Ibanez Art 100 Electric Guitar For Sale (2024 Update)

I sat down with the Ibanez AF75 at Guitar Center for over 3hrs. I had traded in a guitar and wanted a jazz/blues machine. I had come in with the Ibanez in mind, but also I had my eye on the Epiphone Wildkat, and the Epiphone Dot. I liked the tone of each, but I kept coming back to the Ibanez. Overall, the build on the Wildkat was poor; it couldn't stay in tune even without using the tremolo. I have owned several Dots over the years and had the same problem with each, the necks broke when adjusted, not by myself, but by 3 different luthiers. The Ibanez just has this warmth to it. Unplugged it sounds like every other semi hollow, maybe a bit tinnier, but plugged in, it just sings. This is perfect for blues/jazz/rock/ or in my case, being in the worship band at church. Do yourself a favor, go to Guitar Center, tune one up, and sit with it for 15min on your favorite amp, just a little overdrive and some reverb, and you will see exactly what I mean. Fantastic instrument. Unbelievable price for this quality. Mine stays in tune like a champ. Minor adjustments every few days. Can't believe it.Davetheworshipguy

Overall: I just got this 3/27/2018, after my Gretsch Streamliner was stolen by a FedEx driver a week earlier and marked it as it was delivered and it was not. but when I followed up a couple days later. I was told by a zZounds customer service rep, that the driver told them he had lost it? So I bought this Ibanez and it is indeed blemished at the neck pocket, just a hair line crack in the finish not the support foundation. the guitar has a very nice acoustic tone and the pickups sound good as well. I recommend prepping the neck nut and the intonation bridge or your strings will not slide smoothly and will hang up and you will be out of tune. the electronics meaning the volume/tone, Input jack and 3way toggle are very cheap but work with a little noise when turning the controls. being in the wholesale / retail business zZounds is paying less than half what it is being sold for in most cases. buy it blemished and save a few dollars…it is a good instrument, plays well and sounds good and I will take it to my next Jazz gig.Chuck

I bought a used (maybe five years old) model of this guitar. Changed the strings and that was that. Can a used Chinese made guitar become a favorite? Yes it can. Yes it has. The construction and finish details on this guitar are at a level of the best American Fenders I have played. Vastly superior to the recent Gibson's, which are, in my view, a disgrace. Set up properly this guitar is very comfortable with no issues such as bridge, nut or tailpiece problems. I am truly amazed. The pickups are not great but with proper amp EQ it will make some very warm music for you.jazznotes

I played this at NAMM this year. Beautiful baked maple full neck. Outstanding fret work. I dig Ibanez Timmons models and this is no exception. Not a huge Floyd bridge fan. The Wilkinson bridge is the same one on all his models. Bright and full of sustain. Glad that AMS is carrying this which means I'm getting mine here.B Double

This guitar is beautiful sound is fantastic plays great the payment plan is great the neck is really smooth to play stainless steel frets are great the roasted maple neck is phenomenal bone nut this the guitar I love to play the mostJohnc

Sound: The stock pickups sound great especially with high gain. Nice crunch and break up. Features: For me the reason that I bought this model is that it is the least expensive way to get a real Edge tremolo. I can do subtle things with the Edge that I can’t do on an Original Floyd Rose. The bar is easier to position and it stays where ever you put it. As long as the torsion bushings on the bar aren’t worn out, the pop in bar is neither too tight or too sloppy. Value: This guitar is worth every penny. Manufacturer Support: I did not use Ibanez customer service and I did order half a dozen sets of torsion bushings, but had to order them from different places. The Wow Factor: I love the color of this one, Desert Sun Yellow. Overall: In the last 2 months I’ve bought 5 different Ibanez guitars, both lower and higher price. I must say that this guitar is the most bang for the buck out of any of my 21 guitars that I own.Got more than 200 bucks off on mine as it was sold as a slight blemish. When the guitar arrived, I noticed it did have a hairline crack in the paint on the bass side at the neck pocket. That was the only flaw I could find and it probably would have happened anyway if I would have got a “new” one.This is the shreddiest guitar that I have. The only thing that I had to address is that the 6th fret was a little proud. Other than that the fret job was good. All the frets were shiny and smooth and no fret sprout.This is the guitar that is at the price point where if you spend more money, you aren’t going to get much better. And the fit and finish were top notch.Scott

