Ibanez AS80

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I play blues funk with an orginal feel. Rig is AS80 -> Vox Wah -> Ibanez TS 808 (original) -> Wasabi Rock-a-bye -> Fender Stage 160 DSP. Not noisy at all. Sounds excellent w/ a bassier sound. Guitar is extremely versatile (think Gibson ES-335 - VERY good copy w/ a unique twist of its own)

Had the guitar set up at the shop I bought it at. The finish is truly impressive. It has an amazing look and quality all its own. Some have menntioned some minor flaws in previous post - but look before you buy and don't buy online - my particular guitar has no noticable flaws

Been gigging hard with the axe for over a year without any problems at all - except for the pick guard. It's not as flimsy as some of the previous posts have alluded too. The problem is in the attatchment hardware - the screw comes loose and requires constant tighting. After a few months of fighting with it - I just took the pick guard off. The guitar looks better and provides easier access to higher frets. If you must have the pick guard, buy an ES-335 pick guard and have it installed

Never have had the misfortune of finding out

I've been playing for over ten years and own a number of guitars. My electric collection includes an ES-335 that I use in studio. I sat down with this guitar at the store just for kicks and was so impressed that I bought it for gigging. If it were stolen - I would most definitely replace it with the same model (though I'm unsure that this particular model # is still made - though siblings definintely are) I highly reccomend this axe.

Mine is an early 80s model, natural finish, bought new in 1984 and "crafted" in Japan. I say crafted because this really is a fine guitar. Construction is very solid; all maple 3 piece neck and laminated maple '335' style body with solid centre section. The face woods are very nicely featured. Not flamed or quilted, but seem to have a marking like watered silk. Very pretty in the right light. Two 'Super 58' humbuckers with the usual 2 volume and 2 tone controls with 3-way toggle pickup switch. 'Gibraltar 2' bridge with locked down saddles and height adjustment. The tailpiece is another special Ibanez item with slots in the top to allow rapid string changing. Neck is a shallow 'C' profile in the 60s Gibson style with a rosewood fingerboard, bound neck and dot markers. Frets are wide oval medium height and quite comfortable. In fact, this neck is always a pleasure to come back to. If I 'fall out' with one of my other guitars I can always get my chops back in shape on this neck. Odd that. The non-locking tuners are Ibanez' own design and very very smooth.

I play blues mainly with a little jazz and rock'n'billy (sic) thrown in for fun and this guitar suits all these styles very well. The Super 58 pickups have a warm bite in their character that can sound less 'transparent' than, say, the Gibson. It's a subtle, but noticeable difference that gives the AS80 a sound of its own. It can sound a bit forceful in the mix when perhaps you'd want 'air' or clarity, but in a trio format it helps to put body into the sound. I've read elsewhere that some folks think these are low ouput pickups. Well, they're not high output that's true, but equally, they're not low ouput either. They're just typical humbuckers.

Construction is totally top-drawer. Not a fault to be found with the assembly or adjustment. No fret filing marks on the fingerboard unlike a very expensive Gibson I once had. The action was perfect straight off the wall - I fell in love with this guitar the second I first tried it. Now, 20 years later it's still rock solid. If you're considering buying one secondhand I'd say if it looks OK then it is.

Build quality is really solid. Totally reliable. No unexplained noises, crackles, rattles or hums ever! Strap buttons are an unusual design that I've only ever seen on this guitar, like small swept back wings. I've been playing this guitar on and off for 20 years and it still looks great. The chrome hasn't deteriorated at all, but then I do clean it after each session. If you leave acidic sweat on any guitar it'll rot.

Never had to call them.

I've been playing about 25 years and owned all sorts of guitars in that time; Strats and Les Pauls mainly. Overall I'd rate this guitar very highly. The sound and build are first rate. If I lost it, it would be hard to replace but they are still about. I'd probably look for the fancier version, the AS200, with its flamed top and abalone fingerboard inlays. If there's one thing I DON'T like about this guitar it's the weight. My guitar is significantly heavier (about 2-3 pounds) than every other 335 (or similar) I've ever played and frankly I prefer the lighter guitars these days. I don't know what wood they put inside for the centre section, but it must be very dense! The guitar doesn't balance on the leg well. It'll slide off and smack you in the teeth if you're not careful.

