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Just got this today, bought from someone on another forum, but in virtually as new condition, including the original Ibanez hard case. I think made in 2009 or 2010 - I'll have to find that out for sure. Not that I have much experience with semi acoustic guitars, but I would say this one has quite a bright voice as they go. It's quite loud acoustically, and with a lively tone - I can't find any dead spots on the fingerboard, and there is good sustain. I'd have to say the standard of construction and finishing is high - all the binding and inlay is impeccably done, and the fretwork is about as good as I've had on a newly aquired guitar. I would say the neck is quite a substantial, chunky profile, but I find it comfortable enough. I'm going to get it strung with 11-52 roundwounds this evening, and a bit of a setup for that, and then I might actually use it at a gig tomorrow. I always promised myself a blonde guitar one day, and this one really is! I love the look anyhow, and I'm very happy with the guitar.
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12-17-2016 03:40 PM
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What a beauty. I have lusted after a blonde 335, but Gibson has become a crap shoot on some models, and the 335 so far has been immune from my experience.
The AS 103 and 153 in natural are stunning. One day I may pull the trigger on one of them.
Best of luck with it.
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Excellent! One of the best possible choices among Artcores. I almost bought one just like that not long ago but my wife screwed up the auction. I ended up buying an Eastman.
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Thanks! I was looking at the idea of getting the bottom of the range AS53 and perhaps upgrading, or maybe the current Epi Sheraton II Pro model (which I'm sure would have been nice) but then remembered seeing an ad for this guitar on a forum a while back, and contacted the seller to see if it was still available, and one thing led to another. The 153 is certainly a nice-looking guitar, but in the UK at least, it come in a bit above my price range. I understand the old AS120 model is also a fine guitar. I'm not used to this style of guitar at all, and it did feel a bit unfamiliar and bulky at first, but I'm already finding the guitar more comfortable after a bit of playing time.
Originally Posted by GNAPPI
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Thanks very much! This is a very nice guitar, but those Eastmans look lovely I must say, so that can't be a bad outcome. Originally Posted by m_d
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Wow! Nice score! Ibanez's QC is hard to beat. I'll bet that creamy beauty sounds as good as it looks. Congratulations, and play it in good health!
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Thank you very much - this was for sale at a good price, and given Ibanez don't make the model any more, and I haven't seen any of their current models that I like as much (looks-wise at least), I thought I'd better snap it up. It's a treat to just have it sitting around in the house at the moment, but I certainly do plan to play this guitar a lot in the coming months. Originally Posted by citizenk74
Wow! Nice score! Ibanez's QC is hard to beat. I'll bet that creamy beauty sounds as good as it looks. Congratulations, and play it in good health!
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I have one exactly the same! I thought it was such a good-looking guitar that I couldn't resist buying it. Trouble is, it's in such near-perfect condition that I'm reluctant to play it. Those gold plated pickup covers would soon suffer if I did, although I routinely put sellotape over the edges of pickups to minimise damage. I also find that the sound is a bit aggressive-sounding for my style of jazz playing. No doubting the superb quality and finish of the guitar, though. There are lots of nice extra touches, such as the wooden knobs and the strengthening heel at the top of the neck.
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Meggy,
Those MIC AS103s are really wonderful, I've had 4 in my life - all the limited release burl or spalted maple ones with flame maple binding. Doggone sweet guitars. Congratulations !!
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As I've said in a couple of other threads, the Artstars are great guitars. Congrats, and have fun with your new/old AS103 at the gig.
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That's cool, and thanks - I do relate to your feeling re keeping a nice-looking guitar pristine, but in a way, I think they have to be played. I hope mine will age gracefully anyhow - I've read that the wood or finish will darken a little over time and exposure to light. My guitar seems to have been kept in it's case most of it's life so far. Originally Posted by A440
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Thank you, I'm liking the guitar more and more as I get used to it. Look at those guitars of yours, very nice indeed. Originally Posted by BigMikeinNJ
Meggy,
Those MIC AS103s are really wonderful, I've had 4 in my life - all the limited release burl or spalted maple ones with flame maple binding. Doggone sweet guitars. Congratulations !!
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Cheers! Hopefully it should cause a bit of a stir at the gig, as it looks very different to my other guitars. It's actually what they called an "Artcore Custom" rather than an Artstar, but it seems to be of pretty high quality all the same. Hope you're enjoying your recently aquired Artstar as well. Originally Posted by EllenGtrGrl
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The gig went just fine - I did hit one or two (possibly more!) bum notes due to the unfamiliar feel and look of the guitar. The neck sits just a bit differently compared to my other guitars, and also it just looks different when I look down, and at the moment it takes my brain that little bit longer to process what my eyes are seeing. But that will pass of course.
The lady singer deliberately referred to the guitar as "Graham's new banana-coloured guitar" knowing I preferred to describe it as "blonde", which was mischievous of her.
It is quite a strident, forceful sounding guitar (I like that) but also responsive and capable of subtlety. Most of the time I had the tone control backed down a bit, but I have yet to really play around with amp settings and find what works best. There is a lot of that acoustic/woody quality in the tone too, and it's distinctly different-sounding to any guitar I've had before. I really really love it anyhow, and already I'm certain this is a keeper.
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Very nice. Looks wise, it has a sort of art deco vibe. Glad you're enjoying it.
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Thanks very much! And I do agree re the art deco vibe - the natural finished flame maple, f-hole design, and also the fingerboard inlays seem to add to that, maybe the scratchplate shape as well. Originally Posted by Gnashville
Since my last post, I've given the guitar a bit of a clean up (not that it really needed a lot of work) but anyhow, gave the fingerboard a clean and then a bit of almond oil, and a polish for the frets. The frets are the best finished that I've ever come across for a newly-acquired guitar, and it's the first time I've not felt the need to do any fret levelling/dressing.
