Artstar AF220

Log Out | Topics | Search Moderators | Edit Profile

Author Message Stefant Username: Stefant Registered: 09-2006 Posted on Wednesday, September 20, 2006 - 4:55 pm:    I bought an AF220 a few months back. It's in beautiful condition. I got it because I didn't want to take my vintage Gibson ES-335 out to rehearsals and gigs anymore. It came with a nice Ibanez case with a shroud, Gibson-style. But when I tried to find out about the guitar, I couldn't. Seemd these are rare as hen's teeth. It's a great guitar, why weren't they more popular? What are they worth nowadays? Anybody else got one? [IMG]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c300/jazz451/avatar.jpg[/IMG] Tristan Username: Tristan Registered: 03-2005 Posted on Wednesday, September 20, 2006 - 6:03 pm:    It's from the late 90's line of Ibanez. Most collectors don't seem to care much for new guitars, but I've played one and it's a great guitar (as any Ibanez is) I would even dare paring it with a PM model. Price was around 1600$+- new, I think one of these can fetch 1000$ easily, I haven't seen one on ebay at all this year. Here's the great Norman Brown with one Johns Username: Johns Registered: 02-2001 Posted on Wednesday, September 20, 2006 - 9:47 pm:    Stefant: Another member scored one of these off of ebay in April of 2005. Check out the messages in this thread: http://www.ibanezcollectors.com/cgi-bin/discus/show.cgi?tpc=16&post=26017#POST26 017 Stefant Username: Stefant Registered: 09-2006 Posted on Thursday, September 21, 2006 - 10:46 am:    Well, that's a pretty low price, I don't regret getting mine at all. I play in a jazz big band, and it's perfect for that and it looks great on stage. Wildfield Username: Wildfield Registered: 05-2005 Posted on Thursday, September 21, 2006 - 4:29 pm:    Stefant, Nice looking guitar. The photo attached to the link is a little small so it's hard to see the details, but it appears to be a honey blonde finish. Is that true? Also, the body depth appears to be fairly shallow - I'm guessing around 2-1/4". Looks like a very nice guitar. It is the first time I have seen an AF220...I feel some GAS coming on. Congratulations on acquiring such a nice guitar. Maybe can post a more detailed review of the guitar sometime. Darryl Johns Username: Johns Registered: 02-2001 Posted on Friday, September 22, 2006 - 1:41 pm:    Here's the best pictures of the AF220 that I have found, They are from the '98 US catalog. This is the only year that the AF220 appears. The copy says: "Also new for 1998, the AF220 is our first full bodied guitar designed for rockabilly, modern rock and country swing players who want a traditional sounding hollow body that's not too traditional looking." Specs: Top: Spruce Back and sides: Maple Neck type: Artstar Frets: Medium Fingerboard: Rosewood w/Pearloid blocks Bridge: Rosewood with ge103b (same as the PM100) Pickups: Super 58 Finish: Butterscotch Transparent (BT) It is thinner than the other full size jazz boxes, but I can't find that measurement anywhere. Maybe Orval can help us out? Stefant Username: Stefant Registered: 09-2006 Posted on Friday, September 22, 2006 - 3:26 pm:    No, it's not blonde, the guitar is a sort of light orange color, and the reddish-brown tortoise shell binding is transparent. It's a gorgeous guitar. And yes, it's thinner than a regular jazzbox, but thicker than a 335-style guitar. These seem to be very rare. Part of that has to be due to misguided marketing, Country/Rockabilly guys wouldn't spend nearly $2000 on an orange Ibanez, they would have gotten a Gretsch instead, and the guitar does have a fair bit of gretsch-ish vibe going on. Good luck finding one. I have no Idea how many were imported, but they seem to be genuinely rare. Mine is amazingly well made -- it's definitely a keeper. I use D'addario Chromes (.011s) and the tone, resonance and sustain are incredible.

Add Your Message Here Post: -Color- Black Red Green Blue Yellow Purple Orange Cyan Gray White -Font- Arial Courier Symbol Times Verdana -Size- Smallest (-2) Small (-1) Normal Large (+1) Largest (+2) Enter Item number: Username: Posting Information: This is a private posting area. Only registered users and moderators may post messages here. Password: Options: Enable HTML code in message Automatically activate URLs in message Action: