Ibanez AR250

I bought this used for $100. At the time it wasn't working but it was a simple wiring problem. It has 2 passive open humbuckers with 2 vol and 2 tone controls, 3-way selector, beautiful sunburst finish on a maple top and mahogany body with cream binding on the body and neck, set neck and hardtail. Korean made but with a lot of attention to quality. Looks and sounds great. I replaced the bridge p/u with a Seymour Duncan. She really sings now.

I play rock, blues, some heavy stuff and so on with a myriad of effects: comp, distortion, od, flange, chorus, envelope filter, vibrato, reverb, etc. All through a small (30watt) class A tube amp. This is a pretty versatile guitar; I can play The Cure, New Order, then AC/DC, Black Sabbath, ZZ Top and so on. The original p/u have a nice fat sound to them but the bridge sounds even better with the SD. Now it can get more of the highs as well as the fat.

I bought it used so I had to reset everything myself. Everything was easily adjustable. But she's like butter now.

This guitar seems to pretty steady. I don't know what it went through in a previous life but it looks good except for some minor cosmetic stuff. Of course, the head stock will probably snap if it falls like similar guitars.

I feel really lucky to have found this guitar. It's a keeper. My wife wouldn't let me spend a bunch of money on another guitar and this one satisfied my Les Paul itch. Probably wouldn't get much for it if I tried to sell but it completes my collection (Epi Sheraton II, and an Alvarez Custom Classic w/ mods) and I love building these things up with mods. I'd like to replace it if it were stolen. In fact, I'm on CL looking at a AR300 from '79.

2001 Korean made model with transparent red finish and cream colored edging. I purchased this in 2002 with the hardshell case for around 450$. I thought it was a deal and it sure beat the hell out of my old beaters.
I really fell in love with the finish first, then the price tag and ultimately the sound. It came with the AH series of pickups, the bridge was replaced with a PAF Pro.
The VVTT setup is a must for me and I don't think that I would ever buy another without that set up.

I play mostly rock/blues/classic rock and it works great. I wouldn't know about metalish type musics.
Like I said, I changed the bridge pickup to a PAF Pro, it lessened the trebleness of the sound and increased the output a weebit. I also do agree with the other reviews that the neck pickup has a solid creamy dark sound that is just fantastic for when the situation arises.
The pots need(ed) to be replaced, they don't swell enough and the sound/tone is very abrupt when you dial them down.

The guitar was set up descent, the intonation needed to be fixed and there wasn't any string buzz.

I've played this guitar live for 5 years and I only have a few dent's on the top of the guitar, you have to hold it at an angle to view them so for me it is no big deal.(If I had a guitar I was that worried about it wouldn't leave the house and then what would be the point?)
I took it into a friends shop and had a bone nut put on, new bridge, and had him tweak it up a bit.

NA

I love this guitar, especially after you mod it to fit your needs. It looks great, plays great, and it feels great. I've always wanted a LP but it seems that this guitar has filled that spot for me. I would like to buy another one of these as well as the hollow body version they made

I bought this guitar in the spring of 2005 and it had been sat in the shop for sometime so im guessing its around 2 or three years old. As specs for this guitar are listed previously I shall not bore you with the technicalities..its your usual 2 x humbucker, 2 x tone, 2x volume, Les Paul set up with a STUNNING flamed maple finish. The guitars body thickness in nice and slender so despite being a mahogony body, its nice and light and is contoured to minimise chaffing on the poor old rib cage. The maple cap has a slight arch to it like all good Les Paul wannabes should be and the neck profile is nice and wide with a flat radius...reminiscant of a Gordon Smith guitar I once owned..All in all its a beauty on the asthetics side of things.

I play a great deal of rock and such so this guitar suits my needs quite well but i have recently purchased an ibanez rg which frankly outshines the artist in the rock department. I find that comparing the artist to a 'Balls out' Rock machine leaves the artist sounding a little weak. The neck pick up is the nicest of the two and has a great tone with bags of sustain but the bridge pick up is thin and weedy and just doesnt punch through.....If replaced with a duncan or dimazio pick up i feel this guitar would benefit hugely. My one serious complaint would be the Appalling quality to the electronics and the pots.....they are NOISY AS HELL and sometimes dont work at all...the decrease of tone and volume as you rotate the controls is sudden and a real disappointment....The electrics in general are ATROCIOUS.

Guitar was set up nicely from the factory and is great to play as long as you dont plug the thing in and have to listen to those pots... but finish and fit is nice and this guitar really looks the business.

