Ibanez Artist

My Artist was purchased new in 1981. It is a cherry, tiger-striped 100 model, with 22 frets, white binding on body-neck-headstock. It has two Dimarzio Super Distortion pickups that are very loud. The neck pickup produces a huge sustain.

The gold-plated hardware is still surprisingly detailed thanks to mom's suggestion to paint the gold with nail polish. Mom was right, it worked except for some heavy wear around contact points like the top of the bridge.

Given that my idol was Malcom Young of ACDC, I was big on the double-cutaway guitar cranked through a Marshall. My first amp this guitar was played a Marshall JMP 50 watt 2X12 combo and I also own a Gibson Goldtone combo, a Marshall JCM 900 50 watt head, and a late 60's Fender Bandmaster 40 watt head equipped with 6L6's. This guitar sounds amazing through all of them. The heavy rock sound of it with the Marshall combo is insane and very real. No fuzzy box tone here!

Action is insanely low and the neck overall is a very comfortable width and shape. The weight of this guitar may, however, require a trip to the chiropractor after a long set. It reminds me of a vintage Les Paul in feel and weight.

For a guitar that is close to 30 years old it lokks great and has been very durable. It has held up very well, looks great under lighting and stays in tune provided you're not bouncing around.

mine is a 82 model dark cherry sunburst finish obtain from a 2nd hand shop with unbeatable price (about US350) super 58 x 2 pickup, design to beat PAF i guess ,passive tone control, double cutaway body, easy access up to the 22 fret, 1 vol 1 tone for each pickup 1 pick up selector (that will be enough to be a good guitar)

since i bought it 2nd hand it shows signs of finishing peeling off and finish checks along the (c) cut ( i have to fix it with super glue)

original tuners and fret, everything is original except it does not have a hard shell case (which i don't mind)

3 piece neck (nice stong neck) very thin and friendly, very comfortable to lay your hands on the neck with difficult chord positions

the neck issue this is the BEST neck i have ever come across, i guess the dimension is based on a vintage thin gibson neck not as narrow as a steinberger graphite neck but it is very happy to play with compare with a gibson neck, words cannot say much only you can feel it by touching this is a Short Scale Neck and i think it is very comfortable to be use by oriental (small hand) players

golden plating sort of a weak side as the plating can be easily get dull and oxidated, other than that it still function properly.

i never belive after all these yrs, the neck still a ruler stright and i can lowerd the string action down to the lowest as i want to try , i can play finger tapping with extreme ease

sustain is beyond modern standard, better than anything else up to this price range

quick change tailpiece make you change the string in less than 2 mintues (love that!!!!! good design with ease without killing the good sustain)

over weight is a little draw back on this guitar but since this can make a good sound who cares????

this is the highest output guitar in my collection (i own more than 10 good qaulity instruments) when i open the back cover, i see they did a good job of shielding and grounding in the electronic components (better than gibson LP custom) they have a metal foil and than had a shaped metal cover to properly gound the noise too, which gives this guitar a very quiet operation, all of the pots, selectors performing well after 22 yrs. the pots reading is 22k(?) which gaves this guitar a high output???

soild brass bridge with plenty of room to adjust intonation, using artifical harmonics without any problems smooth accurate and screaming.

basically you don't have to worry about a weak singal produced from this guitar, actually i have to use a limiter to control my input level into amp/mixer

using the front pick up in clean tone can gives you a nice fat sound (tone adjustment range is a little bit small bit i can live with that)

rear pick can produce a thick sharp tone (not as sharp as fender) but you can play some funk chops too

with this in your hands, you can forget LP/PRS counterparts

action is the best i have ever come across, (much better than a steinberger) fitting and finishing is also the best in the industry standard, after 22 yrs the finishing still holds i think they are using a PU finishing tough smooth and wear resistant

occationally you have to slightly readjust the pickup / pole piece height for individual string strengh, and you have to lower the bass sting side a little bit too. too close to string will make the sound unnatural but that's just personal taste

never have a doubt about that, not need for carrying another guitar for live performance this thing holds all the way up all i care about is the sound, nothing else, otherwise get a boutique guitar not with this

never deal with them, parts supply is a problem (not much Ibanez parts in the market today not to mention a 20 yrs old guitar) but i did surf the net and found that in japan they still have some parts available like saddle, bridge, pickup, tailpiece etc etc...

