Ibanez AFS75T Artcore

You know the drill by now. Specced as advertised. All good. Came wit ha free cardboard box!

This Guitar sounds great! Wonderfull tones. I play vaious rock and alternative styles and it does everything I want. Very Quiet, no hiss or buzz. I'm running it through a Laney UK built 100 watt Tube fusion and a Laney 200 watt Quad. Deep tones are amazing. It can struggle wit hthe brights attimes, but that has more to do with the amp.
I use the Laney's built in distortion channels for grunge, which is amazing through the tube. I also run a Boss Chorus, Ibanez Tube distortion for extra nasty...and have a Roland AX5G with expression pedal...nice sounds but not so practical for live work. The Ibanexz hollow can sing and scream with feedback when things get loud...but I like to make that work for me...it's nice and controllable if you are aware.

Factory setup was good. It was a little fiddly getting the foam spacer out from under the bridge without sending the whole shebang out of whack. Pickups seem fine, and respond niceley...and I do play loud at times.

Overall quality of the build is stunning. No faults, and an amazing build. Retails here in OZ for about $1200. I got mine from a friend who was able to order one direct from Ibanez, for about half that.

This guitar will easily stand up to live work, but be aware of your feedback issues, and temerature changes will send it out of tune fairly quickly if you are surfing the tremlo all night. I would happily use this at a gig....without a backup...no way...but who would go to a gig with only one guitar?

Warranty is 5 years...I think, but I can't image having to worry about it....it seems like a long term friendship, me and my Artcore.

I have been playing for 20 years...I have a bunch of acoustics, an 80's Cort strat rip-off which is amazing to play...but as heavy as a small child. I have played Strats, Les Pauls, Rickenbackers and a Tele. THe Ricky was probably the best, but you get what you pay for, and at around 4K, that's plenty.

I wish I had asked for two...when I bought this guitar on the cheap...then I could have sold one and got some more goodies.

I love the look, I love the sound, I don't like the fact I can't solo right up the neck. My favourite feature is sing sweet nothings with feedback and the tremlo.

This is a Chinese made, semi-hollow thinbody, twin humbuckers, Bigsby, two volume, two tone knobs.
Mine came in the metalflake black on body, neck and headstock with scrollwork in dark gray on the face. It looks like an over $1000 unit.
Everything else same as others describe. Another one of those units that are so good, they just keep building them year after year.
For a Chinese product, it is in the 8-9 category, and that's saying something. They just keep getting better and better.

Against my Grestch 5120, I wish I had not bought the Grestch. That was over a year ago, and I wanted a big body hollow-body, but had I heard this, I believe I would have passed on the Grestch.
It has a very rich, FULL sound, especially with both pickups on. Mostly I put it through a Fender Frontman 100 2X12, and it just shines. I don't even have a pedal on it right now.
If you go for the bridge pickup, you enter that "Down on the Corner" type sound, but the Frontman helps. If you put it on neck, you get more into classic rock, but not heavy enough for metal. Distortion makes it screech a bit. The neck is just a swell classic rock pickup, just a hint of distortion added it can handle well, anything more it screechs too much for me.
Both pickups and it's a great classic, just absolutely a full sounding classic. Something you might have heard any number of clean, heavy players use. Not a Fender sound, more of a Gibson/Les Paul sound. But full, full, full.
I choose it because of the sound produced by the two pickups together. I love that older, more traditional sound. It does that in spades. DiMarzio pickups, or maybe TV Jones I'm sure would be hotter, as would others, but that is what my Ibanez RG is for.

Action was pretty good off the rack. Had to do a little bridge movement, little height changing, no truss rod movement needed so far. Sometimes that doesn't show for a week or two, see what the humidity change does to it.
Fit is excellent. All joints are clean, buckers screw up and down easy, tuners are tight and stay put. Knobs are rock solid. Love the roller bridge, but kind of an oxymoron thing riding on that rosewood baseplate on a shiny finish. Just makes it easier to bump the bridge out of position with the rollers. Still, the rollers are a point ahead of the Grestch Electromatics when a Bigsby is involved. No worries about string windings catching on the TAM bridge and losing tune. Had to do a teeny bit of intonation work, mostly with the screws, straight blade adjustments made very easy, again due to the rollers in the bridge. Came right in, sounds good.
Came with D'Addarios, kept them on for now, probably go to Blue Steel 10's soon, see what happens. It's just so good sounding now, hate to change that.
Finish had one spot about 5MM big on the face that was touched up with a paint brush - I don't think the dealer even saw it. I had it for two days before I found it. Some touchup of the clear finish. The metalflake underneath is perfect. May try to polish it out, but really, unless your hand goes over it, you cannot see it. Bindings are perfect, as are the cross inlays on the neck. Love the abalone over pearloid inlays, very classy. Frets are just about perfect, no rough edges at all.
Just a couple points off for the finish mistake.
Overall, for a Chinese guitar at this price point. WOW.

Should not be a problem at all at a gig, save for someone mistaking it for a $2000 unit and stealing it.
Hardware is sound, Bigsby is a standard unit, bridge and all other items seem sound and standard. No out of the box stuff here, just good, sound appointments. Finish seems tough with the poly gloss on top, but it is a hollow, so dropping is not wise.
Top strap button on the top back of the body is a silly place, it makes the unit want to walk away from your body while standing. Have to keep the strap high and tight. Strap buttons are good, but the Bigsby does take up a little space on the lower one, a nice, thick leather strap has a hard time sitting home on that bottom strap. Once located, though, it also is hard to get it off, so no worries.

Bought it from a local dealer, Mainstage Music, Dayton, Tennessee. Good Ibanez dealer, will take care of me no matter what. Stands behind his stuff and fixes anything. Excellent dealer all the way around. Not even worried about Ibanez Company - local help is here should I need it.

Been playing for about 18 months now, everyday if possible. At the "Dust in the Wind" stage, learning fast chord changes with fingerpicking. At my age,(old guy), this is something I wish I had done 40 years ago.
Too much gear to list.
I went into the store hoping to score a Hagstrom Viking - very happy I got this instead.
I would buy it again, no doubt. Especially over any Electromatic Grestch.
I compared it to a number of others, including some solid bodies, this was the best sounding. One note, model is a non-Bigsby and another is a Gold plated version, and I tried them all. This one sounded best, which brings home the Chinese. There is still variation. All those pickups should have sounded the same. One I tried had kind of a flat, dead bridge pickup. Same model, no Bigsby.
Another item. I wish they would mount the bridge base. Make intonation right and pin the damn thing down.
Also, the selector switch is in the most awkward position I could possibly imagine. On the other hand, I will never accidently hit it while strumming chords, since it is well protected by the Bigsby.
As far as the high fret cutaway complaints, I don't think you want to spend much time at 17 or 18 on a unit like this. I'll probably not play anything above 12 on this unit.
Lastly, if you have slightly bigger fingers, suffer from a little "finger buzz", or maybe an older player with a little arthritis, this unit is for you with it's slightly bigger neck but close to your body construction. And with the classic rock sound, what's not to love?

red model. looks gorgeous. 2 pickups, selector, 4 knobs, that's it. big old twangy bar there which works pretty well - holds its tuning nicely.

Mine was 2nd hand, I had it set up and put heavy gauge strings on as soon as I had it. Action is slick, lovely to play. Intonation etc is bang on, as you'd expect from Ibanez.

Makes a suprisingly loud sound acoustic. I play with fingernails (never a plec) and tend to belt the strings a bit. It takes it, no rattles or buzzes.

Blues, rock, folky things ... big sound, works well for this. neck pickup can do fat warm jazzy sounding chords (great with a bit of wangy bar), bridge is twangier, more edge. Really quite versatile. Everything I need or want in an electric.

2nd hand, needed a set up. Finish is A1 though - it is an object of lust, just like me ...

seems to have lasted very well - I will gig this guitar plenty.

NA

played 30 years or so. My only electric guitar, also I have a Landola steel strung and an Avarez Artist nylon. May pick up a tele some time, but this baby suits me down to the ground right now. Exceptional bang for buck.

I'm not 100% sure when this was made, but I believe recently.(2003 I think) I also believe this guitar was made in Japan(?).
It has 22 frets with set pearl inlays on a rosewood bound finger board. The neck is mahogany and the body is maple top/back and sides.
Standard 2 tone 2 volume with a three way selector switch. Controls are set up like a standard 335 with the selector set just above the F hole.
I can't review the original pick ups due to them being removed. This guitar currently has a TV jones pick up in the neck and a seymour duncan in the rear. The electronics work very well with clean in instant response. Volume/tone pots work equally as well.
I have an awesome sea blue finish to my guitar, and actually it is what drew me to it. It looks like there has been coat after coat of paint and finish. Defiantly a highlight on the guitar.
The body style is, of course a "true" hollow body as Ibanez claims, and I can say that they aren't lying. I tried other rival guitars(epiphone, gretsch, aria etc) before purchasing this one and none came close to the quality of materials or finish of this guitar.
The bridge has a tune-O-matic bridge with a bigsby style trem arm. The trem arm does NOT de-tune the strings and in fact keeps them in tune! Cool!
I don't know about the tuners so i can't comment there. The neck is a meium neck from what i can see and the frets are medium in size as well. Very fast neck that sits comfortably in the hand.
The only thing I didn't like the look of was the tone and volume knobs. But I ordered some chrome replacements, so that wasn't a big deal
Overall, a stellar looking and solid feeling guitar for this price range.(I got mine for just under $500 cnd)

I am a beginner/intermediate guitar player who likes jazz, jazz and more jazz. I like vintage rock too(beatles ect). I wanted a jazz box, but I also wanted the versatility of a 335. This fit the bill perfectly. Due to this being a "true" hollow body, the sound just goes on for ever.
It has quite a warm, woody sound without an amp and the range of sounds I can get WITH an amp are great. I only play through small practice amps, so It would be difficult to tell what this thing can truly do, but it plays very well through the little amps and produces that mellow sound I was after.
Again, it probably sounds as good or better than some of the higher priced guitars I tried out. It would seem that you could play just about anything on this guitar form jazz to rockabily to great blues playing.
I do have the upgraded pick ups, but I can probably guess that this sounded just as good stock.

I can't say that there is anything I dislike about the sound, as I tried a lot of guitars before this one(even full jazz boxes), so once I found it and played it I was hooked.

I don't know how well the guitar was set up right out of the box, since it is a second hand guitar. But the action is low(not too low, just right) and the upgraded pick ups worked perfectly.
The finish is, like I said before, one of the highlights of this guitar. Just beautiful. :-)
great piping around the whole guitar really sets of the blue/cream finish. Even the inside of the F holes are finished in the cream piping! The neck is set in the body and looks very tight/clean.
No buzzing frets or any other noticeable inconveniences.
If I was to nit pick, the port for the patch cable was a little loose, but a few turns and it was fine.
A very solid machine.

Since I don't play live or gig yet, I can't say how this would hold up to playing like that. But if I was to guess, I would say it would be fine. The thing is built like a tank. A very sophisticated tank. :-)
The finish is so good, that I worry about it getting dinged probably more than I need too. It should hole up well if taken care of.
The strap buttons look to be very well constructed(way better than my aria strato knock off) and I wouldn't think you would need locks for it.
I have only had it for a few months, but it hasn't given out on me yet, and I can't see that it will in the future ether. And if I was to gig, I don't thing I would take this to gig with, just because it's such a beautiful guitar. but I'm sure it would do fine if your into that sorta thing.

I haven't had to deal with Ibanez, so I can't comment here.

I've been playing for about two years now and have only had(still have) one other guitar. An Aria stg(stratocaster knock off). It was ok to learn off of, but It couldn't give me the sound I wanted, which was a the mellow jazz sound of a jazz guitar.
I play through a traynor practice amp with various peddle effects and I have a danelectro honey tone that works very wel with both guitars.
I doubt I will ever need another guitar, as this is very versatile and looks just plain cool. If it was stolen, I would probably cry and be very upset, then find the bugger who stole it and feed my aria to him. :-D
I absolutly love everything about it. No, seriously. Without being gushing about it ether. It just is that good. And how many things in life are like that?
I love the bigsby-esqe arm and that it dosn't de-tune the strings. The true hollow body is a joy to play.
The only thing I didn't like first off was the ugly speed dial tone/volume knobs. But that might be just me, and they were easy enough to replace.
Compared to other guitars, this plays like a Gretsch twice to three times it's price, and blows the Epiphone 335 right out of the water in my opinion. No other hollow body in it's price range came close to the quality and sound that this beast has.
To be honest though, I was hooked in by the color of it before anything else, but once I played it, that was it.
Anything I wish it had? No nothing I can think of.

