and me. The guitar got here in perfect condition despite no case. The guitar was almost completely in tune even when nylon strings are notoriously known to have to be broken in to maintain tune (was a little off but that was to be expected at the least). It does not need a setup which is a testament to Ibanez and Sweetwater inspection.

As for the guitar itself. It is very niche but I would recommend this instrument to any room warriors or if you live in an apartment, resonant but not overly projecting when unplugged. The electronics are amazing and fun, the built in tuner is nice but not as accurate as any above average tuner. It is extremely ergonomic; especially for a nylon string. I would advise anyone this guitar that isn't looking for a blues or metal guitar (pretty obvious). For acoustic players, maybe avoid for similar obvious reasons like slide guitar or wanting the metal string twang (or if you intend to do a lot of bends). Like I said these are pretty obvious reasons to avoid nylon strings all together. Why consider this over a full body classical guitar? Ergonomics, amazing electronics for amp play, and great for studio setups. The sound whole is on the top so this won't be a performer for gigs unless plugged in and won't help you out much if you are playing classical guitar in an orchestra. Obvious, but needs to be said for those on the fence. This is a practice guitar for those that want to play unplugged and a performing guitar for those that use acoustic amp sets live and want a different tone. Tends to have very clear bass and bright trebles. For the price, it exceeds expectations and is very much worth it over the non-signature version due to the Fishman electronics. The only thing is I'm not a huge fan of black instruments, but the wood grain is visible and the details of this guitar are striking in person.

I was a preorder from the first few hours in October who finally is able to play on this amazing instrument. My first nylon string and it is absolutely blowing me away. Sound reviews on YouTube or wherever on the internet do not do it justice. This is a great sounding nylon and was worth the 6 month wait. I highly recommend this instrument to anyone who is interested in getting into nylon string guitars.

Now if only I could play some Polyphia songs!

I preordered in October like a lot of people, and waited until March to get my TOD10N.

Aesthetically, it's perfect. The finish on this thing is flawless, I have an Ibanez premium that has more finish flaws.

It plays great. I've only owned steel string electrics and acoustics before this, so it's my first nylon, but I just love playing it.

It sounds great unplugged and plugged in. I've heard some demos where it sounds sort of small and toy-like unplugged, but when you're holding it, it sounds way better. People should probably mic the side sound hole, rather than sticking mics in front of the player.

Sweetwater shipped it with all kinds of padding to make sure it didn't get damaged, I super appreciate that.

And lastly, the rep who helped me out, Larry Reed, was super helpful from the day I preordered to the day it was shipped to me.

Great item and great customer service. Thanks, Sweetwater!

I preordered this guitar when it came out in October, so I was writhing in anticipation as I saw others playing it and creating wonderful pieces of creative music. I really like the sound of a nylon guitar, but couldn't really find one that fit a more modern playstyle like this one. Tim then put out a video called "Playing my new guitar" where he plays a rendition of Butter on a nylon similar to this, and I immediately fell in love with it.

This guitar looks and sounds great, but more importantly if feels amazing to play, much more than I could have imagined it would. Currently it is my go-to guitar because of this. It also seems to be crafted very very well and I have had 0 complaints about QC in either of the 2 guitars that I handled. I can't speak for the non-signature versions of this one, but I would imagine they would play similarly if you didn't care about the looks and pickup of the signature. I think this guitar is a steal at this price though.

Clearly a bit of a niche instrument and realistically none of us are going to be playing like Tim Henson but when you get over the fact that none of us are likely the next Tim you can break down the exceptional value that this guitar is. As someone who started out on nylon then moved to steel string acoustic then electric I have been kind of itching to get another nylon that wasn't a cheap $100 starter classical like I had back when I was 10. When Playing God came out it was like Polyphia was reading my mind, then when they finally announced the TOD10N I was probably one of the first to write my sweetwater rep and try to pre-order. Fast forward a few months to when it finally came and I was pleasantly surprised by how much better this was than I expected. If you have concerns with unplugged volume, don't be. While you're not going to be booming at volumes that you would with a D28 it's definitely serviceable for a nylon and it's not like a silent guitar. The sound hole at the top positions it well to direct the sound up at you and realistically if you're planning on playing out with this you're going to be playing plugged in. As far as plugged in, I have to say it's surprisingly versatile. I plugged into my spark amp as well as into my Quad Cortex and the sounds are pure. Having the treble/bass controls on the guitar really helps when you're messing with creating your presets in the QC. As for the playability, it feels like a very very light electric guitar. Neck isn't super wide like a classical so it's very playable. No rough fret ends and intonation was good. Only thing I would say is a downside is that it doesn't come with a gig bag or case. Even Ibanez only has one bag recommendation for it (the IGB540-BK). Would like to see a custom case for it, guessing that'll come the longer it's out.

