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NEW $350, with nice case and an excellent instrument from a fine music store. Finish and detail work exceptional. Not merely a decorater, Has fine sounding pickups. Well adjusted. Valid sale with profit; I guess not much to wholesaler and retailer. Am I missing something? artb
Last edited by artb; 11-30-2014 at 05:58 AM.
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11-30-2014 05:47 AM
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De gustibus...
Originally Posted by artb
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What are you asking? If you don't like it, don't get it. If you do, get it. Working at Ibanez USA, we used to get these special editions from time to time, same price as the normal wood ones but there'd be limited productions with unusual woods. I think dealers would be able to order them and sometimes their production was so limited, they wouldn't even appear in the normal catalogue. Originally Posted by artb
But because they're one offs, they were often ordered to make an unusual and interesting contribution to a retail store's wall collection. Not everyone's cup of tea. It's just waiting for the right player/buyer. And if that player doesn't come in this month and you want to move the merch, you put it on sale.
Are you missing something? Like $350 or the desire to have it? Without either of those, you're just fine. With both of those you're fine.
David
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. What, an AF105smEE (Exotic Explorer (map), considering the lovely spalted maple they used for the top and back I scratch my head going WHY ??? did they choose to use that doggone map (decal) over that gorgeous wood. Otherwise very nice guitar, Super 58 Custom pickups, flame maple binding everywhere, really very well built guitar. I've owned 4 of the AS103sm/bm models and they are really very good - Ibanez went to China with their builders and said "make us THIS, with the AS103s and AF105s and a handful of AM models. The Chinese factory cranked out 60 of the natural stained AS103 in burled maple, 60 of the 103 in spalted maple, 60 of the dark stain burled maple and 60 of the dark stained in natural. The made 60 of the AF105 in natural burled maple, 60 in dark stained burl maple, 60 in natural spalted maple and 60 in dark stained burl maple. The number of AMs created was far lower. Most of these were sold in the Japanese, Eurpoean and very north North American market. I was on a wild goose chase trying to find a blonde AS103sm and found a dealer in Montana that had 103s and the AF105s. My Ibanez collector buddies clean him out in no time. If you ever see one of these guitars you should jump on it. The 103s tend to keep their full retail value (once in had you will understand why they do), if you upgraded the pickups on the 103 or 105 models you'd really have a scream fine guitar. I found an AS103 bmnt that had been rewired and had Gibson Classic 57's installed. Man that is one sweet machine...
If you can stand the Exotic Explorer map that is a good buy.
Last edited by BigMikeinNJ; 11-30-2014 at 07:55 AM.
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As is not bad sounding in the right hands
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I have an AF105 in natural and it's a great guitar, IMO. The local store did have one with the map on it, but it's not to my taste. But a friend sold me the AF105NT and I've been very happy with it. I need to sell something to justify my recent purchase of a Sadowsky Bruno but it ain't likely to be the 105.
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Why the map? What's the biggest complaint with guitar players at all levels? The guitar is an ungodly challenge to find your way around on. Originally Posted by BigMikeinNJ
Hey the next time you get lost on a piece, you can't blame the guitar.
David
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For some reason Ibanez down leveled the Ax-10x series (AF/AS/AK every 100 model and up) and put wire tailpieces TOM bridges (removed the inlays in the bridge base) , and plastic knobs (from wood) on them across the line.
I think that series look spectacular and play wonderfully. The new ones play and sound just as good, but loss of those visual uplifts was unfortunate. Maybe this should turn into an Ibanez pic thread :-)
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Kojak::::GOOD COMMENT. I expect you are good in more than 2 languages. One is difficult enough for me. artb
Last edited by artb; 11-30-2014 at 10:08 AM.
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DAVID: Asking for exactly what you have very well answered. THANKYOU. artb
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MIKE: Amazing variety you well identify. The more I know, the more I know how little I know. As a slow player I am more interested in how fret board is marked and the map design looks better than the lo rez photos. artb
Last edited by artb; 11-30-2014 at 10:27 AM.
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Here's an AF that dealer had in stock
and my first "burlie" in nt... note the little stamp on the pickups denoting Super 58 Customs
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Are you thinking of purchasing or selling?
Not clear which.
Richard
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Am only considering best way to sell off 95% of a very diverse very long term collection. Consignments to local dealers easiest, but best maybe 1/2 value for all to anyone or business. So far dealers only want certain ones for 1/2 price. artb Originally Posted by barricwiley
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I knew Ibanez put those fake wood grains on cheap acoustics, I didn't know they started doing it on archie's. The acoustic guy at GC told me it's a thin sheet of paper they put on and finish over. I don't like it, especially now that they've gone beyond just fake wood grain.
