Ibanez AS200

My 1999 AS200 is Ibanez's top model in the Artstar series. It is a 335 clone with Maple top sides and back and a solid Canadian Maple block. Two "58" Humbuckers provide lots of guts. The front pickup can be split by a switch so that it can be single dual or out of phase. The bridge is a Gibralter 2 with locking set screws. Rosewood fret board with Mother of Pearl block inlays and Ivoriod banding. The light Maple and gold hardware make this one of the prettiest guitars made. Chris Melville an Australian guitar maker who sells guitars to Tommy Emanuel says it is a far better guitar than any Gibson 335 he has seen. It came with a custom built case.

I play rhythm in a Blues rock band. I use a Laney dual head 50 with a Tone works pedal. I prefer to play straight however as the tone is beautfull with tremendous sustain. With the split front coil and ability to use different pick ups the guitar has so many sound variations that it almost too hard to remember. The AS200 can sound every bit like Lucille or give a great full crunch. It has no problem spanning the spectrum of sound from jazz through the blues to hard rock. Chris Mellvile indicated to me that he considered the tonal and sound quality to far exceed the Gibsons he has worked on.

The fit and finish of the gutitar as I mentioned earlier is tops. There are absolutly no flaws. Better attention to detail than any other guitar I have seen. However I had major problems when it came from the factory and was set up either there or in Sydney. The strings were supposed to be 10/46 instead they were 9s. The neck was adjusted too straight and the strings buzzed and rattled badly. A rattle inside the guitar was most annoying on playing certain notes. The guitar would not hold a tune and the playabilty was so close to the neck that it appeared they had set it up for a first timer abd wanted to fool them with "close" action. I finally after sending it away under warranty and nothing being fixed gave it to Chris Mellvile to set up. It now plays brilliantly after he set the neck. Changed the strings. Re-did the nut, and set the bridge.

The AS 200 is extreamly well built. Attention to detail other than the set up was increadable. I had great strap buttons but replaced them with locking ones. I have all of the confidence in the world in this guitar now that I have gotten over my original heart break from the set up and thinking the guitar was stuffed. It is a semi accoustic however and is obviously not as durable as a solid piece of wood but will I am sure last many life times.

Here is where the let down is. As I mentioned earlier it came out of the box with major set up problems. I have been told that it was the Ibanez dealer in Sydney who would have been the one who stuffed it up. After I complained at the shop in Brisbane and they were unable to fix the buzz and rattle it was sent under warranty back to Sydney. They f*cked it up even worse. To fix the buzz they took the bridge off and put it on backwards. They did not change the strings and the nut was still wrong. I eventually paid Chris to set it up properly. I hope I never need to get it repaired. I would not want to send it back to Ibanez warranty or not. If this rateing would allow a minus score I would give it.

I have been playing on and off for 30 years with a long dry spell in the middle. I mostly have played accoustic guitars and have been playing electric for the past 3 years. I Also own about 6 other guitars 2- 12 string, 3- 6 string, and 1 strat clone electric. I looked at alot of guitars before buying the Ibanez. I narrowed my choice between the Gibson 335, Guild Starfire and the Ibanze. I clearly made the right decision for playablity, fit and finish, and bang for the buck. I would get another if this one was damaged however I would immediatly take it to Chis to be properly set up.