I've fitted some new 11-52 roundwounds, and I'm just doing a bit of tweaking to get the truss-rod relief and action set where I like it. I don't think the stock pickups are at all bad, but I confess I am already considering getting a new set made, perhaps in the new year. If so, that would be at least partly down to just getting things to my taste, rather than as a result of any huge deficiency in the stock pickups, but my experience with guitars has been that changing pickups can be of benefit. I will probably install parallel cap/resistor treble-bleeds on the the volume controls as well - I have these on my other guitars.
For the moment, just going to be playing and enjoying the guitar though.
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The fretwork on those AS103s is some of the best I ever saw. Knowing the gear I have on hand that is a pretty bodacious statement but it's true. You got a wonderful guitar. Guys that are looking to get an Ibanez 335 style should save their money and make the move for one of these, you'll never regret it. Look at those photos Meggy supplied: 5 piece neck, great woods, wood pick guard and knobs, many with the fine tuner tailpiece and that amazing fret work. They're real rockers - with an upgrade to some new wiring and Seth Lovers you have a real G brand 335 killer...
Enjoy yourself...
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Thank you BigMike! Enjoying the new guitar I certainly am - with the new strings and setup, it sounds even better, and is lovely to play acoustically - it just rings. I'm starting to think it might be about the best guitar buy I've ever made to be honest. My guitar doesn't have the fine-tuner tailpiece it's true - I think that was changed to a standard Ibanez stop tailpiece on this model in 2009, having consulted the old Ibanez catalogues. It's still easy to tune accurately however. Originally Posted by BigMikeinNJ
I don't know if you, or anyone else, is able to shed any light on this, but I checked the serial number (S10063130) on this website:
The Guitar Dater Project - Ibanez Serial Number Decoder
and got a result saying the guitar was made by the Samick factory in Korea in June 2010. The date fits with what I know, but it does clearly say "Made In China" on the label, so I'm a bit puzzled there. Is there a Chinese factory that is also identified by a letter S on the serial number?
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The guitar dater is from everything I read not a very reliable source of info.
You have a GR8 git regardless where or when it was made.
The "335 killer" statement may not be too far off the mark especially considering a similar G branded git will be 5 to 6x more money.
My MIC AS73 in "halloween burst" :-) was an enormous eye opener for me. It needed nothing but a pickguard, even the ACH pups can stay. Its bound head, and F holes put in the appointment neighborhood of G upper tier models.
One day I will have a 103 or 153, good luck with yours.
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You got yourself one of the best that Ibanez has churned out of China... there's no shame in saying it's from China. And that Guitar Dater, forget that place. It's got more wrong info. Ask guys that know. Check into the Ibanez Collectors World website and forums. Being an OG from there I can tell you, you wanna know something Ibanez ask those guys.
Big
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Thanks chaps - I'm sure it isn't a Korean Samick-made guitar, so yes, the dater is wrong about that. And I definitely don't feel any shame or need to hide the guitar's Chinese origin. It would be nice to be able to identify a specific factory where it was made though, just so I know where it was born.
I did find this website, which does acknowledge that there is a Chinese factory using S plus 8 digit serial numbers, active from 2002 Ibanez serial numbers | Ibanez Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia , but they don't know what the factory is - only for what that's worth.
I may well ask on the Ibanez Collector's World forums to see what people say, why not, and cheers for the suggestion Mike. That burl maple AS103 is a glorious looking guitar.
And get yourself that 103 or 153 Gary, you deserve it, life is too short and all that! Affordable luxury!
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I tell you what, I recently bought a Chinese Ibanez ASR-70 and it needed $30 worth of fret work (one fret, I'm picky lol) and it plays and sounds wonderful. And I have been a very snobby "must be Japanese" Ibanez guy since '79. It does have the "Halloween burst" look (thanks for that name Big Mike, it is really stuck in my head now!) but it's a hollow AS body with P90s and was a complete steal at what it cost (about $425 all in).
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No matter if your Ibanez 'AS' guitar was built in China, Japan or Korea, their high standards and unbelievable consistency meets even the most discriminating players.
Check out this unknown wanker, obviously enjoying an AS based 1980's LR10...
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Definitely one of their more unusual offerings Jim, but that has to be a great guitar for jazz (and other things) with the full hollow body and P90s. And better top fret access than a Casino or ES330. Halloween burst indeed! Originally Posted by jim777
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I do agree about Ibanez having a certain consistency, regardless of where they have the guitars made. For a company that does not (I understand) have it's own factory, and contracts various companies to build it's models, I think that's actually a great achievement. Wherever made, all their models seems to have a certain Ibanez-y identity to me. Originally Posted by Gitfiddler
No matter if your Ibanez 'AS' guitar was built in China, Japan or Korea, their high standards and unbelievable consistency meets even the most discriminating players.
Check out this unknown wanker, obviously enjoying an AS based 1980's LR10...
A long time ago - mid 80s I guess, when I was at music college, I remember a fellow student having an LR10 - as I recall, it had some very distinctive looking fingerboard wood - quite light in colour, and with a pronounced reddish hue. Not sure if that was a type of rosewood, or something else. I also remember that there was some kind of packing with black material on top, behind the f-holes, which I'm sure was factory-fitted. That would have been to reduce any tendency towards feedback of course. Probably quite a sought-after "vintage" Ibanez model now. That guy looks like he might be a half-decent guitarist...
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A really nice pickup in a cheap guitar
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