All I can say is if your looking for a truly cool looking and awesome sounding hollow body, check these out. You'll be happy you did. It beats paying solely for a name brand with nothing else to offer. It's a bargain at the price they are asking for these things too.

You know the deal, Made in China, 22 frets with, according to the Ibanez catalogue, a Fred Gretsch Licensed Whammy Bar system, 2 ACH humbuckers, two volume and two tone knobs and a three way pick-up selector switch. Mine is the transparent red model with a different fret marker inlay than all the pictures I've seen. The inlay is in the shape of a "+" sign like the Chevrolet logo with abalone in the centre and surrounded by mother of pearl - very nice it is too. All the features I wanted, so it has to be a 10.

I play in a classic rock covers band, but outside of that I play a wide range of styles and I'm old enough and fortunate enough to own a guitar for each style (now that I have this guitar too). I use it either through my practice amp, a Roland Cube 30, or my gigging amp which is a Laney VC30 212. I bought it specifically for Rockabilly and Jazzy music but I found very quickly that it can do far more. It has that natural woody, slightly nasal tone on the neck pickup which enables great Chuck Berry, BB King and Peter Green sounds. Switch to both pickups and adjust the volume and tone controls and laid back blues is so satisfying. Switch to the bridge pickup for a great Gary Moore style lead sounds. I wouldn't have believed you could get such great tone from the stock pickups and this is still using the D'Addario strings supplied with the guitar that others have moaned about. I think the medium output pickups are the closest thing to 50's PAF pickups that I've heard. I tried several of the top of the Artcore range with the Custom 58 pickups and they're good but I like these better.
I've seen people complain about the siting of the pickup selector switch and say it should be on the upper bout. I agree this would be a nice site for it but this guitar has the vibe and features of a lot of vintage guitars and borrows from all of them. The selector switch is sited in the same place on the Gibson ES range - check out the 345 and its cousins and you'll see why Ibanez put the switch where it is.

My guitar was set-up before collection. It's the cheapest guitar I own and I have spent money getting all my other guitar professionally set-up because I've found that until you've done that you're not able to fully realise the potential of the instrument. Like all new guitars this one still required some minor fettling. The nut was pinching the G string and I filed the slot until it no longer pinched the string. The trick is to keep filing until the string stays in tune after vigorous string bending and use of the whammy bar. I see a lot of owners moaning about the tuners but I suspect the problem will be incorrectly fitting slots in the nut especially as most of the reviewers say they changed to heavier guage strings. Either that, or I've been lucky with my tuners!

The finish is glorious and looks so much nicer in the flesh - the catologue pictures don't do justice to the transparent finish. You don't get flamed maple at this price point, but it still looks nice. Fret ends were all neat and tidy. The binding is stupendously good. Double bound body for a sixth of the price of a double bound Telecaster and an eighth of the price of a Gibson 335. It's going to be a 9 in this category but every guitar I've bought before has been more expensive and required MORE work than this one.

It's got a polyurethane finish so that's bound to be durable and last a lifetime. Peversely, I wish it had a nitrocellulose finish so that it could age more gracefully. I always think that a poly finish is going to seal the guitar and not allow it to breathe in the way that a thin coat of nitro does. So I think of poly finishes as being the botox of the guitar world. On the minus side, it's a hollowbody guitar so it is more prone to damage by its very nature. I would happily gig with it and I'd use it without backup but I'd like a hardshell case for it first.

I've never dealt with Ibanez, but their UK distributor also distributes Laney Amps and I know Laney are brilliant to deal with.

I've been playing for 34 years and I also own a Gibson Les Standard, a Fender American Vintage '62 Reissue Telecaster and a Fender Classic Player 60's Strat and a Tanglewood electro acoustic. I love the retro vibe of the guitar and I wish it had easier access to the higher frets. If it were lost or stolen I would buy another in a heart beat. If I fell on hard times I would sell all my other guitars and keep this one, I rate it that highly! I looked at getting a Gretsch Electromatic or a Peerless Tonemaster but this was better value for money and since I've had it I haven't been able to put it down.

I was looking around online and I found a Ibanez Artcore AFS75T on sale at Interstate music,

the guitar is not a bad guitar, a lot better than the epiphone versions, especially in this price range,

it has a mahogany neck, maple body, all of which has binding, including the F holes,

Rosewood fret board with block inlays, looks like pearloid,

The Pickups are ok, they are more or less Gibson 490 copies,

the guitar has the standard 2 humbuckers and a 3 way switch set up you see on most hollow body guitars,

the guitar has a Licensed Bigsby Tremelo on it with a roller bridge, nice touch for something in this price range,

I rated the guitar a 7, the rason, ibanez should offer better pickups in the guitar, they could have used seymour duncan designed or actual seymour duncans, or even dimarzios, Ibanez uses a lot of dimarzio pickups in their guitars, the stock pickups have a tendancy to feedback easily

the guitar sounds great unplugged, a lot of depth and tone, similar to the G6120 Gretsch import that's around $600.00

Plugged in, it's ok, I ran it through a Fender Vibrolux, a Marshall jcm 900, and a Line 6 spider II, same conclusion on all of them, the pickups feedback too easily, even when it is clean,

The pickups are in my opinion clones of the 490's by Gibson tone wise, the guitar can be improved upon sound wise, like I did, LOL :)

I swapped out the pickups and wiring and installed Dimazrio Virtual PAF's in the neck and bridge, and I used CTS 500K pots with orange drop capacitors, and switchcraft 3 way switch and jack, big difference,

the guitar plays sweet now, I can get some nice 50's tones, or I can get down and dirty and play some Nugent tones,

as I stated in this part of the review, the electronics are the typical cheap stuff from China, replace all of it and you can have a great instrument

the action was ok, so I did my own setup and it rocked, changed the strings to flatwound, it came with 10's on it, I put on some 9's,

The pickups were adjusted well,

all of the work on the guitar is ok, but there is some small minor finish flaws, you will only notice them if you are really looking for them, and for a guitar in this price range, what do you expect.

the flaws were very small finish flaws in the clearcoat, one on the headstock, I polished out, and one on the neck joint side on the body top, I will polish out next.

the tuning keys are decent for Gotoh, the funny thing is the knobs, they went out of their way to copy Grover knobs on the tuning keys, must have got them from the supplier who sells the knock off gibsons in China.

Ok, with some work this guitar will be great for live playing,

I gave it a 5 for a good reason, the tuning keys are not good with the Tremelo or vibrato as some people call the Bigsby, you will need locking tuning keys or better ones, the stock ones are ok, but you need to tighten the bushings on the knobs, they are a little loose from the factory.

The strap buttons are ok, but the one near the neck migh poke you hard in the chest if you decide to use strap locks, same location as a lot of gibsons or other hollow bodies,

the hardware on the guitar is decent, the licensed trem is in my opinion the same quality as the actual Bigsby, I have owned a few Gretsch's and it's good, the roller bridge is needed when you have a tremelo, if not the strings would mess up the regular saddles when you started to use the trem,

the finish is poly, it can last, I wish it was Nitro, but the cost would easily esculate by $300

with some minor work, this guitar can be a regular player on stage, but without any of the tweaking or work, it's a matter of time before the problems develop.

I would use it on a gig without a backup after all of the mentioned work was done, as I stated before, what do you expect for this price range,

I have not contacted them yet, but what sucks is the warranty, 1 year, they should have at least gone 3 - 5 years on the low side, there is other companies with similar guitars offering a lifetime warranty in this price range.

This is my first hollowbody guitar in 10 years, I had an urge to buy one, and for the price range I decided on Ibanez, sure there was Jay Turser, Dillion and a Few others, but everyone knows of Ibanez,

I pretty much checked everytthing out between the reviews and playing it, I made my decision, I am glad I didn't buy it from Guitar center,

if it got stolen, I might replace it with the same one, or chip in $400 more and buy an Edwards from Japan,

I like it for the woods used, and for the price range, I have checked out the epiphones, and the one closest in design to this one costs about $700 , and it is a total turd, it seems Gibson deliberately loweres the quality on them so people have to buy a Gibson,

What I dislike is the electronics, the tuning keys, and the knobs,

as far as comparisons go, I wanted something cheap for now just in case I didn't like it, I didn't want to sink a lot into a hollowbody at this point in time, I wanted a Gretsch, but $250 more for the import wasn't that appealing at this time, and the Epiphones were not worth it at all.

anything I wish it had, better electronics, I would pay a little extra if it had them already installed, it is a pain to redo a hollowbody, tuning keys would be the highly recommended one for the Artcore models with a tremelo,

overall the Ibanez AFS75T is a decent guitar, it's not bad if you want a hollow body without spending a whole lot, there are others in this price range, but how many dealers carry the off brands?, I found out the hard way with Dillion, warranty service is a pain, so sticking with a name brand is a no brainer,

as I mentioned in this review, with a little tweaking this guitar can be great playing out, I had to spend $120.00 extra installing pickups and wiring, but in the end it sounds great, the tuning keys are next, but please keep in mind that I am customizing this guitar to my taste, everyone has his or her own opinion on what a guitar should sound like, I wanted the late 50's gibson tone, and I got it nailed with all that has been done.

It's been stated many times. It's sort of a Gretch-Gibson. Fully hollow which puts it in rare company for this width and size guitar. Yes, the pickup selector switch couldn't have been put in a more awkward position, past that high bridge and under your whammy bar. The throw is somewhat strange but that can be adjusted. "Large frets" Ibanez says--well, they go from end to end if that's what they mean. But these aren't jumbos, rather narrow actually, somewhat Fenderish. I would have preferred a wider fret but there you are. The neck is wide and flat, a bit flatter than Gibson, a jazz neck to be sure. Nicely detailed with very good workmanship. A basic setup with D'Addario jazz/blues strings and I was ready to go.

It's a decent sound with stock pickups. Naturally has less natural highs than a solid body and with a prominent mid-range but that's part of the charm. It brings out the rock-a-billy with me. Sounds very retro 50s early 60s to this ear. All three positions are usable with a good amp. The neck pickup is deep and the bridge has enough treble for lead work. The middle of course straddles the two and you can roll off either volume for fine tuning just like a Gibson.

I bought this used but the set-up wasn't bad. Had to straighten the neck a bit to reduce high position fretting out. The pickups I'm still experimenting with. You will get feedback with high gain. It's part of the beast unless you stuff the F-holes.

I don't know the long term reliability. It's not rocket science, it should last a long time with care. The whammy bar works well and keeps the guitar in tune with gentle warbling. The bar is too high on my sample. That would involve cutting down the spring.

I have had no contact with Ibanez for anything but to my memory this is my first Ibanez product.

I've been playing since the Ten Commandments were written. Most styles. I like it. It's different. It looks cool with a George Harrison vibe. very light on the shoulder. It looks and plays like more money.

Royal blue finish. Big-ass tail peice. Two humbuckers and control stes (you had me at royal blue). Man I swear this sounds dumb but...The Artcore AF75 was wider in the middle and had a warmer tone, but this guitar just look so damn cool. After changing my mind five times I gave the salesman my card and said I'll take the blue one and then left the room before I changed my mind.

Passive Pickups. I was origionally going to put in diffrent ones, but why? Don't fix it if it ain't. broke.

23 frets, but only 15 are usable due to the design. I don't need to break champagne bottles so I don't care.

The case came seperately. I got it for cost. Buying a guitar like this and trusting it to a gig bag is foolish and will end up a tradegy.

I NEVER use bridge pick-ups (my other guitar is a Les Paul Junior), but this one gives a cool George Benson vibe with the right amplifier.
Pedals: Ibanez TS808, Line 6 Verbzilla, BBE Sonic Stomp. That's it. The pedal board runs into a Germino Masonette. This amp could make a Rouge guitar sound good.

It feeds back when you want it to and doesn't when you don't.

The bridge pick-up makes my horney to play louder, louder, louder. It is a real screamer.