as i do not live in japan, i will figure a way to obtain it soon ( not from a ibanez dealer of course)

over these yrs i have develop my ears to hear soild body elecronic guitar sound into 2 main groups (fender sound and gibson sound) until now i still cannot hear any guitar sound as glassly as a fender. japanese manufacturers had spend a good portion of bucks and time in making their "fender" like sound but they still fail, they still have to copy the basic design from leo fender some 50 yrs ago (unfaithfully reproduction)

However, on a gibson like sound, japanese makers had successfully make that or i must say beyond the gibson sound and they did that 20 yrs ago.

i am not paid to wrote this, but you can HEAR and FEEL the difference when you touch this.

ibanez still make artist, they try to reamin as close as a original artist i think the model is AR3000VV, somhow the price is high ( in my city this will cost you about us 1500)

others will say that ibanez paid to endorse so many "STARS" to use their instruments, in my eyes some of the STARS cannot be bought over only they will choose the reliable and good sound / quality instrument to work with

not so long time ago, i was paid to recondition a vintage ibanez musician model which is a joy to work and play with too so my words are short:- if you see a vintage artist go and get 1 if you see an ibanez musician model go and get it too... it worth every penny you paid for it

Japanese made, mahogany body and neck, a sort of flamey sunburst,open coil cream dimarzios, scalloped tailpiece 1980 perfectly crafted machine. Came with original Ibanez case.

I am a blues-garage rock hacker. I play through a blues jr., vox wah, boss super overdrive. Rich full warm tones.Sustain for days! I am used to teles and hollowbodies, so this is a totally different sound.No dislikes, just learning how to tame the warmth.

Love the fretboard. I dont know if it is rosewood or ebony. It is so smooth and pretty compared to my 2000 es 135 fretboard, which I know is rosewood. Maybe it is just the quality that was put into making these beautiful instruments. Perfect action and neck,body binding. The gold hardware is still gold, after 25 years. Even the toggle seems so much more superior than the ones on newer guitars.

After being around for 25 years, this guitar is a tank, and as heavy as one. If I had to depend on one guitar, this would be it.

I have been playing since the early 80's. My first real guitar was a 1982 Ibanez artist. Always remembered it and always regretted getting rid of it. I saw this on ebay and had to have it, to see if the fantasy of that old artist was a valid one. Well now that I can actually play more than Ramone songs, I have come to find out that the reality of this guitar is even better than the fantasy. This guitar is better than any Les Paul I've played. I recommend this guitar for anyone looking for a dual humbucking axe. I dont believe you could find a better gibson,Prs,Hamer, especially for the price. I will never get rid of this one. I also own a very musical es 135, an American Tele 94', and a Gibson sj deluxe acoustic. This is the best collection I have ever owned, and cant think of a sound that i cant achieve with these tools.

I have a 1982 Artist finished in gloss balck with cream pickups. This guitar was bought from ebay an I have to say that this guitar is one of the finest examples of of what an electric guitar should sound and play like.
It weighs a ton due to the solid mahogany build but sits very well when strapped on and has good balance.
I have recently had the instrument re-fretted and set up by a professional and the playability must now be close to how it must have been when it was new (and by that I mean GREAT).

You see a lot of comments about how the Artist blows the Les Paul out of the water in terms of tone and construction - I have to say that I agree, my Les Paul doesn't even come close to this beauty.
I play mainly through an Ampeg 50W valve head with 4x12 cab and the power and sustain just can't be matched. The clean tone is sweet with an almost "bell-like" quality - I guess this depends on how you like to set your amp. The powerful original Super 2 pickups are just awesome when overdriving and this is when sustain can just last forever if you want it to.

Being an old guitar, the set up when I bought it was crap and the frets had been previously replaced by someone who wasn't too concerned about making a tidy job. Now that it's all re-fretted and set up, it's playability is superb. I like a low action and when set up correctly, you can achieve a really low action if you like.
The saddle is a fairly chunky affair, which adds to the look and feel of the powerful charater of the guitar.

As a gigging instrument, this is a tough piece of hardware and I can see this thing lasting forever. There are no fancy electronics such as coil taps on this model, which is how I like a guitar to be.
The original deep gloss black finish with ivory coloured binding looks like the day it came out of the paintshop when new. The only hardware replacements this guitar has had are the tuning machines, which have been replaced with Schallers and the strap buttons, which I replaced with locking Schallers.
As for dependability, I am confident that I've never needed to call upon a backup guitar to date.

Never dealt directly.