This review will probably be longer than necessary, so settle in.

Since these are sold out and backordered everywhere, I'm the one that bought the demo model a few weeks ago. It has a tiny little ding on the bridge which I barely even notice. A little dab of a brown Sharpie and you really need to look for it to see it. $ off for that? Sure, I'll take it!!! And it was a demo, so it got played and manhandled and it survived. Sold.

First of all, no disrespect to Tim and Polyphia, but this guitar being an Artist Signature model had very little to do with me choosing it. I don't play anything like them, or really care for that type of progressive rock/metal. Just isn't my thing. I can respect their monstrous talent and musicianship, no question. I won't be learning Playing God, or pretending that I'm a fanboy. Rather than wanting to play like them; Polyphia did influence me into wanting to get back to basics and learn all the fundamentals I passed over in my misguided quest to be a self-taught guitarist and learn things on my own. So I'm actually doing that now, and learning things about the fretboard I never knew before. Thank you Tim!

I wanted a fairly lightweight good sounding guitar with a wider neck than a regular electric. I don't have fat fingers, but it's way more comfortable playing on a wider neck. For me it is. And this isn't to satisfy a need for a pseudo-classical guitar. I have a Cordoba for that, which is good enough for that type of thing. This is simply an electric guitar with a wider neck that also sounds decent played acoustically. Nothing more than that. I think of it more as a "Better" FRH10N. Other than the looks (which are fantastic), the Preamp, binding, fretboard inlay; it's really not much different than the FRH. It all adds up to reasons for me to pay the upcharge over a standard FRH. I mean, to add a Fishman Preamp to an FRH would be $ just for the part! This is the first guitar I've purchased that my wife actually called "Beautiful".

I find it funny, and kinda sad, how most of the reviews I've seen of this guitar try to paint it into such a narrow category. It's either somebody wanking on Polyphia licks, or playing like it can only be used for acoustic/classical things plugged into a lame "Acoustic Amp". What??? Really? I think I only saw one Youtuber doing anything that screamed ROCK!!! This thing is WAY more versatile than that. Cripes. And it doesn't sound like a cardboard box either. Very few reviews have done this guitar any justice sound wise. One of the first things I did was plug it into my Fractal FM3, the Baby Fractal as I call it. It sounds AWESOME!!! It plays just as great. The neck feels just right. Frets all look great. The basic construction all looks good. Completely happy with all that!

I didn't pay for the setup, so I expected the action to be crazy high from the factory, and they didn't disappoint on that front. I've setup plenty of guitars, so I just view it as a matter of course at this point.

But everything isn't all rainbows and unicorns. It's not perfect. Let us count the ways:

* Firstly, Walnut should never have been used for the bridge. Yes, technically it's a "hardwood", but it's too soft for its intended purpose. The high E and B strings were steadily cutting their way through the tailpiece section. It's actually a pretty boneheaded error for Ibanez to make. A Rosewood bridge should be standard. I fashioned a blank bone saddle piece to work as a backstop to prevent it being damaged any further. What I did works. If you're not handy enough or the where-with-all to work on a guitar yourself, you'll have an extra bill you weren't anticipating.

* Since we're on the bridge; the saddle could have been thicker as well. I couldn't file it back any further to correct the pesky G string intonation. It was at the very back edge of the saddle as it was. I fixed that by adding a bit of JB Weld to the back of the saddle at the G string so I could file even further back. Fortunately they make an epoxy that's an off-white color, so it doesn't look completely stupid. I suppose the proper way to do it, would be to hand cut a thick piece of bone that fits into the 3mm saddle slot but is maybe 6mm where the strings sit. That would allow greater freedom to file the saddle as necessary. If the JB Weld fix doesn't hold up, I'll have to resort to doing it the correct way!

* I like how the Preamp works, but it's not in the best spot. I usually play sitting down. Haven't stood up to play for years. When sitting, the tuner is basically unusable. Tiny letters and weird positioning. I would rather have the Preamp where the soundhole is. It would be a lot easier to see and adjust then. I honestly don't think the soundhole does much of anything anyway, I really don't.

* Make sure the battery holder is pushed in and completely seated. It makes a god-awful buzzing rumbling noise otherwise.