Action is OK. I'm not a shredder so I don't care. I'm just looking for something usuable.

The finish is superb - I wasn't even looking for a new guitar until I saw this mf-er.

NA

NA

I restringed it and played theguitar the night I bought it (I brought a back-up, of course) and loved it. I play alot of power chords and I am a passable soloist. It suits my needs to a "T." Good price for a good guitar.

Quick update to my review of 12/6/06 (liked it but note clarity in chords could be better). Since then I've made a few quick tone tweaks:

1) replaced the stock bridge with a solid carved rosewood bridge ($15 at www.stewmac.com)
2) removed the pickguard
3) upgraded the strings to Thomastik-Infeld JS112
4) stuffed a rolled washcloth out of sight inside the body (in between the two parallel braces) to damp the midrange resonance peak.

Sound is much improved -- more focused, better balanced and still lots of acoustic warmth. Note separation in complex chords is now excellent, on par for example with a PRS spruce hollowbody (at 1/10 the cost).

Smooth silky feel, once you dial in the action adjustments.

A reviewer below criticized this guitar for having too high a bridge, and for the way the neck lifts away from the top at the last couple frets. Unfair -- both are widely accepted design features to increase the acoustic properties of a guitar. A higher bridge promotes a stronger acoustic sound, and neck lift-off frees more of the top to resonate. Nicely done, Ibanez.

I've bought one new (AFS75-BK, black finish no tremolo) and I'm amazed by its build quality, finish work, sound and feel. Terrific size and weight for carrying around town in a gigbag. The tone doesn't have the great clarity of note separation in complex chords like some expensive handmade archtops, but you'd only notice playing jazz chords through a seriously good amp. Upgrading the strings (e.g. D'Addario Chromes) and adjusting string/pickup heights gets you a nice fat sound, no need to change pickups. What a nice surprise!

Whats cool about this guitar is that you can see the wood through the transparent finish. Hollowbody for that 50s rocknroll\rockabilly look.Dual humbuckers,,22 frets makes it good for hitting those high notes, two tone knobs and two volome knobs,3-way pick-ups.awesome features

This guitar is great for blues, 50's rock n roll, jazz and rockabillyand even punk and metal with the right effects.I mainly play blues and 50's rock n roll with a VOX Pathfinder amp.The dual humbuckers makes this guitar a very versatie guitar.You can get good sounds on any of its pick-ups .The fact thas its a hollow-body makes the sound really fat, yet rich.

The action on the guitar was descent.String 1-2-3 buzzed like crazy only because the bottom side of the bridge was low but I easily fixed it and that shouldn't discourage you from buying this guitar. There wern't any flaws on this guitar what so ever.

This guitar will hold up to live playing without a problem. The harsware seems durable, the bigsby has a washer coming loose but not a biggy.The finish will last a lifetime if it is wiped down with a guitar cloth regularly.This guitar will last you as long as you want it to as long as you care for it.Remember it is a hollow-body and is more of a fagile piece than a solid-body.This guitar will hold up a gig with out the worry of needing to bring a backup.

The warranty is for a year . Haven't had to use it yet and probaby wont.

I have been playing guitar for a year and am pretty sure when I come across a good guitar.I own a Fender acoustic guitar so I know how to take care of a hollow-body instrument.If this guitar was stolen, or if it broke, I would probably get the same one only because there isnt a difference between this hollow-body and a $1000 hollow-body besides the manufacturer.I played an Epiphone hollow-body and for some reason I liked this guitar more.I definitely recommend this guitar if you are into blues, rock n roll, rockabilly and jazz.Truly a wonderful guitar for the price.

Normal specs: 2005 red version with tremolo. 2HB

Neutral and pleasant sound. It is not a Gretsch, but 80% there. With a small EQ or with Enhancement (Boss EH2 pedal, or any other), you can get the sparkle into into it. No need to upgrade the pick-ups with this EQ add-on.

Though I am sure with the right pick-ups it will match the sound of any high end Guitar in the hollow body category

Have recorded it directly into the computer with Apple Garage Band amp simulations and also acoustically with condenser mic for a "roots" 1920's new-orleans like sound.

Played on low-wattage tube amps, modelling amps and SS practice amps, it has a "classy" sound.

Also takes overdrive and distortion well in recording so that you can even go for any heavier rock sound from ZZTOP to Heavy metal. Though it would probably feedback at high volumes.

Perfect is the only word that comes to mind. Neck is a piece of cake for any style of music.

For Jazz you would want heavier strings than the originals. But for everday rock/pop use, .10 strings are fine.

No Flaws. It's just a beautiful guitar, class not glitz. Also light, can be played for hours.

You may even fool your adience into thinking you play better than you do by the aura of expertise it projects onto you...

No hesitation to play this guitar in any setting.

Just would make sure to get tight strap holders on your straps. String change is easy. But a back up is prudent in any case.

Had a input jack problem (due to guitar cables that were probably to aggressive with springed retainers. That was repaired with no issues by the dealer's tech. No problem since.

It is the kind of guitar you say you will trade for a prestigeous model, but at the end you never do: because you will work hard to find the playiblity, excellent construction, good looks, good sound and real class bundled up in any package at the same time at any price.

I have played a "standard" Gretsch Nashville in a music store some time after I bought the Ibanez. I was not really impressed by a guitar that costs nearly 7 times more. Also tried the Electromatic version of Gretsch which I did like sound wise (single coil),but found it "boxy".

The playiblity of the the Ibanez is much more impressive, though you will certainly not get any respect from guitar snobs.


I bought this guitar after 12 years of not playing any music(inspiration had disappeard after a active musical youth playing in groups). I wanted to try a hollow body as I believed this would correspond more to the "maturity" I had maybe acquired. Forget the maturity thing, this guitar can play anything from punk to ballads.

My female singing coach who is much younger than I am, was immediately attracted by the looks (the guitar's), so I suppose the younger crowd for whom the feminine attraction is an important criteria could also profit ;-)

Lacks: the pick-ups are not magical but do their job seriously with minor enhancements

Would I replace it if lost or stolen ?: probably go with the Artcore custom AF105 NT version of it (white and gold is even more beautiful)

Other gear: Revered Slingshot 2 P90s (Rate 10 in all categories), MIM Strat and Tele (solid performers), Duesenberg Double Cat 12 String (for connaisseurs, I like 12 strings in general), Ibanez SR presitge Bass.

This is the Turquoise model. With the tune-o-matic bridge (basically useless). No extra accessories, but for $299...No complaints in that area. I know for this price-point a working bigsby trem would be too much, but just be aware that on the two models I tried, both the trems wouldn't come back true. It's also extremely light, you don't even know you are wearing it.

I've been playing a while, maybe 25 years. For what it's worth I have a couple of music degrees. Wish it showed in my playing! Seriously, this is a fine guitar, and it's sound off the shelf was resonant and organic. A real player, even forgetting the price-point, I was in love. People have described it as Gretsch-like, and I would agree to a point. I put in some TV Jones pickups for that reason, and just can't get over how great that guitar is. It's cleans are open and defined, with a lot of wood tone, and when you use a little overdrive the sound just rips. It reminds me of how a good strat with just come alive, especially in the neck position, and spread out. Not a strat sound, but that feeling you get where you are being taken on a ride. Even with the stock pickups this was a very good sounding instrument, but for a couple hundred more, this guitar could keep up with a guitar costing thousands more. I play it through some Fulltone products, a Line 6 delay modeler, and into either a Guytron GT100FV, a Fender Hot-Rod Deluxe, or (usually) a pair of Tech 21 TM60's (my favorites actually).

Set up was OK. I had a problem with the truss-rod on my original and had to exchange it. I guess it's worth trying to make a small truss adjustment if the salesperson will let you. I bought mine at The Music Store on Irving Park Road in Chicago, and they were great about it. Good store BTW if you are looking for a good guitar at a good price. Some nice old amps too. The finish was flawless on both guitars. How do they do this? Better than the Gibsons I've looked over. I just love looking at this guitar, and everytime it comes out of the case I get compliments.

For the price, it seems very durable. The tuners will probably need to be changed one day, but it feels solid. Too new to tell.

I have never had any luck getting email responses or anything. But it hasn't been an issue yet.

This guitar is a steal. Even though the price has crept up another $100, it's incredible. I would replace it in a heartbeat. It's probably a tie for my main guitar right now.

This guitar is great if your looking for a good blues guitar at a small price. This guitar can also rock out depending on your amp. I have a very versatile vox d-a5 and so far no complaints. Although the person who sold it to me said its Korean and its actually chineese! whatever. If your looking for a pretty good guitar for a good price, buy this guitar!

I'm into stuff like Led Zeppelin, Beck, Radiohead, Robert Johnson, The Beatles, Pink Floyd and many more. It suits my taste.

The Transeparent Blue Finish Is a real looker. The action is fine. For me, the tuners are fine.

This guitar defenitely would withstand live playing. The hardware is fine and if you take care of the guitar, it'll last. I would get strap locks on it because the day after I bought it, the strap fell off and it hit the wood floor and now there is a ding on the head.
I would use it for a gig, unless I was rich and could afford a Gibson ES-335 or a BB King Lucille.

I've been playing for about a year and 7 months. I wish it had really nice pickups,24 carrat gold tuners, a gold pickguard, diamond knobs and pickup selector, and I wish it a Refridgarator installed into the back of the guitar and I wish it had a tremolo that never took it out of tune. Now, back to the real world. I love that it;s versatile. I chose this because I liked what I heard.

I had no great expectations at first, but after reading few reviews, I started to wait shipment from Germany very eagerly...

Anyway, I was still surprised by great quality of finish and overall feeling of this guitar. At 399 euros, (w/o case) you don't expect much. I have licenced Bigsby on my Tokai Love Rock, but Ibanez'z tremolo is clearly better (due to "self-installation" for Love Rock, perhaps...). Pickups could be little less noisy, but it really doesn't matter when rocking it through Peavey Classic 30 W tube amp. 3-way selector could not be in worse place, as so many has said also... I tried Korean Gretsch having 850 euros price tag and I think this is at least twice better. All respect to Gretsch, but "family man" could not afford a real thing with price about 3,500 - 4,000 euros, w/o not having "The WW III" at home... Color is more green than in pictures around the web, but that's all right. The low weight of this guitar is little bit troubling, it feels like having nothing hanging around your neck.

I bought it purely for "effect-free zone", I do have other quitars to play with electronics. I thought it would work nicely with my Peavey Classic with extra 1 x 10 " cabinet below and it does! As full acoustic, it has good control on feedback, anyway. Sustain is amazing, overall sound very warm and it sounds quite nice without amp also. Pickups don't work with "big drive", but

Classic rock, blues and jazzy stuff are handled beautifully with this axe.

Set-up was very good, action and bridge well tuned. Someone had a complaint about frets, but I have not noticed any problems with frets or neck. At first, it seemed to stay in tune pretty well, but now I'm having little problems with tuning. Maybe I should glue the root tail lightly, as it seems to move a little in heavy bendings or whammy bar actions.

It's early to say anything about durability, I've had it only for two weeks now. Naturally, it should be treated with much care anyway. I had very bad experience when one of my "jack-ass" friend managed to ruin top of my Yamaha SA 2000S (it was just great "335-alike"). With pure acoustic body, this one is even more fragile, so it should be treated with great care and should not be borrowed to any drunken pals...

However, with long experience on various kind of guitars, I would say that first impression of good quality will stay over forthcoming years also.

No need any customer support (not yet, at least). I'm used to good service of Thomann in Germany, so I have no doubts on customer support in case I had a problem with this Ibanez.

Made in China, probably 2003, semi-hollow body guitar, single cut-away, laminated maple top, back and sides, rosewood fingerboard, 22 jumbo frets; 2 tones and 2 volume 1 switch, chrome hardware. Mine came in a wonderful wine red transparent coating, with ivoroid binding all along body and neck. Bridge tune-o-matic style and a wonderful bigsby-like tremolo. No extra-gadgets included (bag or else), but mine had previously been equipped with Sperzel tuners, which work exceptionally fine. The finish apears flawless.