Overall: This guitar was a total impulse buy and I’m so glad I bought it! It’s easily worth twice the price of it. Can’t get too many mid tier guitars that are neck thru with decent pickups and a 5-way switch that has a fast and slim neck at this price. I mostly play baritone 6 strings and 7 strings but I needed a 25.5” scale for drop C and this is perfect for it with 10-54 strings. I did upgrade the nut with a Graphtech tusq nut and Hipshot locking tuners with knurled tuner buttons and looks even more badass while staying in perfect tune! I have an Ibanez rgib6 Iron Label 28” baritone and this is up there with that as far as quality and playability. The stock pickups aren’t bad at all and definitely surprised me cuz that’s usually the first thing I’ll change in an inexpensive guitar. As you can see by the other reviews people say it’s a great guitar and they’re not lying so if you’re on the fence about getting it then go for it! You won’t be disappointed at all and if for some reason you are then zZounds has a return policy within like 30-45 days so you won’t be stuck with a guitar you don’t love.Josh

There is plenty to like about this guitar, and I got it for the features I was looking for: locking tremelo, 24 frets, fast neck, 5 way pickup selector, and nice looks. My first impressions of the guitar was slight disappointment with how sloppy Ibanez was. The tops and bottoms of the frets needed to be beveled as they were pretty sharp, there was a noticeable nick on the fretboard, and there was a black smudge on the back of the neck. None of those was a huge deal. The main two issues I have with the guitar are that the middle pickup, the single coil, has such low output that the middle three positions are much quieter than the neck or bridge pickups alone. I do like the tone of the single coil in conjunction with the humbuckers, but those positions are somewhat useless considering how quiet they are, and I have ordered a humbucker to replace it. The single coil alone (middle position) has too much noise AND is too quiet. Not a big deal to replace a pickup, but why they are selling it this way, I'm not sure. The second issue is the volume control. Instead of a gradual swell, there is a sharp dropoff in volume at one point in the rotation of the dial, making it pretty much useless other than having it full on or all the way off. I am not sure if that is fixable, but if it is, I'll need to have that done as well. All that said, if the guitar had not arrived in such sloppy condition and the two problems were resolved, I'd give this guitar 5 stars.hickory spork

The Ibanez RG 450 or any of the RG's are with the exception of the factory p/u and electronic. capable of becoming one of the best performance guitars to own. The base Ibanez Floyd Rose system is fiddley but, after learning how to adjust/tune quickly becomes appreciated for holding tune no matter the severity of attacks you use with the tremolo. The Wizard(ll or lll ?) You would need to go to custom built to exceed the easy play and comfortable frets you will find on and RG. This recent RG450 I upgraded to equal the higher priced models by adding the De Marzio Tone Zone (B), Air Norton (N). And instead of going with the True Velvet. Added the Seymour Duncan Vintage Hot Stack for the middle position and added better electrics to even out the upgrades.. End result; This guitar plays and sound equal to guitars costing over $1,000.00!! Good bones! Yes this can be played well and many will find happiness with this as stock., and, will perform well against the competition dollar for dollar!ikeus

I used to own an '89 Ibanez VBK JEM that I regrettably sold to buy a gaming pc. I wanted to get a newer entry level RG so I could have a floyd,HSH superstrat in E standard. I've had this RG for long enough to know it's a keeper. This thing has the same feel and vibe of my old JEM! Minus the monkey grip and other features obviously. The neck feels fantastic and I only had to do very minor setup adjustments to my liking. I would have liked a rosewood or ebony fingerboard but of course this is the lower end model. The Jatoba feels good under the fingers, similar to rosewood but with a slightly lighter shade to it. Like most guitars you buy online mine came desperately needing some good oil and cleaning. The Jatoba fingerboard seems to require a bit more lubrication than rosewood. The neck binding is done well, not perfect but to a good standard. I do wish the trem was an Edge lo-pro… But again, this is the lower priced model. There is nothing wrong with the Edge tremolo, it stays in tune well with whammy bar abuse but it is one of the bulkier Original Floyd Rose style bridges. The stock Quantum pickups are among the best stock Ibanez pickups I've tried. They are hot but versatile. However I did swap them out with the classic Dimarzio Air Norton/Steves Special combo and a True Velvet middle. I do believe a higher end Ibanez will obviously sound better than this but for the price it really is hard to beat! Well done Ibanez and AMS!Nevin

I bought the AG95 from MF about two months ago and like it a lot. I have over a dozen guitars but this is my first hollow body. My cousin (who doesn't play) remarked how classy it looks (next to a GLP Studio and Martin acoustic). I closely inspected it for manufacturing/production flaws, but found none. The binding and finish are clean, even, and neat. The neck seems to be straight and the frets (and ends) are smooth. The neck feels like it is between a (2014) Gibson LP Studio and Traditional with very low action. It also stays in tune well. I did make some adjustments to my taste. I lowered both pickups as they seemed nearer the strings than I would like and raised the bridge height a little. This had no apparent affect on its easy playability, but did seem to lessen the output. It now produces very nice clean tones through a small Marshall amp with a little bit of "quack" with the volume knobs at 9/10. The tone can also be easily altered via the pick up selector and tone knobs. This is a very beautiful guitar with the gold hardware against the dark bubinga. I was torn between this and the FM and QM versions. All my research indicated Super 58 pick ups on this one and Super 58 Customs on the FM and QM versions. I can't verify if this is so, but whichever it is – they sound very nice. A word of caution – there is packing foam under the floating bridge. I loosened the strings a little until I could remove the foam without moving the bridge.C-Ville Brent

The AG95 is a smaller bodied / hollow body guitar. And, as such, is a featherweight compared to some more well-known solid body or semi-hollow body guitars. However, the pickups pull that mid-range out so distinctly and smoothly which allows you to add as much treble to the top, or bass at the bottom that you want to hear. It's a very comfortable to play guitar, and the coloring deserves a big round of applause for Ibanez. The downside (if this is a downside – nah) is that, as a true hollow body, it will cause some humming in a small setting. However, nothing a few dishtowels or rags stuffed in the f-holes won't fix! So, that's not really a negative factor, as most hollow bodies do the same, no matter how much you spend. All-in-all, this is a classy, comfortable, and beautiful guitar to play. And you can dress the tone up or down easily to your liking.jimbo210492

I really like everything about this AG75. I was pleasantly surprised. The pickups are very sensitive and responsive, over the full aural range, and with utmost clarity. The slim D neck and finely finished fretboard affords comfort with low and fast action! The overall body integrity is impressive with attention to detail. I have been playing it exclusively for three weeks, and like a good book, it's hard to put down! Makes hours of otherwise monotonous practice FUN and enjoyable again! Just a slight problem with "honking," but it was very easy to adjust it away with the pickup height adjusters. I prefer this over my other two Ibanez Artcore AF types, and they are fine as well. My highest recommendation, especially if you can buy it for under $500.00, total! Sounds and plays like a $2-Grand Gibson when set up and intonated properly.rgwhitlock

Great guitar for beginners. Looks better in your hand than in the photo. Quite loud acoustically (without amp). Came tuned with strings provided no extra fee. Delivery as stated next working day. Very satisfied overall.Dean