Everything on this guitar tells me that physically it will take some punishment live... The neck is a little to easy to bend back but im guessing its just a pliable wood.... the only let down are the awful electronics but I guess I just was unlucky and found myself a dud.... with a few pounds spent on new wiring and pots we should be rocking and rolling with no problem..

No dealings as yet so could not comment

I have been playing nearly 15 years and the guitar is one of many I have owned. For an entry level price you get one hell of a guitar (as long as the electrics on yours arnt as shoddy as mine were). I have to say I absoloutely LOVE the finish..and it plays nicely too but if it were lost or stolen I would probably select another Les Paul Type guitar as its replacement. For the money, I would save bit more and get another RG or at least shop around for another glued neck, Maple cap affair...it was the finish on the artist that has convinced me not to sell it...nothing else..

Double Cutaway maple top Ibanez claims to be 1/2" thick and a mahogany back with a nice body contour for easing the pressure on your ribs (very nice), wide radius fingerboard (15" I think) with a solid maple neck set into the mahogany body. Rosewood fingerboard with just a small hint of filler (typical of Korean-made guitars), and the old-style headstock, which I like much more than the newer ones that look like inflamed vaginas. The finish is a nice honey sunburst similar to my McCarty Burst on my PRS. I bought this slightly used, and I do mean slightly because I could find no signs of player wear and tear at all. I got a hardshell case out of the deal too, which is an added bonus for a guitar that costs less than $400.00 Set up already with 10s and is represented by two Ibanez humbucking pickups and their bridge, which kind of looks like a midget tune-o-matic. I'm not sure of the tuners, but they seem to work very well. Not tons of features, but the quality control over at Ibanez is obviously very good. The appointments are nice, and for a standard double-humbucking guitar, it's a very impressive instrument.

I have a set of Seymour Duncan '59s that I plan on installing once my Seth Lovers come in for my SG, but to be honest, these stock pickpus are quite good. They seem pretty balanced and don't persuade my amp to lean towards ultra-high midrange or trebly harshness. I could be entirely happy keeping these stock jobs in permanently, but I can only guess the '59s will make a really good sounding guitar sound great. This guitar does offer a nice, warm tone that's a little more focused than my SG, perhaps because of its maple top. It's not quite Les Paul like, but the body is a bit thinner than a Paul's, and as a result, it's quite a bit lighter. The sound is actually pretty close to my PRS McCarty. Their bodies are about the same in thickness, and that would translate the similar tone. I would have to be honest and say in a blind fold test, I could just as easliy pick this guitar over much more expensive models if I were to base it on playability and tone. In fact, I've played and owned more expensive guitars that don't sound as good as this guitar does. Very impressive.

To the contrary of some other reviewers, I lucked out with this guitar. Being slightly used, the previous owner either had it set up with 10s or it just happend to come out of the box in excellent condition. My guess is he had it set up. I picked up this guitar and thought I'd just see if I like it, because if I did, I would just get a brand new one from AMS as they are closing them out. But, something happened when I picked this one up. It just felt like it had a little something extra that I wasn't expecting. It also had a spectacular feel and playability to it, and despite trying other guitars in its price range, I kept coming back to this one. Through any amp I tried, it sounded very good. I also am wondering what some of these other reviewrs are talking about when they complain about the balance. I think the weight ratio across the whole guitar is fine. Plus, with the body contour, this is a very comfortable guitar to play. It also feels much lighter than a Les Paul. Go plug into a Les Paul and see just how balanced that big thing is. I used to think rock stars played their Les Pauls with the lower bout pointing downwards because it made them look cool. Now I know it's because the body of the guitar wants to drop to the ground like a freaking concrete dart. In other words, the balance, to me, seems fine and is very comfortable. It's not as light as my SG, but it's close.

I am also very impressed with the aesthetics, appointments and attention to detail. No shortcuts here folks. You can't say that about every Asian-made guitar. Hell, you can't even say that about some American-made guitars (Gibson, are you listening?) I love my SG, but the tone knobs are very loose, and the pickup switch makes a terrible scratchy noise when I get my hand close to it. The tuning seems very stable and all the hardware appears to be of decent quality.