Unplugged it sounds at outstanding level for volume and clarity. Plugged into my amp, a Peavey Classic 30, the sound is really nice, warm and toneful on the clean channel; with a nice twang when played on the bridge p.u. that makes it perfect for country or rockabilly.
The lack was in the output level, definitely too weak, and in the response when overdriven; they goy easily muddy. I solved the problem putting on a couple of Gibson 57 classic and the result is INCREDIBLE: boys, it sings, but it bites if you dare driving too much your crunch channel...It's got lots of sustain too

Excellent set up; low action with no buzz and the neck is faboulous (much better than my Gibson 333!): the frets are perfectly fitted and the fingerboard is really comfortable and alows fast soloing and phrases. The woods are not much of anything, but the manifacturing is absolutely good (and I'd also have to say that even Gibson 333's and 335's are laminated, surely not much better than these!)

I can't tell yet, I got it as a wedding gift some few months ago and only gigged twice with this axe. It seems well built and solid enough and I don't see a reason why it shoud reveal frailty.

Been playing all over Europe for 20+ years. I owned tons of guitars (LP standard, LP custom, SGstandard, a variety of Stratocasters, a Gibson 335, a Gibson 333 I mentioned before, a Hamer Standard and a Yamaha SA1200S)a Peavey Classic 30 tube amp, a Menatone Fish Factory overdrive and a Line6 DL4. I play blues and southern rock mostly. What I like in this baby is that it's light, beautyful in her old-style look and, after the pick up change, well sounding. I don't like so much the single cutaway shape, that makes it a little hard to reach frets beyond the 15th. Anyway, should it get lost, destroyed or stolen, I'd desperately look for another one: it's a perfect back up, but could even be the Nr.1 axe for a live gig.
People tell me it costs less than 360 Euros new...Fantastic for the buck! Hats off to Ibanez!

Nice finish, neck comfortable and easy to play, no flaws, only thing is the bridge is not fixed to the body, so once you have the intonation done, make sure you mark the guitar for location (which is what I did) or if you feel inclined glue it in place.

I play through a Vox Valvetronix, Fender Frontman and an old Canadian Bass Amp, most styles. This guitar can blend into anything you want, very versatile. Great overtones (I own all solids from Hofner Colorama, Les Paul, Strat and Tele) it gives you a different perspective of tones. Front pick up nice and rich, back pick up can give you a good bite!!!

I bought this from a local music shop, they did a nice job setting it up, action was nice and low, no buzzing, only had to adjust the g string for intonation, once that was done no problems. Tremelo feels nice, it still goes aout of tune if I overwork it!!! Like I said neck is super, guitar easy to play nice action. Also adjusted pickup height to suite my taste, and balance the overall sound to the way I wanted. I would expect most guitar players do that anyway!!! Only negative is playing above 15th fret gets cumbersome!!!!!

I take prety good care of my instruments, (being brought up in Liverpool you had the mindset if you got something nice make sure it lasts) so I bought a prety good hardshell case to protect it. I like the guitar that much!!!
Strap Button on the front is where the neck and body meet, kind of a pain when you strap it on, as the guitar sits a bit differently than you would normally expect. A minor point, but something to expect.

Warranty looks good. I also went into the Ibanez web page, you can pull up your guitar and it will give you all the part numbers, so I imagine if you wanted a direct replacement for anything, you have an ID base!

Played guitar for 35 yrs, always wanted a Strat, (Had one for 15 yrs) Never thought I would own hollowbody, guess George Harrison was the leader in that field. I know it isn't a Gretch or Gibson, but playing it through a couple of amps, Fender, Marshall and Vox, it nearly reached their sound quality, but for the price, quality and looks, worth the money. This guitar gives a new dimension to the sound I can obtain. Love it, would buy another if our cat ate it!!!!
Nice Instrument/

semi hollow body, transparent red finish, made in china.
two humbuckers (ach1 and ach2), two volume and tone knobs
bigsby style trem by ibanez
neck is either mahogany or "mahogany material", i've read both. don't ask me what "mahogany material" is, i don't want to know and i won't test drill into the neck!
tune-o-matic style bridge, not fixed!
non locking supercheapo tuners
it's a cheap guitar and very well equipped for the price. the tuners are shit so i just give it a 7 here

i play different styles (from punk rock to classic rock to blues and folky stuff) and i wanted a semi hollow body for blues and jazz, clean sounds or maybe a tad of crunch.
i use either a pod II directly into a boss 1180 digi studio or into a eko practice amp (next thing to get is a decent small amp), sometimes go directly into the amp. no additional effects for this guitar, except for a eq maybe.
pu's are not noisy. well they're called humbuckers.
bridge pu is quite sharp, middle is as expected quite "accoustic" sounding, positive surprise was the neck pu - not muddy as they are sometimes, especially on cheap axes, rich but very clear and nice jazz/blues tone. all in all you get a good variety of sounds out of this guitar
the guitar sounds very nice unplugged for a singalong in your living room, very much on the bright side as you would expect from a semi-hollowbody.
i was looking for this sound for not too many bucks and i am happy with what i got.

the action was a bit too high. i lowered it but got some fret buzz so had to set it higher again. it's o.k., not as i would like it but good to play.
what i don't get is why this guitar comes with 009 strings???? this is a jazz blues axe! i put them off immideately and changed for 011. surprise! the bridge came off! it's held on the body "banjo-style" by the strings! quite interesting construction concerning the bigsby trem! no idea why they did it that way. it makes setting the intonation right a bit of a problem. if you try to turn the screws to adjust the saddles you are always in danger to move the bridge. well i managed to set it up right but it was more effort than i expected. what's this for?
apart from that the guitar is well crafted. very tiny flaws in the finish where the neck joins the body and in the binding of the f holes but nothing that really matters.
the tremolo looks great (i really love the vintage look!) and works well - doesn't even move the bridge as i was afraid it would. o.k. if you divebomb you can stop playing but a bigsby isn't made for that
the toy tuners - as mentioned - are total crap and will have to go asap. especially the g-string goes out of tune easily.

with good tuners you can certainly gig with that guitar. the hardware looks as if it would last - but ask me again in a few years, i just have it a few days!
same for the finish. in five days it hasn't suffered!
strap buttons are rock solid
gigging without a backup would be a mess witht his guitar as changing the strings is a good exercise in patience

warranty is 2 years. i hope i won't need it.

i play guitar for 32 years (and still lousy i'm afraid)
i have a '92 mex tele, a '01 mex fat strat with shitty floyd rose trem (avoid that!!), a '78 ibanez pf200 les paul interpretation, a '82 hohner arbor precision bass copy, a yamaha classic guitar, a emperador banjo and a fender mandolin. am about to get rid of a rg470 as i don't like metal (though here the floyd works fine!)
i have a eko 15w git amp, a ba 12w bass amp, a accoustic 50 w git amp. pod II, behringer bass-vamp, boss 676 dr.rhythm. boss 1180cd digi studio.
i quit playing in bands long time ago and do homerecording or just fool around in my living room.

if this guitar were stole i'd buy it again as it's great value for the money. i tested several semi and full accoustic axes and this was the one that felt and sounded best in that price range. i can't afford a 335 as my fourth guitar!

i love the look! it looks really good. it sounds great, much better than you would expect for this price - i mean 370 for a semi hollowbody, that's a STEAL!
i hate the tuners. and the non fixed bridge can be annoying. maybe i ask the guys in the shop to screw or glue it to the top.
compared it to epiphone dots, squire and other ibanez full and semi hollows. as mentioned - this was the best. and i didn't look at the price when buying it - it actually was the cheapest of those i tested. the squire was 600 bucks and had some major flaws in neck and finish. the epiphones didn't play and sound as good as this one.
i think it is a best buy! you can't expect a totally flawless guitar for that price. that's why i give it a ten here although there are some things that have to be fixed. but customizing is what makes a guitar really your own, right? :-)

I love everything about this guitar except the placement of the selector switch. It is an outstanding instrument for the price. I have been completely happy with it. I purchased it used and wonder why anyone would get rid of it.

This guitar sounds very very good. I actually made the mistake of paying a bunch of extra money to swap out the pickups for some Seymour Duncans. I did that on my Mexicaster with great success..... but the Ibanez was a let down. Primarily because I underestimated how good the Ibanez factory pickups were. The Seymors were no real improvement. It basically amounted to dollars down the drain because I underestimated this guitar.

I bought it because of the feel. I had not expected it to play as well as it did in the store. Very good feel. Mine is the red finish. Its very clean and well done. I see the stuff coming out of the Gibson plant in Memphis and Ibanez hollow bodies have a much nicer looking (and QCd) finish than the newer Gibsons in my opinion. (Yes I know Gibson is lacquer but that's no excuse for some of the things I've seen.)

Well I haven't bashed it up yet. It seems to be well made. I've not had any problems.

I've studied many styles for 20+ years. I've played professionally and just for my own fulfillment. I've worked for a major manufacturer of guitars and I think this one holds its own for the price. I think this instrument is further evidence that a guitar doesn't have to cost $3000 to sound and play as well or better. This one will do ya just fine.

I recently purchased this guitar new. However there are some flaws to talk about and to advise future owners on.

The humbuck pickups are clean and fairly powerfull for the type of music I play with my group,which is a variety of types including jazz,country,blues,rockabilly and standards. This guitar seems to work well with all.

However,and this is where the few problems come into play,"no pun intended".
The factory set up was "lousy",and I've since taken it to a guitar repairman who is a personal friend to adjust the following; 1.The depth of the nut bridge because it is too high and sharps on the 1st
fret.2.The main bridge floats if you don't fasten it so you can you the tremolo. 3.Intonation is hard to adjust until you've done 1& 2.

I'm sure once I've done the previously adjustments to this guitar I'll be satisfied with it. Time will tell.Will it hold up to staying in tune? I don't know yet,and as I've said before,time will tell after a few gigs!

I bought it recently from Same Day Music,who by the way were great with getting this guitar to me with free shipping the next day,and I can't fault them because of a bad factory setup by Ibanez.
"kudos" to this company for being so efficient!

I've been playing since the 50's,and the only other guitar I own is a 1956 Gibson J45 Whicj I use back and fourth with the electric axe.
I tried this Ibanez in a local music store and was impressed with it.Obviously it had a better factory,or store setup, but they wanted about 70.00 or 80.00 bucks more for it.
Again,we'll see what happens "down the road" after a few jobs,then I can come back with a more detailed better opinion,and rating.

A AF75T e uma joia semi-acustica, com um estreito corpo de maple e um acabamento muito bom. Possui um tremolo tipo "bigsby", com ac?o confortavel e entonac?o razoavel. A minha possui um verniz translucido vermelho muito bonito, marcac?es em blocos retangulares, tarrachas "tipo" grover, trastes medios classicos. Possui controles de volume e tonalidade individuais para cada captador, alem de uma chave de 3 posic?es. Essa chave, especificamente, foi colocada em um local pouco confortavel. A alavanca do tremolo obstrui o acesso a ela, dificultando um pouco a precis?o na troca de captadores. Pode ser uma quest?o de acostumar-se, apenas. Possui dois Humbs, cobertos com capa cromada, de excelente qualidade. Construida na coreia, e um instrumento que vale cada centavo.

A sonoridade da guitarra e excepcional. Os acordes soam cheios e brilhantes (ate demais). As vezes torna-se necessario amaciar os agudos, e o controle de tonalidade funciona muito bem. Com distorc?es mais agressivas, torna-se inevitavel o feedback. E preciso cuidado e experiencia para saber andar na tenue linha que separa a sustentac?o cremosa e ressonante do apito insurdecedor. Pra quem usa altos niveis de overdrive, aconselho tapar com "contact" os cortes no tampo. Para blues, rock e um pop tipo lulu santos, a guitarra e imbativel.

A ac?o da guitarra veio de fabrica muuuuito ruim. O tremolo necessita de um pouco de paciencia para afinac?o das cordas. Alem disso, a ponte movel precisa ser colocada precisamente em seu lugar, para uma regulagem bem feita. Uso cordas D'dario 0.12 e obtive ajustes de entonac?o perfeitos e uma ac?o confortavel. Apenas o tremolo desafina consideravelmente, o que me faz pensar em substituir as tarrachas originais e o nut. Os sadles da ponte possuem roletes.

Pra quem toca com stratos/les paul/teles, a Ibanez AF75t deve parecer fragil. E e. Seu corpo semi-acustico exige alguns cuidados, e o braco colado tambem. Mas nada critico, a menos que vc toque trash metal!

