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

This guitar was made in december 1981 in japan. I read in an article that they were made to compete with the les paul in the late 70's and early 80's. The ingredients are the same, mahogany body, maple top, rosewood fretboard, 2 hb's (not sure which models),standard tuners (changed to grovers), 2 volumes, 2 tones, wine red with gold hardware, very classy looking. As i said earlier, i read about these guitars in guitar shop magazine in an article called recent relics and it sounded like a good buy so i set out to find one. A couple of years went by checking local pawn shops, ads in the newspaper, just casually looking when i thought about it and had no luck. One day while at work i was talking to a coworker about guitars, i had known for years he had an old electric sitting in its case in the closet at home and didn't play it anymore, and asked what he had. When he said "i think it's an IBANEZ ARTIST" i had trouble keeping my cool about it, so i said "hmm" mind if i come over and have a look. Brought it home and completely tore it apart. I polished and waxed everything, put new strings on it and played the hell out of it over the weekend. To cut it short, i paid $150.00 for the guitar. As far as features go it's got everything i need. I know some models had push-pull pots for series/parallel but i think this one is great cause it's simple and effective like a les paul standard.

As far as my musical style, i grew up on 70's and 80's rock and metal. This guitar suits me perfectly. I was blown away the first time i plugged it in, fat is the word and great sustain. I compaired it to a friend of mines les paul standard and the main diference i heard was the gibson pups were a tad hotter though i am not complaining. My buddy was sick, $1700.00 vs. $150.00 though that really isn't the issue here. This guitar sounds great and i love it. I run it through an MXR dynocomp-TS9-BOSS DS1-CRYBABY-MXR PHASE 90-ELECTRO HARMONIX MEMORY MAN-MXR MICRO AMP into a FENDER HOT ROD DEVILLE, although i'm looking for another amp for distortion. There is nothing about this guitar soundwise i don't like.

As i said, this guitar was in a closet collecting dust and has a few minor dings on the finish (i think the kids may have gotten a hold of it a few times, hopefully an ass whipping was in order) but once i cleaned it up that kinda added to vintage appeal. I like fairly low action which was not a problem and adjusted the pups to my liking. Other than the cosmetics the guitar worked like brand new.

As far as durability goes i believe you could lay waste to a few local high spirited "red necks" in a bar and still get up and jam on a little THIN LIZZY "YOU GOT A BAD REPUTATION", this is one solid chunk of wood. Besides it servived 3 kids dragging it around on the floor and years of neglect so i'm sure it can take any punishment i may give it.

Never dealt with them. I do my own work anyway.

I have been playing for about 18 years and have owned quite a few (wish i had them all back) guitars. I currently have a FENDER DELUXE STRAT PLUS, GIBSON EXPLORER and a YAMAHAH acoustic. If this guitar was stolen i would probably cry outloud. When i think of all those years this guitar spent being neglected and abused in the worst way i think you know all it neede was someone to love it and take care of it.Seriously if you ever run across one of these by all means check it out, i wasn't dissapointed and i don't think you will be ether.

My Ibanez Artist was purchase by me new at a music store in Dekalb Illinois and is an Orange sunburst model. It had the locking tuning heads which I replaced with the gold and pearl Grover tuning heads. The pickups are gold tone with pixies on them, they work great like the old 58 gibson humbuckers. I have played a number of different guitars over the years, I am not a professional musician, however after owning Strats, SG's, and a Gretch Tennessean, I love this guitar the most of all. I prefer it to the old workhorse of rock and roll the Gibson Les Paul. It is beautifully balanced, heavy a bit but that gives it a great sustain. I play thru an old Fender tweed Champ and have played this same guitar thru my old Marshall 100watt and a Traynor 100 watt amp. Simply said, no better electric guitar has ever been made.

The Sound is incredible, it has a rich full sound and even thru wah-wah pedals and a flanger it is excellent. I have played it thru Marshall 100 watt amps, traynor 100 watt amps and my old trusty Fender Champ (tweed).....nuff said this is a great sounding guitar with a great neck, great sustain, and for one who could and can play better than me, it would kick the butt of any Fender off the block, not only that, Gibsons too.