Received new guitar – fret buzz all over, bridge saddles were touching each other and causing vibration buzz. Originally, I raised action (still buzz) and then adjusted truss rod – still buzzing. Almost returned guitar due to bad buzz. (Utter frustration at this point) Tried one last thing: Loosened strings and started on low E string string (thickest string) – moved bridge saddles so not touching for all strings one by one ( string order E, A, D, G, B, E). Fret buzz or general buzz gone. Lowered string height first — still no buzz and then adjusted truss rod back to original position ( I added more relief originally but not necessary since neck bow was not problem) . Fret buzz still gone and now action is much lower and fast. Great guitar super light in weight – Have Vintage natural finish, finish has no gloss or very low gloss but looks great. Watch bridge saddles that our touching too much, mine had almost no space and jammed next to each other causing buzz or vibration. Watch for this problem on string changes, only need a tiny space.SolarEclipse

I really like everything about this AG75. I was pleasantly surprised. The pickups are very sensitive and responsive, over the full aural range, and with utmost clarity. The slim D neck and finely finished fretboard affords comfort with low and fast action! The overall body integrity is impressive with attention to detail. I have been playing it exclusively for three weeks, and like a good book, it's hard to put down! Makes hours of otherwise monotonous practice FUN and enjoyable again! Just a slight problem with "honking," but it was very easy to adjust it away with the pickup height adjusters. I prefer this over my other two Ibanez Artcore AF types, and they are fine as well. My highest recommendation, especially if you can buy it for under $500.00, total! Sounds and plays like a $2-Grand Gibson when set up and intonated properly.rgwhitlock

I always liked the Ibanez instruments and products. This guitar for the money has a great sound, is light and small, very practical for people with small hands, or for children. Playability is nice, the pickups are good, hardware is good. It's versatile also for all types of genre's. Ideal for rock and metal, shreds real nice. If you're looking for a good but inexpensive guitar, this one is a good purchase. It's not only for beginners, it's for all level players.John

Classic Ibanez body shape, neck, tuners and lightweight, like a scaled down Soundgear (SGR) series only sans the unnecessary active bass junk. Knobs are solid metal, not cheap plastic ones found on other low end Ibanez basses. Only thing bass needed out of box was intonation set. No neck adjustments needed and no significant buzz. Strings are round wound (my pref). Would not recommend this bass if you think you need (tone killing) flat wound. I'm not aware of anyone making flatwound strings for a 28.6" scale bass. Note: scale length of this bass (28.6") is shorter than typical short scale (30"). The strings on it are proprietary (Ibanez). You might be able to make some cut down long scale strings work (pain, wouldn't recommend) but the proprietary Ibanez strings are the way to go. MF doesn't sell them for some reason. You can find them online for a very reasonable price online. Buy a couple of extra sets. Pickups are jazz bass style and config (two volumes + one tone) which is my pref. I had zero issues with tone or volume controls. Pickups are all passive. Yah! And tone sounds great, classic jazz bass tones available including a nice Jaco-ish tone with 100% bridge pickup and tone rolled way down. Be wary of review comments from guitar players that don't play bass and buy this bass and suddenly have a lot of opinions about what this bass should and shouldn't be. This bass does not need the bridge, pickups, tuners or electronics replaced to make it a "pro" instrument. All this bass needs to be a "pro" instrument, is a "pro" player playing it. Tone is in your fingers. I highly recommend for beginners and I think experienced players will dig it as well, especially those that appreciate shorter scale instruments.mark5211

AMH90 is a small hollow body electric guitar. It does not have a solid block running through the centre of the body like Gibson ES 335. There is some support at the bridge and both pickups, which can be seen through the F holes. Acoustically it has more natural echo/reverb than a semi hollow body. It has two Super 58 humbuckers and the neck pick up has additional 3 position switch. I mostly play through software simulator and I get a lot of different sounds with different pickup selections, and with playing with a pick or fingers in different positions. The guitar has a good range from nice clean tones to strong distorted sounds. The guitar has a tail piece, but the bridge is fixed on the body. I usually remove pickguards, but I am going to keep it on this guitar. My guitar is in glossy black finish. It has a minimal design with golden hardware, black volume and tone controls, minimal bindings, and dot fret markers. The guitar came with new strings with a decent setup, but without a bag or a case. I am happy with the guitar and also with PMT customer service.Mitja K.