A primeira guitarra que me foi entregue pela loja apresentou problemas de regulagem e veio com a cor trocada. Fui prontamente atendido e a guitarra foi mandada de volta ao importador, que por sua vez me mandou uma outra, na cor certa e melhor regulada. Apesar de ter sido reparado o engano, fiquei dez dias esperando. Como sou ansioso demais, quase infartei....

Acho que a Ibanez AF75t e um excelente equipamento. Possuo uma Boss GT-5 ligadas em um sistma de P.A. com mesa Roland VS 840, amplificador Attack e caixas trapezoidais de 3 vias. Uso simulac?o de amps em minha pedaleira e tiro otimos sons. E um instrumento que recomendo, sem duvida!

I've got the turquoise one, it's stunning. Can't really fault it on any level, only thing about it not beautiful is the silly artcore lightening bolt under the ibanez name. I had it refinished out, it's there underneath if anyone wants to restore it after i'm gone, but you wouldn't know it. much classier. fickle I know but what ever gets you through the night. I'd give it a ten for looks, set-up (from nevada music web site), price, I have teles and jaguars and a les paul and this is so sweet, especially compared to the Jag, but that's not knocking jaguars as they do things this can only dream of, but for jazz and blues as good as they get. I played a gretsch (not mine sadly) and didn't like it, the neck was too chunky to do anything, and it wasn't just a matter of getting used to it

sound is good too, ok the pick ups aren't top of the range but you'd need a pretty specialised ear to fault them, great tone from the neck pup and together they're fine to me, as good as lace pups i reckon

top is laquered turquoise so bookmatching doesnt apply, no flaws whatso ever,

perfect for live and looks cool on ts stand when you swop too. have used it once without back-up annd it was fine,

no need.

been playing 18 years, definately buy it agai, have the artcore AF75 aswell which is everybit as good in all depts, just minus the trem but a beautifully made instrument like this one

I bought this this January (2004) and that will probably make it a 2003, taking geography into account. To remind you, this is a thinline, single-cut hollowbody with two 'buckers and "Bigsby". Gives that Gretsch vibe at first sight.

I play eclectic guitar, recording on my Boss 1180, and the V-Amp is mainly set to a Fender Champ with chorus and varying degrees of gain. I have a liking for the 335/neck pu sound, and this beauty gives me the shivers along with the vibrato. Turning things to eleven makes it shout in a very expressive way, but it's the hunched-over, hitting-the-tone sounds that keeps me playing. Will it feed back? I don't know. I don't care.

I have a thing for Ibanez guitars. There was a dent in it, but blame a jerk who trawled the shop like an elephant - I got a discount, but at double the price this would still be good value. Ibanez guitars seem to be lovingly put together and this one is a prime example.

Ad nauseam: Ibanez make good guitars, and have done so for at least thirty-one years (my eldest is a '73) and I wouldn't hesitate to take my AFS75 on the road if I had to.

Repeating myself again, I have never had to complain about an Ibanez guitar. No opinion.

I've played for about thirty years, mostly at home, but after aqcuiring a digital recorder two years ago I've been developing in many ways. I'm a collector of mid-priced instruments, wanting to build a collection of different guitars to inspire my playing.
I'm an emotional rather than a technical guitarist, and the lovely tone of this instrument inspired me to write one of my best songs right after purchase. As noted, I put this one in the 335 (copy) bracket, appreciating the looseness/openness of the vibrato as opposed to my very tight Jay Turser with a stoptail. I think the vibrato makes the slightly metallic sound of the acoustic playing, but on record it's great. If you steal it, I'll come for you.

The features have been well represented here already.
However through some reading I have discovered that the trem is a licenced Bigsby, not just a replica.
The pups are ceramic, which gives more highs.
Lots of tones available, and they are good tones at that.
It is a very well made axe in its category.
Mine is TBR in color. Very fine!

Jazz, rock-a-billy, G. Benson, Chris Isaac, blues etc...
My basic settings for the type of sounds I like best with this axe (stock) are as follows:
Through Afex Big Bottom Xciter.
Low Tune 2, low blend 4.5, High Tune 6 and High Blend 3.5.

Holy Grail.
Set @ 12:00 on spring mode.

DD-3.
Elevel 12:00, Feedback 8:00, Delay Time 7:30 and Mode L.800ms.

Bassman RI.
Pres.10. Mid.10.5, Bass 3, Treb 9.5, Channels are jumped. Norm vol.3, Bright vol.4.

Try it. See what you think.

Stunning right out of the box!
Can find zero flaws.
Factory set-up was fine. However setting up to personal tastes is always going to happen. I have never found a guitar set up the way I like it straight of the wall or out of a box from the manufacturer.
That said, the guitar was very playable as it arrived.
I've had this axe for awile now.
To tell the truth, at the price paid, I was ready to send it back as soon as I openned the box. What a suprise!
My adjustments to suit my tastes are as follows:
Neck Relief .004"
String height 3/64"
Pup height Bass =4/64", Treble =3/32".
Pyramid round wounds (plain "G") 11-48.
I'm not sure yet, however the creme pickgard might look better than the stock black. Cost is $10.00 retail. It is stock on the Turquoise option.
Also thinking of replacing the pups with TV Jones type.
Although the stock pups are nice sounding. We'll see.

Time will tell.
No problems at all so far.
I feel this axe will stand the test of time.

Have not had to use this benefit yet.
I have no reason to think I would have to.

Been playing at it for 35 years (do not seem to be getting any better at it though!).
Researched the reviews after I found the article in one of the guitar mags. The mag even gave it a award for best bang for the buck or some other type of high praise.
Definitely worth replacing!!!
I'm getting some really great sounds out of this axe, including rock-a-billy. Just for that sound alone, this guitar is worht more than I paid for it.
This guitar does not compare with any of my other guitars, not even my Casino. It has its own voicing, and it is very useful.
I might change out pup for the TV Jones type. But it is not neccessary. The creme pickgard option might look cool.
If anyone out there has a rig like the one described above, give these a listen.

I bought this a few months back from AMS Music, since Musician's Friend wouldn't ship to my house. I guess that makes it a 2004 model. Mine is the transparent red. It is a thinline hollow body, with 2 humbuckers and a "Bigsby" style vibrato. Most of these type guitars, including most Gretsches (of which I have owned several), have "floating" bridges. This is not a problem -you just have to understand how they work. If you're overly concerned about intonation, just mark the location of the bridge when you get everything set just right -then take it off & apply some thin double sided tape to hold it in place. Most features of this guitar have been well documented by other reviewers. I'm assuming most of you will disregard the comments of the idiots that didn't know to take the protective foam packing material out from under the bridge. I just want to add that this guitar is a good example of the amazing value for the money stuff coming out of China these days. Give Ibanez credit for realizing the potential. The entire "Artcore" series is a phenomenal value -whatever your needs might be.

I play mostly classic rock, rockabilly, and instrumnetal surf. I have mostly solid body guitars (strats, teles, mosrites, jaguars, etc.) This guitar is quite versatile, and is great for Beatles type stuff, or the occasional slow surf number, like "Sleepwalk", not to mention most rockabilly type stuff. For the distorted, hi gain, or reverb drenched surf stuff, I mostly stick to the solid bodies. Mostly I use a Fender '63 Vibroverb re-isssue amp. My only effects are a Dan Echo delay and an Ibanez TS 808 tube screamer, along with a Fender outboard reverb tank for the surf stuff. The pickups, electronics and sound of this guitar are great. It fills a niche that I had formerly filled with the $2,000.00 & up Gretsches. I believe the quality is comparable. Admittedly, the pickup switch should have been relocated, but I have learned to live with that. I may someday replace the cheesey looking Ibanez vibrato with a real bigsby -but I can't complain about the way it works.

I love D'Addario strings -but they make some really crappy cheap ones that manufacturers put on guitars like this. That's the first thing to do if you buy one of these -throw away the crappy strings!
After installing a decent set of strings, and some minor adjusting of the bridge (+ removing the packing foam !!!!), the setup was fine.
The finish, binding, frets, etc. are great -especially considering the price. The tuning pegs are generic "Grover" types. They are no doubt cheap, but work fine for me. Electonics are smooth & quiet.

So far, so good.

I have owned hundreds of guitars and have never yet used any type of "customer support". Warranties are for cars & washing machines.
Part of the fun of guitars is tinkering and messing with them. If you don't like something -change it! If it falls apart, put it back together -it was probably your fault anyway.

I've been playing for over 35 yrs. I've already mentioned other guitars, gear, etc. If stolen or lost, I would probably get another one, as I have yet to see anything out there to compare, for the money. For 3 or 4 times the money -there are plenty guitars I would rather have. In my old age, I have come to want more guitars for less money. I don't own them to impress anyone, just to play. This one plays fine and looks cool.

You know all about this by now. Fully hollow laminated maple body with mahogony set net, 24 3/4" scale with rosewood fingerboard, 22 smallish frets, 2 HB's with 3-way toggle, bigsby-style tremolo with roller bridge. If this is what you want then I guess the features are just fine!

Everyone recites the same problem, for a reason. That pickup selector switch could only be more inconvenient if it were located on the BACK of the guitar. Putting it under the trem arm must save them a million dollars per instrument or something. Of course this location was simply inherited from the previous non-trem versions of the same basic guitar, but that's no excuse. Features are a ten, then a MINUS TWO for this blunder.

Mine has the transparent blue finish.

I have only owned Fender models before, a Japanese Esquire (to which I added a neck P/U to make it a tele) and a Japanese 50's style Stratocaster with a single-piece maple neck. So, this time I went shopping for a guitar that would have a fuller and less bright sound. I own two amps, a Fender Pro Junior and a Blues DeVille 410 (tweed model prior to HotRod version).

The AFS75T has very nicely filled the niche I was looking to fill. It certainly does have a big open sound. The hollow body helps to give the attack a nice "bouncy" quality in comparison to the very percussive Fenders, and the tone tends overall to emphasize the mids and low-mids. I typically play with some reverb, and the often the only other effect I use is overdrive. The pickups put out a medium strength signal, somewhat hotter than my single-coils and this helps get the most out of the overdrive circuit on the DeVille. In fact, I am now totally in love with the combination of AFS75T and my Deville. Played at reasonable volumes this amp on its own doesn't quite have the gain necessary to overdrive well with single-coils but, with this setup it will get quite saturated at high gain settings. Sounds huge when the preamp is just breaking up and the power is set to get the speakers working. Just wish I had a soundproofed room to play it in! Played through the Pro Junior the mids are enhanced even more, which gives a really thick lead tone as the volume knob is twisted into the upper reaches.

The clean sounds are full and beautiful. Some of the acoustic resonance comes through the amp and the feel is very lively. I particulary like to play with both pickups when playing clean or moderatetly overdriven. The construction does not emphasize a glassy top end but the pickups are not overly dark sounding either. A nice balance is struck here.

I just have to specifically mention how nicely this instrument feeds back. It is very controllable and musical; it definitely adds another dimension when playing. No, the pickups don't squeal, just a nice arched top vibrating in sympathy with your amp!

I'll give it the highest possible rating for sound, cause it really suits me! Of course, I'm playing mostly retro-styled instrumentals and not Korn covers...

Out of the box, the guitar looks stunning! Only niggle I have visually is I do not particularly like the artcore logo on headstock but, what are ya gonna do? I became interested in this guitar after reading the Guitar Player review of it. Since that time the black lacquer finish on the bridge has been removed and the rosewood is now left in its natural state.

Unlike the previous reviewer, it was perfectly obvious to me that the piece of foam between the bridge and top is there to PROTECT THE FINISH DURING SHIPMENT. I took this out when testing the guitar at the shop I bought it from. Sheesh. The FLOATING BRIDGE matches the contour of the top very well, just like it should on a HOLLOW-BODIED ARCHTOP. In fact the hardware all works very well. The die-cast tuners work smoothly with no free play and no rattles, the roller bridge and tremolo work well and do stay in tune as well as any guitar with a non-locking system. The finish is a very attractive shade of blue, the binding has no flaws, the inlay work though simple has been nicely installed and it will probably be many years before the clearcoat gets worn through, barring outright chips.

