Ibanez AR250

The fit and finish of this guitar is excellent. The action can be adjusted extremely low, to get super-fast playability. The color scheme was awesome. You could use this as a piece of art, and never play it. Both humbuckers are excellent; with abundant sustain. This instrument is exremely well crafted.

Blues and rock fit this guitar's profile. The sound is real crunchy. The tone when chording is rich and full. This guitar can wail. I had a Gibson LP Custom guitar, and I prefer this unit for overall sound and playability.

The wood, the fit, the finish and the paint job are awesome on this guitar. I would not have expected this for the money paid. There is real attention to detail.

So far, the IBANEZ AR250 is really holding up well. It looks and feels like a significant piece of wood. I would definitely use it on a gig without a backup. Aside from some static in one of the control knobs, I have observed no defects (this was easily corrected with static spray - without dropping it off for service).

I have had no contact with customer service

I have been playing 20-some-odd years. I also own a Yamaha Compass Acoustic, and a Gibson L6-S (which I retired for this guitar). I just love picking this thing up and playing it. It is the best guitar purchase that I ever made (even though the L6S is a beauty).

Features? Well it's got a fix bridge (I'm over my shredder, floyd-rose stage), so changing strings is a breeze and breaking one won't detune everything else.

Didn't come with a case though. (well for a brand new unit at only $400, I ain't complaining.

This guitar sounds funny when I try to get the "chinky" reggae / funk sound (well if you specifically want this sound just get a fender). It sings when you want a FAT, WARM, FULL sound.

Sustain goes on FOREVER...............................

The toggle-switch was a little loose, I had the action lowered a bit. Everything else was spot on.... well except for the...

BALANCE. Can't do anything about, but heck, you'll eventually get use to it.

I just tried it out at the local musicstore. Others have reviewed the features. I tried the HS finish. Though the frets were a bit uncomfortable to me. Maybe just because the instrument is horrobly disbalanced.

The sound seemed pretty good for me. I play mostly newer alternative heavier music with psychedelia and prog influences where clean sounds have important role. I played it through Boss GT6 to Laney alltube combo. Cause i'm used to my Yamaha older GRX then bridge PU sounded maybe a bit too dark for me but the sound was different in a interesting way for me. The neck PU was very good. The main dislike is the disbalance of the guitar.

The setup seemed fine to me. Action was not too low not too high. Tuners seemed a bit sloppy.

I've been playing for about 6 years now. I own a old Yamaha RGX312 guitar, a Boss GT6 processor. The sound is quite good. I ABSOLUTELY HATE WHEN GUITAR IS AS UNBALANCED LIKE THIS. If you play guitar down by your knees then it's maybe ok, but I started off with classical guitar and I'd like that the neck would not weigh down the body. Absolutely impossible to play when standing for me. Otherwise seems to be a good guitar for the price. It costs about a 1000 US dollars in here Estonia, Baltic States.

Price paid 450 US$ includes hardshell case

Purhased from: American Pawn Shop, Huntsville, Al

Model AR250 2001 Korean made 22 fret, double cutaway, solid body;rosewood finger board, mahogany body, 3 way toggle switch, 2 alnico variant humbuckers w/ tune-o-matic bridge.

Style: This guitar is good for blues, country, and pop oriented sounds, but pickups are not for heavy metal because they are too restrained.

I play with Crate, Johnson, and Peavy Amps. Sounds good through all amps.

Action was already set up: Good action, no string buzz, pickups adjusted well, looks like new GHS 10's strings. Finish was excellent, and pickup sounded great with the right type of music.

It seems reliable. The toggle switch has been good, and the guitar cord plug-in hasn't come loose.

I know the salesman, and several people who can work on guitars. So far this guitar hasn't needed any repairs or support.

strengths: finish and sound
faults: not very balanced; and my right hand touches the tune-o-matic bridge which bothers me. This fingerboard restricts lighting fast finger movement. The salesman thought $450 was too much to pay, and $400 would have been a great price. However this guitar looked brand new in mint condition with a hardshell case, and it sells for about $600 new. Since I have 16 other guitars, I wouldn't worry if it were stolen. I probably wouln't buy another one.