I am fortunate to say that after owning this since purchase in 1977 that it has aged wonderfully. I have owned it since it was sold to me at the music store. The finish has aged beautifully and I have not had to have any adjustments done to it whatsoever. I believe the workmanship to be far above the Gibson Les Pauls that were made at the time.

If I were a professional I would think that this would be the only guitar that a fellow or gal would need. Period. This is a great guitar model, the finish has aged wonderfully, just think, after a solid 24 yrs, it looks as good as when I bought it, yes I have a nick on the top of the tuning head, but that was my doing and it does not reflect on the manufacturer. I have played it so much that the underlying orange on the neck is showing thru, still shiny and lots and lots of finish left. Beautiful.

I cannot say that I ever had any dealings with the company, other than to purchase a guitar they made. But after all, isn't that why we buy them, to play and forget about further need for company support?

My other electric guitar is an Ibanez as well, one of the explorer copies that Ibanez got into a heated lawsuit over with Gibson. A copy infringement. Made of Korina wood, I bought it used from a buddy who played in a band and he sold it to me for $200 back in 1978. It had a Diarmond pu in the treble position and I installed a Patent applied for pu from an old SG in the position by the neck. This guitar I had set up by a guitar manufacturer friend of mine back in Dekalb Illinois who, by the way made guitars, if you see one BUY IT, DO NOT WASTE TIME...BUY ONE. His name is Larry Lothson, he made the two guitars for ZZ top for the video, give me all your loving, the fur covered ones that spin around, a waste of fine playing guitars. He made some excellent Flying V's, and several of his own design. Larry Lothson set my Explorer (Destroyer) with a brass nut at the top of the neck for the strings to lay across for slide.....oooooh does it sound fine! I wish I had a solid Aluminum case for this guitar, I had a buddy want to trade me outta this one for a Gibson Explorer, no thanks I told him, I will keep my IBANEZ GUITAR!

Pretty thoroughly described by everyone else.
This is a very, very beautiful, classical looking and sounding machine. Looks more beautiful than any Les Paul I have seen. The symmentrical cutaway is quite an elegant distiction.
Don't know what year this particular guitar is but I've had it since 1986 and the orange/bown flamed sunburst is aging very elegantly.
Only modification was to get the frets shaved.
The two humbuckers seem very hot and loud. They sing and they scream.
The 3-way toggle switch for each humbucker (humbucker, single coil & out-of-phase modes) is very useful. I usually play the bridge (treble) pickup in humbucker mode and occasionally switch to both pickups with the neck (bass) pickup set on single coil.

Amazing. Amazing.
I play through a loud, cranked 40W Fender Hotrod Deluxe (1x12" Weber C12B + 2x12" cabinet Weber C12S + C12N). V1&V2 preamps are Mullard M8137/CV4004 (check 'em out), V3/PI is Mullard CV4024, V4&V5 Svetlana 6L6GCs. Heavy, bright 12-56 strings, heavy pick. Ibanez tubescreamer > Dunlop Crybaby > DOD classic fuzz > Marshall tremelo.
I play very hard and loud and this guitar is a VINTAGE ROCK PIG! Amazing sustain, crisp and sharp, full-on tone, immense harmonic complexity. A singer and a screamer.

I'm going to mark it down just a little because it is very heavy, and like someone else mentioned, it seems a bit strangely balanced. Seems to sit very horizontally. So, to keep it comfy for my playing, I wear a wide leather strap and hold it up quite high on my midrift. Quite a "jazz" playing stance, though I know it's cool and trendy to sling your axe around your knees, I just can't play very well like that.

This is a beast.
Like I said, aging very gracefully. Many people remark how beautiful the guitar appears and sounds.
My perdonal fave.

N/A

I love my guitar. In combination with my souped up HotRod Deluxe, I have a unique signature tone. A rock monster.

1981 Made in Japan Solid top Double cut away with stop tail piece
Humbuckers

Blows my Prs Custom 24 and early 70 Ibanez LP out of the water!Can you say SUSTAIN ?????