The setup from the factory was playable. Intonation was reasonably good and easily adjusted. The neck had slight relief which I will leave as-is. String height at the nut is good, though I did raise the bridge somewhat to correct some fret buzz. The frets themselves are small, not jumbo and they are nicely shaped but could be a little better polished. The switch and pots work smoothly with no noise. The pickups were well-balanced out of the box.

As shipped straight from China, a playable instrument made excellent with only the simplest of adjustments.

The hardware is all good, of course it will stand up to live use. Repeated windmilling could just as obviously shift the floating bridge if you're not careful. Windmill at your own risk!

Seriously, the parts are all good but the nature of a floating bridge is to, well, float. It can get bumped out of position, shifting the strings in relation to the neck and throwing the intonation out. This guitar will stand up as well as any other of this design.

I see no reason at all I should not be playing this guitar for many years to come!

I've never purchased an Ibanez before. I cannot imagine this solidly built instrument just falling apart so I will not even rate this category.

I've been playing for 13 years and I am totally in love with this thing. It is a very big shift away from the extremely bright sound of my maple strat and having this type of variety is good. It sounds huge through my DeVille, looks AMAZING with the blue finish and big shiny Bigsby, balances well, blah blah blah. If it were lost or stolen I would get another immediately.

Value? Are you kidding? THE BEST VALUE.

I DID NOT BUY THIS GUITAR. READ WHY BELOW!

As above or below: thin single-cut hollow body, 2 f-holes, H/H pickups, 4 pot electronics and Bigsby style trem. Class looking.
The body is covered in see-through red, beige (plasic) bindings with pin-stripe design

It's all a tad on the cheap side, but it looks great from a few meters away

I am by no way impressed and that is because of the very, very bad quality of this guitar. see below:

Let's start at the top:

- tuners are rattling. Well, that happens when you use cheapish tuners with soft-metal parts (or plastic) under the cover. To defend Ibanez: those tuners are on a lot of crappy guitars, not only theirs!
- nice inlay work on the fretboard, well done, no edges or "round corners".
- binding is a tad on the thick side, but for the price of the guitar, binding and fretwork are pretty well done. I've seen worse on guitars 5 times more expensive.
- neckjoint (glued in) is among the worst in the business. What made them come up with this triangular cavity under the last two frets? It can't get worse!!!!! Plus the actual "glued in part" of the neck is not sooooo big. The neck will probably break here before the headstock suffers from any shock!
- pickups are bad sounding (no brilliance, absolutely NO top end!!!) generic commie-China humbuckers with chrome caps. Set upon HUGE blocks of maybe-wood to get them high enough under the strings (the neck is glued-in pretty high, remember?)
- electronics work without flaws, no scratching .... OK!
- the bridge (and now it gets nasty!!!!) is so ridiculously bad, that you have to ask yourself "who buys that instrument after a single look at the bridge?" - well, some do. OK, we have a contoured plywood top, and the machines that bend the wood over steam aren't super-duper precise; neither are the ones that shape the bridge support....
There is a thin layer of foam-paper (yes, the one used for protecting bottles or glasses in a parcel) between the guitar's top and the lower bridge.

That can't really improve sound, can it? I mean the more solid and rock-hard this joint, the better the vibrations are transmitted.

They do that to have a "cushion" for the not-so-tight-fitting parts. Ok, then the drill two holes on top of this wooden part and screw a tune-o-matic tailpiece on top of this. The strings are now about 1 1/4 inch above the top!
The entire construction moves back and forth when you action the vibrato. And movement means DETUNING!!!!

The guitar sounds bad, really bad (that can be the crappy pickups) and detunes with every ever-so-slight action of the whammy bar. A Bigsby system isn't made for dive-bombs, but you can't even add a little shimmer with this thing - unless you like to play with random-tunings.

Good neck, medium-quality body and totaly crap workmanship!
I definately would not buy this instrument!!!!! Not even for half the price.

If you read the above paragraphs .... I doubt this guitare holds together for a decent time

It is a sharp looking, very poor built piece of gear. It is not a music instrument because you can't really play on it - unless you want to retune every minute!

Features fully hollow body, H/H pickups, 2 volumes, two tones, Bigsby-style trem with roller saddles, and a ridiculously placed pickup switch (under the trem arm).

Bought mostly for Brian Setzer style. The pickups are brighter than most humbuckers. Not muddy at all. Plus, the feedback (when needed) is managable and clear. Unplugged, it's great for practice, writing, and quiet jamming. When run through a Zoom GFX-8 and a Hartke B900 bass amp, I get everything from sweet acoustic tones and Setzer- style swing and rockabilly to Floyd, Zep, SRV, AC/DC, Keith Urban, ZZ, etc...

"Ginny" is awsome! Trans-red finish, body, f-hole, neck, and head binding. Mother-o-pearl "Ibanez" and "Artcore" logos and fret markers, brushed aluminum trem unit... She's a babe!

I have Ginny and an Epi 1275 double-neck (Godzilla). I also have this thing about naming my guitars. The monster hardly sees the light of day since Ginny came into the picture.

Never dealt with and probably won't need to.

I've played Strats, LPs, 335s, no-names, and this baby can hang with the best!

This review is actually for the hardshell case that is recommended instead of the actual guitar. Anyone considering buying the Ibanez Artcore AFT75 or AFT75T needs to know this. The case that Ibanez recommends for this guitar is model number AF100C by TKL. TKL makes some fine cases but this one is way too tight for this guitar. It is so tight that I have to actually force the guitar in the case. This has caused the padding on the sides to come loose. The AFT75 or 75T fits nicely in a 335 style case. I wish I had bought one instead of the one Ibanez recommends. There is very slight movement of the guitar in the 335 case but not enough to worry about. There are a variety of 335 style cases to choose from. They are available from SKB, TKL and other after market companies. An Epiphone case is affordable and most likely made by TKL. I would rather have a good fitting case with a different name, than one with the Ibanez name and a tight fit. If you buy the AF100C case that is recommended for this guitar, you will see what I mean. Do yourself a favor and buy a 335 style case instead.

Features are same as all listed. I believe there are some variations, as some reviews list a bone nut and mine is bone colored plastic, and also some reports of the rosewood bridge being laquered black, and mine is bare rosewood. This guitar is awesome. Feels better to play than an epiphone dot or sheraton. I compared them, side by side. Can't be beat for the bread. Plastic pickgaurd and truss rod cover look a bit cheap and could have been nicer.

Sounds fab. Not thin like some reviewers have reported. Even through a little fender frontman practice amp it sounds full. Unplugged it does not have nearly the volume of an acoustic, but is a unique alternative to a little arlour guitar.

The set up was good. Intonation a bit off, but easy to adjust. The Ibanezby-Trem feels and works great since the little modification to get rid of that annoying stop. Now it swings up over the strings, total 360 degrees of rotation. HERES HOW: you need a 3mm allen key, an 8mm wrench, and a bit of masking tape, and a file. first use a bit of tape to mark where the bridge is, as once all strings are off, it moves. Take off strings. flip trem back to expose underside. Use allen key to remove arm and arm bracket from the axle. use wrench to take the arm of the bracket. now you file down the stop easily. It is just aluminum, and files off quickly. use the file to soften that sharp edge a bit too. easy as pie. put er back together. Easy Easy Easy, and makes all the diff in the world. The finish is primo for a guitar at this price. The red looks sweet. I would have prefered a brownburst, but not an option on the trem model.

Looks almost bulletproff. The roller saddle and the tuning pegs may have to be replaced in a few years, but the whole thing feels like it will hang tough.

good luck

Been playing over 20 years. Mostly acoustic folk stuff and a bit of silly 80's rock for fun. I started out playing an Ibanez challenger(telecaster copy) way back 25 or so years ago. It was a good guitar. Then I bashed the hell out of Ibanez bass playing in a cover band all through high school. I have a high opinion of Ibanez quality. This guitar is fantastic. Like I said, a better feel than epiphone for 2 or 3 times the bucks. You can not go wrong with this one my brothers and sisters. Let those on line places undersell each other. They are still making money, and you can save a lot. Rock on

This guitar was made and purchased in 2003. Features have been covered in other reviews. I purchased the Brown transparent model with case on-line from zZounds after an exhaustive effort to find a hollow body (Not semi-hollow) for a reasonable price. I was willing and ready to go for the Epi-Casino until I saw and played the Artcore. To paraphrase another review, this IS a "Gretsch meets Gibson" model and I am pleased with the result. The neck is fantastic and the finish is flawless. Throw in the Bigsby style tremolo and you have one heck of a deal... real value for the $$$.

The sound of a hollow body is clearly different than that of my Strat and Les Paul, which is the primary reason I chose it. The standard humbuckers offer a clean, full-bodied sound. I was primarily looking for a guitar similar to the Gretsch Tennessean played by our guitarist back in the late 60's, early 70's. I was surprised how closely this fits the bill. Though the sound is not quite the Gretsch sound, it can come extremely close by using different amps (try an old Musicman amp). I remembered when our guitarist wanted a Beatles sound, he'd plug into his Vox SuperBeatle; when he wanted a John Kay sound (Steppinwolf) he'd plug into my Ampeg B-15N. Never underestimate the importance of choosing the right amp.

While not displeased with the original sound, I had heard so much about the difference that good pick-ups make, I installed a set of TV Tron's from TV Jones. All that this has done was turn a really good guitar into a great guitar. I'm holding a guitar that plays and sounds like a $2000+ guitar and my price tag topped out at $550. While I haven't pushed or explored the full potential of these pick-ups, I feel it's only proper to rate the sound based on the original stock pick-ups (I'll review the TV Tron's in the appropriate forum later).

I now play for my own entertainment and occasionally jam or play out when time permits. I've put the stock unit through its paces using a variety of amps (Musicman 212, Fender Super60 w/ 4x10's, Peavey backstage 35, even a Fender Acoustasonic SFX) and find each with their own unique, pleasing sound. It can be clean when you want clean, fat when you want fat, and mellow when your mood calls for it. This guitar has found a home in my heart. The original pick-ups were more than adequate and even though they're replaced, they will soon find their way into another guitar and definitely not sit on the shelf.

Set-up from the factory was very good. For those that complained about dead sound, did you change the strings and remove the foam protector from under the bridge? After adjusting for intonation, the action was close, no fret buzz, hardware is better than expected for the price, in-laid neck (beautiful), flawless body trim and finish, wow. The pots were as expected, operate smoothly and obviously not top of the line but I've never had pots go bad other than needing a little spray. The only 2 shortcomings: I never did like the way the harnesses on 2P/U humbucker guitars were wired up. Changing the P/U's gave me the opportunity to correct that... a simple change. And like others commented, what's with that switch location?... the one and only inconvenience in the whole deal! Still, I have to give it a nine because it's a lot of guitar for $329.

It's too new to tell but it'll do what I need it to do. I have three sons who play and they'll give it a workout. I would use it on a gig but who these days uses one guitar? It seems dependable enough right now but only time will tell.

Never dealt with Ibanez.

I've been playing for 39 years and have a variety of guitars, acoustic, electric, acoustic/elec., Jazz Bass, amps of all sorts (tube and SS) even a Hammond and Leslie. I use and maintain them all. Not playing professionally makes it hard to justify spending a lot of money when it's not your livelihood. But, I know a deal when I see it and this is a helluva deal! I'm so glad I didn't put the money out for the Casino. It's more than I hoped for and even with the pick-up up-grade, it's STILL a better deal than the Casino.

If lost/stolen (more likely broken by one of my sons) I'd get another after I broke his arm. Hey, they might be bigger than me but they gotta sleep sometime... and I know where they live.

sounds great plugged in or as an acoustic...

The fit and finishonthis guitar is just awsome... There aren't many guitars out there that canbeat the craftsmanship of this series...I did try out one of the lower model Artcore's at the localshop but it did not have the same smoothfeel as my model...

I did however have a few issues with the tremolo - it is not really engineered very well... I noticed that whenever I would rotate the whammy bar I would feel a bit of grinding... I eventually ended up removing the little spring that is used to torque the bar and replaced it with a stripped plastic nut (the kind used for liscence plates)... now the tremolo moves alot smoother....

see above

This is a great guitar for the money... but I would not recommend this to "first time" guitar buyers... Although I have several other guitars, this is my first archtop... I would imagine that a first time buyer would have quite a hard time changing out the strings of one of these babies... I was quite surprised when the bridge and tailpiece fell to the floor when I changed out the strings for the first time...

