I just bought a new guitar

It’s an Ibanez electric/acoustic that cost about 300 bucks at guitar center.

I had no idea what I was doing, and all I knew was that I wanted an electric/acoustic that wasn’t too extremely expensive. The store employee told me that it was a great guitar to learn on, partly because of the price (the other acoustic/electrics were 400-800 bucks), and partly because of a built in tuner.

Do you guys think I made a good purchase? So far I have only played on the 100-125 dollar beginner guitars, and I’d say my playing skill is “intermediate”. I know how to play all the major and minor chords, I have some decent finger strength and agility, but I don’t know many songs and reading tab or standard notation is still painfully slow.

I’m excited for it, but I can’t help but wonder if it’s really worth what I paid for it.

Yes, you made a fine purchase. Ibanez’s offerings in that price range are as good as anybody’s, and an acoustic-electric will give you nice versatility as you continue to learn.

Next move: shell out the few bucks to get it set up by a professional. Many guitar stores offer initial setup free with the purchase of a new guitar; otherwise, it’s usually not more than $40. Especially with an acoustic-electric, it can make all the difference in the world in terms of intonation (how in-tune things sound up and down the neck) and action (how high or low the strings are; whether it’s comfortable to play and doesn’t buzz).

I, too, recently ended up getting an Ibanez when I was in the market for a new acoustic. Was $350 in-store.

I do need to get a little tweak to the setup, because of some minor buzzing, but otherwise, it’s such a sweet cheap guitar, really fun to play and sounds great. I was surprised because I was used to Ibanez being in a cheaper second-tier of guitars, even in the lower ranges, but that was probably just some prejudice.

I’m a huge fan of almost anything Ibanez makes. Their products are almost uniformly superb instruments for the dollar.

While I personally don’t like Ibanez guitars, I played one for years and it was the most reliable guitar I’ve ever had. Good choice.

Wow, that’s the EXACT same guitar I bought, with a darker finish.