MY POOR BROTHER IN LAW IS A LEFTY PLAYS AN AMERICAN STRAT THAT SOUNDS LIKE A BANJO NEXT TO THIS HE WANTS ME TO RESTRING IT SO HE CAN PLAY IT NOT A CHANCE !!!

BRICK SHIT HOUSE

DONT KNOW WHY SOMEONE WOULD SPEND 2000 MORE ON A GIBSON I TRADE A LOT OF MY GUITARS NOT THIS ONE ITS A KEEPER AND A PLAYER IF SOMEOME KNOWS IF THERE IS A LEFTY FLOATING AROUND PLS CONTACT ME

This is a 1985 Artist ( not sure of the exact model).Aqua Maple flame top. Two humbuckers, two tone, two volume controls (same as gibson set up). A coil tap for each humbucker, giving the option of humbucker, single coil or out of phase. I pretty sure this is a mahogany body, it has a gibson style bridge, good quality machine heads - what more can you ask for?????

With the coil taps this guitar can produce an exellent range of sounds. In single coil mode I get a beautiful sound through a clean valve amp, and when switched to humbucker, you get a gutsy gibson tone ( not quite as heavy). I own a 93 Gibson les paul standard and this guitar sounds almost as good in humbucker mode when you play them back to back.

I was able to lower the strings so they are almost touching the frets and the guitar still does not buzz. The neck is very 'flat' and is quite wide in the higher frets making solo's easy to play, this neck feels very comfortable. My only complaint is that the guitar seems 'unbalanced', the neck tend to drop and want to be played horizontally, this took a few weeks to get used to. This is a heavy guitar, about a pound heavier than the Les paul, Girls this guitar is not for you - unless your built like K.D.Lang.

This a heavy guitar that could withstand a thrashing, Give it all its worth fella's.

I'm 22, been playing in bands for 7 years, owned alot of 'name' guitars, and this one rates. I've sold my american fenders, kept only one of my gibsons, and use this ibanez 90% of the time.
These guitars are fantastic value for money in australia, I paid the equilivent of about $200US, I've seen dozens of these sell at eBay for 3 times that much. I would never sell this guitar and am constantly on the look out to buy another one - if you've got one SELL IT TO ME!!!!!!!!

This is one of two electric guitars I have, the other is a 1980's Fender strat with a solid Hawaiin koa body. The Artist is a very good guitar, the only possible drawback is the weight. Using the coil taps switches I can get this thing t sound like a number of solid bodied guitars.

It has a neck through body design, the heel of the neck fits very comfortably into the palm of your left hand when you're 'way up the neck. The intonation, once set, stays in place. The metal parts were all gold plated, looked nice new, put it comes off with regular polishing. Still looks cool though.

It has a quilted mahogany top and plain mahogany back, very nice purfling around the body and the inlay work on the necka nd headstock is well-done.

All-in-all, this is a very nice guitar, great to have around, great on gigs if you have a wide strap and good shoulders.

"Mr. Bill"

Japanese-built mahogany double cutaway body with lightly flamed carved maple top. Finished in warm orange-brown sunburst, a.k.a. antique violin. Set in three piece laminated maple neck, flat ebony fingerboard, 22 low fat frets, pearl/abalone block inlays, bone nut, 24.75" scale. The neck is stained to match the dark red/brown of the mahogany back, and the joint has been sanded smooth to aid access to the upper frets. Ibanez Velvetune machine heads, three-a-side on back-angled headstock which gets close to straight string pull. Gibraltar bridge (similar to Gibson's tune-o-matic but a bit wider), and slotted Gibraltar tailpiece for quick string change. The bridge screws into a ?brass insert set in the body. Two Ibanez Super 58 humbuckers and a 3-way toggle switch. Each pickup has individual volume and tone controls, and a tri-sound mini-toggle switch (series/parallel/coil-tap). Hardware all gold plated (originally); maple cap, ebony fretboard and headstock all bound. A pretty luscious looking guitar! This particular instrument was built in 1982, and the features described apparently make it the AR300 model. If you want to find out about vintage Ibanez guitars, as I did, check out the following excellent website for everything you could possibly need to know, and more: http://www.comcat.com/~alnico5/

