Ibanez rules!! and don't they ever?

Look.. five of the best.

Archie's bunker. My music shop buddies up the road at KC's Rockshop have their guitar department really honking along these days with a great range of Fender's and Squier's, there are Godin's, ESP's, Yamaha's and of course the ever popular Ibanez guitars and basses. Although never having been an Ibanez owner I have always admired their beauty and build quality Ibanez put into all their instruments. In particular their hardware. The Ibanez tremolo systems are not only original but masterly pieces of engineering. No, I won't mention Honda but you get the comparison.

So what shop can I go to anywhere in Australia to see a line up of Ibanez archtop guitars hanging on the same wall. Yes, KC's Rockshop of course. This is great, I get to have a little noodle on them all and jot down a few words and share my thoughts on the pro's and con's with my gazillion followers.

On the top we have the truly magnificent pure jazz box from the Contemporary Series, the AFC151. If you're a Ferrari fan then this has to be seen in the corner of your lounge room, even if you can't play. Stunning is the only adjective I can come up with. This thing is absolutely gorgeous with a capital G. Under the clear red lacquer finish the grain of the spruce top, beautifully flamed maple back and sides glows through. As does the subtle curly maple binding and the fine outline of the uniquely Ibanez F holes. Ebony is everywhere from the fingerboard to the high gloss wood covered tailpiece and carved wooden pickguard to the woody bridge, the control knobs and the tuner buttons. This guitar just oooozes craftsmanship. Everything about this instrument (apart from the outrageous red ) is lush and subtle. To be honest I didn't even ask the price. Whatever it is, it will be well worth it.

The beautiful AFC155 shares the same awesomeness as the 151 but features an additional bridge pickup along with the floater at the neck plus an extra pair of controls. If you're a one eyed jazzer then the single puppy 151 is for you. For a couple of extra tones for some funky rhythms then the Jet Blue Burst is for you. The metalwork on both instruments is plated in gold. Don't think Cleopatra, these baby's aren't exactly blingy. The striking woodwork and finish somewhat shadows any bling.

Instrument number three we have looked at before in an earlier post. The AKJV90D. This has the pointy cutaway of the Gibby 175, the Florentine cutaway. For those who may not know the roundy cutaway is known as the Venetian cutaway. I guess it's market pressure but it really beats me why Ibanez decided it was a good idea to make a beaten up jazz box, or as they call it - vintage. A fine archtop all the same, sounds good with the Super 58 pickups, nice feel and plays good.

Next up is the ever-popular AF75. This is the instrument that started their Made in China archtops in the mid 80's. Apart from a couple of cosmetic differences this is that same guitar. In fact, as you can see all five guitars shown share the exact same body shape, well apart for the cutaway on the AKJV90D. This is cool in my eyes. It's an original shape with a slightly smaller 15.75" body which make them all very comfortable to play. The AF75 is from the Artcore Series of which there are several incarnations of basically the same instrument. Some with thinner bodies but still fully hollow, some with a Bigsby (style) vibrato. Other than a very nice Brown Sunburst finish there is not a great deal of bling to be found on the AF75. Chrome hardware all round, plastic knobs, a simple black/white/black pickguard and large MOTS block inlays. It is a very traditional looking jazz guitar but with it's many guises it will play pretty much everything, albeit at reasonable volume.

Now this is the thrasher. The AF55. Also from the Artcore Series we're at the basics here. I call it scrubbed but Ibanez call it Tobacco Flat. Without the gooey lacquer (probably poly) I think the AF55 sounds much brighter and livelier acoustically than the AF75. Of course it has been built to a price and consequently the pickups have some extra nastiness plus you only get shared volume and tone pots. If you are into tinkering the AF55 is wide open to some modding. Even as it stands it is a great little jazzer, stuff it full of newspapers and you could be Ted Nugent.

So do we have a winner? Well the Contemporary Series models would have to take the cake but then again they are up in that price bracket where they do have competition, I think if you have the dosh it will be "love at first sight" and you will have an awesome guitar, and so will your friends think it, heck they will probably tell you. However, saying that, you may have a jealous girlfriend. I like to add my own mojo to a guitar so the awkwardly named AKLV90D misses out, even if it does have Super 58's like George Benson uses. The AF55 is a great step into a jazz guitar and for a few buckaroonies more you could transform this into a monster. I have to say my winner here is the old and proven AF75 with it's ceramic pickups and traditional look. It sounds warm and is very responsive to my playing and it's very comfortable sitting or standing. Apart from a set of Thomastik's FW's it's plug-n-play for the AF75.

Thanks to KC's and all bets are on. The AF75 will be first to find a home.

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