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Yes I've had a few of these. These are the special ones, only 60 made of each type of wood (burl or spalted maple) and 60 of each stain in each model, in other words only 240 made. They have flame maple binding everywhere, rosewood pick guard, knobs and truss rod cover. They have the less than stellar (but not bad) Super 58 Custom pickups but the fret work and attention to detail is jaw dropping.
I have a set of Super 58 Jazz pickups out of an AR1505 that are going in this one. My last I GAVE to a guy from the Ibanez forum named Russ (aka TuffLion) who got burned out of his house, lost EVERY THING. All his archived recordings, studio gear and guitars... I heard about that I said man I gots to help this guy... He got my blonde burl with the Gibson Classic 57s in it... Can you imagine, getting burned outta your crib ?? Man...
Anyway I digress.
Big
Last edited by BigMikeinNJ; 01-12-2017 at 06:45 PM.
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01-12-2017 06:37 PM
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BM, THAT is one to cherish! I wouldn't give a crap if it played and sounded like a Stellar, it looks REALLY good, kinda like a trophy wife... who cares how good her English is?
:-)
I once LOATHED Ibanez gits, they turned me around for sure. Yes the 58's are different but who want's a bunch of 335's that sound the same.
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Wow, Big! That's definitely some light-up-a-nice-maduro-parejo-and-get-lost-in-the-beauty material! Congratulations, and play it in good health!
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That AS103 is obscenely beautiful!!
Play it in good health, Big.
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That's just a gorgeous thing. I love the bits of flame where the horns are and elsewhere, unusual and distinctive. And a guitar that good looking doesn't deserve to sound good as well, but I bet it does, if it's anything like my new AS103nt - I'm rather chuffed with that guitar, I may have mentioned that before... 
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Chuffed? Jeez you guys make go look up words all the time.. "Two nations separated by a common language" Eh?
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Originally Posted by GNAPPI
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You guys think mine is wild, look at the one my buddy Steve scored
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Now that really is outrageous Mike, I'm not sure you should be allowed to post pictures like that before 9pm to be honest.
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Dunno BM, I like yours a LOT better. That burly knotty look is very unique. I REALLY have no use for another git, but if one like yours came up I WOULD be tempted. It would hang next to my bed and be the first thing I see when I wake up.
The other looks like particle board, but nicely finished particle board, ouch.
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I love, Love, LOVE those rosewood pickup rings with the rosewood pickguard. Just such a classy combination. I remember when the rosewood rings came out on the AR-2000 I wanted to get one just for those rings
This is an absolutely gorgeous guitar, and I agree with whomever already said I like it better than your buddy Steve's, though that one is nice as well.
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Both lovely if you ask me - Mike's is a very nice colour overall, and has the subtlety and elegance, and the second one is more of an outrageous display of wood figuring, perhaps OTT, but it's still natural wood, and I can appreciate that as well. I'd be delighted to own either guitar.
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Here's the first ones I had - these were mostly available in Japan only, but a store in Fairbanks Alaska had this dark stained one, and a store in Bozeman Montana had this blonde spalted one, along with some AF's in spalted and burled maple. They sold out fast once I let the ICW guys know about them.
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Woh
Those are out of control. I need t get one!
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Those are lovely as well, and I'm quite taken by the spalted top one, but I'd have to say I think your newly-aquired one takes the prize Mike. That's just my taste of course.
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Since we're in an Ibanez thread, what are the differences between the AS103, 153, and 253 ?
I know the 103 has a rosewood FB, no tone switch or PG, and the others have an ebonyFB with the switch and PG, but beyond that I haven't a clue. Maybe someone can elucidate the matter. For my part the 253 is identical to the 153... maybe a new model that replaced the 153?
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Interested in this one myself - I'd never heard of the AS253 model for one thing. I'm wondering what you mean by "PG" - if it's a pick guard, then the AS103 does have one. I think the older AS93 models don't, although I've noticed some recent AS93s that do. Good question to ask anyhow. Originally Posted by GNAPPI
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Never had an opportunity to try either the 153 or 253...
The guitars that Ibanez has coming out of those Chinese factories are really very nice...
The AS103s out of that limited run don't come along very often so you gotta have your War Chest ready to rock. Although as Steve told me, the one he just got didn't sell on the first pass. It is a VERY FLAT market...
Big
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Yup, I call it "disturbing trends" :-) Originally Posted by BigMikeinNJ
It certainly is a buyer's market and I wonder if it will ever pick up.
The last time I saw this type of slow down was the first time(s) Gibson started re-issuing late 50's and 60's gits. Folks figured, "why spend $10k+ on a REAL 335 dot marker when I can spend 1/5 that much (or less) for the same look from the same company.
Anyway, the 153 is really no different than the 103 other than the things I mentioned above.
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I've played both and once owned the AS253 but sold it because I was a bonehead! At that time I has a room full of guitars and needed to sell some; it was getting crowded, and for reasons I just don't understand today, I sold the AS253 for a pretty good price. I've have so many great guitars in my time, American, Japanese, Chinese made, and the AS253 is the one that I most regret selling. They are not easy to come by. Once in a great while you'll see one. At any rate, both the 153 and the 253 are very similar in that they both are a few steps up from the AS93. Great necks, awesome feel and tone. The 253 was about $150-200 more because it had "upgraded" appointments, but it was essentially the same build and parts, including the Chinese made Super 58 Custom pups. The both also have the tone-coil split switch that gives you a few more options. Very nice guitar. I think it's as close as you'll get to the MIJ AS200 Prestige. If you see one, snap it up!
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