* Lastly, while the fretboard inlay looks cool when you're standing in front of the guitar, it's not really all that great when you're playing. I tend to not use the side dots and focus mainly on the fretboard to know where I'm at. The color of the inlay and the busy-ness makes it difficult to use a quick glance for fret positioning. Maybe it's because I don't have young eyeballs anymore, but my sight isn't that bad. So I'm doing the unholy sacrilegious thing and using fretboard stickers to cover the pretty inlay at the necessary positions. Spare the insults!!!

The negatives aside, and I haven't come across an issue I couldn't fix myself, I love the guitar. It plays and sounds exactly like I hoped it would.

And Sweetwater was fantastic, of course.

ibanez has sold so many of these…. they're just pumping them out, with out making any adjustments…. if you're laying out $…. i didn't expect it to feel as playable as a hello kitty guitar. until the action was lowered, it felt like a toy….
sounds great thru an amp

My first guitar was a Brazilian Giannini classical (gear lust courtesy Jimmy Page). 25 years later, looking for a NEW classical guitar, I was a huge fan of the Ibanez SC500N, but totally missed its introduction in 1998, could not find one, now rare and costly.... Skip forward to 2022, and Ibanez announces the TOD10N. I told myself I am NOT missing out on this model... pre-ordered 11/13/22. It ended up on my doorstep last week of May 2023. (WOW, talk about demand, eh?)

Pros: Gorgeous guitar, every guitar should have a built in tuner, just sayin' and I was thrilled the bridge is still attached. (heard some horror stories) Quality was top notch. No burrs, no paint issues, thin and cuddly...

Cons: The string action was high for my expectations, not that I can play like Tim, but I'm sure he'd be pissed if his action was as high as this.

Fixable. Yes. Worth The Wait? Yes. Would I buy it again? yes. You plug this in and it's breath-taking.

Thanks, Tim Henson for making Ibanez get off their butt to do this.

First, the positive.

It is a very pretty guitar. The transparent flat black is understated but very nice to look at. The inlays may not be to everyone's taste, but they really give the guitar a unique look. The walnut with the gold hardware really stand out.

The playability, especially for those familiar with standard classical or nylon guitars, is off the charts. The amount of time to get used to the slightly wider neck is minimal. Acoustically, it sounds just fine, but when plugged in (in my case through a Roland JC-40), it really comes to life. The onboard EQ can really sculpt the sound, even with it only being Treble and Bass. I particularly like its rich tone.

In short, it sounds great, it plays great. I really do love this guitar, but it has a few negatives that really knock a few points off its score.

First, and others have noted this before, these guitars were rushed to market. Maybe not the first batch, those may be fine, but I got one several months after its release. The QC and craftmanship are lacking. The first thing I noticed is that the headstock was very clearly CNC routed. This is fine, in theory, but there was seemingly no finishing done. It is very rough in the actual routes where the strings wind.

The next thing that made itself apparent to me was that the frets almost immediately sprouted. This may be partially due to the room I keep it in, but having them sprout to this extent makes me think there was zero drying time, or whatever else may contribute to this issue.

Where the binding meets the fretboard is a hot mess. Although not visible from any distance, closer inspection shows that there are gaps between the binding and fretboard. On top of that, the actual profile of the neck when viewed straight on is a bit wobbly. Not straight like one may expect.

Where the back of the heel meets the body, and wrapping about a half an inch towards the front of the guitar, a hairline crack has appeared. I really couldn't say what this is caused by. The neck seems well glued, so I'm not worried about it popping off or anything.

The back of the neck, where your hand will spend 99% of its time is...uneven? I can't really quantify what the issue is, it just feels lumpy.

It is a looker for sure, sound is decent. Cheap parts that will not last even for studio or bedroom use. More of a toy than any sort of stage worthy guitar. Mine was shipped like this, must have needed a 56 point inspection. Proprietary part that looks like it was made with a home 3D Printer. Ibanez could have used Fishman Components and bumped the price $, the guitar is decent enough for the $$$ but these output jacks will never survive. The Metal wrapped E, A and D string is also not ideal.
The output Jack is bound to the thinnest section of plastic on the battery / output Jack housing. Bad design that will never stand the test of time.
This part is proprietary so there is no getting around it. I think this part will be an ongoing issue for sweetwater and Ibanez.

You expect something of a much higher quality especially coming from ibanez at a $ price point. Definitely not worth the money. Frets are very rough and there is paint that bleeds onto the pearl binding. A wood chip was ratting inside the guitar when I first got it. Not sure how it passed inspection. Edges on the fretboard comes looking like it was scraped, the pear came extremely yellowed in some areas. Will most likely be returning