Details about the AFS75T that may be hard to find or figure out (shame on Ibanez for not listing important g'tar details on their website!): full hollow body (NOT semi-hollow!), 1-11/16" body depth at sides, 24-3/4" scale, 1-11/16" nut width, 12" fretboard radius, floating rosewood bridge with tune-o-matic roller saddles.

The Artcore humbucking pickups are quite treble-toned - not at all like a typical warm/muddy humbucker - great for rock and rock-a-billy, IMO.

This is the second Artcore I've owned (the other was the AS73, ES335 clone) - I dunno how Ibanez does it at the price point these guitars command, but this Artcore series is just amazing in terms of fit, finish, build. Great bang for the buck.

Totally gig-worthy, IMO.

I have no idea or could care.

A player since the mid 50's, gigged for over a decade. In stock form this g'tar is just fine, and at the selling price it's just fabulous. I have the capability of tweaking guitars and this was no exception and so I performed the following mods - Rio Grande nickel covered humbuckers (Texas and BBQ), Grover 18:1 locking tuners, CTS 500KA pots, Switchcraft 3-way and 1/4" jack, vintage unbleached bone nut, light fret level/crown/hi-buff, complete setup for action and intonation w/EB .011-.048 roundwounds. Ah, *so* nice ....

See Ibanez site for the detailed features; this is a lightweight semi acoustic "gretsch meets gibson" model with tremelo; 2 PAF type of pickups and the usual controls. Colour is transparaent red. Tremelo is a nice feature in this price class.

Sound is clear and open; the primary reason I bought this guitar. Perfect for jazz; blues; country; fusion (if not too loud). I compared it to an Ibanez AS 120 (almost 3x as expensive) which is a really nice guitar but the neck pickup sounds as if it is suffering from an acute cold; the Gibson ES 137 (about 5x more expensive; which sounded muddy and had a loose tone control!). I settled for this guitar because it has an amazingly full-bodied, clear sound. I tried it over a Koch twintone amp (fantastic Dutch made amp); Fender twin and my own current amp (Roland Cube Cosm 30 with the Jazz Chorus modelling (sounds great. The guitar is not noisy and seems well shielded. Sound / tone is great.

Well set up from the factory; fret work (small frets) is OK but can be improved. I set up this guitar for jazz so I slapped on flat wound D'Addario 0.11 Chromes, adjusted the action, touched up the intonation and adjusted the neck; I have never had a guitar that set up so easily, with such fast action. I have owned many guitars including a Gibson ES 347 but this cheap Ibanez can compete with guitars x times more expensive.

I am not sure about this because I haven't had the chance to use it on stage or in our studio.

I have been playing for 32 years; owned many guitars; tone and playability are the best features of this guitar; it is also light weight so it should be easy to perform on stage with this guitar. The tremelo is nice and stable. If you're looking for a semi with a clear jazzy sound and you don't want to spend a fortune on a mid class Gibson, then set it up with flat wounds and run it thru a good little amp. It is really great value. Consider this guitar if you are in the market for a semi.

Two volume two tone, 3 way pickup selector, Bigsby style bridge with rollers, very nice! Electronics seem to be fine so far. I would like a series/parallel switch for both pickups, would like to install them in the volume pots if possible, but havn't checked the wiring out yet. Features covered completely in other reviews.

I've been playing for about 23 years, and until a few years ago I was mostly a hard rock style player. Recently I've been getting more into early Beatles, roots rock, and Brian Setzer type stuff. That means one thing: a Gretsch... but not having unlimited $$$ available I was looking specifically for a cheaper alternative to a Gretsch. After extensive internet research it seemed that this guitar was the one to get. I played it in the music store and it seemed to sound fine, both unplugged and plugged.

I'm strictly into home recording, I don't play live other than the occasional jam. When first using this on recording I was a bit dissapointed to find that the guitar didn't really have much "personality". It sounded fine, in tune etc., but I didn't listen back and think "what a great hollowbody vintage sound!" Maybe I should have got a bigger model, not a slimline? I plug it into a preamp, then my Echo Mia soundcard, then play through Amplitube (www.amplitube.com). It seems to sound good, just kind of flat and generic. I might try installing a TV Jones Gretsch style humbucker in it, but that's almost half the price of the whole guitar!

Funny thing is, before getting this I was anxious to get the vintage sound, so I put a set of Daddario ECG 23 flatwound strings on my old Charvel Jackson heavy metal guitar, and I got quite a good vintage sound...

I think you could go over this guitar with a microscope and not find a single flaw. It is absoloutly beautiful! I got the red one. I read about these limited edition colors coming out, and I wanted to get the orange one, but not available in Canada apparently.

The red finish is fabulous, the fretboard inlays are great, I LOVE the binding. Tuners seems great, the roller bridge is very nice... can't compalin about anything at all. I set up the intonation and now it's perfect, always stays in tune even with tremelo use. I put on a set of flatwound Daddario ECG 23s, same kind Setzer uses.

One thing, I wish the frets were bigger, I'm used to more jumbo sizes and these seem quite small. Two things that previous reviewers said are correct: the pickup switch shouldn't be under the tremelo arm (very silly) and the arm should be able to move over the strings.

Everything seems fine, but I don't play live.

Asked about the limited edition colors, they thought I was halucinating, actually this was the distributor in Canada. I saw pics on the net, they were nice... orange and baby blue.

Other guitars I have are a 1984 RR Charvel Jackson, and a 1982 Japanese Strat, various acoustics and basses.

In summary, guess you can't get a great guitar with great pickups for the price of a couple of great pickups.. if that makes sense. I like it a lot though, but I'll still play my other guitars.

If you go to http://www.artistcollaboration.com and look up Schenkerguy, that's me, you can check out some tunes I did with this guitar.

The basics of this guitar have been thoroughly detailed in previous reviews. Let me just say that this guitar is one of the best values out there today. Sure there are better guitars available, but none with the same features, quality, and sound come close to this price range. Oh yeah, I bought the blue one. I only wish they offered it in natural...but then the price would go up I'm sure.

I've read some of the negative review on the sound, one has to wonder why some folks bought it if they didn't like the sound? I love the sound of it, accoustically and amp'd. Without power I can practice and still get a clean sound out of the thin body. Through an amp I get pretty much whatever I need from it. I can set the pickups and pedals for nice bluesy stuff, tweak it for some rockabilly, then dial in more sweet-nasty for some Nugent style sounds.
I find the humbuckers to be remarkably bright, not mushy at all (as some reviews have said). Now if I want it brighter I'll just pick up my Stratocaster. But I can get a nice range of tones and styles out of the Artcore's pickups. Tunes I was playing on my Strat or Les Paul are now being played on the Ibanez.
My chain is: guitar>AW-2>CS-3>OS-2>BF-2>PH-2>into an old Peavey Classic 2x12 50 watt tube amp.

I was very surpised when I opened up the box. The finish was wonderful, no bad spots, no bumps....just a nice color and smooth surface.
I was also surprised to find the action set up well. All I did was remove the foam from under the bridge, set the bridge down a little to suit my taste, and tune the strings. Intonation was perfect out of the box. Tuners are good; tight but easy to turn...and they hold tune. Pickups were well adjusted. I'll probably tweak them some as time goes by, but they were quite nice from the factory. All controls functioned very well, smooth and noiseless. I spent much much more time setting up my Strat than I did this Ibanez. And the Strat came off a rack at a large music shop! Maybe I just got lucky, but this Ibanez guitar is great rightout of the box.
The only thing I will probably change is the location of the neck side strap button. It is on the back of the guitar, and I prefer it in a spot which doesn't push the guitar forward when playing. MINOR DETAIL!
Oh and sure, as I go along I'll do some minor fret polishing and a few other small tweaks. But that is stuff I'd do on any guitar.

I haven't had it long enough to say "it holds up well"....but it looks like it will. Okay, I play hard, but I do not abuse my guitars. So maybe my view of lasting might be less than someone else's. I believe that with normal care this guitar will outlast me. It surely will withstand live playing (isn't all playing "live"?). Again, I don't abuse my guitars on stage, so this is just my opinion. I'd probably take a backup, but doubt it would be needed. However, I don't drive my car without a spare tire, so why not take a spare guitar to work also?

Never dealt with Ibanez.

Contrary to what I thought before owning it, I actually love this one. It will probably become my main guitar. It just suits me, is fun to play, and sounds great for what I do.
I've been playing for 34 years, did music for a living a number of years. I currently own a variety of electric and accoustic guitars.
I wanted a large hollow body guitar that was thin, with a tremelo. The Artcore fit all my requirements....and exceeded all expectations. I compared it to the Epiphone dots, Ep Casinos, and other Gibson and Gretsch clones....I prefer the Ibanez.
I only wish they offered it in a natural blonde finish with tortoise shell pickguard. If they did, I'd buy me a second one!

Features, NIce and simple. Two Hums at the neck and bridge, volume/tone for each. Pickup switch is located underneath the bigsby arm, witch took a little getting used to, but now makes for faster tone swapping for me. Neck is smooth and clean, real easy playability, Nice finish makes her look like a more expensive guitar!

I'm currently running as a chain from the axe > Maxon comp> Morley wah> Boss DD-6 delay> Fender Hotrod DeVille 4x10. Thru the Fender I don't think I've ever gotten fatter tones, and such a range out of one guitar. This guitar feeds back ALOT and has trememdous sustain when run through a dirty amp. Great for rock, real smooth with the Jazz, and I've been able to squeeze some real HEAVY tones out of this Big lady.

Magnificent right out of the box. NO flaws whatsoever, and I feel a little guilty about watching her get oily from my dirty hands. Can lose it's tune a little if you play her real real hard, but bigsby's are like that.

It'll stand alot, get a hardshell case though, it's a safe investment.
solid feel, all the way around.

Never had to deal with them.

Been playing for 8 years, love the tone. I swap between the Ibanez and a '62 Fender Jazzmaster and they make for a great complement for each other. Fender/Twang, Artcore/Meat. I'd buy one again. I only wish I could launch bombs from it in crazy dangeresque fashion for super pyrotechnics.

Features have been covered before. Highlights; the most brilliant blue color I've ever seen. Even had another customer comment on it while I was in line waiting to pay for it!

It growls, it twangs, it jangles...everything I want it to do. I was looking for a semi-hollow body ala early George Harrison and current Brian Setzer. This guitar does everything I want it to do. Pickups are fine for me; bridge pickup gives a good roar

This was hanging on the top rack at Sam Ash so in theory, probably hadn't been played as much as the ones within reach. Great finish (again...a beautiful blue!, frets were good, all tuners, knob, etc. were on tight and put on to stay. Action was OK out of the box, or off the wall in this case. I will take this to my local tech to set up, but for now it's very playable even with the stock strings.

Well put together. I even bought a pair of strap locks and didn't need them. The strap buttons that came with the guitar are larger and hold the strap well. Psuedo Bigsby works niiiiice!

Registered the warranty online!

This rounds out my collection; currently have Highway 1 Strat, Epi Les Paul Standard, Ibanez SA160, and a Dean Performer Acoustic. Great value for the money. I had seen this in a catalogue and then checked them out at several stores. I was blown away by the quality and price.

An update ... I've been playing for almost a month now and some aspects are more clear.

First, I still love the AF75T and will be picking up a nontrem model for backup soon. That said however, the designer who placed the pickup selector right under the trem bar should be fired ... and shot. This is so elementary it's almost unforgivable. I'm going to pay someone to move mine to the upper horn a la Les Paul. The Bigsby-style trem is still pretty sweet though. No tuning problems whatsoever.

I've been playing thru a borrowed Fender Princeton Chorus 2x10 and a Digitech RP200 and I really like the medium output, 'midrangey' pickups. But I am going to eventually replace the neck p'up with something a little brighter as soon as I find something like a direct replacement P-90 sound. Still no feedback problems, even at gigging volumes. I still love the sound overall. Beautiful sound for Jazz, Blues, Swing or Progressive Rock. On the bridge pickup I can even get a decent 'metal' tone with the RP200.

