Ibanez ASV93

[tomv713]

Wanted to know if anyone has gotten to play one of these, I’m not a huge fan of the look, but doing some research shows that the finish saves about 8 oz of weight. Is this the same guitar as the AS93FM, just with plain maple and without the poly?

Im a little tempted since you can find these for under $400, and it seems very similar to its $700 counterpart.

[Donnd]

My local boutique guitar shop had one on consignment that I used to audition some of their hand wired tube amps. The guitar played and sounded pretty good. Agree about the looks.

For around 500-600, you may find an older AS103 model that is a much better guitar with superior hardware, fret work, fit/finish and electronics.

Take a look at guitars listed on Sweetwater’s website. The weight of the same guitar model of any brand varies quite a bit so I wonder if you can accurately calculate the contribution of the finish.

[John A.]

Wanted to know if anyone has gotten to play one of these, I’m not a huge fan of the look, but doing some research shows that the finish saves about 8 oz of weight. Is this the same guitar as the AS93FM, just with plain maple and without the poly?

Im a little tempted since you can find these for under $400, and it seems very similar to its $700 counterpart.

I have trouble believing there's that much difference in weight between two guitars solely due to the finish. Just googling "weight of guitar finish", it seems like the total weight of most guitar finishes is on the order of a few ounces, so I don't see how using a satin clear coat instead of a glossy one would account for an 8-oz difference. More likely, some of the wood is different, and/or some of the parts.

[tomv713]

The only difference in the wood I can find is that the 93FM has nyatoh instead of mahogany, but that should make it lighter?

The JSM20 is also pretty much the same as the 93FM but also a different finish and considerably lighter.

Maybe it’s the bridge? Based on the wiki pages most other parts seem the same (same pickups as well)

[John A.]

The only difference in the wood I can find is that the 93FM has nyatoh instead of mahogany, but that should make it lighter?

The JSM20 is also pretty much the same as the 93FM but also a different finish and considerably lighter.

Maybe it’s the bridge? Based on the wiki pages most other parts seem the same (same pickups as well)

Google the densities of both types of wood -- there are big ranges for both, with nyatoh ranging higher. That's a far more likely explanation than the finishes.

[tomv713]

Google the densities of both types of wood -- there are big ranges for both, with nyatoh ranging higher. That's a far more likely explanation than the finishes.

That does make sense, although the AS93FM weights I saw were above 7 lbs 10 oz, where as the exact same guitar with the same neck (JSM20) tended to be 6-8 oz lighter, and those also have that low gloss finish.

I didn’t really look at all the hardware for that one though. A quick google search shows that a heavy poly finish can change the weight 5-7 oz (if you trust AI) but my understanding is that this finish is just a sanded down poly?

Im not sure, but I’d value a half pound of weight relief over that glossy look (which I do think looks better).

My biggest worry is the fret QC, I assume all these are indonesian made

[tomv713]

My local boutique guitar shop had one on consignment that I used to audition some of their hand wired tube amps. The guitar played and sounded pretty good. Agree about the looks.

For around 500-600, you may find an older AS103 model that is a much better guitar with superior hardware, fret work, fit/finish and electronics.

Take a look at guitars listed on Sweetwater’s website. The weight of the same guitar model of any brand varies quite a bit so I wonder if you can accurately calculate the contribution of the finish.

Are all these rosewood boards? I’d prefer ebony but it does seem like the 113 pops up every once in awhile for <$700