Upgrading from Ibanez AF75

[Drifter]

Your 105 must be a lemon then. And maybe your 75 is exceptionally good. I'd still swap the pickups before selling the 105, that should give your 75 another tone boost.

[monkmiles]

Your 105 must be a lemon then.

I was about to say the same thing. I love my AK105SM.

[whiskywheels]

I have both the Ibanez Artcore 75 and the custom 105. The Artcore custom one is built more fansty (binding, nicer headstock, tailpiece and controls, and all etc.) and the fret ends are rounded very nicely and the guitar LOOKS like an upgrade from the Artcore 75. But get this, the maple on the Artcore custom looks very dull, and the guitar sounds like wet blanket. The Artcore 75 has very pretty flamed maple all around. I was surprised to find out that the Artcore 75 sounds more jazzy and plays more smoothly than the Artcore custom. The Artcore custom buzzes once I lower the action to my liking whereas the Artcore 75 has a superb low action without buzzing. In setting the intonation on the Artcore custom, I position the wooden bridge where I got perfect intonation on all strings except the A string! It is never intonated perfectly. So, I had to reposition (tilt) the bridge to get the A string to near good intonation and now all the strings are not in percet intonation, so the whole thing is messed up! I removed the wooden bridge off the Artcore custom and replaced it with the tune-o-matic that came with it, and guess what? I still have problems with the A string intonation no matter what strings I use. The Artcore 75 supposedly has weaker pipckups but their output is louder than my Artcore custom. Not sure why, but the Artcore 75 seems like a wok horse and sounds more jazzy. I also have the Peerless Monarch and plan on buying another Peerless model (maybe a Cremona) real soon. But regardless, I will not let go of my Ibanze Artcore 75. The Artcore custom can go for all I care. Email me with comments at [email protected]

This is weird, because I've had a similar experience. Having returned my faulty Peerless Jazz City (and having been disappointed in it anyway, regardless of the fault), I thought I'd get the 105 as I'd been so impressed with my 75. No problems with buzzing, intonation etc., on either, but I think the 105 sounds like a 'wet blanket' also. It certainly looks nicer, and of course has 'better' pups, but I just can't get as excited about it as the 75. Both have got the same gauge and make of strings. I'm tempted to try the 'better' pups on the 75, but suspect this may not work out, especially as I imagine it'll involve some soldering (shudders, and becomes slightly short of breath).

[monkmiles]

If you guys like and prefer the AF75, that's cool, to each his own. I'd recommend just sticking with the 75 then if you like it, and don't bother with trying to replace it with other potentially "higher end" guitars. Cause we all need to be happy with our tools/guitars, and if the 75 is what does it then that's your guy.

For me... I started my jazz guitar search with an AF105, replaced it with a "higher end" guitar (Eastman 805ce), then again with another Eastman (El Rey 2), all to finally come back to an Ibanez, specifically the AK105SM.

[whiskywheels]

Give it a couple of months and I'll be posting about what a great guitar the 105 is, and how much better than the 75!

[Tarek]

Here is one thing about the Artcores that a gentleman brought to my attention during our discussion at G'N'J in NJ. Ever noticed that the bridge is so close to the bridge pup and not in line with the middle of the F-holes? If you check out almost ANY archtop, you will notice that, in order to get perfect intonation, the bridge is always placed in line with the middle point of the f-holes. Except for the Artcores!! where the bridge will have to be placed about 0.9 cm behind the bridge pup to get good intonation. I went home and found this to be true on my Artcore 75 and 105. Not sure why the Artcore was designed that way and whether it was a design flaw that just went unnoticed. I am assuming it will affect the overall tone quality but can't say for sure. It is just odd.

By the way, the Peerless GigMaster (a Gibson 175 copy with two Epi's set routed in humbuckers) ended up being a good guitar. it has a classic "woody" jazz sound plugged and unplugged, very comparable to a 175. I only paid $800 for it. The finish is not perfect and there were a few flaws (headstock not planed perfectly, loose wires, the washer of the jack input came off, etc. But after a few minor fixes, it now plays and sounds great for the money. I am surprised, really.

[woyvel]

I have an AFS75 and like it very much. I talked to a reputable custom/repair shop about changing pickups and he very, very highly recommended changing the tone pots as well, which costs almost nothing. I'm thinking about having him put Seymour Duncan Jazz and JB pups in with coil tap pots just for the versatility.