A buddy took his tele to a woman who hand paints pin-striping for custom cars and she did a great two tone striping job on his black tele.
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So docbop
Are you inferring that Ibanez is using something akin to photo flame (photo spalt, photo burl) on these instruments I've posted photos of ?? I'll have to share your comments over on ICW. That's rich...
Man this is a lot of work they go thru to do that. Laying down that fugazi burl and fugazi spelt on the top, back and sides. That's a lot more work than faking a photo flame start top or neck.
But hey if you heard it at Guitar Center, well gee.Last edited by BigMikeinNJ; 11-30-2014 at 03:19 PM.
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Yea but the guy at GC said it. How can you argue with that....
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I know what I saw on the cheap acoustics and others have done it too. Whatever, glad I brought some joy to your day. Originally Posted by BigMikeinNJ
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At age 20 1952 I was mgr. at S.Greenland GLOBE COMM station with 2 fine TEXAN guitar player diesel mechanics. One had a 12 string. An unknown archtop with really bad finish was there for us A.F. guys to use. So with broken glass pieces I neatly scraped all the top finish off. I thought it was an improvement. Would that effort also help the odd IBANEZ.?? Also made pick guard. A local resident wanted to trade fine mittens for it.
artb
Last edited by artb; 11-30-2014 at 05:23 PM.
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Great story ARTB
Thank you for serving...
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Well I'm in awe and deference being in the shadow of the word of Guitar Center, so I'll say that in my admittedly small perspective as a guitar tech at Hoshino, Bensalem, and being on the team of techs that sets up, inspects, passes, fails and adjusts every Ibanez that went to a US domestic store, GC or not, they are not wallpapered or decal-ed clones. Those guitars came in crates of 6 to a grouping, and I'd uncrate and set up those guitars 6 at a time. They were all as individual as fingerprints. Each one (laminated of course) assembled with a different unique cut of the burl, spruce grain or whatever the guitar was spec'd out as, and in so far as a veneer is actually a layer of wood, and paper is technically a layer of wood (pulp) that's about as accurate as his description was. Originally Posted by docbop
They also had a pretty amazing printing machine along with a big spray booth. If I wanted to transfer a pattern onto a guitar, they could do that. If I wanted a picture of my dog playing a ukelele computer transferred to my GB-10, they'd do it. They had these Geiger print Alienesque guitars that used that technology. Pretty neat.
Yeah they did have some matte semis and cheap acoustics that they even sprayed with fake flame maple, but on this guitar this is not the case. But then again, if you read it on the internet, or got it on good information from the authorities at GC, then I'd have to say maybe they got their guitars done with paper veneer. I can only speak from having handled the guitars that were actually shipped from the facility I worked in.
David
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The guy showed where in the f-hole you can see the paper layer. Also this guy wasn't you typical GC grunt, he was very knowledgeable on gear and many came to that particular GC to deal with him. Originally Posted by TruthHertz
In long run it doesn't matter, these were cheap guitars for people more interested in looks. I was just saying I saw pointed out to me by someone I believe.
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Interesting. Well to be fair, in truth there IS no "Ibanez" and their guitars are a transitioning compendium of products from a large number of production factories throughout Indonesia, China, Korea, Japan and wherever they got good deals, sometimes switching factories of origin within a calendar year of production. That's the key to their success, so if they produced a run of guitars that was made from the skin of dogs and hand painted by 5 year old kids, I'll admit that I wouldn't dismiss it merely because I didn't encounter them while I was there. Originally Posted by docbop
I did happen to work with these though, so I wanted to clear that up for this particular case.
The cheap end of acoustics, gosh, you wouldn't believe some of the stuff they sold. Some of it not even with the Ibanez name. But it all came through Bensalem and it all went into the pockets of Hoshino Gakki.
Thanks docbop for sharing that story.
David
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I have a very good condition AM103BM. Is it rare?! It has been professionally set up and plays great. I won't be selling it, just curious as to whether it's something fairly unique.
Phil
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I don't know about the Ibanez models to which the OP refers, but I can comment on just how good cheap guitars have become over the past 20 years. I remember when I was a kid a cheap beginner guitar meant getting a beat up old Harmony or Kay that had action you could drive a truck through. There were a significant number of people I knew that never actually followed through learning to play the guitar because the instruments they used were shoddy and uncomfortable to play.
For at least the past decade, I've been able to walk into any Guitar Center or Sam Ash and easily find a guitar for under $400 that I'd be happy to play in public. Inexpensive guitars are no longer relegated to the wall hanger category they once were. With Ibanez, Epiphone, and Godin, there are plenty of good options for the poor student who wants something to lug around campus.
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