Bought new. I think one of the last of them while this product is discontinued. This model is full maple, vintage burst. Two humbuckers 2V2T control configuration. Well known good copy of ES335. Semihollow. Passive electronic. Pretty wood. Made in Korea. What means to me: You never know what You get. This time You get gooooood!
What You can get as features from semihollow? Nothing really matters but the sound. (Very good keys as for such price, and very good pickups as for such price)

I felt in love. You see, next day I'd announced all two other guitars for sale. And finally sold them after a week. You see, this is not so versatile sound, but, it is sooooo preeety. I'm getting older, I use distortion less and less. I'm looking for a good sound. And I got it. Round, woody, reach, not muddy, not buzzy, not scratching, not ringing. Full, harmonized, equal. No holes, no peaks.

Action is correct, fit is correct, finish is correct. I don't like gold on the instrument so this guiter is for me. More important how it will be after four years. We'll see.

It is NO versatile guitar. It is pretty hard to play loud because of feedback. Believe me, the feedback is strong when compared to LesPaul and other solid-body. But speaking of reliability simply I don't know yet. We will see in the future. Looks very reliable but this not mean that it IS reliable.

In my country I don't know yet what You mean "customer support". Go to hell. When I wanted to buy that guitar or her sister I was told to wait a 6 (six) months. I was told by official Ibanez distributor. Customer support? There is a saying: God, help me with my friends, my enemies I will handle by myself.

Speaking of love! I have no choice other but 10.

I think around 2000 -Korea -22 frets-laminate top-Gibson 335 layout- sweet '58's-Sunburst finish-bought used but basically stock-Added large strap pegs. This is a great guitar but I think there's too many people giving 10s to anything and everything out there.

Sounds Great! I play blues, rock. I use a blues Jr. straight, or a peavey bandit 65 ('86), with Boss effects of Route 66 Distortion. The tone and volume controls are very reponsive. The sound is fat and full
which is strange because it sounds bad unpluged. The neck is terrific but the frets aren't finnished a little cheaply. Great for slow blues but the fast neck can handle fast runs and big cords, all with a poweful focused sound.

I got it second hand for around $600 1.5 years age. It playyed great.
Like it glowed in it's corner of the store- Rogue in NYC. I changed the 10's to 11"s, the frets seem a little short on the ends. everything else was tight and right.

I've brought this to gig. It stays in tune very well and oh, even with the bigger strap pegs it still slipped off WHOO!!! Finish is too thick if anything, Like my '98 AM STD STRAT. I would use it without back up. But when you ride to gigs on the subway you like to travel light.

No contact

Been playing @ 30 years. Own, besides previously mentioned stuff For example; Bl. Les Paul Std. '89, Marshall 100 watt, Jazz Chorus 120 watt, Jackson pro4, Epiphone SG, Mexi Strat. Acustics, Monster Rack,
Tama Travel Drums, Cort Bass, Tascam 8 track+ lots more. I thought I was buying a Yamaha guitar until I got home! I don't usually like Ibenze guitars since I had a beautiful Fly'n "v" that had the worst tuners and electronics( I wish I had keep it- it was priceless- with upgrades). I would get this guitar again in a minute if it were "lost"
I compared it to many semi's; Epi's, Gibsons (My Les Paul Bites), I wish it sounded more than half decent unpluged. This Guitar is Phat- with the Blues Jr. this guitar can rip the blues more then my beautiful Strat, my over priced Les Paul, Image wise I wish it said Gibson or Guild or Hamer, but in tone it's right on.

I got this from the harmony Central classifieds for $350.00 including a brand new SKB case! I was told it's an early eighties model. Has a maple finish. Dual humbuckers and other features as described in other reviews.

I love this guitar! Sounds great for what I do. Rich sound both clean and dirty. Has a little more twang than say a Gibson 335. I like that. I also like the fact that the tone gets darker when you back off the volume. (I know some others don't prefer that) My signal goes like this AS80> Boss compressor>Akai Variwah>RAT>Digitech Tone driver>Peavey Transtube 212EFX.

I got this thing with .009s and upgraded to .011s. great improvement. Sets up well and stays in tune OK.

Seems to be reliable. Survived for twenty years.

I've been playing a long time. My style is mostly R & B and blues, with occasional roots rock. When I play rock I sound like Neil Young. (is that a good thing?:) I've owned numerous strats, teles, hybrids, etc. This is the coolest guitar I've ever owned! Also the best deal.