I don't know. I've never played with it live. I did buy this guitar to take on the road with me when I travel for business. I tried the Squire route, but absolutely hated the tiny neck and crappy hardware, so I sold that and decided to compromise between affordable, but playable and this is where I'm at. I also intend to use this guitar for garage jams, but as good as it sounds and as playable as this thing is, It gets as much playing time as all the other guitars I have. The 59's will make this a serious gigging and recording axe too. Everything appears solid and well-made. Are the pots the ultra-top-of-the-line? Probably not, but they don't appear to be the super cheap ones either. Neither do the tuners or other hardware. I would confidentally use this guitar at a gig without a backup or anywhere else for that matter.

Never had to deal with them, and I am not sure about the warranty since I bought it used. Don't care though as it seems solid and has been played for a while, so I'll worry about that on my own.

I have to rate this highly. I started out looking for a travel and practice guitar that I actually wouldn't want to throw in the trash after 5 mins. of playing (thank you Squire!), and I ended up with a great sounding and highly playable guitar that is actually challenging my higher-end axes. I've heard very good things about Ibanez. Not just of late, but they've always been meticulous with their quality control. I mean, they make some real beaters you can go pay $200.00 for new and you run into similar limitations as I did with the Squire, but for a mid-priced guitar that I got for nearly half of what they used to sell for new and a hard case, I am really pleased with my purchase. It's a shame Ibanez discontinued these, but I think they have an alternate all-mahogany model and then they also offer similar maple/mahogany versions with more delux appointments and a higher price tag. This guitar is a real sleeper and is a great deal for anybody wanting a dual humbucker guitar with the maple/mahogany body combo. And as I said earlier, the stock pickups and hardware are good. Personalize it with your own pickups of choice and throw a Tone Pros bridge and some Grover Tuners, you now have a professional-grade instrument that you can be proud to play alongside with anything out there.

A 2001, Korea, 22 frets, solid body maple archtop on mahogany, double humbuckers, double cutaway. same specs as the reviews below.

the sound is great for rock, rock and roll, blues, etc. i play through fender solid state amps. not noisy at all. gives the basic les paul rich full and bright sounds. because of the maple top, it is crisper than the Gibsons i've had that are all mahogany-- Les Paul special double cutaway and Gibson SG gothic. works well with distortion too. lots of variety. i switched out the bridge with a Seymour Duncan JB under the assumption that it would be a good upgrade, can hardly tell the difference, which tells me the original stock pickups don't need to be change since they are comparable to the Seymour Duncan JB. Stock pickups 9, JB 9.5

I adjusted the bridge and saddles to get better intonation and action. it was okay before but better now. it is typical of lower priced guitars to have to do some adjusting. because it has such a great neck, it is capable of very low action. has beautiful bookmatched maple top. bridge is properly routed, no flaws. seems high quality overall. extremely smooth neck, plays well the whole length.
nice weight, not too heavy like les pauls. better balance than my gibson SG Gothic which is also great guitar but cost more, better finish than my gibson SG.

seems very durable excellent for live playing, durable hardware, excellent finish that looks like it will last, as i said better than my gibson SG by far. strap buttons look solid. overall, dependable. i'd give without a backup for amateur sets, for paid sets i always bring a backup in case a string breaks.

never used

overall, this is an outstanding guitar, especially for the price. i've been playing for over 20 years. I have owned about twenty guitars, including gibson les paul special, gibson SG, gibson firebird, strats, teles, jazzmaster, ESP and two 70s ibanez. The Ibanez AR250 is comparable to the gibsons i've owned--most similar to the gibson les paul special, but much cheaper.

Made in 2000. It really is stunning for the price. Beautiful fit and finish--it looks like it should cost a lot more than it does. I suppose it is like most beautiful Korean guitars I have owned or played, the cost has to be kept down somewhere--it is usually in the hardware.

Mine came with upgraded pick ups, but I have not pulled one out to see exactly what it is. They sound nice (whatever they are) and have chrome covers just like a Les Paul P/U--nice touch.

I have to admit I love Ibanez guitars--I challenge you to find something close to a Les Paul this nice for the money.

Sounds just like a humbucking L/P clone should. Not a lot of tonal variation, but it has that meaty LP sound--at least it has way more than $400.00 worth of beefy LP sound! Nice sustain, good tone.
I tend to believe most change the P/U's for a reason, so I'll knock off a couple of points... I am trying to be fair (even though I think you should buy this guitar!).