This is my first Ibanez artcore guitar. I'd been looking for a semi-hollow and saw this (I got the red one) and liked the looks, although I'm not a fan of gold hardware. I'd always heard that the Artcore series had thin necks (per Ibanez's shredder pedigree), and that's not really my thing, but I decided to give it a go (didn't buy it from MF). This guitar is a pleasant surprise in many ways. First – the neck is fantastic – I would call it a fairly deep C, not skinny at all, and it's a blast to play – a nice, chunky profile that is super comfortable (YMMV). I'm normally a single coil guy (my favorite guitar is a USA G&L Legacy; teles, Jazzmasters, P90s, etc) but I really like the sound of these humbuckers. They're more mid-rangey than dark, and have plenty of presence to them. The tri-tone switch is interesting – you can coil split or run the neck pup in series or parallel – all of the tones are useful, but I like full humbucker mode the best (I play clean to semi-dirty, mostly). Fit & finish is very good. Neck & body binding and overall cosmetics are excellent. The fret work is very good, but the fret ends are a little rough. Not awful, just a little rough. Just on that detail alone you won't mistake this for a more expensive guitar. However, having said that, the frets themselves are fine – no high or low frets, no buzzes – it plays great all the way up the neck. The satin finish looks great and it makes the back of the neck nice and smooth. I love it. Overall this is a fun guitar to play that sounds really great, and I absolutely love the neck.AF of the North

If youre wanting the heavy les Paul sound this doesnt have it. It is for sure an entry level quality. Poplar body maple neck so basically the same woods you find in a squire strat. It is comfortable to play. Lightweight and thinner than a les Paul or PRS. Good for someone just getting into playing but not a stage worthy sound. Ill most likely sell this within a few months of playing with it.chaowe4

I bought this guitar from the Manchester store a few months ago (thank you Steve, your advice and knowledge is excellent as always!). The quality and setup were excellent straight from the manufacturer! And it looks fantastic! I really didn't know what I wanted because I had only been playing guitar for a few weeks. My main requirement was a guitar that would make my life easier as a beginner ( I am sure you remember those days when every note and chord is a fight with the instrument 😀 ) This is a great guitar. The flat and thin neck helps a lot, specially with small hands. It is very comfortable, the light weight makes playing standing up quite easy without getting a backache. Five positions for the switch makes it very versatile. I would say it has a lot of low frequencies to it so rock or metal sound incredible! It is good for rhythm as well on the bridge humbucker. It has a very sweet clean sound but growls with the two humbuckers on and a bit of distortion! One thing I would say though, if you like blues, it is not a sound I find natural to this guitar compared to other Ibanez or a Strat but you can always program your amp to help you with that! It also stays in tune pretty well despite my heavy handed rhythms. It is a great guitar not just for beginners, always a joy to play. The better I get, the more I appreciate how lovely it is. Excellent value for money.MJL

Beautiful Ibanez model. Light and comfortable to play all day. Just feels like quality throughout. Blackberry colour is to die for. I've owned a swamp ash RG from Ibanez which was a back breaker. This guitar is light, ergonomic, thin outer edges thickening up in the centre of body, so sustain is spot on. This S521 is perfect and a joy to play. Perfect fret work, no fret buzz anywhere, fret edges perfectly smooth. My last Ibanez RG 421 felt like it had an allergic reaction to quality control. This S521 came perfect right out of the box. Truss did not even require adjustment (which was handy because no Alan keys with this guitar) a real finger print magnet. Can't think of a negative at all. I own a Les Paul, a thinline Tele, and a mex strat all of which are great guitars and this Ibanez is as good if not better than most.Mr P.

