I did an incredible amount of research on electric guitars in the $200-700 price range. My goal was to buy a guitar for my daughter and I to share and learn on. I have attempted to take up guitar many times over the years (see the years played below) and never was successful until I picked up this Ibanez. I had bought several entry level guitars over the years and found then difficult to play and never sounded very good. I was at the point where I felt to only way to sound good was to shell out a couple of grand on a Gibson. Never had that kind of money. My daughter has been pressing me to buy her an electric guitar for a while so I got the green light from my wife and proceeded to surf the web in my quest for the perfect guitar. I checked eBay, eopinions, dozens of web sites, newsgroups and asked friends who play. The common element was check into Ibanez entry level guitars.

Of course, all the opinions in the world cannot begin to match the hands on feel when buying a guitar. Simply put you have to get it in your hands and check it out before you buy. I did just that... went to the store and picked up every guitar they would let me try and checked for feel, ease of playing, and of course sound. I did invest in a set of self contained headphones to avoid embarrassment. This was the best idea I ever had as I did not have to be shy and could experiment with sounds. Then I had someone from the store play a few things as well over an amp just for reference. You should also keep in mind that guitars on display may have quite a bit of use and/or abuse so the strings could be a bit worn. If really serious you may want to consider replacing strings during your evaluation. Even a great guitar with bad strings can sound horrible.

These are the things that impressed me about the Ibanez s470
This guitar as with most Ibanez electrics has a very thin and comfortable neck. This was very important considering my small hands. Strings were close to the fingerboard and did not buzz despite my lack of experience. Well... buzzed a lot less than normal for someone like me. When checking the notes individually every one came up clean. The tuning machines were fluid smooth and stayed set even without locking the strings. The microtuners used on the s470 work well and make accurate tuning a breeze. Keep in mind that these are fine adjustments so you should have them in the middle of their range when using the main tuners. Setting intonation is a but tricky due to location of the screws I had to detune the string adjust then retune. This hit and miss process takes time. The 5 way switch and pickups offer an incredible array of different tonal effects. The thin body of the s470 looks really great and is very comfortable to hold. The Jewel Blue color was a major factor as well. It simply looks great and the "S" shaped fret markers were unique. I also liked the other Ibanez low end offerings but the pickups, switch, tuning system, and thin body made it a no-brainer to spend the extra $$.

I also checked low end Fenders, Epiphone, Jackson, and some others. None played as easily or offered the features of the Ibanez in the same price range. I would say Fender was the closest runner up. In the high end it might be a different story.
The bottom line is this Ibanez is a keeper and made learning really fun. My progress with this guitar is better than others I have tried over the years. My daughter is doing really well and learning much faster than I did when I was younger. We have had this guitar for about a year.
I bought it at Guitar Center and found then willing to work with price on this model. With lower end models they don't have much room. Price was not really the issue but quality was. Ibanez fit that bill.

Recommended:
Yes