I've been playing for 20 years and own a variety of other guitars including a Strat and a Les Paul, but the Ibanez Artist is my baby.
I'm always on the lookout for another Artist to add to my collection, but it seems that people are catching on and the second hand prices are starting to rise.
I wasn't sure what to expect when I first bought this guitar (apart from its graet looks), but I'll never part with it and if anyone gets a chance to own one of these guitars, grab it now because they are getting rarer and more expensive all the time.

Mine is a top of the range tiger stripe,with gold everything and coil tapping switch which gives a universe of sonic potentials.the artist has a very deep mahogany body which is bedecked with a sublime maple cap.This makes the guitar quite heavy, though I can easily lift it, but bestows upon the guitar a sustain that few can equal.Through body neck and bone nut are typical of the "no cost spared" specification .This guitar was made to compete with the Gibson les paul custom and Yamaha's mighty sg2000 and having owned both of those guitars the ibanez artist blows them out of the water.

The Artist has a very wide palette of sounds,particularly in my hands,It suits all of my myriad of guitar styles from ultra speed and precision to the agonisingly beautiful slow phrases that I can play. A freind of mine brought his 25th anniversary strat around recently ,when he heard the artist he began to cry. I play through a Marshall jtm35 and rarely use effects other than reverb and flanger. I find them unnessecary, preferring instead to tune into the cosmic symphony in my mind and recreate the sound of god's tears.

This is a 24 year old guitar and has been played obsessively for all of that time .As a result the frets have very little on them which is a considerable impedance when bending the strings ,even for my friend with the anniversary strat who is renowned as a bender.The tuners on this guitar are the weakest link and have required attention in the past. The saddle is mounted on two height adjustable screw shafts one of which is sheared leaving me with no control over the height the action is stuck very low which facilitates my faster than light flurries but is lower than I would like.Finish is of the highest standard and the guitar's bound body and neck are still virtually showroom condition despite constant use at professional level.

I have toured this guitar all over the world and beyond it is bullet proof and has never let me down.I have around 20 guitars in total worth over #20,000 and the artist is my favourite rock warhorse.

Never had any dealings with them......which is nice.

I would recommend this axe to any body who is looking for a serious rock axe the depth of tone embarasses far more expensive guitars.Some people say that they lack the prestige of a gibson, that may be so,but it offers far greater versatility and build quality and it's "untrendy rep" make them bargains if you are lucky enough to find one.

I have two of these, so I'm going to compare them. I first bought a 1982 with a rosewood fingerboard and liked it so nuch that I then bought a 1978 with an ebony fingerboard. Both have Les Paul-like controls with arched tops, dual humbuckers, cloud tailpieces, etc. The '78 is all original, while the '82 has changed tuners (Schallers) and bridge pickup (Duncan). the '82 is slightly heavier and has a nicely yellowed white finish, while the '82 is a tobacco sunburst. Both necks are excellent. Overall, features are classic and more than sufficient, but nothing outstanding.

I play a lot of different kinds of music and these guitars are very versatile. They both sound the best for rock stuff, but can pull off jazz and funk/R&B. The '78 has a more uniform sound that compares well to Les Pauls of the era. The '82 has a wider range given the different pickups: the original neck pickup covers round and woody tones well, while the Duncan is a screamer. You cannot get a real tele spank from these guitars, but covers Les Paul territory very well. I love the sound of both--great sustain and nice clarity. I prefer the '78 because the pickups work well together, but the original '82 neck pickup gets the sweetest sound.

Since both were bought very used, factory reviews are not applicable. The workmanship on the '78 is top notch, and it is a beautiful guitar. The '82 came to me in bad shape, but I was able to get it set up to sound great in no time. These are both quality guitars with workmanship every bit as good as Norlin era Gibsons.

The '82 has taken a beating prior to me owning it and it still plays wonderfully. The '78 has been better maintained and looks it, but both play comparably well. These are solid guitars. Frets on both show little sign of wear.

I've never tried to deal with Ibanez and wouldn't expect much, but there are good web resources on these guitars from dedicated users.

I have lots of guitars and have played for 30 years. Most of my guitars cost more than these two, but for flat out rock and roll fun, they match up with anything. These guitars are historic in that they represent a time when Japanese imports actually were higher quality than their American competition. It is commonly thought that only the late '70s Artists are any good. While I do like my '78 more, it is primarily due to the better condition and ebony board. The '82 is also a fine instrument. Since I'm not a collector and have limited space, I'm selling my '82, but it wasn't an easy decision and I'm sure I will regret it. You can pick these up for the price of an Korean Epi, and they are vastly superior instruments. An excellent value.