I've owned both a Les Paul Standard and a 335 in the past, but somehow I was never really satisfied with the sounds they produced, and for years I've been a single coil / Fender fan. Prior to picking up this Artist I was mostly using a 1990 Fender USA Standard Strat; more recent additions are a ?1997 Gibson Les Paul Special DC (twin P-90s), and a 1997 Fender Japan 72 Thinline Telecaster reissue (twin humbuckers). But this Ibanez has changed my opinion of twin humbucker Gibson-esque guitars pretty radically! The phase/tapped sounds are useful, some good funky/scratchy/cutting tones available, and the volume changes when switching from these settings to the much louder/thicker humbuckers are handy or a hassle depending on your viewpoint. No, it doesn't sound like a Strat or a Tele, but I never yet encountered any split humbucker which does. If you want to nail those tones, buy those guitars! A mahogany-bodied fixed bridge guitar is never going to sound like a Strat with an ash or alder body and all those trem springs. And to get the true Tele tone you need a big flat metal plate bridge surrounding your single coil. But I digress..... The single coil sounds add some useful variety, but it's those full on humbucking tones which are just really excellent. All of a sudden I find myself playing (badly) old Gary Moore solos! Ancient Thin Lizzy riffs are dredged from the dusty recesses of my musical memory! AC:DC ? the boogie just keeps coming! Not bad going for a long-time indie fan, but this is definitely a classic rock guitar, it fits right in to all those places where you might use a Les Paul Standard or an SG. On clean settings (I plug straight into a Trace Elliot Speed Twin C30 class A valve combo, very few effects apart from occasionally using a Tech 21 Tri-OD or an ancient MXR Distortion + for some good old analogue distortions) the tones are simultaneously warm, full, clear and bell-like. Some crunchy rock sounds are available when you crank the gain, but it really excels at those thick, juicy, endlessly sustaining lead lines. Definitely Gary Moore meets Carlos Santana, with extra sustaaaaaaaaaaain! Brilliant.

Being 17 years old this guitar isn't in mint condition, it's clearly been well used over the years. There are a few minor dents and scratches, and the binding has discoloured in places. The gold finish is wearing thin on the bridge and tailpiece, and has disappeared altogether round the edges of the pickup covers. The frets are by now very low profile, you couldn't dress them down much further! As a result the neck feels incredibly smooth and easy, really well played in. It's also dead straight and flat, the action very low, the electrics noiseless, and tuning stability is excellent. Actually, the action was a bit too low for me, especially compared to my usual Fender set up. That made it supremely comfortable and easy to play, but there was just a little too much choking and buzzing, so the bridge had to be raised a little and I slackened off the truss rod a quarter turn. Encouraging to see the truss rod adjustment work fine on a guitar this old. Now the action is still comfortable, but with a lot less buzzing. Weight-wise this guitar is pretty heavy, on a par with a Les Paul.

Only had it a few months, but it seems pretty solid to me, and I'd expect it to last another 17 years at least. It's the first Ibanez electric I've owned, but I did have an Ibanez acoustic guitar for many years which was fine, and my digital delay pedal is an Ibanez, and that has been totally reliable for the eight years I've had it.

Never dealt with Ibanez.

I've never bought a second-hand guitar before, and generally I go for plain and functional instruments. But it was definitely a case of love at first sight when I saw this baby! Twenty years ago, when I was a relatively penniless teenager, I used to dream about the guitars I might afford in the future to replace my rather poor Gibson Marauder copy. I collected all the company literature I could find, and Ibanez were always very generous with their brochures. I was never keen on the Iceman type stuff, but the Artists struck me as highly desirable. As I mentioned, in later years I never really got on with traditional Gibsons, and had settled down with a pair of Fenders and an LP Special. Anyway, I was strolling down Denmark Street (focal point for guitarists here in London) and there in a shop window was this gorgeous Ibanez Artist. It was flashback time! With sounds to match the looks, and a great feeling neck, I just had to have it. A tad pricey I thought, even after haggling the price down a bit and getting a reasonable hard case into the deal, but hey, that's what credit cards are for! And in retrospect, it was worth every penny ? I LOVE this guitar! Would I buy one again if stolen? If I could find another, for sure. Alternatively, I could save up for a new PRS McCarty Standard, but then I'd be scared to death of scratching it. This one already has the war wounds, so no worries. The sound and feel of this guitar have opened my eyes to a whole new world of humbucker-equipped second-hand electrics. Damn. There goes my savings plan.....

