Ibanez AF55

**garybaldy** · 01-23-2021, 06:33 AM

Originally Posted by jazzkritter

Gary you may find the tuners to be a bit wonky, I have two Indonesian Ibanez’s and the only only complaint I would make is the tuners are not that great.
But otherwise... wow they are really great guitars.... best of luck with yours!

Thanks jk

**Little Jay** · 04-23-2021, 02:34 AM

Pimped the AF55 with a new tailpiece ($20 on AliExpress) for a little Barney Kessel/ES-350 vibe... Looks great, even if I say so myself!

**rolijen** · 04-23-2021, 08:29 AM

It does look nice. Well done!

**citizenk74** · 04-23-2021, 12:49 PM

Looks real good. Have you found that it changes the tone or sustain in any way?

**Little Jay** · 04-23-2021, 02:00 PM

Originally Posted by citizenk74

Looks real good. Have you found that it changes the tone or sustain in any way?

No, I didn’t notice any significant change! So if there is, it must be very subtle

**DavidJ** · 05-15-2021, 06:42 AM

Little Jay,

This is just the thread/conversation which offers so much insight, let alone information, on what is possible towards creating with this guitar. Thank youuu!
Best long-running thread on the AF55.
Ibanez should hire you.

-DavidJ

**Little Jay** · 05-15-2021, 05:12 PM

Originally Posted by DavidJ

Little Jay,

This is just the thread/conversation which offers so much insight, let alone information, on what is possible towards creating with this guitar. Thank youuu!
Best long-running thread on the AF55.
Ibanez should hire you.

-DavidJ

Glad you like it!

Haha, yes, still waiting for my commission from Ibanez :-)

The video already has 55k views on youtube! Amazing.....

**Mjdeucea** · 07-23-2021, 10:40 AM

New here. Modding my new to me 55
Little Jay thanks for all the information. When swapping pots n toggle was there a need to change size of hole or a washer needed for volume pot in toggle hole?
Thanks,
MJ

**Little Jay** · 07-24-2021, 02:10 PM

Originally Posted by Mjdeucea

New here. Modding my new to me 55
Little Jay thanks for all the information. When swapping pots n toggle was there a need to change size of hole or a washer needed for volume pot in toggle hole?
Thanks,
MJ

Yes, I reamed the hole for the toggle switch with a step hole cutter:

I didn’t need an extra washer to mount a volume pot in the old toggle switch hole, the normal washer was sufficient and the toggle switch hole isn’t that much bigger than a pot hole

**citizenk74** · 07-24-2021, 05:56 PM

Originally Posted by Mjdeucea

New here. Modding my new to me 55
Little Jay thanks for all the information. When swapping pots n toggle was there a need to change size of hole or a washer needed for volume pot in toggle hole?
Thanks,
MJ

**haninja** · 08-30-2021, 05:31 PM

Hello, first time here.
Great thread!
love all the mods and I want to do it myself on my AF55 I just need to find the resources here in the US...

**Little Jay** · 08-31-2021, 05:39 AM

Welcome!

Originally Posted by haninja

Hello, first time here.
Great thread!
love all the mods and I want to do it myself on my AF55 I just need to find the resources here in the US...

Shouldn’t be too difficult, Stewmac has everything! ;-)

**citizenk74** · 08-31-2021, 05:15 PM

Originally Posted by haninja

Hello, first time here.
Great thread!
love all the mods and I want to do it myself on my AF55 I just need to find the resources here in the US...

**haninja** · 08-31-2021, 06:28 PM

Originally Posted by Little Jay

Welcome!

Shouldn’t be too difficult, Stewmac has everything! ;-)

Thanks, looks like they do have everything.
How about the pattern for the pickguard, did you just drew it yourself?

**Mjdeucea** · 08-31-2021, 06:57 PM

If you go back enough yes he did create the pattern himself. You may also want to look at 920D for a wiring harness they created mine for me. I’m utilizing new pick ups Seymour Duncan jazz. I’ve decided to go with the Graphtec tuners which have mounting brackets which will match the current poor tuners. I’ve been a bit too busy playing rather than changing up this guitar. I’m blown away at how good this guitar is for the price.

**Little Jay** · 09-01-2021, 01:40 AM

Originally Posted by haninja

Thanks, looks like they do have everything.
How about the pattern for the pickguard, did you just drew it yourself?