This is a black 1982 Ibanez Artist, back when Ibanez were made in Japan. It has 22 frets and is completely stock. It sports a mohagany boady and neck, with a carved maple top and what appears to be a rosewood fretboard. It has 2 volume and 2 tone (1 each for each pickup). The bridge is the stock tune-o-matic and the tuners are the stock "Grover knock-offs". It came with a Gibson LP plush case of approximately the same vintage.

This guitar is sweet. It is comparable in every way to my 86 Les Paul. The Ibanez pickups seem slightly hotter than the Gibsons, but don't seem to sacrifice any tonal qualities. I play anywhere from a mellow jazz/blues to full-out metal leads on this thing. It IS an older guitar and the frets have probably been dressed at least once because they a bit low, but the neck is absolutely perfect!

As an older used guitar it has seen a few dings, but the original factory construction in this vintage was probably near their prime. It's also hard to say how the guitar was originally set up given it's age.

Like the Les Paul, the Artist as a solid guitar. I might consider Sperzels if I was a more agressive bender - but that's only personal preference based on experience and not a comment as to how well the guitar stays in tune. It is SOLID.

I haven' dealt directly with Ibanez, but I have tried to get information via their website regarding effects products and keyboards. I was not impressed. I understand that they are much more helpful by telephone. Let's face it - they are a big company and I doubt there's much incentive to support OLD guitars.

I've been playing 28 years, everything from jazz/blues to heavy-metal, but mostly 70's progressive rock. I'm VERy happy with the old Ibanez and think it's an outstanding alternative to a new cheap Les Paul copy. It holds it's own well even against the Gibsons! (I've owned a 77 Goldtop and an 86 Standard) The only caveat is that when shopping for an older guitar, an evaluation by a guitar tech might be wise (to appraise fret and neck condition, etc.)

My Artist is a 1983 from Japan. 22 frets, solid mahogany kneck through build, maple top double cut away body, black finish, with gold/silver hardware. Not sure about the pickups but I was told they were the originals. It has a tune-o-matic bridge with what looks like a schaller style stop tailpiece. Standard tuners. Hardcase.

My musical style is classic rock and some grunge. Mostly Zep, Cream, PJ, etc. I play through a peavey classic 30 mostly, vox wah, and distortion pedal. This guitar sounds incedible, I tell everyone that it likes to sing because thats what it sounds like. I've never played a guitar that resonates so fully throughout the body as this one and the sustain is unbelievable. I've played on Les Pauls before and even went so far as to compare it directly with a buddy's vintage LP and although they sound different I still think I'd pick this one over an LP. Also, when played through a distortion pedal or overdriven amp this thing sounds like a goddess.

Now for the best part. If nothing else the action of this guitar is uncomparable to any. As far as action goes this this guitar gets a 12 in my book. First of all the neck is flat as a ruler with just the slightest relief up top. I've got is setup with super slinkys and what's amazing is that the action is so low I barely have to touch the strings while playing. The kneck is slightly thinner than an LP from the appex of the arch and this allows you really relax your hand and makes the strings much more accessible. I can even use my thumb with increased speed. The really cool thing is at the hip, where the body and the neck meet. If you like to play high up on the kneck, the DC combined with the contour of the kneck makes this a uniquely pleasurable experience. The finish is great, looks like the guitar is under glass.

This guitar has no problem with live play time, the hardware has lasted for 20 years and still works great. Although the speed dial rings are a bit lose. Otherwise very dependable. The guitar was designed to compete with the gibson LP and made in the golden age of Ibanez...even at it's age it was made to be played. One thing worth mentioning is the frets wires seem to be very high quality...I am pretty harsh on my frets but so far they've stood up to a great deal of punishment with barely a scratch. Stays in tuen really well even with the standard tuners after continuously abusive bends.

Never tried, can't say really. I hear it's decent though.

Been playing for quite a while now, lots of gear. If it were stolen I would track the person down and pull their lungs out through their nose. I would replace it in a second...hey I'm in love with it is it really replaceable? The thing I love most about it is the action...I love the way it sounds but I'm a speed freak on the frets. I compared it to a vintage Gibson LP Standard because in my general opinion these are some of the best guitars...it stood up well to the comparison. I'm impressed and surprised. Normally I would not bother with an Ibanez, they're recent guitar line is pretty fricken bad to be nice, especially compared to what they must have been when they made this beauty. I've also considered that maybe I just lucked out and got a really good one out of the batch, but from what I see in the other reviews these guitars seem of a fairly consistent quality.

