The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    What a great guitar! No reviews are posted anywhere and no stores in my area have any to try so it was a bit of a gamble ordering it from MF. But, it is a real gem. So organic and articulate. Plays better than my ES-175 and sounds amazing acoustic and plugged in. Craftsmanship is top notch and the transparent red finish over flamed maple and spruce is freaking gorgeous. I have many hi-end guitars and this budget archtop holds its own with any of them. I added some pics. Sorry if they are sideways. Blown away with this!

    Ibanez AFC151 Contemporary Archtop-image1-jpg

    Ibanez AFC151 Contemporary Archtop-image2-jpg

    Ibanez AFC151 Contemporary Archtop-image3-jpg

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

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    Very pretty, in her red way (which I like.)

    Congratulations!

  4. #3

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    Is this laminate top or solid? What would a floater sound like on a laminate

  5. #4

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    Happy New Guitar Day!

  6. #5

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    I have been very interested in this, particularly the red one. There is so little info out there though and only one video I have found with someone playing jazz on one (it was the matte black one). It looks really cool. Congrats!


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  7. #6

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  8. #7

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    Per Ibanez, it's a laminate top. The floater sounds surprisingly good. I worried about that but was delighted to find plenty of bark. If you've played solid carved-top guitars, you know the organic, lively experience they deliver. This new Ibby produces a fair amount of that vibe surprisingly. For the money, I'm very impressed. I will custom fit a better bridge to it but I have no other upgrades planned. The stock bridge is the only disappointment--clearly cut by a Neanderthal. Barely touches on the ends and not at all fitted to the arch of this guitar. Even then, the tone is stunningly good.

  9. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by Gitfiddler
    The red isn't off-putting at all. In fact, I would call it transparent red/amber. The grain shows through amazingly well. I'm sure you've seen a cello with this finish. Was a little worried it would be fire engine red. It isn't. It's gorgeous and feels like lacquer.

  10. #9

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    How is the pickup by the way? One thing I worried about looking at these is that they don't have pole pieces. Since I almost always use nickel strings I always have to adjust them to get a balanced sound. I guess it wouldn't be too hard to switch the pickup but it is not as easy as a guitar with a pickguard mounted volume and tone


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  11. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by rio
    How is the pickup by the way? One thing I worried about looking at these is that they don't have pole pieces. Since I almost always use nickel strings I always have to adjust them to get a balanced sound. I guess it wouldn't be too hard to switch the pickup but it is not as easy as a guitar with a pickguard mounted volume and tone


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    The string to string volume is well balanced due to the way they mount the pickup slightly lower on the bass side. But if you need more precise balance, you'll need to swap pickups. Mine sounds great just the way it is.

  12. #11

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    Nice, looking at the Flat Black AFC 125

    Ibanez Artstar AFC155 Hollowbody Electric Guitar (with Case)

  13. #12

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    Quote Originally Posted by jazzimprov
    Nice, looking at the Flat Black AFC 125

    Ibanez Artstar AFC155 Hollowbody Electric Guitar (with Case)
    I saw the demo of the matte black model Nick Granville put on YouTube and was determined this guitar would be worth ordering. I'm surprised at how resonant it is for an all laminate guitar. I didn't want the two-pickup model so my only option was the red one. The the flame maple binding looks particularly nice on the black model. Good luck!

  14. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by rolijen
    Per Ibanez, it's a laminate top. The floater sounds surprisingly good. I worried about that but was delighted to find plenty of bark. If you've played solid carved-top guitars, you know the organic, lively experience they deliver. This new Ibby produces a fair amount of that vibe surprisingly. For the money, I'm very impressed. I will custom fit a better bridge to it but I have no other upgrades planned. The stock bridge is the only disappointment--clearly cut by a Neanderthal. Barely touches on the ends and not at all fitted to the arch of this guitar. Even then, the tone is stunningly good.
    Here's an update. I couldn't stand the terribly ill-fitting bridge any longer. I carefully fitted a high quality ebony bridge to perfectly match the arched top. It makes a big difference. Here's a pic:
    Attached Images Attached Images Ibanez AFC151 Contemporary Archtop-img_2648-jpg 

  15. #14

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    That's a beauty! Congratulations, and play it in good health!

  16. #15

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    I posted an NGD post a couple weeks ago when I got my Ibanez AFC151 Contemporary Archtop. Now with many hours of playing time, I want to get the word out on this little known gem. I got the single pickup model, it also comes in a two pickup version.

    The design is gorgeous and worthy of any jazz player. The build quality is extremely good (However, I did opt to outfit it with a nicer ebony bridge--something I usually do anyway). The woods are high quality, the finish is expertly applied and thin. The fretwork is top notch. The resonance is amazing for a laminate guitar and considering the price (under $1K US) it's flat out amazing. You would not think it's a laminate top playing and hearing it. The top is thin and produces tone that is rich and full across all strings.

    Before spending time with this guitar, I expected I'd be replacing the pickup. But now, I think I'll wait--it has a smooth, even tone that is very pleasing. Obviously, no guitar is perfect in every way, but for what I wanted (24.75" scale, slightly shallower body than my ES-175, single floating pickup), it delivers.

    Please consider this guitar. It's still a fairly new model in Ibanez's lineup. As a result, there is very little real-player information available. That's why I posted this. Clearly, it won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I really am enjoying mine more than any guitar I've purchased in quite a while.

    Ok. I'm going back to playing it now.

  17. #16

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    Man you are tempting me. Ever since the announcement I thought that red one is so good looking. What does it play like - how thick is the neck and how good were the frets? Also, do you think that its tone compares to any well known guitars if you had to describe its sound? There are hardly any videos of it out there - I have only found one on YouTube and the guy is playing the back one with two pickups.


