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The first guitar I ever bought was an Ibanez AF-75, vintage sunburst. You all are guitar aficionados, so you're probably aware that this is a really entry level guitar. It costs around $400 USD MSRP. I used this guitar from January 2019 and did not get another archtop until recently. With my new Epiphone Emperor Regent, I didn't want the Ibanez to feel obsolete. After all, the Epiphone has a larger body, single floating pickup, wider frets, better acoustic tone. And I'm sure I could make this Ibanez well suited for nice electric jazz tones. I strung up the Epiphone with Thomastik-Infeld Swing Bebop strings, the roundwounds 0.012, and I put on the George Benson Jazz Strings (0.014) on the Ibanez.
I have several base issues with the AF-75. For one, the pots seem to get scratchy a lot, and there isn't a range of volume. It seems to do this awkward jump from really silent, to loud, and the guitar seems to breakup after around 6 or 7. Or maybe not break up, but in my opinion at least, it sounds really bad. So I'd often play this guitar at around 3 or 4, and raise the volume on the amp. My Emperor Regent, on the other hand, seems to sound good throughout all volumes, and I can hear a clear smooth transition as I turn up and down both volume and tone knobs, and no scratchy pots!
So all of this made me think, I'd wanna completely change everything I can on this guitar. The tuning machines (I had to put on two different inferior ones because they snapped off on me, and another developed a mark that kept cutting every E string I strung unto it), the pickups (I'm sure the stock ones aren't the best...), the electronics (not sure if this is necessary, or if the volume issue is from the pickups? tell me), the knob caps, and heck, even the tailpiece. I'd want to change the accents from chrome to gold, which means I'd have to get a gold tune-o-matic bridge, and change the tailpiece. I was thinking the GB10 tailpiece since it also has 4 holes.
One question is, is this even worth it? Is it worth dressing up a cheap $400 guitar with accessories and electronics that will cost more than the guitar itself? I've grown physically accustomed to this guitar that even though I have a new one, I keep coming back to it.
Someone told me that the guitar itself doesn't matter that much in the grand scheme of things, and that I should focus on buying good pickups and good strings. I'd want some thoughts on this.
Thanks!
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01-30-2022 11:21 PM
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If I get it right, you want to make this AF95FM | AF | HOLLOW BODIES | PRODUCTS | Ibanez guitars or https://www.ibanez.com/eu/products/d...f95_5b_02.html out of the 75?
I would take a shortcut, sell the 75 and get a 95 right away.
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In my humble opinion it's definitely worth it. I worked for Ibanez and I did all sorts of mods on instruments all along the line and even more than the final guitar (which can be fantastic after 'upgrading') I learned tons about how to do these things, and the upgrade parts are easily transferred to a new instrument should you ever want to do that.
Plus, there's a vibe you are connected to on that instrument so why not keep that, AND know once and for all just HOW much difference a pickup change or different hardware can make. Don't take anyone else's word for it, you'll know.
Just for kicks, I customarily changed out:
Pickups
Output Jacks
Tuning machines
Level and dress frets (give the fret ends a haircut if needed)
and set the pickups for MY taste.
While you're at it, look at this as a tech lab, a DIY teaching course on mods. Do an entire wiring harness and pickup and high grade pots/caps replacement, and maybe try a wooden tailpiece? Just so you can know the things that change sound. Once you know these things on your trusty workhorse, you'll be in an excellent position to take ANY guitar you may take in for the future and make it into something that you can only imagine the limits of.
THose Ibanez'es are great tools for this kind of project. They're trustworthy from the start and the corners they cut are all things you yourself can upgrade. In the end, a true keeper.
My opinion as a tinkerer.
Good luck any way you cut it!
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In the end, after you’ve dumped $1,500 into the guitar and you decide you still don’t like it. You can sell the Ibanez for $350.
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This. I had a 75 and a 95 and the difference between the two is quite a lot. The 95 was one of the nicest guitars I’ve owned, period.
Originally Posted by guavajelly
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I have an AF85 with a Gibson pickup in it and it is a perfectly decent gig-able guitar. It’s a decent backup. The electronics are not the best though.
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I did consider selling the Ibanez, and I probably could get a buyer if I wait around long enough (might be a tough sell around my parts). This is the part of every post I make where I mention I'm from Belize. I can't just walk into a music store and walk out with a great hollowbody. In fact, I've never seen a hollowbody archtop on sale anywhere in this country - not even a semi-hollow!
Ordering a new guitar can be very time-consuming and pricey (mostly due to the size), whereas the parts (tuning machines, pickups, etc.) are relatively small and I can save a lot on shipping.