1978 artist made in japan. LEFT HANDED. 22 jumbo frets,super 80 `flying hand' pick-ups, 3 way toggle switch with coil tap and series-parallel option. Double cutaway mahogany neck thru body construction with gorgeous orange burst maple top-mellowing with age. I replaced original tuners with gotoh pearloid/gold plated only because originals looked your mother in law on a bad day. Neck scale is a comfortable 24 3/4". I dont know the name for the bridge style, similar to a tune-a-matic but a lot wider whatever it's called it works fine. Overall good practical no frills features, which suits me fine.

THIS THING ROCKS!!!!. I play 2 nights a week in a covers band doing everything from Chuck to Marilyn. At home I like to play Jazz, Blues and Zeppelin. I use a 70's JMP super lead, a Twin Reverb and for effects TS-9, Chorus, Delay and Wah. I find it can cover everything I play beatifully except for full metal. The neck pick-up is warm and full, perfect for rockin' blues and with the volume rolled back and the tone down cleans up wonderfully for clean chord work. Middle position is great for dirty chord work and again turn the volume down you've got a great sound for arpeggiated rock chords. THE BRIDGE PICK-UP screams rock and roll. I can't believe how hot this pick-up is given it's age. Crank your Marshall flick on the bridge and your straight into Angus Central!!! I own a hotted up tele, 70's strat, and a Les paul standard and this thing destroys all of them in every aspect (except funk-definately a strat only thing). AB'd against my mates '59 re-issue les paul and his PRS single cut(are PRS the most over-rated guitars in history????) it was easily as good if not better, in terms of sound quality and versatility than both of them.

In great condition when bought, needed a major set up but since then action, intonation etc has been good. Not that keen on the bridge set up, fast heavy muting on the low E string can be a bit dicey and changing strings on the fly at gigs is an absolute nightmare. Also has a dead spot paying a B on the A string and another playing a E on the A. Other than that the craftmanship in this guitar is amazing!! The top is out of this world, look I go on and on but if you own one or are looking at one you know what I mean

Rock solid, born to rock, rock steady etc etc. Seriously though, never had even a slight problem after 12 months of use and abuse (except for that string thing).

N/A

A great guitar any price but for the money an absolute legend. These axes would, in my humble opinion be the best value for money buy going around. If you see one (up until the 80's models) buy it. If lost or stolen???? I cant even contemplate it. Yibbidy Yibbida That's all folks

My Artist was made about 1980 and I am the original owner. My wife bought it for me for a birthday present so I am not sure of the price. Mine is a black finish with gold hardware. Looks like Grover Tuners,It has split coil humbucker pickups with a active EQ Boost. (Requires a 9volt battery) It has neck thru one piece body and neck.It came with a factory aluminum flight case. Controls include two volume knobs, two tone knobs, 3 way pickup switch, two switches to controll split phase of pickups, 3 tone knobs for EQ, one switch to activate EQ. I was freinds with George Lynch (Dokken guitarist) and when he saw this guitar he thought that it had way to many switches and knobs for him. I think he felt sorry for me and offered to build me a guitar with just one pickup and a volume knob.(He said my guitar was something a old man would play sitting around the fireplace at nite.) Well he was right, now I am that old man twenty years later and I do sit around the fireplace at nite and play it. It has a two octave neck. The action and playability of this guitar is as good as it gets. To rate the features I would have to give it a 7. If the stock pickups sounded better it would be a 10 but... without the boost on they are a little whimpy sounding.

The sound of this guitar is extremley broad. With no effects You can get Clean as a Stat to overdriven as a fuzz box. The only problem with this is when I play it with my Marshall and have the Marshall crankin and then I hit the boost, it feeds back like crazy. You can only use the boost with 75% volume on the Marshall.

The Action Fit and finish of this guitar is as good as any guitar I have ever seen or played. I have owned probally 15 electric guitars and this is better than any I have owned. The Gold platting on the hardware is pitted from me sweating while playing and being to lazy to clean it.

The guitar has held up well. I played in bands for years with it and have had zero problems. Like I said the finish seems a little cheesy on the hardware and I pulled the strap button out of the top jumping around while I was playing but that was my own fault. I have to give it a ten here cause I've had the damn thing 22 years and it still plays as good as the day I got it.

I have been playing 29 years and I own several other guitars, Gibson, Fender, Schecter, Epiphone, and another Ibanez. I felt compelled to write this review because I didn't see any other "Artists" with active EQ. If anybody else has one send me a e-mail