Just got a new artist AR300BS

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Author Message   Scottop1972 Username: Scottop1972 Registered: 12-2004 Posted on Wednesday, April 20, 2005 - 4:47 pm:    All i can say is wow..... This guitar is absolutely awesome. I am thrilled with the super 58's and the sustain is for days. I had it ordered from a local music store and it came in recently. Unfortunately i havent finished paying for it yet so it sits at the music store for a while longer oh well very soon now it will be with me. I figure whats 3 more weeks when i will have it for years. you know i thought i wouldn't like the chrome hardware but i really think it looks clean. the other thing is the inlay... it is gorgeous. I am really impressed. the pictures on line do not do this guitar justice at all.   Scottop1972 Username: Scottop1972 Registered: 12-2004 Posted on Wednesday, April 20, 2005 - 4:48 pm:    darn emoticons i got the wrong one is what it should be...   Funkle Username: Funkle Registered: 12-2001 Posted on Monday, April 25, 2005 - 11:34 am:    Congratulations, Glad you like it. I'll have to go give one a try. I've only played the old ones. -Sven   Scottop1972 Username: Scottop1972 Registered: 12-2004 Posted on Monday, April 25, 2005 - 6:55 pm:    hey funk, do try to play one of the new ones and let me know how you think they compare. these new ones are supposedly made to the specs of the older ones(measurement wise and pick ups etc). I would love to know what some of you guys think about how they compare... thanks   Funkle Username: Funkle Registered: 12-2001 Posted on Monday, April 25, 2005 - 7:13 pm:    The workmanship on the new Korean guitars is so nice. The only shortcoming I have seen is the fretwork, and this is so easy to fix. The Korean axes I have had fret dresses done professionally play as nicely if not better than the MIJ ones. -Sven   Scottop1972 Username: Scottop1972 Registered: 12-2004 Posted on Tuesday, April 26, 2005 - 7:02 pm:    what do you have done to the frets? what is a fret dress?   Funkle Username: Funkle Registered: 12-2001 Posted on Wednesday, April 27, 2005 - 11:35 am:    After the frets are installed on a new guitar, they are leveled and polished. Ideally, the ends are rounded to remove the sharp edges, but often, this step is skipped. This is the one part of modern guitar building that still comes down skilled workmanship, and takes time. The Japanese made Ibanez' had really great factory fretwork. A guitar that has good fretwork will play better in a lot of ways: lower action, cleaner bends, there will be no sharp ends, even intonation, tone & sustain can improve. A professional guitar tech will charge anywhere from $60-200 to do this. When I have done this to my Korean guitars, they come back feeling completely different, like $1000 plus guitars. Scott, I'm certainly not saying your will need to do this, and I don't mean to take the wind out of your sails about your purchase. Just my diarrhea of the mouth. You've got yourself a fine guitar!   Scottop1972 Username: Scottop1972 Registered: 12-2004 Posted on Wednesday, April 27, 2005 - 10:41 pm:    no dont worry about that. I was wondering because i have heard this before about korean made guitars. I was just wondering. When i played it the other day I was still absolutely thrilled with the sound from the pick ups and the general feeling of the guitar. The action seems a touch high for a gibraltar type bridge though and i can feel what you are talking about in the frets when bending the strings and the egdes of the frets at the sides of the neck feel a little sharp. Maybe this is what this guitar needs? I just picked up and messed around with an old electra les paul copy at a local store and the strings practically laid on the neck that is how i want my guitar .... but no buzz.... lol. with the type of bridge i dont think that this is impossible. I was also thinking about having them change the strings for me and get it set up with the strings i usually use. I usually use hybrid slinky ernie ball strings 9, 11, 16, 26, 36, and 46 what do you think??? Just curious I like to get peoples opinion especially when they have an intelligent one. thanks   Spiro Username: Spiro Registered: 02-2001 Posted on Thursday, April 28, 2005 - 12:29 am:    Yeah I agree about the fretwork.. My chinese Artcore has better finished frets than some of my korean guitars.. But i remedy this anyways.. A nice level and recrown plus rounding off the fret ends.. nice touch..   