GREAT AX ALL FEATURES BELOW! THIS IS AN UPDATE. I ADDED A GIBSON TUNE-O-MATIC BRIDGE TO THE AS-80. THE GIBSONS DROP RIGHT ON, IT WILL ELIMINATE A INEXPENSIVE ABR STYLE IBANEZ BRIDGE. TO USE THE GIBSON STOP-TAIL EITHER THE SEATS WHERE THE STOP-TALI SITS NEEDS TO BE GROUND DOWN. OR THE THREADS NEED TO BE RE-TAPPED TO A FINE THREAD. I HAVE THE STOP-TAIL BUT HAVEN'T THREADED IT YET. BUT THE GIBSON BRIGE DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE TONE. WARMER SOUNDING. NOT AS BRIGHT AND BRITTLE.

AX SOUNDS SUPER. DROPPED IN A 3-WAY GIBSON TOGGLE. ALL-PARTS GRAFITE NUT [they drop right in] MINIMAL FILING. GIBSON TUNE-O-MATIC. THEN SET UP THE GUITAR WITH ERNIE BALL 10-46'S SOUNDS VERY VERY GOOD NOW.I LIKE THE SUPER 58'S I'M GONNA STICK WITH THEM. HAVE A NEW SET OF DUNCAN 59'S IN THE TOOL BOX. I JUST CAN'T BRING MYSELF TO CHANGING. I LIKE THESE P/U'S THAT MUCH.

I REDO ALL MY GUITARS, NEW USED, DOESN'T MATTER. AFTER THE ORIGINAL STRINGS AGE. I GO WITH 10-46'S E.B. THEN RE-SET ACTION,TWEAK INTONATION. FINISH WAS VERY GOOD OUT OF FACTORY.

VERY DEPENDABLE AX. USE IT ALL THE TIME.

THEY ARE VERY, VERY, GOOD.

THIS AX HAS BECOME MY #1,I AM VERY VERY IMPRESSED WITH IT. I'LL LET YA KNOW DOWN THE ROAD THOUGH. I'M LOOKING AROUND FOR A USED 335, I GOT A FEELING THIS AX WILL BE HARD TO BEAT.

THIS IS A 335 TYPE GUITAR, 2 SUPER 58 PASSIVE HUMBUCKERS. TWO TONE, TWO VOLUME, THREE WAY TOGGLE SWITCH. TUNE-0-MATIC BRIDGE STOP TAIL. ROSEWOOD BOARD, ABALONE DOT INLAY 22 FRETS. MULTI-BOUND BODY, NECK, HEADSTOCK. I BELIEVE THE AS-80 ONLY COMES IN VINTAGE SUNBURST, WHICH IS WELL DONE. NO FLEAWS ON THIS AX.

RIGHT OUT OF THE STORE THE AX SOUNDS GREAT. FIRST THOUGHT WAS TO CHANGE THE PICK-UPS. BUT I MUST TELL YOU I HAVE A USED SET OF GIBSONS, AND A SET OF 59 DUNCANS. THEY BOTH REMAIN IN THE TOOL BOX. THE OUTPUT ON THE SUPER 58'S IS SLIGHTLY LOWER THAN ABOVE MENTIONED. BUT THEY HAVE AN INCREDABLE SOUND. I JUST CAN'T BRING MYSELF TO CHANGE THESE P/U'S. YOU WOULD BE HARD PRESSED TO FIND A BETTER SOUNDIND GUITAR AT ANY PRICE RANGE, NEVER MIND THE 550 PRICE RANGE.

I BOUGHT THE GUITAR BRAND NEW. I ALWAYS IMMEDIATLY CHANGE STRINGS TO 10 UP AND RESET THE ACTION AND INTONATION, THE GUITAR WAS SET UP WELL THOUGH.

THE GUITAR IS SOLID. WELL BUILT. IT IS VERY DEPENDABLE. BUT THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH IBANEZ 3 WAY TOGGLES, THIS IS A 2 DOLLAR SWITCH AS OPPOSED TO A GIBSON/HAMER 30 DOLLAR SWITCH. THEY ARE PROBLEMS WAITING TO HAPPEN! I HAVE HAD PROBLEMS WITH THIS AX AND A JS-100 ALSO. IBANEZ PUT A GENUINE GIBSON SWITCH IN FOR ME! THE ALLPARTS CO. MAKES A GRAFITE STRING NUT THAT FITS RIGHT IN THIS AX WITHOUT HARDLY ANY SANDING. BOTH OF THESE UPGRADES GIVE A NOTICABLE DIFFERENCE. I ALSO HAVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT PUTTING A BETTER TUNE-O-MATIC, AND TUNING MACHINES ON. BUT THIS IS NOT ABSOLUTLY NECESSARY. THE STOCKS ARE DECENT.

