Guy at the Shop called me this morning and said the Ibanez Artcore AFS75 that I've been Eyeballing has just been marked down for clearance @ $249 with a Hardshell case.
I'd be stupid not to grab this unless it's a piece of junk. Anyone have any opinions on this guitar good or bad ? I tried it out in the shop couple times , it played well, but needed to be set up. Just wanted to get a broader opinion on it. Thnx Fellas.
Fender 60th Anniversary Telecaster
Gretsch 5120
Ibanez Artcore AFS75T
Fender P Bass
Squire '51 Vintage Blond
Squire '51 Tangerine Orange, Dover White Pickguard
Squire '51 Sonic Blue, creme Pickguard, Dimarzio DP100 Humbucker
Takamine Acoustic
all of the Artcore's are pretty nice.
I got a similar deal on one for my son last year. Very nice guitar.
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
I own one, my thoughts:
The hardware is a bit cheaper than I'd like. I've had to deal with the jack coming loose on mine more than I would care too.
The are some significant rattles from loose screws and mountings after a year of hard use. It doesn't come across the amp, but it is still annoying.
The neck scale length is a bit too short for serious chord melody jazz stuff that I like.
The neck width is a bit too narrow as well.
The laminate top simply doesn't resonate well enough for it to be played accoustically, but that's no surprise.
It sets up raelly well for a guitar in the price range.
The pickups are surprisingly good and it is possible to get a wide range of really pleasing tones out of this instrument.
The bindings and finish have held up very well.
Overall, there's no surprises here. It's an inexpensive instrument, that does a good job at what it's marketted to do -- be a great entry point into the world of hollow body guitars.
I'm happy with mine and don't consider the money I spent on it wasted. At the same time, it's hardly my #1 playing choice. Rather it's my beater hollow-body. In that role it excels!
"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." -- HST
Man this thing Rocks... Got it home and plugged into my M-Audio Jam-lab using the GT Player express software and man I'm totally impressed. What a steal for $249.
Thanks fellas for all the replies.
Fender 60th Anniversary Telecaster
Gretsch 5120
Ibanez Artcore AFS75T
Fender P Bass
Squire '51 Vintage Blond
Squire '51 Tangerine Orange, Dover White Pickguard
Squire '51 Sonic Blue, creme Pickguard, Dimarzio DP100 Humbucker
Takamine Acoustic
That's a great deal on a nice guitar! Congrats! 8) My son has been wanting one of those, I'll have to run down to our local GC to see if they have any deals. Enjoy!
Dan
"The only way I know that guarantees no mistakes is not to play and that's simply not an option". David Hodge
Yes, you should definitely check Guitar Center... I got mine at my local GC so if this is a Franchise wide blowout, you should be able to get the same deal.
Fender 60th Anniversary Telecaster
Gretsch 5120
Ibanez Artcore AFS75T
Fender P Bass
Squire '51 Vintage Blond
Squire '51 Tangerine Orange, Dover White Pickguard
Squire '51 Sonic Blue, creme Pickguard, Dimarzio DP100 Humbucker
Takamine Acoustic
WOW :shock: :shock:
Oh no...more GAS......this is awful. :(
Bish
"I play live as playing dead is harder than it sounds!"
I've got one of these, too. It's a beautiful looking guitar, eh? It plays really nice, and the action is fast. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who wants a relatively inexpensive hollow-body a step up above some of the more cheaper ones.
The hardware is a bit cheaper than I'd like. I've had to deal with the jack coming loose on mine more than I would care too.
I've had the same jack problem with mine. Before I even noticed it, the jack actually fell into my guitar. Luckily I was able to fish it out and back into place with a pair of chopsticks, but I'm lucky. I keep an eye on it now, though.
The are some significant rattles from loose screws and mountings after a year of hard use. It doesn't come across the amp, but it is still annoying
My guitar has some insane pick-guard rattling. It's weird.. I don't know what the deal is, it almost depends on what angle I play it at. I'll clean it off a little with a rag and pick at it and snap it back into place and the rattling will go away for awhile, but it's back after awhile. It looks like Ibanez did a poor job designing it, there are only four screws holding it in place when I think there should be five.
Also, my trem-arm squeaks really badly.
All that aside though, it's still a very good guitar. It's no Gibson ES-model but it's also not 3,000 dollars, either. Check out some kid on Youtube playing it through one of those Fender Acoustic amps. He plays a pretty good version of Brubeck's Take 5 on there, I dug it.
Used to be, was a part of me felt like hiding.. but now it comes through. Comes through to you.
My guitar tech had to fix a few loose frets when I took mine in for a setup. Might be worth checking out if the source of the buzz/rattle people above mentioned might be the frets.
Congrats on the purchase by the way. It's a great deal. I paid around $350 a few years ago. No case.
oktay
Loosening jacks are a common problem on electric guitars, expensive or cheap. It's an important thing to check for frequently. It's often caused by letting the cable hang loose. It swings around and torques the jack, loosening it. Always run the cable through from behind the guitar, between the guitar body and strap, then turn it around and plug it in. Keeps the jack from loosening and also makes it a lot harder to accidentally unplug yourself. It's also a good idea to unscrew the lockring, apply a bit of blue LocTite, and tighten it back in place.
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
I own one, my thoughts:
The hardware is a bit cheaper than I'd like. I've had to deal with the jack coming loose on mine more than I would care too.
The are some significant rattles from loose screws and mountings after a year of hard use. It doesn't come across the amp, but it is still annoying.
The neck scale length is a bit too short for serious chord melody jazz stuff that I like.
The neck width is a bit too narrow as well.
The laminate top simply doesn't resonate well enough for it to be played accoustically, but that's no surprise.
It sets up raelly well for a guitar in the price range.
The pickups are surprisingly good and it is possible to get a wide range of really pleasing tones out of this instrument.
The bindings and finish have held up very well.
Overall, there's no surprises here. It's an inexpensive instrument, that does a good job at what it's marketted to do -- be a great entry point into the world of hollow body guitars.
I'm happy with mine and don't consider the money I spent on it wasted. At the same time, it's hardly my #1 playing choice. Rather it's my beater hollow-body. In that role it excels!
Sheeshe King! Your a regular wet blanket aren't you. :lol: Looks nice to me. I do know one thing for sure. If kingpatzer likes something it's gonna be the real deal. Man, your a tough critic. :P
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --
Sheeshe King! Your a regular wet blanket aren't you. :lol: Looks nice to me. I do know one thing for sure. If kingpatzer likes something it's gonna be the real deal. Man, your a tough critic. :P
Nah, just honest, that's all.
Wouldn't want someone to buy something without having all the facts.
I can do the same kind of write up on everything I own.
Everything has it's pluses and minuses. So when I can speak from experience I like to lay it out there so other people can make up their mind.
"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." -- HST
And I respect that. I'm a glass half full guy. If it is playable I tend to love it. :lol: I have to admit, my son's old high school music teacher ordered one one for the school and was gonna keep it himself if it was good enough, but the school got it. It wasn't half bad, it was in fact nice. It just wasn't nice enough for Don. I think I would be happy with one though.
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --