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  18. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by rio
    Man you are tempting me. Ever since the announcement I thought that red one is so good looking. What does it play like - how thick is the neck and how good were the frets? Also, do you think that its tone compares to any well known guitars if you had to describe its sound? There are hardly any videos of it out there - I have only found one on YouTube and the guy is playing the back one with two pickups.


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    It came with 11s and it was ridiculously easy to play. I upped the gauge to 12s and it now sounds a little richer and still plays like butter.

    Neck is thicker than other Ibanez. Perfect thickness for me. Fretwork is excellent. Top-notch actually.

    Even with the floater, to me it sounds a lot like my ES-175. But acoustically, it's very very good. Makes the 175 sound like a toy guitar. But that's not a fair comparison. I've played many of the laminate D'Angelicos and this sounds better to me. Has some of that organic feel of a carved top. The red finish is gorgeous. I have 5 gorgeous guitars (Gibson, Martin, Taylor, D'Aquisto, and this Ibanez) in the same room and the new Ibby is getting 95% of my attention these days. So worth the price.

  19. #18

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    Looks good!




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  20. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by rolijen
    It came with 11s and it was ridiculously easy to play. I upped the gauge to 12s and it now sounds a little richer and still plays like butter.

    Neck is thicker than other Ibanez. Perfect thickness for me. Fretwork is excellent. Top-notch actually.

    Even with the floater, to me it sounds a lot like my ES-175. But acoustically, it's very very good. Makes the 175 sound like a toy guitar. But that's not a fair comparison. I've played many of the laminate D'Angelicos and this sounds better to me. Has some of that organic feel of a carved top. The red finish is gorgeous. I have 5 gorgeous guitars (Gibson, Martin, Taylor, D'Aquisto, and this Ibanez) in the same room and the new Ibby is getting 95% of my attention these days. So worth the price.


    Well that tipped me over the edge and I ordered one haha. Some of the Artcore necks are just too skinny for me so that was my main concern. I'm very much looking forward to seeing it in person - I am guessing that the pictures do not really capture the red completely.


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  21. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by rio
    Well that tipped me over the edge and I ordered one haha. Some of the Artcore necks are just too skinny for me so that was my main concern. I'm very much looking forward to seeing it in person - I am guessing that the pictures do not really capture the red completely.


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    The neck has more girth than most other Ibanez guitars I've owned or played. It's noticeably thicker than the Pat Metheny models and the artcore series. That and the larger headstock really make a difference.

  22. #21

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    Quote Originally Posted by blille
    Looks good!




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    Great playing, but these pickups also sound good without the tone control being turned all the way down. I run it full up and it sounds great. Very useful range.

  23. #22

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    Quote Originally Posted by rolijen
    The neck has more girth than most other Ibanez guitars I've owned or played. It's noticeably thicker than the Pat Metheny models and the artcore series. That and the larger headstock really make a difference.
    That's good to know. I was surprised at how thin the PM100 neck is when I got it and I was even more surprised that I like it a lot. Generally speaking though, the Artcores with thin necks that I have tried are not comfortable for me - I'm not sure what it is about the PM100 neck but it is extremely comfortable to me even though it is not that substantial. I am looking forward to seeing that this guitar's neck is like


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  24. #23

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    It may disturb some players and I'm not sure if it shows up in any photos, but this model has a volute. I'm guessing it has to do with the larger mass of the headstock. At first it felt weird to my hands but that quickly went away. I didn't notice it at all after about 10 minutes of playing. Given that I didn't mention it in my NGD post or this thread (until now) my hand and brain don't notice it at all. It's an amazing guitar. Period.

  25. #24

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    It arrived this morning. I am going to make a ngd thread tonight after I have had some more time with it and can give some in depth commentary and maybe a video but man, it is gorgeous. It is SO much brighter than I expected - like, shockingly bright. That's fine but all of my guitars are pretty comparable sound wise even though they are quite different instruments and I can usually leave the amp set the same for all of them but I really had to tweak the highs to not have my ears bleed, at least with the Mustang. I was disappointed to have some high frets too - the 12th and 17th frets were very high. It was only a little noticeable with the action set where it was when I got it but it was unplayable on the 11th and 16th frets with low action and in between them there was buzzing. I leveled all the frets from the 12th up and now it plays very well. I'll say more about it after I spend a few hours playing it - I just finished the string change and setup. Thanks again for the recommendation - I was ready to spend a lot more on a guitar that I didn't need and although I don't need this either, I ended up spending less on a really nice guitar that adds something different to the collection.


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  26. #25

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    Quote Originally Posted by rio
    It arrived this morning. I am going to make a ngd thread tonight after I have had some more time with it and can give some in depth commentary and maybe a video but man, it is gorgeous. It is SO much brighter than I expected - like, shockingly bright. That's fine but all of my guitars are pretty comparable sound wise even though they are quite different instruments and I can usually leave the amp set the same for all of them but I really had to tweak the highs to not have my ears bleed, at least with the Mustang. I was disappointed to have some high frets too - the 12th and 17th frets were very high. It was only a little noticeable with the action set where it was when I got it but it was unplayable on the 11th and 16th frets with low action and in between them there was buzzing. I leveled all the frets from the 12th up and now it plays very well. I'll say more about it after I spend a few hours playing it - I just finished the string change and setup. Thanks again for the recommendation - I was ready to spend a lot more on a guitar that I didn't need and although I don't need this either, I ended up spending less on a really nice guitar that adds something different to the collection.


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    Congrats on the new Ibby! I didn't find mine to be excessively bright. Very much in the Metheny zone on mine. Can you tame it to your taste by rolling back Vol a little and turning down the Tone control?