I don't know how other people got some rough versions of this guitar but (i got mine in ocean fade blue) my s521 came out of the box perfect. I havent had to set it up at all yet 6 months in. Frets are butter and overall is probably the most comfy guitar i own and have played. The wizard 3 neck really is some magic. Its a 24 fret neck that dosent feel like one length wise but it not downscaled like an esp because theres still plenty of room for you fingers up the neck even while having jumbo frets. Its simply perfect. I'll sit this guitar in my lap and play all day sometimes not even taking it off to play video games at my computer. Its that slim. But the tone is still there expecially in the neck pickup. Quite good on high gain as well (yes it djents) and the options for tone is crazy for a five way switch. Electronics click and twist with no fight or noise in the signal. It just changes. For preface i didn't buy this from guitar center i got it from american musical supply so that may have something it do with it. Theres is some crusted white stuff around the jack if you look hard enough. But this is thing is my baby.Yoshi

I wanted to add a 335 style guitar to my arsenal, and finally settled on is one. A pleasant surprise to me was when I received the guitar and first picked it up. The neck felt almost exactly like my Gibson L-5: the thickness of the neck, the width of the frets and the remarkable build quality. I'm very happy with the purchase. The only thing I might change is the toggle switch to a Switchcraft. This one is fine but is a little noisy (mechanical not electro) for my taste. 😎Mike

My 10 year old daughter has asked to learn guitar so I've started teaching her. In 38 years of playing this is the first time I've taught anyone and I've always been against the idea of short length guitars. I started with a couple of my electrics and they were all too heavy and she couldn't comfortably stretch down to the end of the neck to fret notes. I reneged and bought her the 3/4 length Ibanez GRGM21M and I'm amazed. As a below £200 guitar I'm astonished at the quality. Its exactly what I'd expect from Ibanez. Not 100% perfect set up straight out of the box but way more than enough for a beginner. She loves it. I think back to my first guitar and this is light years away from that. Superb beginners guitar, she's already really coming on after changing to something more comfortable, well worth it.Graham M.

I always liked the Ibanez instruments and products. This guitar for the money has a great sound, is light and small, very practical for people with small hands, or for children. Playability is nice, the pickups are good, hardware is good. It's versatile also for all types of genre's. Ideal for rock and metal, shreds real nice. If you're looking for a good but inexpensive guitar, this one is a good purchase. It's not only for beginners, it's for all level players.John

Love the guitar. Neck is the highlight. However, the pickups are garbage. Bridge pickup is good but the neck pickup is unusable….muddy. Any combo of split coils is very noisy as well. Not a deal killer on the guitar but for a grand I'd expect pickups that were not as bad as they are.Rhode Island Firearms Owners' Le

When I got the guitar the first thing I needed to do was change the strings,the strings where old and and the B and E string where really bad, and I had to adjust the height of the strings,but that is something you need to do with most guitars.Steve

Je suis très content de la guitare. Elle est très confortable, la qualité des micros et les possibilités de réglages sont incroyables. Avantage du headless sans tremolo, la tenue de l'accordage est incroyable. Même en C Standard toutes les notes sont justes à chaque case et l'accordage ne bouge pas de toute la session Les cordes frisent beaucoup mais je vais l'emmener chez un luthier pour la régler. J'ai été déçu par certaines finitions de la guitare. Elle est arrivé avec une griffures et des pocs sur le manche. Les vides au bord des frettes n'ont pas été comblés. le système de blocage des cordes et le potard de tonalité étaient complètement desserré Ma squier standard était fini avec plus de soin. J'en aurai souhaité autant de la part de Ibanez et même plus au vu du prix. Pour autant je suis satisfait car cela fait 1 ans que j'attendais cette guitareDylan

This guitar rises above the 'super Strat' identifier. The playability of this instrument is incredible, especially if you are used to the neck profile of these guitars. All the standard pre-requesite Strat tones are here, instantly available for you via the 5 way switch. However, flip the dyna-MIX9 switch, and you have Tele style neck/bridge combo, the option of a neck humbucker (neck & middle PUs in series), 2 humbuckers, and bridge single coil (which I have used more than any guitar I have owned other than a Tele). The playability of this guitar is off the charts! Roasted maple neck & locking tuners keep it in tune for gigs beyond what I have seen in guitars before. This is a 'Swiss Army knife' guitar for all seeking Strat tones with harder rock edge or country flavors.Jeff