RIGHT ON THE MONEY. TRICK IS TO PURCHASE THROUGH A VENDER THAT STANDS BY WHAT THEY SELL. IN OTHER WORDS. IBANEZ ISN'T FIXING YOUR AX! THE STORE YOU BOUGHT IT IS. THEN IBANEZ REINBURSE'S THEM. WHICH THEY WILL DO.

THIS A GREAT DEAL. DON'T TAKE MY WORD TRY IT. READ GUITAR PLAYER REVIEWS. LOOK WHO USE'S THE GUITAR? SCOFFIELD, BENSON, METHANY. YOUR IN GOOD COMPANY WITH THIS AX. IF SOMEONE STOOD IN FRONT OF ME WITH A GIBSON AND A AS-80 AND TAKE YOUR PICK FOR FREE. I WOULD TAKE THE GIBSON. GIBSONS ARE 2000.00 MORE TO DATE. BUY THE IBANEZ. DOESN'T KILL YOUR POCKET. AND OVER TIME THE REQUIRED UPGRADES DON'T KILL YOUR POCKET. 6.00 NUT, 30.00 SWITCH, 150.00 P/U'S, 50.00 BRIDGE, 50.00 LOCKING TUNERS. NOW YOU HAVE A GUITAR BETTER THAN THE GIBSON AT HAVE THE PRICE. LORD YOU COULD ADD A CUSTOM FRET JOB YEARS DOWN THE LINE AND STILL BE A THOUSAND UNDER A GIBSON. AND YUOU KNOW WHAT THE SUPER 58'S ARE SO GOOD THAT THERE IS NO WAY I WOULD PUT GIBSON 57'S OR DUNCAN 59'S IN, WITHOUT HAVING ANOTHER IBANEZ AROUND WITH THE SUPER 58'S. THEY ARE THAT GOOD! I'VE BEEN PLAYING LONGER THAN MOST READING THIS HAVE BEEN ALIVE, HAVE PLAYED WITH AND THROUGH EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN. AS I SAID, YOU'D BE HARD PRESSED TO FIND A BETTER AX. AND THE ONLY REASON I'M WRITTING THIS REVIEW IS I KNOW HOW DIFFICULT IT IS IN THIS WORLD TO FIND QUALITY AND NOT BE MISLED. BELIEVE ME I'VE SPENT THOUSANDS ON EQUIP. THAT WERE LEMONS. AND A WORD TO THE WISE. DO NOT BUY A GIBSON WITHOUT PLAYING IT FIRST, AND PLAYING SEVERAL. THERE QUALITY IS VERY INCONSISTANT. IBANEZ IS NOT BY THE WAY THIS IS THE ONLY GUITAR I OWN NOT MADE IN THE USA. AS A GENERAL RULE, USA RULES! BUT KOREAN QUALITY IS GETTING BETTER. I ALSO OWN 4 GIBSONS, 2 HAMERS 1 PRS, 1 FENDER. AND SEVERAL TUBE AMPS. FOR THE MOST PART THE AS-80 IS WHAT I PLAY GREAT VIBE, FEEL, TONE, LOOKS. WHAT MORE COULD YOU ASK FOR.

I had a previous review but needed to add this. My guitar needed work, and Ibanez bent over backwards to help me. They are great to deal with. Emails were immediate, customer service was great. I'm very happy with their support and help.

Bought new in 1996, I went back and forth in the store between a Fender Telecaster and the AS 80 and settled on the AS. It had more control over the tone, better action, and a more natural feel to my hands. I love the humbucking pickups (always have) over the single coil. Neck has sustained well as have the frets. Tune-o-matic bridge is okay, but I've seen better. I've put several different kinds of knobs on it, but I always go back to the originals. Tuners are very good, not great, and the nut is, well, lacking. The case is great.

