Ibanez AFR104

Not sure on the year but i have a A105 Sr#0017. Plays nice. Good all around bass.

Love the sound. I use this base for Classical mostly. Tuned EADGC. Beautiful high end.

Al good here

Meeh. Lots oh pain with electronics. Preamp is fine but the Piezo saddles are a pain. And no i wouldnt use it without a backup.

Blows. I cant find any parts I had to rebuild the entire preamp from scratch. All i need is 3 saddles. But nobody has them.

12 years. I own a Emily Gille Upright with a c-extention, A fender Marcus Miller 4 string, A Custom by Carpenter Harry Vickery 4 string in Lime Green (funk bass), Ibanez AFR 5, My 4 string frettless built by me, Cort Curbow 4,5,6 string fretted (I realy dig these for some reason, and finaly a Ibanez 4 string sound gear with no strings or electronics for practicing sight reading.

I will be selling an AFR 104 serial # 759. Walnut Finish in mint condition. If anyone is interested email: tercesyrev@comcast.net

Sounds awesome!

I've had a luthier adust this bass over the years. Unlike many complaints I've read, the action on this is perfect, not high but not too low to create buzzing

Very little work needed other than set ups

Thank God for the Luthier I have. He'll make parts if Ibanez cant supply them

Awesome bass. Only reason I'm selling it is I prefer 5 string. Ironically an Ibanez EDA 905 which is very similar to the AFR but not as nice.

I actually own two Ibanez Affirma series AFR-104's, serial #s 757 (saman wood) & 920 (kao wood).
Love this bass! I picked up #920 in like 1996 at Guitar Center in Brea, CA for a super sweet deal of $600 (GC didn't know wtf this bass was, as it is super hard to find any data, and so it wasn't listed in any pricing guide, plus i had to wrassle it away from Skreech from "Saved By The Bell" who was also intent on buying it). And then a few months ago, I saw another AFR-104 listed on Ebay (2nd time ever seeing one for sale anywhere), so i had to jump and buy #757 right away, which was purchased for $1300. My plan is to de-fret one of them.

The body of this bass is pure beauty. It was designed by Swiss luthier, Rolf Spuler, who also designed some of Prince's guitars. Rolf has taken his orginal design for Ibanez and refined it a bit and is now selling his custom updated models via his website: http://www.rolfspuler.com/

This bass is able to keep pace with myriad of style i play: from a smooth jazzy tone to bright poppin' funk to dark woodsy growls perfect for indie rock or goth/industrial.. the key is in the blending of the piezo pickups with the soapbar pickup..

So ergonomically designed, i am able to play for hours on end, without any issues.. in fact after playing this bass for almost 10 years now, I find that standard jazz/p-style basses completely uncomfortable to play.

My first AFR-104 (#920) has held up most excellent over the years, and i have never been let down.. The only issue i had with it was that I lost the tuning screw for the drop-D switch, and was unable to find a replacement part.. so, I ended up buying another AFR-104 (#757) when it showed up on Ebay, as a spare/backup..

haven't really had to call Ibanez for any issue, but there is almost no info on this bass to be found on the 'net. Would be nice to be able to track down replacement parts.

I've been playing bass for over 15 years, and play everything from bluegrass to dub/reggae to indie rock.
I typically use the following gear: Mesa-Boogie M2000 Basis Head, Ashdown Mini 15 cabinet, Morley Funk Wah, Boomerang Phrase Sampler.

Other basses owned:

2-string Washtub Bass by Cablebass.com
GoldTone Bass Banjo (my newest toy)

SUPER BASS GUITAR!!!! IVE CHANGED THE PICKUP TO EMG AFTER 6 YEARS OF PLAYING THE GUITAR & I HAVE FOUND THE CHANGE IN THE SOUND IS 10 OUT OF 10 AFTER FITTING THE EMG. THEY ARE THE SAME SIZED PICKUP SO THE CHANGE DOES NOT SPOIL THE LOOK OF THE GUITAR THE D TUNER IS HARDLY USED SO I FIND THAT A BIT POINTLESS BUT THE HARDWEAR AS REMAINED UNTARNISED OVER THE YEARS..

WITH THE ACTION LOWERED I FIND THE BASS GREAT FOR SLAP STYLES BEFORE FITTING THE EMG PICKUP I HAD DIFFICULTLY WITH THE TOP END TO GET THE NICE CHRISPY POPPY SOUND BUT THE CHANGE HAS SOLVED THAT PROBLEM!!