2002 model, made in Korea, you'll get all the details from other reviews

this guitar is amasing! i play through the Gibson gold tone GA-15rv, which in turn is micked up (sm57) to an HK ACTOR PA system when i gig. i get a nice rich full sound out of it, but again, this can be adjusted to a brighter one if that's your taste. i play eric clapton/blues and bonjovi/rock etc and i can get both sounds really well. might get a lin6 pod emulator, but that's more for the amp side of things rather than the guitar...

the set up wasn't bad. the action was nice, but i lowered is a lot to. the bridge pick up did rattle a bit when i was sitting down playing in the slouched position when i was playing with the string height, but further lowering fixed this. the neck pick up is beautiful!! can't say enough good things.
the neck is nice to hold, and you'd normaly have to spend agrand to get a paint job this nice! i could sit and look at it all day, but i have to pick it up and play it to.cheap strings to.

it seem's fairly solid. i might buy an epi extremem as a back up. it feel's like it will last, and hte pain job doesn't look like it'll rub off in a hurry.

dunno yet. have played ibanez edc 700 for eight months and haven't had to phone them about that. has this for three days and everytign is going well

great guitar. can't praise it enough. never mind you gibson les paul studio! Ibanez are great, their stuff is built in korea, so your paying for quality not a badge on the head!
the ultimate question is if it were stolen would i buy a new one? yes, i would hunt down the bastard who stole it and break it over his head before making him buy me a new one!

2001 model. Is a reissue of the late 70's/early 80's artists. Japanese design, made in Korea. 2 humbuckers - bridge has an alnico magnet. Pretty much standard features. Kinda wish it had block inlays instead of dot inlays, as well as the original artist tail piece, but those are minor complaints. I like my guitars fairly simple. The only thing I really can't live without is independant volume controls for the pickups, and the AR250 has that.

Oh man... I can't say enough good things about this guitar. It can do any sound that i need, and it does it very well. Here's my setup:
AR250 > EH Small Stone > Boss GP20 Amp Factory > Boss CE2 Chorus > Old Ibanez Delay > Boss Octave > Peavey Classic 50 410. I play original music, toward the heavy side. Think Smashing Pumpkins meets Incubus with a side of the Police. My sound is kinda the typical Rectifier sound but with more mids for distortion, and a class A type sound for clean. I need a guitar that does both clean and dirty, and this guitar is perfect for me. The pickups are vintage style, with a little volume than new humbuckers. However, they still have a lot of chunk and can sound really sweet for leads. The sustain on this guitar is also pretty damn good. This is in part due to the tilted headstock. I've had people who know absolutely nothing about guitar tell me that this guitar sounds awesome. In my opinion, this is the best sounding guitar for under $800. I'm thinking about adding new pickups just to fit my style a bit more... to make a great guitar even better.

I must be one of the few people who actually got their AR250 adequitely setup from the get go. But then, again, i had to special ordered mine, so it wasn't molested by 14 year old guitar shop hackers trading Metallica riffs. I happen to like my action really low, so i've since adjusted it. Now there is a little buzz, but nothing that shows up when amplified. Again, that's my own preference. This guitar has an amazing neck. It's very slim, almost shred guitar slim, which makes playing fast so much easier.

I read some reviews where people were complaining about it's weight: Well, aparently none of them have ever strapped on a les paul. The AR250 is a featherweight compared to Les Pauls. Also, some people said that the weight is uneven and causes the guitar to slide. There's a simple solutionwear it low on your strap. I mean James Hetfield low. If you play it up at your neck like The Beatles, then it's probably going to slide.

The finish is probably the best thing about this guitar. I have owned a few Ibanez guitars in the past, and they all had great finishes, but this one in particular is beautiful, as well as tough. The sunburst is better then some $1000+ guitars i've seen and the wood underneath is flawless, unlike bargain epiphones and fenders for the same price. I've bumped and banged it many times while playing, and there's not a single mark on the guitar, unlike my previous Les Paul Studio, whick would scratch if you breathed on it wrong.

Just to mmake it look a little more vintage, i replaced the black knobs with gold les paul knobs.

I've used this guitar live many times. I wouldn't use it live without a backup simply because shit does happen, and you should never gig without a second guitar. I fully plan on using this guitar for the rest of my life, having it passed on to my great great great grandkids after i'm dead. I'll buy others when i can afford them, but this one is a keeper. I've het to have any problems, and it seems to built like a tank.

Don't know...

I've been playing for abut 8 years. I'm currently in a giging local band, looking to make it professional. This is my main guitar and it's perfect for my needs. I do plan on getting an origional 70's artist, and maybe one of the new prestige artists. The 70's artist model is my absolute favorite guitar, hands down. What's great about these guitars is that they aren't well known. I can't think of one person in popular music who uses an Artist regularly, whereas everyone and their uncle Steve is playing a PRS. Since these guitars are somewhat obscure, they aren't insanely overpriced like Gibson and PRS, and the quality control is top notch. The only thing i would like different on this guitar would be block inlays and an origional Artist tailpiece. Maybe some other optional finishes... If someone stole this guitar from me, i would severely fuck them up, then make them buy me two. You cannot buy a better guitar for the price.

22 Frets; H/H; 2 x T; 2 x T - same as the others.

The pickups are an alnico variant.
The flame on mine is lovely - nice and clear!!

I use a Peavey Bandit 112 - it all sounds great - warm and pretty full. I play anything put in front of me... This would suit most styles.

Haven't noticed any undue noise coming from the guitar infact, it's v. quite.

On clean - v. nice, the notes are clear. And the sustain!!!...

The factory setting - I take it no-one attempted to play this guitar at the factory or they'd know about the fret buzz... it's not too bad, but it's annoying. You'd expect this sort of thing to have been picked up ages ago...

Unlike some of the others, I've not found the weight to be a problem - then again, my other guitar is a BC Rich Mockingbird (neck heavy)

The finish is beautiful!! wow!! As said - lovely flame!!

Another downer - the selector switch is WAY to close to the playing area... I've not had a problem yet, but I have visions of catching it at somepoint - hopefully not at a vital point though...

Having read some reviews, I changed the strap buttons straight away to a locking strap.

I've played live with this - it's stays in tune like a dream!! Built well - it's got a bit of weight to it too!!

I weighed up this guitar against some others, and this looked, sounded and felt far better than the competition. I think it'll last!

Not needed them.

Been playing for about 7 years, I have a Cry baby wha and a BC Rich Mockingbird - which I put through a Peavey Bandit 112.

At this point (not had it long), I'd definitely buy another if it was stolen - only problem is it doesn't come with a hard case...

Very crappie hardware, esp bridge assembly really sucks Ibanez should be taken to court for impersonations of guitar hardware. guitar wieght is Way out of balance what were they thinking it should of never left Korea. The pick ups are not that bad sounding for hard rock. It also plays quite well when you get use to balance problem.

not bad for hard rock guitar versality aren't its strong point. But if you play with distortion from light to heavy the sound is pretty good. The cleans do nothing for me at all pick up setting.

set up ok just piss poor hardware the bridge is the culprit here a real piece of junk. Finish was very good, frets ok. Pick ups good sounding and pretty quite at high gain setting.

Well for a good beater this isn't bad but I don't want to fight with the balance thing when playing live. hardware give this a 2

HA HA Ibanez is a joke their own people don't know shit about there own products. But if you got new metal band thats selling records they want to endorse you. Thats all what they care about and stand for.

Fix the balance thing ibanez and start getting some good hardware then maybe it will be worth your asking price.Its not a bad sounding guitar and it does play pretty well. If you can deal with the balance, Just change hardware and it would be a good rock axe.I wouldn't lose any sleep if this ax got lost or stolen.There is a lot of good competition in this price range and I would check it all out.

Korean make, 22 frets, mahogany top (flame burst finish is the only finish offered for this model right now), Rosewood fret board, double cut-away, Tune-O-Matic II bridge. Comes with hex wrench for adjusting truss rod, a cheap patch cable, and a nice write up on how to adjust everything on the guitar (action, truss, pickup selection, intonation, etc). Stock tuners, standard neck and frets. Two humbuckers that have their own individual volume and tone control (nice). Toggle switch located on top cutaway.

I play anything from funk to jazz to metal/rock. It works well for all styles.

Difference in sound between guitars is very subtle, it depends on many things: pickups, wood, strings, etc. I have a Fender Strat(non-US) and an old Westone Spectrum and it sounds better than both (in my opinion). Here's my lay out: AR250 -> DigiTech Whammy/Wah -> Ibanez Power Trio -> Zoom Player 2100 -> Laney PL50 -> 100W power amp.

No noise, very quiet. I won't say the sound is bright or full, but it is clear and warm with my setup. I always play with a little compression and reverb and then add on from there.

Now time for the bitch session! Factory setup fell short of par...

Fret problem: The f'n thing buzzed around the 5th and 7th frets on every string (yes, I did try adjusting neck bow and pickup height)! Who the hell is settings these things up...Stevie Wonder? (no offense Stevie) Actually now that I think about it, Stevie probably would have done a better job than the crack head they have working there now. Oh well, I can only assume it was just mine that had a problem and I'm sure this doesn't happen to all of them.

Intonation: Intonation was fine (I was expecting disaster there).

Nut: I use D'Addarios with the wound G and the valley in the nut for that location was a little tight. I guess they don't test every possible combination, but then again who does? Just use a fret file or a folded piece of high grain sandpaper to cure this.

Toggle Switch: In my opinion the toggle switch is a little too close to the struming area. This seems to be a popular problem. Rage's guitarist actually uses electrical tape on his to keep it from acidentally being toggled. He doesn't use a AR250 but you get the point. I wrote that issue on their customer service return card when I first got the guitar...cross your fingers.

IMPORTANT!: Guitar Balance... I don't understand why more people don't recognize this. Guitar weight and balance are very important. I don't want to be on stage for 2 hrs and worry about my guitar drifting or killing my shoulder from weight. Call me a pussy but I like to play music, not fiddle around with getting comfortable all night. This almost made me return the guitar, but I like the sound and look too much. Strap on your guitar, without a patch cable pluged in, and then let go of it...it shouldn't move. If it shifts forwards or backwards then that is a design flaw. How the hell did they overlook this one! Do they make the guitar and then not play it? Am I the only one in the world who's had this problem? If you've had this problem and found a remedy (I don't care how half-ass it is) please email me at: loppybogymi@hotmail.com

Everything Else: fine.

Great reliability. Finish is good, I'm not sure if they use UV or traditional lacquer. Good hardware, almost like a Les...I said almost.

Someone needs to strap on some balls and design a better strap button. I think they already exist, but manufactures need to start making them stock. What's the point of buying a guitar and then having to go get locking straps? It's like buying a car with that little Cheech and Chong chain-link steering wheel...now you're probably going to have to go buy a steering wheel that offers better performance.

You should never gig without a backup! I don't care if you use a Les Paul and he's your dad. Mainly incase a string breaks, but you never know.

This one's complicated. I had a very shitty experience with the dealer, and I blamed Ibanez. Now I realize the it's the dealers fault, not Ibanez. However, it was shipped back to Ibanez for the fret buzzing and returned with a re-done factory setup. Hello!? Did someone think a re-string is going to get rid of fret buzzing? I got Ibanez's number from the dealer and then only dealt with them. You have to get rid of the middle man...he's just a waste of your time, and already, your money. After bitching to I've-Been-Had about it they agreed to thoughly check it out and put their best crack head on it. I told they can kiss my ass if they expect me to pay for the shipping again. They agreed to cover the shipping. That's what I'm talking about...these companies make millions per year, why squabble over some measly shipping at the customers expense? I'll give them a 5 just because they didn't fix it the first time.

How long have you been playing?
I've been playing for about 10 years. I'm very picky about my sound, even though my setup isn't the best I try to make it work.

Is there something you wish you had asked before buying this guitar?
Yeah, what's the name and home phone of the crack head who did the factory setup?

If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again or get something else?
Good question. I would probably get something else, but that's not to say I don't like the guitar.

What do you love about it?
I like the look, sound, and action.

What do you hate?
I hate the balance!

What is your favorite feature?
Toggle switch and individual pickup controls.

Why did you choose this one?
I choose mostly for price, features, and looks.

Did you compare it to other guitars?
Not really, I knew I wanted an Ibanez but the lower quality models left some thing to be desired.

Anything you wish it had?
Yeah, I always thought it would be cool to have a guitar with a pepper spray attachment for those pesky jump-on-stage-and-act-like-an-idiot fans. Maybe you could incorporate it into the the toggle switch as another position, like pepper spay mode. Just a thought.

Anything else you'd like to share?
Did I miss something? If it wasn't for the balance thing, which really pisses me off (as you can tell), I'd give this category a higher rating.

The name Korean use to put fear in the hearts of many guitar folks (it use to be Japan and look how wrong everyone was!!)but this guitar is very good. It has all the features that have been mentioned, the only thing I have changed is putting chrome covers on the humbuckers (it dressed it up real nice).

Chimes nice but if your looking for that Les Paul sound go get a Les Paul! I personally like the sound very much on this guitar it's an in between sound but sound really rich!

This guitar was bought used from the fine folks at TOYS FROM THE ATTIC and was set up perfect! No flaws anywhere. The finish looks better than a lot of guitars costing a hell of a lot more (the flame on mine is very nice).

I have been banging the hell of it and it will not go out of tune (I love this guitar). As I said the finish is perfect and looks like it will last! I feel like I can depend on it and not worry about a backup guitar.

I have been playing off and on since 1975 and this guitar is a great bargin. You get excellent quality for the bucks. No for the complaint, I dont like the balance of the guitar (it's back heavy) so I bought a FAT FINGER and the weight of that seems to have balanced it out. Overall great guitar!!