I play everything--jazz, rock, country, swing, folk--and this guitar fits all the bills. I feed it into a pair of Roland Jazz Chorus amps and can range it from soft to brilliant tones without touching the amps. It has one incredibly redeeming feature: Rolands are notorious for the poor overdrive, but the AS 80 gets perfect overdrive out of them at about a 5 setting on the OD control. If you've ever bitched about the Roland's overdrive, run this through it and you'll change your mind. If the bridge were better, the sound could be a 10.

Everything was perfect on this guitar except...the bridge, the bridge, the bridge. I am a guitar technician and so I set it up myself and have been very happy. The bridge was okay at first, but age has not fared well for it.

I use this guitar every week at a club. I can bang it or caress it and it always responds well. The finish is hard enough to withstand some minor abuse, but I ALWAYS clean my guitar after every job. It still looks new.

I've never dealt with any guitar company, so I have no comment.

I've been playing for 37 years. I own three guitars (AS 80, Fender F-12 acoustic and Gibson CL-40 acoustic), two lap steels (Maganatone 6-string and Rickenbacher double 8-string), one pedal steel (Sho-Bud Pro 1), one autoharp (Oscar Schmidt 21-chord), two Roland amps and various pedals. The only pedal I use for gigs is a Peavey Delta Stomp.

I would replace this one with another like it.

Features have been pretty well covered by others. Mine is a '98 with the 'butterscotch' finish. It is basically a clear maple finish with a little bit of an orange cast to it. The tri-sound switch found on the AS180 and AS200 would be a nice addition. The vol pots are a little too linear for my tastes - I will probably have them replaced.

I don't want to rehash the numerous reviews found here, so I will try to add something new.

I bought this guitar for playing jazz primarily, but I wanted something versatile that could cover other styles as well such as funk, fusion and acid jazz; This axe definitely fits the bill. With the neck pickup active, you can get a pretty good dark jazz tone out of it with the right amp settings and the tone on the guitar rolled off. Put on some .012 flatwounds and it will be even jazzier. It's not exactly the tone you would get from a true jazz box, but it is VERY pleasing nonetheless; it is a little more springy and bright, but it is a very warm, woody brightness. This is probably a result of the maple construction and the fact that it has a solid block in the center. With a little gain, the neck pup provides a lovely warm bluesy tone. With the bridge or neck/bridge combo and a slightly dirty amp setting, think Scofield - you can definitely come pretty close to Sco's classic nasally jazzy tone. You can get a great trebly bridge pickup tone without that annoying screechy "nails on the blackboard" sound you get from some solid bodies. You can also nail a really good fusion tone ala Larry Carlton. The stock pickups are really superb, there is no need to replace them. I think the "Super 58" pickups really excell at bringing out the tone of the guitar in a positive way, without coloring the tone to a large extent, I have another guitar with these pickups (an AM300) and they sound radically different. All of the sounds produced by this guitar have an addictive kind of bouncy, woody quality - it is mellow, but with a lot of presence and vitality. One area where I would say it lacks for my style of playing is for slappy funk comping on the high strings - my S470 is better for that.

I really love Ibanez necks! they are all so damn fast. The neck on the Artstars is not as thin or fast as a Sabre neck, but it's way thinner than the neck on a Gibson ES335. The quality of all Ibanez guitars is in my opinion unbeatable for the price. And it is consistent; you can't say that about Gibsons. This guitar is very well made; comparable to guitars costing many times more. The action is quite good, but it is not quite as playable as some of the higher end Ibanezes, although a professional fret/setup job might remedy this. Also, strings heavier than the .009s that came on mine will help as well; 9s are a little too slinky for a 24 3/4" scale guitar according to my tech. The bindings, finish and workmanship are all top notch for a Korean guitar of this price.

I haven't had any problems so far, but I haven't had any of my Ibanezes very long. Part of the Ibanez appeal though, is that they seem to be very sturdy, reliable, giggable *working* instruments. It seems that almost all the musicians I admire tour with them, even if they don't record with them.

No experience here. Haven't needed it.

I think another reviewer summed it up best when he talked about the whole being greater than the some of the parts, and the need for a catagory called "vibe" - the AS series would get an 11. This guitar has such a satisfying intangible quality. I think it is very soothing to the soul. metaphysicallity aside, I have a really hard time putting it down sometimes - it has caused me to be late for things very often. The only improvement would be an upgrade to an AS200.