Ibanez Signature Models | GB10SE - George Benson - Brown Sunburst

The fantastic playing, singing and overall musicality of George Benson have earned him a staggering ten Grammy Awards. Ibanez have been making the GB10 for him as a signature model since they unveiled it at the 1977 NAMM Show!

Made in Japan, the beautiful GB10 is a smaller hollow-body with a spruce top and maple back and sides. The design inspiration for the GB10 was to create an arched-top, hollow-bodied guitar with the lines of a Gibson Les Paul crossed with a Gibson Johnny Smith. Hoshino USA designer Jeff Hasselberg traced copies of each of those guitars and designed a shape that split the difference between the two. That initial sketch was the basis for the GB10 model and it has certainly stood the test of time.

It looks really beautiful with multi-layer binding, plenty of aesthetic inlays, gold hardware and a great looking tortoiseshell pickguard and tailpiece inlays.

It features an ebony fingerboard, bridge and saddle. Ebony produces a tight low end and mid-range with a defined high end attack. It also delivers quick response and rich sustain. The GB Special pickups are installed floating off the body for maximum freedom of the top - eliminating feedback and enabling a superb, warm jazz sound, both acoustically and when plugged-in.

Interestingly the GB10 features a specially-designed half bone/half brass nut. The brass leading edge provides balanced sound between open and fretted notes, whilst improving sustain. The bone trailing half eliminates the harshness and string rattle that can sometimes be evidenced in fully brass nuts.

The GB10's tailpiece is a specially designed trapeze-style, introduced with the guitar in 1977. It not only looks great in gold with the tortoiseshell inlays but is highly functional. Both the bass and treble string side can be individually adjusted for height with a pair of thumbscrews. 

With Ibanez Japan's meticulous attention to detail and materials, plus the inclusion of a hardshell case, the GB10 adds up to being one seriously fine instrument that can bring a lifetime of musical development and pleasure to the owner.