I had one of the first series AZ back in 2019, a Premium model, which was very good although there were some things I didn't like that much or were not my cup of tea. The veneer was not to my liking, the pickups although good was a bit hot to my taste and liking, and no idea if it's the basswood body or the constructions difference, but when playing unplugged it didn't resonate as much, although plugged in was totally fine (but I tend to play unplugged as well so I look for guitars I enjoy playing unplugged too) Then I decided to go to a traditional strat and later on I went for a Suhr Guitar. Suhr is fantastic in every way. I sold my Suhrs because I was looking for a more vintage style strat but then decided wanted again a kind of superstrat HSS more modern sounding to replace a PRS I'm selling that it's great but a bit too much for me, and want a more player guitar. I was thinking on the Suhr, but then I saw the 2021 Ibanez AZ with rosewood and tortoise pickguard, covered humbucker, and less hotter pickups and wow, this guitar was perfect for what I was looking. Looks very classy, I got the blue one, single-coils sound great, very good clarity (not vintage style like my other strat, but I like that because they complement very well and serve 2 different purposes), the humbucker is great for rock, hard rock and like 80's rock (I'm not into extreme metal so not looking for that sound). And unplugged this Prestige resonates well, different than the premium I had, so unplugged sounds alive, and like these pickups much more than the Hyperion (but that's my personal preference) Neck is a bit thinner than the Suhr I had, but for a more modern approach is very nice and comfortable. I have no issues going from my 50's neck les paul back to the Ibanez AZ. And quality is there. Pros vs the Suhr, is that it has roasted maple that I really like, and the 9 switch sound options, that for me having the neck and middle parallel is like having a neck humbucker which is really awesome, what a versatile guitar. And of course the price! Pros on the Suhr is that those really are on the top of their game in quality and pickups I liked the Suhr ones a bit more. And the neck on the Suhr is fantastic. This doesn't mean the Ibanez is bad, on the contrary, I'm very very pleased and happy with the Ibanez, is more than enough for me, and even though the Suhr is amazing and overall I give them the edge over the Ibanez AZ, the AZ is top quality guitar too as well and I don't have the need to go for a Suhr with this AZ.Nico

This is the third Artcore I've spent time with. Plays and sounds great, but wish there were more color choices! Like the other Artcores I've played, this one needs some playing-in and dialing-in setupwise, but once that is done, these guitars sound and feel like something you'd pay 5x as much for.JW

…what's wrong with people who rate a guitar like this a 1 or 2. I have been playing professionally for almost 30 years and currently play an average 100 jazz and Brazilian gigs a year. I think this is simply a jewel of a guitar. Deep lows, shining highs, wonderful playability. And it's a little thinner that other semi-hollows, making it slightly lighter and more unique. By the way, talking about hearing things which are not there, there are also those who claim they can hear differences between different makes of bulk CDs ("that brand sounds fresher")…. Folks, get real and GIVE US ALL A BREAK! The JSM100 is a marvellous guitar.BluePete

It arrived packed nicely in a hardshell case. The guitar was also wrapped in a soft bag inside the case. The guitar was pre-struing and flawless in apperance. I plugged it into my VOX AC15 amp and started jamming. The tone covers a broad range from heavy/warm to light/crisp. The fretboard is phenomenal. It's a tapered neck which gets thinner as you approach the guitar body. This is my first experience with a neck like this and I love it. It's makes chords easier and leads faster. This is wonderful guitar. I doubt anyone returns this guitar during the 45 day return policy. If your looking for a guitar in this style then you owe it to yourself to at least play one. Good luck on your search.gnulnx