EARLY 80/S MODEL WITH A FANTASTIC TIGER MAPLE TOP,ONE PIECE MAHOGANY BODY,GIBRALTAR BRIDGE AND SLOT TAILPIECE.COIL TAP & PHASE MINE TOGLE SWITCHES,GOLD HARDWARE AND VERY GOOD GOLD COVER HAMBUCKERS.ONE PIECE MAHOGANY NECK,EBONY FINGERBOARD WITH LARGE BLOCK PEARL INLAYS,MEDIUM JUMBO FRETS,MEDIUM NECK PROFILE BEAUTIFUL BINDING EVERYWHERE! SUNBURST NITRO FINISH,DOUBLE CUTAWAY,IBANEZ WANTED TO COMPETE WITH GIBSON AND IN MY OPINION THIS GUITAR IS MUCH BETTER THAN MOST OF THE EARLY 80/S LES PAUL CUSTOMS.

AMAZING SOUNDING GUITAR,CLASSIC LES PAUL SOUNDS (A BIT BRIGHTER AND POUNCHIER THOUGH),COIL TAP AND OUT OF PHASE SWITCHES GIVE A WIDE RANGE OF SOUNDS ESPECIALLY FOR SCOOPED FUNKY TONES! NO NOISE AT ALL,GREAT PICKUPS (ALTHOUGH I BELIEVE THAT THE PREVIOUS OWNER HAS CHANGED THE STOCK PICKUPS WITH DI MARZIOS.

AMAZING DETAIL AND FINISH,A REAL CLASSY INSTRUMENT,BETTER THAN ANY 80/S GIBSON OR GRETSCH GUITARS,IT IS A SAME THEY DON/T MAKE THEM ANYMORE (RECENTLY IBANEZ REISSUED THEM BUT THEY ARE NOT ACCURATE REPLICAS,THEY ARE MUCH LESS DECORATED AND WITH LESS FEATURES). A SIMILAR GUITAR WITH SUCH FEATURES WOULD SIMPLY COST A FORTUNE TODAY (WE ARE TALKING TERRY MC INTRUFF LEAGUE HERE!)

BUILT LIKE A TANK

NEVER DEALT WITH IBANEZ.

ONE OF THE BEST GUITARS I EVER OWNED.I WAS STUPID ENOUGH TO TRADE IT WITH A GIBSON LES PAUL CUSTOM (BECAUSE OF THE GIBSON NAME) AND SOON I HAVE REALIZED WHAT A BIG MISTAKE I HAVE MADE. IT TOUGHT ME A LESSON THOUGH TO LISTEN WITH MY EARS AND NOT WITH MY EYES.I WISH I COULD GET IT BACK BUT THE GUY WHO BOUGHT IT DOES NOT EVEN CONSIDER IT!!

This particular guitar is an '83 Artist, made in Japan. The features are excellent...lots of versatility. As i understand, these guitars came with a variety of features, depending on the specific model...mine is a dual humbucker guitar with seperate volume controls and a master tone control, a coil-split switch and a series/parallel switch. The controls are well laid out, easily accessible, and simple to make good use of...i can flip from a rich neck humbucker to a very tele-like single coil quack with minimal difficulty. The neck humbucker can be a bit squeely at higher volumes (they're Ibanez stock pickups, don't know the model). It's a 22 fret mahagony neck/body with a carved maple top and a dinked-up gloss finish...looks a bit like a les paul jr. (double cutaway). Tune-o-matic bridge, ibanez tuners (the guitar stays in tune under fairly nasty string bending conditions), 24-3/4 scale neck...after 15 years, it seems as if the frets could stand some work. comfortable gibson-like neck. cheezy chipboard case included.

