Ibanez Artcore Expressionist AG95QA Hollowbody Review

Cant put it down

I own a Gretsch 5420t that I love to play but since this little guy arrived I cannot put it down. The action is great right out of the box, it sounds terrific and the size is so comfortable. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trading my Gretsch any time soon if ever, but this Ibanez is so easy to hold and pick up and play. AND...... it is gorgeous to look at.

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One of my all time favorire all around electrics.

This is an outstanding value and right now my favorite guitar for gigs. I have been playing many years and generally gravitate toward a jazz tone. I have an extensive archtop collection but tend to prefer 335s for playing gigs. This guitar was chosen because I really liked my George Benson GB10 - stolen many years ago. I almost ordered the similar Benson model but realized that… read more I really don't like the tone of mini humbuckers. I was really surprised how good the acoustic unplugged sound is. It does have a small block of wood around the pickups but his doesn't seem to affect projection. The acoustic vibe seems to come through when plugged in with a nice chunky rhythm sound. Fit and finish is superb. The wood is not like anything I own but gets rave reviews for good looks. Setup and action were near perfect by the Sweetwater team. The only minor negative is that tuneamatic metal bridges can effect tone. I noticed that the string spacers are all molded for a low E string and I detected some shrill tone on the top two strings (possible rattle). My solution was to make wooden spacers for the E and B string. The saddles on the low wound strings did not create a problem. A wound G string seemed to also help. So other than the string spacers this an excellent all around guitar that is comfortable to play with a huge range of tones produced by some excellent pickups. This is an excellent value.

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Insanely Great Jazz guitar

OK .. I got one of these last year and I am thrilled.The only small improvement was to put non a solid ebony bridge. This comes with a metal bridge that liked to break E and B strings, no more. With that it is the best archtop I have ever handled.. And I'm 70..handeled hundreds of different guitars.Pickups are superb. For $... it's an insane value.

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Specs are wong on this page

I have one and it's unreal. But the listed specs are wrong. The headline at the top is correct. This has an ash top, back and sides....not laminate maple. But it's a fantastic sound.....but only after I had my luthier upgrade some bridge hardware. Unfortunately, Ibanez seems to use very poor quality saddles and thumbwheels.

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Ibanez AG95QA Review

This is a great guitar! And at the price, its even better. I used it as my main guitar even though I have many hollow bodies that I have paid a lot more for. It sounds great with a very well balanced sound. It plays better than any guitar Ive ever had. But don't all Ibanez guitars play crazy good!! The thing that surprised me is that we play smooth jazz but also fusion, and the… read more lead pickup gives a GREAT sharp, biting, crunch and yet smooth distortion sound. Perfect for a dirty Larry Carlton sound to Frank Gambale sound. Our band I need to play George Benson songs, Pat Metheny songs, Larry Carlton songs and Chick Corea. This is the only guitar I have that can legitimately do all of them.

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