This is a beautifully constructed guitar. I am probably biased, but I believe it compairs to any new Gibson/Epiphone LP I have looked at or played. This includes one of Gibson's $2000.00 jobs (I'll have to give Gibson the nod on superior hardware, tho). The binding looks great, outstanding flamed top, nice frets, tuners are probably not all that great--but seem to work fine--probably goes for the bridge and tailpiece, too. All the chrome work is nice--not really too much to complain about. I have not had any trouble with the pots, but my pot-metal switch broke. The knobs look nice but are not going to last forever (a couple are already a little wobbly). Still, all-in-all, what is not top of the line quality can be replaced as it fails. I can't see how you can really complain too much as this total package is such a bargain.

My low E buzzed a little, but I adjusted it out via the bridge. Lots of adjustment there, it was really pretty easy.

I think the balance thing is a little over-blown---try an Explorer for a really poorly balanced guitar. It really isn't all that bad--just get a big, rough strap if it bothers you (that's what Gibson recommends to "fix" the Explorer balance trouble, anyway!).

Some of the hardware will no doubt need to be replaced as time goes on, but I can live with that. The +'s far outweigh the -'s.

I forgot to mention my strap buttons were repalced with strap locks--nice touch.

Ibanez has always meant quality at an affordable price--I don't foresee this will be any different.

Good luck here, Skippy!

I own several older Ibanez guitars, and have played friend's LP's and Strats. For the money, the only other guitar I have seen/played that can touch it is my Godin Exit 22. I would have to toss a coin to decide which one to sell, then disregard the results, anyway. Both are very much underpriced, eh?

I bought my Artist 250 in spring 2004. It has since been discontinued (for now). I believe it is a 2003 model, which features:

24.75" scale neck
22 fret (medium I think)
maple neck
mahogany body, double cut
flame maple top (nice to get a real one under $400)
2 Ceramic Humbuckers (Axis type, Ibanez puts these on just about every guitar they make between $200-$600)
VVTT controls, like a les paul, 3-way toggle, no coil tapping
tune-o-matic style bridge with tailpiece, but not the decorative one found on older artists.

Overall, I think it has pretty decent features. It looks stunning, but coil tapping would have been a really great option, especially in this price range.

The sound was pretty good stock. I found the pickups to be fairly unresponsive on clean settings, so I swapped them out. They weren't bad, but I had a Dimarzio PAF Pro sitting around, so I got a Dimarzio Fred for the bridge and threw them in. Sounds great now. Articulate even in thick distortion, and very full and dynamic on cleaner settings. I play through a peavey classic 30, and it sounds as good as any guitar I've ever had. I would say the sound isn't very versatile, but what it does, it does well. I don't know how to rate it, since I changed the pickups. I guess a 7 prior to the swap and a 9 after.

Ouch...this guitar came to me in pretty weak condition. The action was too high, but lowering it resulted in some crazy buzz around the 13th fret...which will probably have to be filed.

Also, 3 of the 4 pots were scratchy. I tried the spray cleaner...didn't work. I have to replace all 4 of them. The pots I pulled out of it are absolute crap. So I guess it is an improvement, but that isn't the sort of thing you want to do the first week you own a guitar. The switch is also pretty cheap, and I will probably change that sometime soon.

The actual finish of the guitar is great. Binding looks good, fret edges are smooth. The flame top is exceptional.

It was really dissappointing...the guitar looks beautiful, it just took some time before I could actually play it because of all the shit I had to fix.

I would gig with this guitar no problem. I have had other ibanez guitars and they seem to hold up fine. Finish looks quality too. I'll deduct a point here because I am pretty sure that switch will crap out if I don't replace it, but then again, maybe I am just being picky.

I can't rate it, but I have heard it is non-existent

I have been playing for 7-8 years now. I didn't intend on buying this guitar, but I saw it for $399 ($40 under dealer cost) and thought I better pick it up. It looks great, and sounds great. I am just frustrated with how much I had to do to get it to play great. It wasn't supposed to be a project guitar, but I had to redo the set up, and replace hardware immediately. Also...many others have mentioned it: This guitar is poorly balanced. Play one standing up before you buy it to see if you can deal with that. I guess overall, I am upset that I got a lemon, but all that stuff was fixable, and when I got it set up, it was a great guitar, end of story. And for the price, it can't be beat.

22 fret,Korean made,mahog body/neck,nicely flamed arched maple top w/nice red/brown-burst.
Double cutaway with nice tuners, medium frets, tune-o-matic, hardshell case included.
H/H with V&T for each PU, passive no coil tap or series/paralell.

Seems to be a great all around player!
Through any nice tube amp, this thing shines very nicely. The neck PU has a creamy tone to it and the bridge PU digs in with just the right amount of bit.
Not noisy at all with the stock electronics and it covers the H/H area no problem.