i play just about any style that occurs to me...i'll scoop the mids and make palm-muted noise, do my best santana, or play some twangy cointry-blues, depending on my mood, and i currently play in a swing band. i can't really think of a sound that this guitar can't do. no, it doesn't sound just like a strat with a split neck humbucker...but it DOES offer a very deep, meaty single coil sound in that position. neither does it completely nail an in-between tele sound or a les paul bridge...but it gets very close to all of them and does it's own thing in the process. not noisy at all. i'm currently using it with a mesa 50 caliber +, and it seems as if the two were made for each other...large variety of very useable tones available, and the combination is often inspiring.

i bought it used, so i can't comment on the factory setup. i play it with d'addario 10's and get great action...not so low as to preclude bending, but still very easy to play. as stated earlier, after 15 years, it seems as if the frets need a bit of work, and the finish has been chipped in places. outside of normal wear and tear, though, the guitar is great, and was clearly well put together.

it's lasted plenty long already with no problems, and i have no reason to believe that this won't continue to be the case. the strap buttons tend to come loose at times...not hard to fix with a screwdriver and a minute of work, but it can be annoying. still wouldn't gig without a backup (strings break, after all) but i have no problem using it as my main guitar.

never dealt with them.

for the price i paid for it, i can't think of a better guitar...outside of better upper fret access, there's nothing i would change about it. i'd definitely pick another one up if anything happened to this one, and may just buy myself a semi-hollow artist...if it's as well put together and toneful as this guitar, i'm sure i'll love it. there are better guitars out there, to be sure, but i can't think of anything under $1000 that does so many things as well as this guitar.

This is a 1977 model (a "vintage" Ibanez, as some of the shops are now calling them) with 24 frets, 2 humbuckers, a brass bridge, gold hardware, and a really nice violin like finish. The neck is sanded down where it meets the body, which really helps (if you have ever owned a Les Paul, I'm sure you would want this).

I play a mixture of styles, and I use this guitar for what is was intended - a thick, juicy distorted tone. I took out the pickups and replaced them with a Duncan '59 in the neck and a JB in the bridge, which made a big difference. I bought this for $350.00 from Nadine's in Hollywood in 1982, sould it to a friend a few years later, and bought it back 3 years ago when he wanted to dump it. I used to play it clean, and I never really liked the tone. But now through my Boogie v-twin into a vintage Marshall 50, it really can sound great. The frets after 12 can get a little crowded, though, and I have small hands. The tone reminds me of what a good Paul would sound like, with less bottom, and less high end sizzle. But it has more beef than a strat with a humbucker in it. I have read that on the first Van Halen album, Eddie used an early Ibanez Destroyer for many of the tunes ("You Really Got Me"). That guitar apparently was made out of african limba wood, rather than mahogony like this one. But that fact should let you know the quality of workmanship. If you want single coil tones, you could always have a system like the Page model Gibson with push-pull pots. Since I don't gig anymore, when I want that I pick up my G&L s-500.

The action and set up are great. Ibanez really put some time into it. Actually, a repairman from Westwood Music asked if I wanted to sell it! He has other early Ibanez models and loves them. The violin finish is really beautiful. The pickup selector has NEVER slipped (wish I could say the same about the Page model Les Paul with the $4,800 price at Westwood Music). The frets are jumbo, and I would want them in another guitar also. No parts have rusted or broken off. The top side has a small ding from the last owner. The top is plain maple; no flames. But the color of the stain is subtle, rich, and very elegant.

I used to play live with it, and it's very solid. I used to stand there like Lord Nelson at Trafalgar Square, and I really didn't throw it around. You definately could use it without back up, but like and two humbucker guitar, you might get a little tired of the sound.

Never had to deal with them. I only had it repaired to change the pickups.

If it was stolen, I would probably get a PRS Mcarty or something made better. I would not get a Les Paul, as there is really not a great amount of difference between alot of them. The Artist models from the early 80's are much cheaper; in every way, and I do not suggest them at all. Finding another one of these would take some looking, so I'd rather just upgrade it. This quality of a guitar for under a grand is really stunning, though. It can sound great on either pickup. My least favorite aspect is the skinniness of the neck up high. My most favorite is the thick, Gary Moore, Van Halen type sound If you find an early one cheap, check it out.