Funkle Username: Funkle Registered: 12-2001 Posted on Thursday, April 28, 2005 - 10:17 am:    Scott, In my experience, there is a lot of difference from one guitar tech to another. So it's good to shop around and get recommendations from pro guitarists. You get what you pay for, so a bargain may not really be a bargain. The bridge type should not have any effect on action - action is purely a product of the physics of a vibrating string and your playing style. There has been some controversy here about this, but I feel that the best fret work results from www.plek.com I know Spiro thinks otherwise -Sven   Scottop1972 Username: Scottop1972 Registered: 12-2004 Posted on Friday, April 29, 2005 - 7:37 pm:    just paid the last bit on the guitar and it is now home i will be playing it tonight and i will post tomorrow about it.   Ibanezfreak1960 Username: Ibanezfreak1960 Registered: 03-2004 Posted on Friday, April 29, 2005 - 10:40 pm:    Jam on Scott!   Scottop1972 Username: Scottop1972 Registered: 12-2004 Posted on Sunday, May 01, 2005 - 12:28 am:    well i dont know exactly what i was expecting, but what i got is one helluva guitar. it looks astonishing, and sounds amazing, the crunch is awesome and the clean tones are amazing, I am so impressed by the sound that these pickups are putting out. I think the action could be a little lower an there is that whole fret thing talked about earlier in the post, mine seems ok though. **sniff** i think i'm in love....   Bluepill Username: Bluepill Registered: 07-2004 Posted on Sunday, May 01, 2005 - 11:34 pm:    scottop, did you try the ar200hs (2004 model??) just wondering what has changed other than the sunburst color??? also pics would be great!!!   Scottop1972 Username: Scottop1972 Registered: 12-2004 Posted on Monday, May 02, 2005 - 1:35 am:    its my understanding that the ar300 for this year has been redone alot like the older artists. same body dimensions and the super58 pick ups. the ar200 even of this year only has the ah pickups so i cant comment on them. I didnt get a chance to try even this one out. thats why i was so nervous about it. I had the music store order one and i started paying for it. I am glad i like it or i would be in trouble. I am also impressed with the sustain and easy access to the higher frets, all in all this is a kick butt guitar for the money. i paid 599 for it and then bought the matching case.   Scottop1972 Username: Scottop1972 Registered: 12-2004 Posted on Monday, May 02, 2005 - 1:38 am:    i dont have a digital camera but there are links to pics earlier in this thread. Just a warning though those pics are alot better than the ones on the ibanez site and they still dont do justice to this beautiful guitar. you have to go see one in person if you can. I really love the color of the brown sunburst.   Bluepill Username: Bluepill Registered: 07-2004 Posted on Monday, May 02, 2005 - 8:30 pm:    links to pics??? ive seen the pics on ibanez site, but there pretty •••• in my opinion (one dimension shots) i was mainly wondering if there the same super 58's as in the 2004 model? i did see that they smoothed the neck heel which is great (should have done that on the last reissue), but what else? one thing that ive noticed is that these re issues are more like the 2618 http://www.ibanezregister.com/Gallery/vintage/gal-2618.htm the neck is not set as deep into the body as my 84 ar305, and the result is that the guitar is more "neck heavy".   Scottop1972 Username: Scottop1972 Registered: 12-2004 Posted on Wednesday, May 04, 2005 - 10:48 pm:    sorry blue, my mistake, there is a thread further down this list named new ar200 opinions. it has links to better and larger pics of the ar300hs and bs. I like the brown sunburst better but thats what i bought I think its the same super 58's. I know i was concerned about easy fret access but when i got the guitar i was pleasantly surprised, cuz it feels reall natural when playing the high notes, it just fits. i dont play standing up much so i dont think the neck heaviness will bother me much. but after you wrote about it i checked it out and yes it seems still a little neck heavy.

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