Ibanez Artcore AF75 - Vintage Sunburst Review

Oops has changed his mind!

My first Review was only a 3, but I'm quickly changing my mind. Read on. I keep playing the Ibanez af75fm - transparent blue and the fret buzz seems less and stays in tone better. I think wood etc had to settle, temp, humidity and all. I didn't mean to panic on my first review. To add to my first review at Sweetwater let me say, let everything settle a few days and keep playing,… read more you might be surprised! It's all about having fun with what you love the most! Right? David Mears

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Great Value

I received this as a gift, and love it! It has good acoustic properties unplugged, the pickups are pleasing and responsive, and with the strings that came on it, it has a beautiful neck. It is one of the easiest guitars to play that I've ever had, and I've had and played some really good ones. I wasn't totally pleased with the bridge, and replaced it with a good compensated rosewood… read more bridge that I already had. After doing that, I can't find anything that I would improve on. What a beautiful Christmas present! The AF100C case fits it perfectly, and should protect it from all but the roughest handling.

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Amazing Guitar

As the 5.0 Star states, I am totally blown away. I had been playing a lot of hollow/semi-hollow's for a while and needed some advice. Emailed Ian, my Sales Engineer, and on his recommendation pulled the trigger. I am so glad and thankful I did. I cannot stop playing this guitar! I also cannot say enough about the outstanding customer service, quality and professionalism… read more at Sweetwater. I will most certainly be a repeat customer!

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Great Guitar- Great Price!

I recently purchased this guitar and must say I was extremely surprised at the quality. I got this guitar strictly for jazz and it is perfect for that style.I have been playing for over 50 years and have owned many fine quality US made guitars and in terms of playability this holds it's own with any of them. Cosmetically my example is free from flaws of any kind. The finish was… read more beautifully done, the neck joint is clean and tight, the rosewood fingerboard is flawless as well. The neck is perfectly straight. The frets are dead level, well crowned and polished and with no sharp fret ends. The pickups are well suited to the guitar, and with the volume and tone rolled slightly back in the neck position, it produces those smooth, creamy classic tone jazz players love. I have no idea what the factory set up was like, as Sweetwater sets up their guitars before shipping. The set on my guitar was amazing. Very low action (slightly under 4/64" to 3/64" measured at the 12th fret) with absolutely no buzzing or fretting out anywhere on the neck, and with just a slight bit of neck relief. The intonation was spot on. I originally purchased this guitar with the idea of it being a temporary fix until I could afford something more expensive, but after seeing and playing it I no longer feel the need to get anything else. I'll be playing this guitar for a long time, both at home and on gigs. At this point I'd like to address a few "problems" I've read posted about this guitar (and archtops in general), along with their solutions. 1) Rattling Pickguard- You do NOT need a new pickguard! This happens on $300 guitars, it happens on $6000 guitars. Buy some moleskin (felt with an adhesive backing available at any drug store). Cut out 4 small squares of the material. Remove the pickguard and place the squares on the underside of the guard at either side of the pickup cutouts where the guard touches the pickup housing. Replace the guard. Problem solved. 5 minutes. 2) Guitar has too much bass-You do NOT need new pickups. They are adjustable. Turn the screw to lower the bass side of the pickup to taste. If you want to go a step further, adjust the individual poles to achieve the balance of tone you like. Takes 2 screwdrivers and 10 minutes. 3) Rattling Adjusto matic type bridge- You do NOT need a new bridge! Place a drop of clear fingernail polish or locktite at the point where the metal saddles contact with the screw it's mounted on. Problem solved. About 60 seconds. The only thing I did to my guitar to "make it my own", was to replace the black speed knobs with amber bell top hat knobs, and replace the black toggle switch tip to a white one. It gives the guitar a really classic look- as if it just jumped off the page of an old vintage guitar catalog. A word about Sweetwater. After purchasing a guitar from Sweetwater you will never want to deal with any other online seller. I used to buy guitars from a large online seller that claimed to be my "friend", but it always seemed like I had to send one or two back to get a good one. Sweetwater actually inspects and sets up their guitars before they sell them, and it makes all the difference. Their level of customer service and follow up support is second to none. Thank you Sweetwater!

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Sweet Guitar!

This guitar plays and sounds much better than I had hoped. It is capable of a wide range of tones. Beautiful finish and very comfortable neck. A lot of value here for the price. It arrived in two days and was perfectly set up by Sweetwater. Very happy with this purchase and, as usual, the great customer service.

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