FACTORY FINISH WAS FANTASTIC & IM LUCKY TO OWN THE ADVERTISING AFR SHOW STAND THAT I GOT CHUCKED IN IN PART OF THE DEAL FROM THE SHOP I PURCHASED IT FROM. THE CONTROL KNOBS ARE NOT THE MOST ROBUST AND I AM THINKING OF UPGRADING THEM

WHAT CAN I SAY ITS BEEN THE BOTH

RUBBISH THEY DONT STOCK THE PARTS ANYMORE,I ALWAYS THINK THERE SHOULD BE PARTS AVAILABLE AFTER YOU BUY A PRODUCT FROM A GUITAR DEALER( ALEMBIC YOU WOULD NOT HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM)

IVE BEEN PLAYING FOR OVER 25YRS IPLAY FRETLESS ASWELL ONLY WISH I COULD HAVE BROGHT THE SAME FRETLESS VERSION IF IT WAS STOLEN I WOULD ONLY BUY A ALEMBIC STANLEY CLARKE VERSION

I'm just adding to the previous 2 reviews. As described above, the bass is beautiful. The drop-tuner is kinda lame. It is much more sensible to have the detuner up above the nut, the way the Kubicki Factor basses do. This way, the fretted notes on the low D string (from F on up) are in the same place as they would be on the low E string. The neck is very thin, making fingering quite easy. It also came with an excellent case, beautiful interior and sturdy exterior, although it took about 2 years for the toxic smell from the glue to fade (and I aired it out frequently, for long periods of time).

I agree, the action is very high, and this is a bad bass for slapping (too bad!). But the tone is amazing. It's great for live, as well as for recording (I've gone direct many times!). I would say the tone I create with it is round, warm, and clean. But it really depends on the player what you want to get out of it.

As mentioned, action is very high. Fit and finish were excellent.

Will this bass withstand live playing?
YES
Does the hardware seem like it will last?
YES
Is the finish good enough to last, or does it seem thin and easy to wear off
with lots of playing?
VERY GOOD
Are the strap buttons solid?
YES
Can you depend on it?
YES
How often does the neck/truss rod need to be adjusted?
ONCE IN EIGHT YEARS
Would you use it on a gig without a backup?
ALL THE TIME

I've been playing music for 25 years, bass for eleven years, and the AFR for eight years. It has changed my life.

The Ibanez AFR is a bass with a set maple neck in a wallnut body; The contours are beatifull. The sight is like a Rembrandt!! It has a piezo bridge with a detuner and one active pick-up

The sound of the magnetic pick-up is great. The bass-treble pot works perfectly. The piezo is very much less loud. There is a big, big diferece in volume between the piezo and magnetic pick-up. The piezo sounds very thin. A lot thinner than a normal piezo pickup. This makes this bass not very easy to use on stage, because the change in pick-up gives a big change in volume.

The action was quite high. It took a lot of work to get it right. The action between body and strings is very high. This makes this bass not fit for slapping-style playing.

The bass is light and has a great sound on stage; and it will stay good. remember to bring 2 piles (9V) with you!

I played this bass 2 years. Now I built my basses myself.

Fretted, 1/2 size headstock, Active Piezo, body through, (has a hip-shot / de-tuning E string), truss rod access in headstock.

Have played this bass for years. It has a very rich tone and is a very comfortable bass to play (the feel of the neck is what sold me). The body design is pleasing and it is fairly light.
The only complaint I have is that there is an odd groove in the body where I your thumb goes when playing. It's a little small so you end up with an bit of a sore thumb....Otherwise I'm very happy with it.

Play mostly jazz. It's not a punchy / trebly bass, but has a solid presence that allows for some clean playing. I mostly leave it in one tone and use other basses for different feels.

Fantastic finish on the neck and body. My only complaint is that I do get some fret buzz..

Played everywhere with it. Takes a beating and keeps delivering.

It's a great bass. Not top of the line, but not el-cheapo either. For the money, its worth a play to see if it fits your style.

This instrument was made in Japan.4 strings.Half neck thru design.It has piezo in the bridge that can be blended with magnetic pickup.Spesial design by Rolf Spuler.... and it's wonderful.

It suit my music style perfect. My band play different music from Metallica to U-2. It gives full rich and warm sound.And you can change it by using tone . You can use it at stage (very good lookin and for record in studio.

All is super.

I just wanna to ask them a little about my instrument but.......