Ibanez AF55

[Little Jay]

Gfs pups
surf90-neck
nadhville-bridge
custom Eddie Cochran inspired pickguard
bigsby
roller bridge


Attachment 109331Attachment 109330Attachment 109329Attachment 109328

That has a serious Gretsch-vibe to it, well done!

The transparent pickguard looks great!

If it was my guitar I would perhaps even put nice Gretsch-like metal dome knobs and a Gretsch space control roller bridge (I put a copy from AliExpress on my Gretsch Streamliner and it looks great and works well. Note: these streamliners also come from an Indonesian factory, just like my AF55 and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the same factory, the quality is very much alike!)




It’s nice to see that the AF55 can be such a versatile platform for different guitar styles!

[TexRocker]

Thanks Jay, this forum played a huge role in the success of finishing this twangbox. Thanks to everyone for believing in this low end arch top. For seing it, and having a vision as well. Last, but not least, thank you Jay.

[Little Jay]

Thanks Jay, this forum played a huge role in the success of finishing this twangbox. Thanks to everyone for believing in this low end arch top. For seing it, and having a vision as well. Last, but not least, thank you Jay.

The true purpose of a forum is to inspire and help eachother! So you are more than welcome!

[Kmatuhin]

Hi all! Recently I became the proud owner of an Ibanez AF-55 guitar. First impressions are very good:
1. This is a comfortable and lightweight guitar. (before that I also had Chinese and Korean archtops, ES-175 copies, they were much heavier and bulkier)
2. I like the thin matte finish much better than the thick layers of poly on most Chinese and other archtops (for example, on the Ibanez AF 75). And I'm not sure I want to polish it to a high shine in the future.
3. Good neat assembly overall.
4. Comfortable neck. True, in my case the frets need grinding, but my guitar is from 2012.
5. Good acoustic sound. And the sound into amp too, at least for home practice.


I really liked Little Jay's modifications. I also want to install a wooden bridge and change the pickups with chrome cover. But I want to try leaving one neck pickup first. I wanted to ask: if you remove the bridge pickup, is it enough to just cut the wires and insulate the contacts? Or do I need to solder something extra?

[garybaldy]

Hi all! Recently I became the proud owner of an Ibanez AF-55 guitar. First impressions are very good:
1. This is a comfortable and lightweight guitar. (before that I also had Chinese and Korean archtops, ES-175 copies, they were much heavier and bulkier)
2. I like the thin matte finish much better than the thick layers of poly on most Chinese and other archtops (for example, on the Ibanez AF 75). And I'm not sure I want to polish it to a high shine in the future.
3. Good neat assembly overall.
4. Comfortable neck. True, in my case the frets need grinding, but my guitar is from 2012.
5. Good acoustic sound. And the sound into amp too, at least for home practice.


I really liked Little Jay's modifications. I also want to install a wooden bridge and change the pickups with chrome cover. But I want to try leaving one neck pickup first. I wanted to ask: if you remove the bridge pickup, is it enough to just cut the wires and insulate the contacts? Or do I need to solder something extra?

You have a great guitar. I don't use mine half enough.
Here is a great video with a 55 which I believe is stock. Good tone and good player.