I've noticed a few more small irregularities in the finish, but still nothing like some of the higher-end Gibson flaws. As another reviewer mentioned, Gibson guitars are become quite spotty quality-wise. For $330 the Artcore is still awesome. The action has been tweaked a little more and it still tunes and intonates perfectly. Stays in tune well.

Still very satisfied that this is a solidly made guitar. I anticipate no problems.

Dunno ...

With a new bridge pickup and moving the selector switch I'll still have an awesome guitar set up perfectly for the way I play for less than an Epiphone Sheraton or Joe Pass model. I think that's pretty impressive. If lost or stolen I'd buy another, in fact, I'm going to buy another for backup. The next will be the AF/AG 75 which is a little thicker and is a non-trem model. I am still hugely impressed by the guitar. A steal at $330!

This guitar is a 2003 made in Korea (I believe). Everything has been covered in the other reviews as far as features. My particular guitar(s) was purchased from Daddy's Junky Music in North Dartmouth, Massachusetts (great bunch of guys now that it is under new management in that branch!). The finish on my guitar is transparent red. This review will cover both instrument that I purchased since one was returned.... read on.

The sound category is a very difficult category to cover since everyone has their own taste in sound and tone. I play in a cover band. We cover everything from the 70s to the present. Think rock though!!! Hendrix, Cream, Jovi, Puddle of Mudd, Audioslave etc etc. My main guitar is a Parker Fly Classic with a PAF pro at the neck and a Tone Zone at the bridge. I also use a Squire double fat tele with Zakk Wylde EMG pickups, Ibanez S370dx, 1965 Fender Strat with REAL Bill Lawrence pickups. Effects are Tech 21 COMPTORION ( I only use the compression), Boss DD6 delay, Ibanez PH7 Phaser. Amps used are: Mesa Boogie ROcket 44, Marshall JCM 900, Fender Princeton, Peavey XXL, 62 Fender bassman. I use all of my gear for the same band. I just use different setups at different venues and how I feel at any given point in time. Back to the guitar......... The pickups are somewhat weaker than my other guitars (equal to the strat or a bit better). This is not a negative point in my opinion. I find that using a weaker pickup, you can usually create more of a dynamic sound with the amplifier used. I found that using just about all of the amps, I can get a very nice AC/DC sound, James Gang, Jovi, Buck Cherry, Audioslave etc. What I am saying is that it covers just about everything because, I can drive the front of my amps less than I can with the other guitars. The sound to me is a pretty full sound from low to high frequency. Keep in mind that I adjust my pickups very close to the strings on the plain side and I have the pickups about 1/4" away from the wound strings. This gave me a very balanced sound. This guitar also really came across very very nice when playing Johnny Winter style solos. I should mention the strings I am using..... what it came with got tossed immediately (I always do that). At the moment I am using DAddario Chromes .10 gauge..... You buy a .13 set, throw away the 6th string and buy a .10 plain for the first string. I tune to Eb. I will be switching back to DAddario .11s. The sound is a bit richer. I have to say that I really like the sound of the guitar. It is very usable!

Once again, this section is based on my preferences....... The first guitar I purchased for $30 less due to problems right out of the box. The first 4 frets were not seated and the back of the guitar was badly scratched right from a sealed factory box..... this is due to the guitar vibrating during shipping I suspect. Most guitars come in a thin foam like bag inside the box. These don't. Very Dumb on Ibanez's part! I seated the frets and adjusted the guitar (factory set up was not perfect (I am a fanatic - been playing for over 37 years). This consisted of loosening the truss rod, it was grossly over torqued. Had to lower the bridge considerably after adjusting the neck. Set the bridge position to adjust the intonation. BTW, you have to loosen the strings and remove the bridge to discard the protective strip that is in place when the guitar is shipped from the factory. Amazingly, the Bigsby type trem system stays in tune very well when compared to the real McCoy! You can't dive bomb and do EVH style stuff with this trem...... I have tried.

Summary for this guitar.... I liked ot so much, I could not tolerate the badly scratched back side and fret issue. I had to return it and have them get me another brand new one without the scratches. Guitar two: Good frets, no scratches, however the finish on the neck has some bubles in it....lots of them actually. This isn't a problem for me because I sand the finish off of the back of the neck on most of my guitars (NOT THE PARKER THOUGH!!!). Everything else was the same as far as the setup goes. The guitar is well worth the money and since I have had such bad luck with just about all of the new Gibsons, I would say that I would take this guitar over the 135 and 137 (which got returned). I play my guitars, I don't baby them. When they get old (1 to two years) and I can't tweak them to MY liking, they get sold tosomeone who has no problem with the minor flaws. The guitar will be used extensively with the band. I am happy with it.

This guitar will easily withstand live playing. The hardware.... I have my preferences. All my guitars get Sperzel locking tuners with the addition of a Sperzel D-Thing. I hope this finish wears off the neck quickly, I will have less to sand. The finish is fine... I don't like glossy finishes... I like oil finishes and satin finishes. Strap buttons are solid, I use the DUnlop plastic disk strap locks on all my guitars. Gig without a backup? WHo would ever do that? I always have a handful of guitars on hand, on stage. How unprofessional would it be to not be ready to deal with a problem. No backup = looking for trouble. I can depend on it.

N/A

Been playing for over 37 years. My gear is described above. No one would steal our gear (check us out: www.sanctuarylive.com). I will probably get another one without the trem. I buy guitars and amps monthly. It is my hobby to buy and build them. I don't hatre anything about it. I love its weight and slightly weak pickups. Very versatile. No one guitar does everything. No one amp does everything. Make what you own work for you. It is possible.

The usual ... 22 frets, 2 humbuckers, Bigsby-style trem, mahogany and maple body, generic tuners, seperate tone and volume controls, semi-hollow body with a bracing system instead of a block down the center.

Nowadays I play mostly Jazz, Blues, and Swing and will be gigging again very soon. I've been out of music for four years due to divorce. I played everything from Gibson ES335s (I've owned one) to Epiphones (I've owned 2) to higher-end Ibanez guitars before I bought it, and I absolutely LOVED the sound and volume of this guitar unplugged. It topped every other semi and full hollow I played. Plugged in, the pickups are very generic and sort of middle-of-the-road tone-wise, but certainly adequate. **** A big thing for me is the way this guitar feedsback **** I have not yet gotten the aweful squeal I've gotten previously when playing loud/live with Gibson and Epiphone hollow-bodies. At very high volumes, the feedback comes on slow, warm, and controlled. Much like a Les Paul. I was very suprised.

The finish on this gitar is amazing for the price. The inlays were perfect, the binding was dead-on, beautiful paint job, no glue on seams or inlays anywhere, no over spray, frets are dressed acceptably ... just really solid work. Only one very small 'bump' in the wood near the cut-away horn. Better than most Gibson products in the late 70s and 80s.

I've owned new and used Strats, Les Pauls, ES models, an SG, a Gibson RD std, a couple Epiphones, an Ibanez RG440 ... and this is probably the first guitar I've ever played that could play right out of the box. The cheap strings were set up to curve downward slightly toward the high E string (like I always set up my electrics), the intonation was ACTUALLY PERFECT until I moved the bridge, and the string height was right where I like it (a little high for most rock players). I was amazed.

The Bigsby-style tremelo was also a suprise. Once I had checked and set the bridge, reset the intonation, and adjusted the pickup height, I then put a glob of vaseline under each string at the nut, wiped it down, and found that the trem will come back in tune even after dive-bombing this thing. Impressive!

Looks very sturdy, I have no problem playing without a backup (I can change strings fast! :o) But it's new so I dunno ... I'll rate it based on how sturdy it feels.

Never used it.

I've been playing, including gigging out, for almost 25 years off and on, and I've owned just about every guitar and amp made since the 1970s at one time or another. For less than $400 this guitar has absolutely NO COMPETITION. I noticed when I tried to buy one that every single one I looked at and played was gone in two weeks, forcing me to buy the more expensive tremelo-equipped model (which I now LOVE). This guitars are flying off the racks and having played mine for a week ... I think I know why.

Brand new 2003 Ibanez AFS75T made in China. 22 frets on a rosewood fretboard, mahogany neck, laminated maple body. One set of volumes and tones for each of the Ibanez nickle-covered medium output humbuckers. Finish is transparent red (very shiny and easy to fingerprint). Body style is a thinline full hollowbody and isn't really a copy of any Gibson/Gretsch line in particular...but is definitely inspired by those lines. It's sort of Gibson Byrdland-ish, but not really. The bridge is an Ibanez designed roller bridge which works very well and is superior to the Gretsch roller bridge, which can be problem prone. If I owned a Gretsch I would want one of these. The tail piece is an Ibanez designed "Bigsby" style tremelo. The tuners are excellent and hold tune well. The neck is comfy but probably thinner than most traditional hollowbody guitars...I also play and Ibanez RG550 and a Strat and it doesn't feel too unusual, although it is definetely different from the RG. Ibanez says the frets are large, but they look pretty tiny compared to my RG (extra Jumbo) and my Strat (medium). No case. Came with documentation and a tool to adjust the truss rod.

I play a blues/rock/jazz mesh of styles (sticking to the heavier side of this blend) and it is a definite departure from my other guitars. I use a Johnson J-Station through a Tech 21 Power Engine 60. I find that while I play my other guitars on dirtier settings (clean w/a little overdrive), I like this guitar played CLEAN. Also, the patches on my J-Station that I use for my two solid body guitars do not work well with the Ibanez. The Artcore is much bassier. What this means to those of you outside of the digital modeling world is that you should play this guitar through your amp before deciding because your current amp may not sound good with it. I think this is true with any archtop hollowbody guitar...they're a different animal altogether. The sound unplugged is very good, although I wouldn't compare it to my Tacoma DM9. Plugged in she's just wonderful. The bridge position pickup (which I admittedly never play) can actually do the metal/rock thing very well, but I have other guitars for when I'm in those moods. The middle position (Both pickups on) is a great rockabilly sound...think Brian Setzer. Nice and honky and happy. The pickups are medium output, like Filter 'Trons, so they sound great in this application. The neck pickup does the jazz thing beautifully. I finally have a guitar for all of my moods! BTW, there is none of the tone drop-out on the volume knobs as mentioned in earlier reviews. The controls work perfectly.

There are good points and bad points about this guitar in this category. I'm a positive person, so I'll cover the good points first. The guitar was set up perfectly from the factory. Intonation was dead on, there are no dead spots or badly playing frets, neck relief is just right. The finish is stunning and the binding around the body (back and front), neck and F-Holes are perfection. The bone nut is perfection. Now for the bad points: Lots of tiny swirl/scratches in the finish around the control knobs. These can be buffed out, but are dissapointing. Also, the Ibanez "Bigsby" finish is a little rough and there was some sort of goo on it that I can't get all the way off. The strings that come with it are LOUSY. Throw in the fact that this is a $300ish guitar, and those little issues seem awfully minor, but I felt they should be touched on.

I've only had it for about a week. I can't imagine this guitar not lasting my lifetime. Everything seems good, but since it was Chinese made, I can imagine the pots and switches will eventually need to be replaced, but I won't do it unless it absolutely needs it.

Ibanez has a history of treating it's customers only slightly better than they would treat dog shit on their shoes. It only has a year warranty. Guitar Trader has a 45 day guarantee, so you really risk nothing buying from them, or even AMS. Musicians Fiend...er...Friend lost my business a year ago when they couldn't even ship some packs of strings to my house without me having to call them a half a dozen times.

I have been playing for 22 years. I have been looking for something to fill that space for when I'm in the mood to play rockabilly or jazz. This does that quite well. For $339, I really have nothing to complain about and have TONS to be happy about. I love it. My only dislike is the slight finish problems and the location of the pickup switch, which is really bad for a guitar with a Bigsby. While shopping around, I also played a use Washburn J9 which was really nice but not much better than the Ibanez for more money. I also played a Gibson ES-135 (the new model without the F-Holes) that was $900 and it was the most pathetic guitar I've ever played. Clamp marks up and down the sides of the neck, sloppy fretwork...an abomination. I also checked out the Michael Kelly line, but I couldn't play one before hand, whereas I could play an Ibanez at the local store. They are very consistant, so don't be afraid to go mail order on thse if you see one local you like with a poor price tag. The local Ibanez had belt buckle scratches all over the back of it for the same price as guitar trader. If you plan to play out with it, you gotta get a case.