Ibanez AM66 Artist Semi-Acoustic

made in Japan in 1985 it still looks like new apart from a chipped nut where i dropped it once. smaller body than 335 but similar shape. binding on edges and neck but not on f-holes. two humbucker pick ups 3 way pickup selector 2 tone and 2 volume pots 22 frets 2 piece plywood top and back three piece glued on neck rosewood fretboard I dont know what the bridge is acalled but it allows individual string height adjustment.tuners are labelled Ibanez smooth tuner II

I wasn't looking for a guitar when my local guitar shop guys thrust this at my face but it made a lot of sense as it covers a lot of musical ground from jazz blues rock and even country. I am still hunting for a decent amp ( my ears fell in love with a BF Vibrolux reverb a guy i know uses ) but currently have a seymour duncan 84-50 and a peavey 110 envoy. the sound is not nearly as rich as my old 355 but kind of appealing and slighty what I'd describe as 'woody' in tone. sustain is good and pickup have plenty of bite. action is good with minimal fret noise or other buzzes semi acoustics are prone to. I mostly use the neck P/U for rhythm and the bridge P/U for a bit more cutting lead sound for blues and leave it on neck for jazz or very occasionally on both P/Us. I love (and so do others) the way it looks! When I've taken it to music shops to test amp and stuff people keep asking to buy it off me :P I just call it my workhorse but its cute and i LOVE the way it sits nicely on my lap unlike the huge unweildy 335 shape. I dislike the very small sweet spots. My old 355 had many more sweet spots. but its still very versatile.

bought this guitar used was set up ok though needed to reset the harmonics and recently I raised the action slightly. I have replaced the pick up selector switch twice and it still occasionally malfunctions leaving me without the bridge P/U. this could also be a wiring problem somewhere else perhaps. absolutely beautiful finish, a real gem! A friend has a single neck through body ibanez artist that he's had since new (solid body but) that I'm a bit jealous of that's the same era as mine. I think the AM-66 must have been the budget model of the range at the time. The finish is extremely good. and justifiably IMO wears the "crafted in Japan" sticker. It IS crafted ( as opposed to say 'produced' or 'manufactured')

I been using it at blues jams for years now. thats like 2 or 3 times a week and i play every day at home too. no problems except that damn P/U selector toggle switch. Hmm well that and that other people keep trying to buy it off me :/

i also own an ibanez artist les paul copy, a locally hand build classical, a fender japan folk and a yamaha RBX 250 bass. Amps; a pignose, a seymour duncan 84-50, and peavey envoy 110. Effects a ts-10 tubescreamer and arion digital chorus/flanger. i hope to upgrade to a gibson lucille soon but until then my AM-66 is my 'baby' Where this ghuitar wins is in the value for money category!! used Ibanez are very hard to beat in that category. Ibanez really built a beautiful, extremely well made instrument here. The only let down is the tone. other than that it's perfect for me. I'd give it 7.5 - if I could :)