83 Artist AR100 restoration, help app...

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Author Message   Arkad Username: Arkad Registered: 10-2007 Posted on Tuesday, October 23, 2007 - 9:55 am:    Hello, I've purchased left-handed Artist AR100CS. Guitar is in general very good condition with 2 small cracks to lacquer surface on front and some scraches to headstock from string changing. Problem I've got with guitar are change parts. Guitar is not genuine. Previous owner has modified guitar but I decided to buy as it's lefty and I've seen 2 lefty Artist over last 2 years (I bought one of them). I want to get it back to factory set up. I'm looking now for: - Vintage japanese made Super 58 PU's plus genuine rings. - set of Vevet Touch tuners in gold. Can you help anyone? There's funny story with knobs. I know it should come with Sure Grip but... it comes with kind of 'witch hat' shaped knobs. These can be seen on Ibanez 1976 catalogue as standard knobs. Have a look here: http://www.break-even.org/ibanez/imagesibanez/1976 /zubeh/la/zubehor-15.jpg. Knobs on my guitar looks like 2351-V (gold) and 2351-T (gold) from link above. How strange is that? Anyone knows if these are genuine Ibanez? All the best, Arkad   Gemberbier Username: Gemberbier Registered: 5-2006 Posted on Tuesday, October 23, 2007 - 6:10 pm:    Welcome Arkad, and congrats with the purchase of your AR100LH. How strange is it that someone breaks one or two knobs, goes to the Ibanez dealer and gets some leftovers from 1976? In those days one didn't look at Ibanez guitars as collectibles, but just as affordable instruments that used to look like Gibsons or Fenders, and most players wanted them to look that way, so if a knob was replaced by something that used to be on a certain model of Gibson, it felt good. Who could ever imagine that one day the Sure Grips would cost $25.- or more? Ginger   Arkad Username: Arkad Registered: 10-2007 Posted on Wednesday, October 24, 2007 - 10:51 am:    Hello Gemberbier, thanks for reply. Just simple question: I'm just curious if all Ibanez Artists come wit 2 piece mahogany body? I'm 100% sure my 83' AR100 is 2 pc body. Very strange for such a 'high end' guitar... thanks, Arkad   Gemberbier Username: Gemberbier Registered: 5-2006 Posted on Wednesday, October 24, 2007 - 11:03 am:    Although it's a good guitar, I wouldn't consider the AR100 a "high end" guitar. For every through-neck construction, one will also have to split the body in two and I consider most through-neck guitars as pretty "high end" (Alembic for instance). Ginger   Gemberbier Username: Gemberbier Registered: 5-2006 Posted on Wednesday, October 24, 2007 - 11:22 am:    Perhaps the AR300 is where high end starts: Flame maple top, Gold hardware, Half-and-half nut, and as far as I can see a ONE PIECE Mahogany body. Ebay Item #110180783447 Ginger   Holmis63 Username: Holmis63 Registered: 3-2006 Posted on Thursday, October 25, 2007 - 2:12 am:    The ar100 is a set neck construction! My ar100 seems to have a one piece mahogany body but iīm not shure the ar500 has, it looks like itīs a piece glued in on the upper horn! My korean ar300 has a one piece mahogany body, i donīt know if the level of status on the Artist influence if itīs a one piece body or not?? They simply chose a good piece of mahogany and if itīs not wide enough they glue in a piece to achieve the right size!?! Holmis63   Arkad Username: Arkad Registered: 10-2007 Posted on Thursday, October 25, 2007 - 3:48 am:    If you take a look at 83' Ibanez catalogue you can see AR100CS comes with Flame Maple and Gold hardware. I can not see difference in wood departement, so what that 'high end' starts from AR300 about? 3ple binding on body? MOP inlays? or tri sound split for each pickup???? Is that something make difference between 'high end' Artist and non 'high end' Artist? Funny So if I put Jason Lollar Imperial Humbuckers in and get Mother of Pearl inlays plus split coils for pickups: does it turn AR1000 into 'high end' guitar? how strange is that? ))   Gemberbier Username: Gemberbier Registered: 5-2006 Posted on Thursday, October 25, 2007 - 5:20 am:    I look at the original prices, and these are normally related to features. A ONE-PIECE-BODY with a set neck could be such a feature, a neck through construction with two pieces of a nice tone wood could be too. These are features that result in a different sound. And then there are of course features that are meant just to look good. Fact is that they result in a price that more difficult to afford for the man in the street. The point where it becomes "high end" is arbitrary, but certainly money related. Compare the prices and features of the AR models in the 1980 pricelist. $495.