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Guitar of the Day GadgetAR305 Artist Electric Guitar
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| Price: $649.99 at Music123 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
User Reviews
Review by David Francavilla
Overall
I have owned vintage Artist series guitars and loved the low action, overall feel and rich, clear tone. The quality and workmanship were always first-class. The AR305 is as much guitar as you will ever see for in this price range. The only thing I could find wrong with it after purchasing left-over but new, was a loose tone pot which I tightened with not problem.
The pickups sound so good, that my guitar tech was reluctant when I asked him to pull them out and replace them with Seymour Duncan Antiquity Humbuckers. Really, you will not believe how good the Super 58's sound. The only reason I replaced them is that Ibanez made them with only two leads, which meant I could not split the coils. So I put the Antiquity's in and WOW! Sounds and plays like a $4,000 guitar. Serious value!
Sound
Absolutely awesome! Go try one through a Fender Blues Junior and you will not want to put it down. Country to Blues to Rock, the sound is clear and soulful. Rich highs and singing harmonics. Very loud and clear. The pickups are great, but have only two leads so you can not install coil splitting. You can still get a rich Fender like tone with the stock arrangement. Great sound.
Look
You will not find a flaw. The looks are super. Great antique violin finish. Gold hardware really sets it off and the block inlays are flawless.
Feel
This guitar plays better than any of my Strats or Les Pauls. It really is effortless, while maintaining the soulfull feeling while playing. You will not want to put it down.
Reliability
Top-Flight construction materials. Should last a lifetime without problems.
Value
Unbelievable. It's a shame that Ibanez has discontiued this in 2009. They now make a similar guitar with a different electronics configuiration and now block inlay on the fretboard. You can still find the AR 305 used on ebay and craigslist for great prices. These truly are the deals of the Century.
Other Comments
In general, it seems like Ibanez is now making only the more expensive instruments in Japan. They are outsourcing manufacturing to Indonesia, Korea and other areas. The quality is not up to the Japan made instruments, and varies greatly depending on the Country of Origin. Do your homework, and write to Ibanez. They were the last manufacturer with stable quality in all price ranges, but that seems to be changing.