Yes I designed it myself. I think I used another old pickguard (old Ibanez from my ES-175 copy probably) for a fluent line and adjusted that to taste (had to enlarge it).

The distance between pickups in the AF55 is more than a 175 for example, so guards for that won’t fit!

**citizenk74** · 09-01-2021, 11:12 AM

Originally Posted by Mjdeucea

If you go back enough yes he did create the pattern himself. You may also want to look at 920D for a wiring harness they created mine for me. I’m utilizing new pick ups Seymour Duncan jazz. I’ve decided to go with the Graphtec tuners which have mounting brackets which will match the current poor tuners. I’ve been a bit too busy playing rather than changing up this guitar. I’m blown away at how good this guitar is for the price.

**Mjdeucea** · 09-30-2021, 08:15 PM

Well here are pics of my AF55 upgrade.more when I’m done

**Little Jay** · 10-01-2021, 10:41 AM

Originally Posted by Mjdeucea

Well here are pics of my AF55 upgrade.more when I’m done

Great! Yes, please show us the final result!

**Little Jay** · 10-01-2021, 10:42 AM

(Double post, deleted)

**Little Jay** · 10-01-2021, 06:47 PM

Originally Posted by Mjdeucea

Well here are pics of my AF55 upgrade.more when I’m done

I only noticed now: Ibanez changed the f-hole shape of the AF55 to their own Ibanez f-hole design!

**rolavine** · 08-26-2022, 02:43 PM

I have an AF 55 and had a 75, both have rattling hardware and are loud with painful tone when played acoustically, though not as bad as the Loar I had. I just got the IYV 300 jazz guitar and it's quiet, like an ES175, and no rattle. The IYV is prettier, smaller, thinner, and sounds better plugged in too, but that might only be that it is less feedback prone being more acoustically inert. Anyway I'm selling the Ibanez and keeping the IYV, incredible deal, 220 and free shipping.

**Little Jay** · 08-27-2022, 06:11 PM

Originally Posted by rolavine

I have an AF 55 and had a 75, both have rattling hardware and are loud with painful tone when played acoustically, though not as bad as the Loar I had. I just got the IYV 300 jazz guitar and it's quiet, like an ES175, and no rattle. The IYV is prettier, smaller, thinner, and sounds better plugged in too, but that might only be that it is less feedback prone being more acoustically inert. Anyway I'm selling the Ibanez and keeping the IYV, incredible deal, 220 and free shipping.

My AF55 sounds pretty good acoustically (to me at least):

**jazzkritter** · 08-27-2022, 07:17 PM

$200 guitar that rivals a 175? Sure.
Too many variables in your statements. Did you have someone check the rattles? What strings - you did try different ones for acoustic sound, right?
And comparing 200-400$ guitars for acoustic tome?
It gets tedious around here when people jump into threads about any brand or model and then go and dump on the subject of the thread.

**Little Jay** · 08-31-2022, 01:04 AM

Originally Posted by jazzkritter

$200 guitar that rivals a 175? Sure.
Too many variables in your statements. Did you have someone check the rattles? What strings - you did try different ones for acoustic sound, right?
And comparing 200-400$ guitars for acoustic tome?
It gets tedious around here when people jump into threads about any brand or model and then go and dump on the subject of the thread.

To be fair, rolavine didn’t say that…. He just said his IYV is quiet like a 175 and has no rattles….

My AF55 has no rattles at all, btw. Not even with the original tunomatic bridge that has the dreaded wire. Acoustically it does sound brighter than my ES-125 played unplugged. Different woods I suppose since the construction is rather similar. Both guitars have a solid foot rosewood bridge. After some experimenting I concluded a solid foot bridge sounds a little less bright and has bettwr bass response and a little morw sustain, whixh can be a good or a bad thing, depending on what you like to hear (so a bridge is one more variable to tweak the overall sound of a guitar, although it’s subtle).

The AF55 found a perfect partner in my AER Alpha amp, btw: a nice dark and punchy sound. And since it’s a light guitar with sturdy poly finish that doesn’t easily scratch, the combination is pretty ideal for jam sessions and bar gigs

. Oh did I mention already it plays like butter? I only had to dress the frets ever so slightly for that. They were almost perfect right out of the box.