I don't have a big problem with how this guitar plays. It feels good, but that might be due to playing it since 2019, and it being the first guitar I bought. The problem seems to lie in the electronics. But if I'm going that far, I figured I might as well deck out the rest of the guitar too.
I was thinking getting Seymour Duncan Seth Lover pickups (if anyone can recommend a better one for jazz, I'm all ears), some grover tuners, new pots, electronics, a new tailpiece. All of that seems to come up to around $600 USD, which is over the price of a new guitar, and seems to be the price of the next level up from this one. But I'm guessing even the better Ibanez has unbranded tuners, and maybe less than ideal pickups/electronics. I've never done this before so I'm not sure if my logic checks out.
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So for another $600, you get a truly functional guitar that you already bonded with, bringing your investment to $1000, a very reasonable amount of money for a good guitar. And it's an entirely different instrument from the Epiphone, which is a good thing as well. As pointed out above, Ibanez instruments are very modifiable, and lots of folks use the inexpensive ones as "frames" for their ideal parts. Going with gold hardware will give you a somewhat expensive-looking guitar as well. I've switched to Gretsch myself, and both my white one and black one have gold hardware, which immediately sounds better to most audiences.
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Sorry, I didn't see that you are in Belize – and if I saw I didn't knew that getting guitars there is a problem. I'm sorry that you had so much trouble with the Ibanez. I played an AG75 (poor man's GB) before I got my GB and that was trouble free. Maybe your problems with the electronics come from humidity in a tropic country?
I did only 2 changes to my humble AG:
I changed the bridge to a rosewood bridge. That made a lot of difference and brought the guitar more in the intended direction.
Then after getting my GB10 I thought that the AG still wasn't too bad compared to the GB (it played very well and the tone wasn't bad either) and I was curious if I could get it to be approximately as good as the much pricier real deal. So I bought a Seymour Duncan Jazz Pickup on ebay and installed it. To my ears there wasn't a day and night difference – it was very subtle and I wasn't sure if I liked the OEM pickup better. Maybe your's are to high – IMHO these sound better adjusted with a little more distance to the strings.
All in all and for the price I thought the Artcore was a nice guitar and honestly – if I couldn't have the GB I would still play it and be happy. Eventually I gave it to my best friend who loves it.
If you have defect parts it makes sense to replace these – but upgrading pickups and such will not necessarily get you a better guitar – and it sure won't increase selling price as much as you invest. As you have the Epiphone you can take your time selling it and then get something you really want.
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That could be a broken pot (in which case, it needs to be changed), or it might just be dirty. Did you try cleaning the pots? Caig DeOxit D5S-6 can often bring a pot back from near-death....
I have several base issues with the AF-75. For one, the pots seem to get scratchy a lot, and there isn't a range of volume. It seems to do this awkward jump from really silent, to loud, and the guitar seems to breakup after around 6 or 7. Or maybe not break up, but in my opinion at least, it sounds really bad. So I'd often play this guitar at around 3 or 4, and raise the volume on the amp. My Emperor Regent, on the other hand, seems to sound good throughout all volumes, and I can hear a clear smooth transition as I turn up and down both volume and tone knobs, and no scratchy pots!
I think it makes sense to replace all the tuners. Go with whatever fits and seems like an upgrade in quality over what you have, fits the holes in the guitar, and is not too much money. Odds are, there's either a Gotoh or Grover set that will fit the bill for $50-ish.So all of this made me think, I'd wanna completely change everything I can on this guitar. The tuning machines (I had to put on two different inferior ones because they snapped off on me, and another developed a mark that kept cutting every E string I strung unto it),
The problem you're describing to me sounds like either a dirty or broken volume pot. Like I said above, try cleaning it first. If that doesn't work, then replace it. It's a PITA to fish pots in and out of an archtop, so you might as well do them all at once (since you might have to take them all out to get just the broken one out), and while you're at it replace the wires if that's in bad condition or causing problems. But if nothing is actually broken, I don't think it makes sense to replace pots and wiring. Pickups are a more complicated subject. Whether one pickup is better than another is subjective, and you can't really predict whether you'll like something better until you try it.the pickups (I'm sure the stock ones aren't the best...), the electronics (not sure if this is necessary, or if the volume issue is from the pickups? tell me), the knob caps,
Functionally, a tailpiece is a tailpiece. If you prefer one visually over another, OK, but it's not going to make a difference in how the guitar sounds (cue post contradicting this from someone who changed a tail piece in 5 ... 4 ... 3 ... 2 ... 1 ...) Originally Posted by Loreto
If you're asking whether these upgrades will increase the resale value of the guitar enough to pay for themselves, no, it's not worth it. If they result in a guitar you much prefer, for an amount of money you can afford, and involve work you'd enjoy doing, it night be worth it. Originally Posted by Loreto
I don't think this is true. I think the guitar (especially with hollow-bodies) makes a lot of difference in the sound and playability. If you're fundamentally unhappy with the guitar, changing the components is unlikely to change that. If you're fundamentally happy with it, some changes might make you happier with it, but probably not dramatically so. Originally Posted by Loreto
Again, I think there's a high degree of subjectivity here, plus what sounds good in one guitar might not suit another guitar as well. As an example, when I was looking for a new archtop about a year ago, at one point I tried two Eastman AR503's side by sude. One was older and had a cheaper Korean-made Kent Armstrong Pickup, the other was more recent and a Duncan Seth Lover. Most people will say the Duncan is a "better" pickup. But that's a very bright sounding guitar to begin with, and I thought the darker sounding KA sounded a little better in it the Duncan.I don't have a big problem with how this guitar plays. It feels good, but that might be due to playing it since 2019, and it being the first guitar I bought. The problem seems to lie in the electronics. But if I'm going that far, I figured I might as well deck out the rest of the guitar too.