Overall: The guitar feels great! Only issue is that every hole on the guitar has paint issues, neck bolt holes, jack input, the cavity around the bridge etc.. . The bolts holding the neck look like they are starting to corrode as well. And those holes had marker around them? Side dots were sloppy. Very bad quality control. The neck is nice but it’s not worth the money in the condition it is in. I felt as tho it was an open box or blemished item as well. Everything looked tampered with and it was tuned to drop d. So this would be the second time I’m returning an item because it’s quality. I Still love Ibanez I feel zZounds is to blame more so than Ibanez? If I’m spending over 2000 on a guitar I expect it to be perfect.Douglas

This is a top notch quality instrument from Ibanez. I was lucky and got one a few months ago from MF at a 15% off deal. I love, love, love this instrument. It sounds great, plays great, and only needed a quick setup after it came in.Jon from Jax

I've always been a sucker for a good RG and have several that I love. This kept coming back around for consideration. I have had this guitar now for almost a year and it rose to the top. There's just something about it. The neck is not flat, doesn't feel "fast" at first grip, but somehow it's just magical and feels great. There's nothing I can't play on it now that I can play on others. I love the trem / tuning stability without having to deal with the locking nuts, drop D is a breeze in a flash. The trem doesn't have the full range of the Edge trems but still has plenty of give. I came back to review this tonight because I just realized the ultra lite trem UTA20 from the JS models fits it and was kind of excited about it. The Hyperion pickups are something else. Man this thing just sounds SO good. Bright grumbly tubey rock chords, takes gain just fine for harder stuff. Offers 9 different tone positions all of which can't lose. This is the swiss army knife of guitars and does it all. Don't compare this to Fender, it is clearly taking on Suhr and the like. You're not going to find a better guitar at this price point.M. R.

How could it not get 5 stars. A fantastic guitar at a great price. Plays well,easy to mod if you choose too, and a overall quality that ibanez always producesRich

Overall: Mine was almost returned until I took a chance and installed a different bridge pickup. Stock bridge came in outputting super low volumes. This guitar is more or less for metal but offers some versatility than just that. For starters the 5 way selector gives you some single coil options for chimey cleans. The pickups don't need to be changed out unless you got defective one like I did. The neck pickup is very clear and warm which is more than I can say for stock neck pickups on other brands. Those tend to produce an over bassy muddy tone. The neck itself isn't what I would call s fast neck. It is rather thick and felt really dry (unfinished) out of the box. Currently as I am writing this I hit the back of the neck with a few coatings of lemon oil so I hope this remedies that feel. I'm not to keen on how thick the neck feels with me having smaller hands but I haven't got any cramps playing it. Strangely enough, players advertise this on having a slim neck. It's not. The star of this guitar is it's bridge. The fix bridge is heaven to someone who loves to palm mute. No screws indenting in your palm and more sustain with no tremelo system. To me it's the reason I'm keeping it. So many strat styles for something I don't use. Overall it's a good guitar. Set up was decent out of the box. I had some sharp fret edges that I lightly filed down in a matter of minutes. The guitar comes equipped with extra light gauge strings (.09-.42). If you are wanting to put thicker strings on you're looking at a new set up so your guitar can handle the gauge differences.There's better out there for the price. The grg20 is fifty bucks cheaper and it's around the same quality. Squier makes decent starter guitars around the $200 mark and if Silo3 was still in production that would be my top choice.Matt

Overall: If you handed me this guitar before I knew about it I would assume it costs at least double what it actually does. For only 200$ you get a mahogany body with a beautiful finish, solid hardware, an amazing neck with nice inlays, and overall high quality fit and finish. This thing plays great. It's very comfortable and easy to play. I would say with confidence that this is the best guitar in its price range. It even competes with guitars in the 300-400$ range. The only thing I plan to change are the pickups, literally nothing else needs to be done. It even came setup spot on. I also can't get over how good this thing looks. The finish is a very attractive dark red wood grain and is complimented by the black hardware. I play extreme metal (death, black, thrash, doom, etc.) And I mainly use this one for death and thrash because its great for fast accurate playing. Overall, it's a great addition to my small collection and didn't set me back much. If you can only afford a 200$ guitar, please get this one. You will be glad that you did.Raymond