Bought it through ebay and it was shipper USPS.
It got to me set up fine. Fit and finish was just fine, the Korean builders are really doing a great job for the money!

I have a 1979 Ibanez that I bought new, and I still use that guitar. I don't see why this one would differ.

25+ years, would buy another, it's a great guitar that does exactly what it should!
I gave a 8 on features and a 9 overall because it could have push/pull pots for either coil taps or series/paralell and that would give it all the feature I would need.

Harmony central invite us to be critical. This guitar has a terrible balance but I have resolved this problem. Thus I can't be critical, I love everything about this guitar. I have played the original Artist from the 70's and I assure you this guitar does the job equally as well. In fact, I find that my AR250 is more comfortable to play (it may have something to do with a different fretboard diameter I suspect).

The BALANCE problem can be solved easily. I simply took it to my local store and asked them to drill a hole at the curved base of the neck where it joins the body of the guitar. Then I moved my strap button and presto! Do make sure, however, that the hole is not drilled into the neck joint bcause over time this could pose problems for the joint when you insert the screw. Instead, make sure that the screw is tightened into the neckpiece only.

The sound is great. Balanced, warm tone, fantastic sustain (which is particularly admirable considering that the body's relatively thin)

Factory set up left something to be desired but this is not a major problem. Balance was problem at first but I managed to fix that quite easily. Finish is exceptional. As I said, one of the most comfortable playing guitars I have ever picked up.

I would confidently gig with this guitar without a backup.

It's a Korean made guitar with a real nice maple top and a mohogany body, basically a les paul double cutaway.

This guitar sounds huge! What a tone! Nice and warm without being muddy. I'm using it with a Peavey triple x head, 5150 cabinet, a boss chorus, boss delay, Danelectro fish and chips eq and a MXR micro amp for a lead boost. I can't believe the tone of this guitar, acoustically it sounds rich and musical so I knew I had a great guitar in my hands at the music store. The balance of it is a little bit off but not as bad some people say. Just takes getting used to.

The action was really good on mine. I didn't have to file any frets or anything. The only thing I did was I tightened the truss rod a bit because I like my neck quite straight and the action really low. The paint job on this guitar is absolutely flawless! It looks just like a mirror, with no buffing swirls just flawless. The maple top is beatiful with awesome detail, nicer than a lot of les pauls I've seen. The intonation was out somewhat, no big deal though.

This guitar will last forever, it is built like a tank! I can depend on it no problem.

Never talked to them.

I've been playing for 20 years and have finally found my baby! If it were stolen I would hunt down the %$#$#%& guy and choke him to death.

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!!

1999 korean built, tunomatic copy bridge, some type of copy pick ups remind me of dimazio pu with looks.Set neck, contoured body and double cutaway.Real carved maple top mohogany body. 24.75 scale two vol two tones.

i play classic rock, blues and some older hard rock and this thing is a charm. I can really nail that santana sound in neck p.u. Van halen in bridge.Has killer substain and a full sound not being to brite very happy with distortion setting. clean is good for blues in neck but if you want some jangle you have to play with volumes and tone a little bit. can pinch harmonics out of strings and really give it a great blues wail.If you like humbuckers and like substain you won't be disapointed.

set up real well a pleasure to play stay in tune even with original junk strings. the neck is fantastic very fast easy to play machine. Every things ok could be better sheilded though there is some noise in higher gain settings. The top is lovely maple its not aaa but just a standard maple cap and not some crappie piece of veneer.Frets are fine not super dutie but guitar is so easy to place this doesn't effect much.

seems very solid i would trust it as any gibson set neck out there, the quality is really here in this guitar.

there is no contact number or email address on there webb site, Very poor they need to fix this.

i have been playin for a while. This is a great rock and roll well built machine. you can gig with this no problems. And the neck feels so great really like this guitar and i am very happy with it so far

this is a korean made guitar.made in 1999.it has one of the nicest tops that i have seen on a guitar in this price range.the neck is somewhat gibson like,but thiner like a les paul classic. the pickups are also a wonder. they posess a warm tone on the neck pickup and a nice bite on the treble one. both are humbuckers and are very quiet.double cutaway alowes for easy access to the upper frets. the weight and feel is les paul meets paul reed smith.the controls are standard les paul layout.simple and effective. tune o matic bridge.tuners look like shaller or gotoh.smooth and adjustable.