I was thinking getting Seymour Duncan Seth Lover pickups (if anyone can recommend a better one for jazz, I'm all ears), some grover tuners, new pots, electronics, a new tailpiece.
If you want to spend $600, I think focusing on finding a used guitar for that price that's better than what you have is a better idea than doing that whole slate of upgrades. If that's not practical, then, yes, do some upgrades. But I think a better choice would be to fix the stuff that's broken (tuners, maybe a pot or pots if cleaning the bad volume control doesn't work), buy a new pickup, and leave the bridge and tailpiece alone. The amount you save can go toward more pickup experiments.All of that seems to come up to around $600 USD, which is over the price of a new guitar, and seems to be the price of the next level up from this one. But I'm guessing even the better Ibanez has unbranded tuners, and maybe less than ideal pickups/electronics. I've never done this before so I'm not sure if my logic checks out.
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I have upgraded several entry level archtops (including several Ibanez and Epiphone models) with excellent results. The stock wiring, pots, caps, switches and jacks are typically of exceedingly poor quality. I have used SD Seth Lover pickups in each project and found them to be excellent. It takes patience building a new wiring harness and fishing it all into the guitar, but it’s satisfying and you’ll learn a lot. In each case, for me, the end result has been very satisfying. I didn’t do these projects to create my dream guitar. I did it to learn. And I learned that, with a little work, these basic Ibanez jazz guitars can perform like much more costly instruments. I recently did an Epiphone Broadway and it too ended up becoming a fantastic jazz guitar, punching way above its weight. In my opinion, if you like the AF-75, and it has a straight neck, I would spend the money to improve it.
These are the things I would consider upgrading if it were my guitar:
1. Fit bridge to guitar arch. Whether you use the existing bridge base or purchase a better quality new rosewood bridge base, use the Dan Erlewine method (tape sandpaper, face-up in the location of the bridge, and drag the base forward and back until the base perfectly fits the arch) to mate the bridge base perfectly with the guitar’s top.
2. Replace switch, jack, pots, caps, and wiring. This element alone makes the guitar so much more useable. Given the effort required to do this, you may as well upgrade the pickups at the same time. Thus…
3. Install better pickups. I love Seth’s but there are several excellent options.
4. Install better tuners.
5. Install a bone nut.
If you decide to sell the 75 and get a 95, you’ll still need to do all these. Good luck!
Roli
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Well, I'm a little late to the dance but, that aside, I have the definitive answer from direct experience. I bought an AF75 for $200. Swapped in a pair of Duncan Seth Lovers, a compensated saddle, new tuners and a set of TI Benson 12's. (Also acquired a nearly impossible to find gray Ibanez arched-top case, originally sold with AF-105 and above.) All told, after selling off the old parts, I'm into the guitar about $575. Here's what it sounds like: Originally Posted by Loreto
So, all in all, a decent guitar, especially for the money. At the same time, there are some aspects of a cheap guitar that can't be overcome with upgraded parts. Specifically, the low E string gets a little "stuffy" up the neck and there are a couple of notes on the B and high E strings that jump out a little. So having owned a Johnny Smith and other quality archtops I can say this ain't that. But it's still something.
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My jamsession guitar is an even cheaper upgraded AF55.
I think it’s fantastic!
The upgrade was definitely worth it, but I had a Gibson pattent # humbucker laying around, and an SD59, so I didn’t have to invest in pickups.
Electronics, bridge, tailpiece and pickguard cost me maybe $100. Well worth it!
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I didn't buy my AF 55, it was given to me for free by someone. So I've made some mods. Namely: I put a Gibson P94 (neck), Grover tuners and even had the neck thinned a little bit (from medium to slim C). It sounds great and is a joy to play!
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