If buying a new guitar is like buying a new car then that would explain this one. Another Ibanez. Brand-loyalty. It must have been late 1979 when Manfred Brietzke and I started an acoustic guitar duo – later to become a trio via the inclusion of Ulli Fischer.
As is so often the case, new projects can be very energizing – especially if they take off. In this case I noticed I didn’t own a decent acoustic guitar. Since around that time I taught guitar and worked at the recording studio in Musicland Albstadt, I had access to new instruments for testing. Unfortunately I also never had a lot of cash. In the case of this Ibanez Ragtime it was a good thing. It was the least expensive of the series and just is a very simple instrument. No pickup. No frills or fancy inlays.
My friend Manfred bought the slightly fancier and more expensive Ragtime model to play in our duo and it didn’t play or sound as well as mine. This guitar has appeared on many records and gigs. It has the same neck and body shape as the black Ibanez AE410 and one would expect them to play the same but the difference couldn’t be bigger.