HNGD Ibanez ART100 TCR

[Spudman]

Lovely little guitar (Ibanez ART 100) with a big sound. It's all passive, unlike the ART 300s that I have that have active pickups. That means I can plop any old humbucker in to this puppy and wail away. Truth is, it sounds great just as it is and it plays heavenly.

Mahogany body with tummy bevel, and mahogany set neck, which is on the chunky side, and low easy action. Scale length is 24.75. Tuners work really well and tuning doesn't drift. I noticed the same on my ART300s. Very stable. Body is thinner than your standard LP so it's a bit lighter. I think I'm going to change the tone cap, but otherwise it is staying stock.

These are sweet rock and roll guitars and can cover a lot of sonic territory. Lots of sounds available from sweet and bluesy to warm and jazzy to full on bark. If you are patient and look around you can probably find a good deal on one. Mine was about the price of dinner for 3 with drinks at Red Lobster and it's like new.

 

[Tig]

Very tasty Ibanez! It is amazing what you can find at such a low price.
The next time I eat out, I'll be thinking, "I coulda' bought a guitar instead of this!".

 

[progrmr]

Love that clean neck! I saw that GC has the ART300 for $250 and was very tempted. But I like this one better - doesn't have that textured body and does have passive pickups.

Nice score!

 

[Katastrophe]

...and the collection grows again. Beauty, Spuds. Me likey!

 

[marnold]

Oooh, and they've got a goldtop version too. Wish I hadn't seen that . . .

 

[Spudman]

They sound surprisingly alike. However, for just flat out rock and roll ability the ART300 has a huge edge with those active pickups and the scalloped top finish is really nice. I prefer the black over the brown finish under the lights. $250 IS A STEAL!..for the ART300.

Love that clean neck! I saw that GC has the ART300 for $250 and was very tempted. But I like this one better - doesn't have that textured body and does have passive pickups.

Nice score!

This finish lets you see the wood grain.

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Nice! Congrats on such a good score!

 

[epi0205]

Solid gratz all over ya' spudman!
Great "Nezzy" at a great price!!!
Fantastic deal bro.

 

[stingx]

Thanks for the GAS! I just ordered a blem GD. The only thing that bothers me are the pickup rings. Easy fix.

 

[Spudman]

Thanks for the GAS! I just ordered a blem GD. The only thing that bothers me are the pickup rings. Easy fix.

What's a blem GD?

 

[bigoldron]

Awesome snag there, Spudster! That Ibanez is one sweet lady!

 

[MAXIFUNK]

congrats enjoy

 

[oldguy]

Sweet deal, Spudman!
Looks like it will do the LP thing quite nicely. Thinner and lighter is a good thing also.

 

[FrankenFretter]

A guy I work with just bought one of those. Seems to be a great guitar for the price. I saw one on the local CL today, in fact.

 

[stingx]

What's a blem GD?

GD = gold!

 

[stingx]

I trust you're enjoying the hell outta that guitar.

 

[Spudman]

I trust you're enjoying the hell outta that guitar.

Oh ya baby! What a great axe to rock out on. In some ways I'd really like to have a thinner neck but every time I play it it doesn't seem to be a hindrance at all. It's just me wanting something a tad different, no slight against the guitar. In some ways I think it has more going for it than the more expensive ART300. IT's a sweetie for sure.

I'd love to see yours after it arrives.

 

[FrankenFretter]

I just played my friend's ART 100. Not bad at all. Much lighter than any of my LPs, too.

 

[bcdon]

Very nice. I really like the cut-away.

 

[Spudman]

It's all I've been playing lately. I'll be taking her to her first gig this next weekend. I'm expecting to have a lot of fun playing it...loud. It's just a fun rock and roll guitar.

 

[stingx]

Spud, I've heard clips if you playing. You could rock a Fischer Price guitar at a gig. LOL!

 

[msteeln]

The bridge looks quite substantial, how much string vibration do you feel gets to the top vs a standard LP bridge?

Do these have maple or mahogany caps?

These look to be the best guitars going for $300, or less!

 

[Spudman]

The bridge looks quite substantial, how much string vibration do you feel gets to the top vs a standard LP bridge?

Do these have maple or mahogany caps?

These look to be the best guitars going for $300, or less!

There is real good vibration all the way from the head to the butt. It's as good as any LP I've got. Sustain is very good on the ART.

The ART100s, and ARTs in general, are an all mahogany body. As you start moving up the line (ART300, ART400 etc) then different woods and maple caps come into play. If you want the maple cap GC and some ebay sellers have the ART300 right now for $299. They have nicer neck inlays and active pickups. Some guys are pulling those actives and installing quality passive pickups and ending up with real nice guitars. I'm keeping my 2 ART300s active for the time being, but I'm awful tempted to change one of them to passive.

 

[tjcurtin1]

Good Gawd Almighty, Spud! ANOTHER guitar...!!!!! You better send me one or two before you get caught in a dangerous and potentially life-threatening avalanche

 

[Spudman]

Good Gawd Almighty, Spud! ANOTHER guitar...!!!!! You better send me one or two before you get caught in a dangerous and potentially life-threatening avalanche

Well...it's not like I just added another. I did a tiny bit of subtraction before the addition.

 

[msteeln]

Much lighter than any of my LPs, too.

In researching reviews, everybody is aglow about them, kudos to Ibanez. Have you tried the Edwards/ESP LPs to compare against? The inevitable reviewer will say "it's not a Les Paul", beyond the sustain plus, where do you stand? If there's a significant dif, would it be mainly to the weight, or electronics/both?

 

[Spudman]

Really, it just is what it is. Is it a Les Paul? No. It's just a mahogany body, single cutaway with humbucking pickups. It does have that sound that I associate with a Les Paul. The stock pickups are very good. The neck on all that I have played is like a 50s style with a little flatter radius maybe. It's not a thin neck by any means. Is it comfortable and easy to play, does it have a tummy bevel on the back of the body? Yes.

They are worth the effort to check out in my opinion. They way I became exposed to them was when I was loitering around the Ibanez importer's showroom one day I noticed the ART300 on a stand and thought "wow, this is different looking" (because of the scalloped top). I plugged it in and was impressed with the active pickups and the tummy bevel, which has always been an issue for me with LPs. The ART was comfortable to play and hold.

Later I played some of the new ART100s in the same location and really wanted to have the passive pickup option in basically the same guitar as the ART300. My wait has been well rewarded because I really love the sound of the ART100. The 300 is super quiet and has it's own rather authoritative voice, but I wanted the nuances that only passives can provide. I've grown very fond of the ART100 quickly and have only one thing I would change about it and that is a simple capacitor swap.

Sweet guitar.

 

[msteeln]

Fine assessment of the issue, much appreciated, and makes the decision easier to wait for a trem model while looking for the right Edwards.
I like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6C1b51wxC0&NR=1&feature=fvwp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEqD-ZKSOZM&NR=1&feature=fvwp

 

[Spudman]

Did a gig last night, Friday, and all I can say is (big grin) ya baby! Sweet sounds, comfortable and fun to play. It sounded great on everything I played. I used it 2 sets out of 4 and was very impressed at gig volume. Some of the character of the guitar comes through even better when it's played loud versus just playing at home. And guess what? I get to go back and play again tonight. tee hee

I'm finding that the ART is a bit more diverse sounding than any of the 3 Les Pauls I have. It's bold yet has a wonderful clean presence and more than adequate sustain. This is without a doubt one of the top 5 guitars in my collection and easily in the top 10 of guitars I've played...and it was cheap. Pretty sweet little guitar.

 

[Tig]

Impressive!
Oh, and thanks for the GAS.