i play mostly roadhouse blues and hard rock and the ar250 can easily handel this and would do a great job in the jazz world too. my main amp is a roland blues cube 60 and the humbuckers really make sustaining a breeze.this is a solid state amp and i sound like santana fully overdrivin.i can't find anything i dislike about this axe.the set in neck was perfectly set up with .009's and the angeled neck joint looked very professionaly done.

the factory setup was top notch and the pickups were to my liking except that i did raise the neck pickup a little after a couple days of playing.the nut looks and feels like bone.i don't know if it's real but it seems so.the grade of wood is the most impressive part of the guitar. the flame is at least as nice as a gibson classic plus,if not nicer.the color is called vintage burst which is a beautiful reddish orange in the middle going out to dark brown. the back is a dark wine on mahogony.

this axe is built like a tank,and will probably out last my tele and my gibson nighthawk.nice crome plate so as not to tarnish like gold does. the finish is at least as nice and durable as some 1000 guitars i have owned. i would have no problem useing this guitar on a gig without a backup but i never do that for fear of string breakage.

never delt with the company but see no reason to. one year warranty.

i looke at alot of different guitars in the 500.00 catagory and could not find anything that came close to the bang for buck that the ar 250 has.if i could add somethin it would be a coil tap switch. when i opeand the hard shell case my jaw hit the floor at the qualit of workmanship and the beauty of the flamed mapel sunburst finish. just a great work of art by our korean brothers at ibanez.

Basicaly, this guitar is like a double cutaway LesPaul. All the controls are in the same spot. It has a mahogany body with arched maple top, maple set neck, binding around the body,neck, and headstock, medium frets, and a 22 fret neck. I didn't get any accessories with it. I thought the case was way over priced. But in all fairness I didn't even look at it, but list price was $170 and for that kind of money it should come with a built-in amp.

Now this is where this guitar shines. I play rock. Anything from early 80's to the new stuff. this guitar has great tone. It can get sparkling clean high's, and it can get big fat crunchy lows. To me the thickness of the sound is very simular to a LesPaul. I looked at alot of guitars in the $400-$600 price range, I bought this one mainly because of the sound.

The finish is absolutly flawless. The Koreans are getting better at building guitars. The neck joint is so good, it almost looks like a neck-thru design. Now let's talk about the set-up. Here's where I'm gonna bitch a little. The dealer told me he set the action, but it was so low that it buzzed everywhere on the neck.The pickups were also set wrong, the neck pickup was almost touching the strings, the bridge pickup was almost flush with the body. It was no big deal to adjust these things, but it seems to me that the dealer should have checked these things. I would give the finish a 10 but the set-up a 2.

I've had it for two months, and it's solid as a rock. I haven't so much as broke a string. I never gig without a back-up.

I've never dealt with the company, but they have a fantastic web sight for info on how to set things and even wiring diagrams. I couldn't find an E-mail address but I'm on a web-tv not a computer.

I've been playing for close to 30 years, I think this is a great guitar for the money. I wish it came with a less expensive case. The Ibanez catalog and web-sight are little deceiving. Both show a picture of this guitar,and describe the AR2000, which is a $2000 american made version. It says it has Super 58 pickups, but when you look in the fine print,it has the Korean made AH1 and AH2 pickups. If you go to the Ibanez web-sight and compare the description against the spec sheet, they don't match. The spec sheet says it has a bolt-on neck, it doesn't. And what the hell is kalantis? That's what the spec sheet says the body material is.

A Korean made, laminated mohogany body and neck, flamed maple arched top, double cutaway design, two "Super 58" humbucking pickups, Tune-O-Matic bridge, 3 way selector, two volume and two tone controls, rosewood fret board with 22 frets.

I absolutely love the warm, full sound of this guitar! I play blues, Jazz, Rock and heavy metal and this guitar can do it all with no sweat. Its very quiet when I'm playing through my Fender Ultimate Chorus also. I can not put this guitar down; it sounds so good!

The finish of the guitar is absolutely beautiful. Arched flame maple top in a vintage suburst. Well made and set up almost perfect. It could use a little more flames in the finish but its still a beautiful guitar.

Very dependable, I use it on gigs without a backup.

Had one question about the pickups and they answered accurately and promptly.

I've been playing for six years and I promise you I will never sell this guitar! I don't care if I even need money to survive, I'm never going to sell it. This will be a classic guitar in time and I can't get over the beautiful looks and sound of the AR250. If it were stolen I would buy two so that if one were stolen again I would already have another one.