- is mid price IMO, but that's a 2007 perspective. http://www.ibanezrules.com/catalogs/price/1980/Jan /p02.jpg The AR50 was $375.- It was +$120 from AR50 to AR100, It was +$210 from AR50 to AR200, It was +$270 from AR50 to AR300, It was +$400 from AR50 to AR400, It was +$510 from AR50 to AR500. Where would you draw the line? Ginger   Arkad Username: Arkad Registered: 10-2007 Posted on Thursday, October 25, 2007 - 1:32 pm:    None of AR comes with neck through construction, this forum is really funny though )))))))))))))))))))))))))))))0   Holmis63 Username: Holmis63 Registered: 3-2006 Posted on Thursday, October 25, 2007 - 2:53 pm:    No, no AR:s but 2700 and 2710 (i believe that, those are their "names") are artist guitars and they are neck throughīs. I took a closer look on my ibsez today and the only AR that one can suspect to have a two piece Mahogany body is the AR500 and that is a surprise if itīs true! Iīm not shure, itīs hard to see! But why would i high end AR have that and the other two "lower end" not? Makes no sense when you think about it!! The Bob Weir definitely got a two piece Maple body. Nice to see them all together out of their cases. Since i bought the AR500 the other ibzes have rested in their cases except the AR100 that have served as bedroom guitar for a while. Holmis63   Gemberbier Username: Gemberbier Registered: 5-2006 Posted on Thursday, October 25, 2007 - 3:04 pm:    Well, there was this pre-AR solid neck-through Artist, which I consider high-end, and that's model 2700EQ. http://www.ibanezcollectors.com/discus/messages/12 /16443.html But I didn't say that the AR100 or any AR model was neck-through. That was NOT read carefully. So please read it again. All I meant to say, is that neck-through guitars, which I consider to be the summit of sustain and with the right parts high-end, ALL have bodies that consist of two pieces of wood (with a piece of neck in between). Another example: The tops of all good flattops and classical guitars consist of two pieces of spruce or cedar, (or exotic alternatives like mahogany and koa) and the backs of two pieces of rosewood, mahogany or maple or an alternative like wild cherry. There even was a time when Martin had to use smaller pieces of rosewood for the back of his dreadnoughts and made three piece rosewood backs for the D-35. Still pretty high-end I would say. Anyway, the price of $495.- doesn't give me the impression that the AR100 was MEANT as a high-end guitar. However when I would own a nice AR-100, which I don't (I'm more into the semi-acoustic Artists and Artstars), I would consider it a valuable instrument. Whether the two-piece body should bother you, depends on how it sounds. Ginger   Gemberbier Username: Gemberbier Registered: 5-2006 Posted on Thursday, October 25, 2007 - 3:13 pm:    Oh good evening Anders, I see we've been simultaneously on the same brainwave... Hmmm... a bedroom AR100, that would be nice... Ginger   Holmis63 Username: Holmis63 Registered: 3-2006 Posted on Thursday, October 25, 2007 - 4:43 pm:    Good evening Ginger! Yes itīs a nice bedroom guitar. Not like a Real women but close!! I seriosly consider my next catch to be a Hollow body Ibanez, i have never owned and rarely played such "thing"! But i know they are good, not just beacause they are Ibbys. GB and JS squeeze some amazing sounds out of those Hollows! What model would you recomend, the early 2629-30 or the later vintage as100-200? I think GB:s are to expensive so that is no alternative. Holmis   Gemberbier Username: Gemberbier Registered: 5-2006 Posted on Thursday, October 25, 2007 - 7:18 pm:    Depends on what you want to spend and what kind of sound you prefer. I'm satisfied with my AS120 (1997), but if you really want a MIJ, you might consider an AS180. Ginger

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