|
|
Failed to execute CGI : Win32 Error Code = 3 |
| Free from a music retailer near you. |
 |
Ibanez AF85VLS Hollow Body Jazz Guitar |
Ibanez AF85VLS Hollow Body Jazz Guitar
The guitar I am reviewing this edition is the ‘Ibanez’ AF-85VLS Hollow Body Jazz guitar. This is quite a different type guitar for me to review, as Jazz guitars are generally not my thing, however I was very interested in how it would feel and sound. I always thought that these "jazz-box" style hollow bodied guitars would feel large, cumbersome and difficult to play, especially as I always play smaller solid bodied electric guitars, (still stuck in the 80’s!), but I have to say that I was completely wrong. This guitar is excellent to play, it feels light, has a great neck, and some very useable tones for both jazz and rock playing. It has been an experience that I enjoyed immensely.
The AF-85 is just one of the four ‘Artcore’ series of guitars made by ‘Ibanez’. I did a bit of research on these guitars, and it seems that for a long time, good full acoustic and semi-acoustic guitars were very expensive and the inexpensive ones weren’t very good at all. So in 2002, ‘Ibanez’ introduced the ‘Artcore’ series’ and that has changed everything. Now everyone, jazzers, rockers, pickers, and punks can get a well-made, great looking and great sounding "jazz-box" at a price everyone can afford. This guitar is aimed at the intermediate to professional guitarist after a versatile sounding and great looking guitar at a very affordable price, and with a retail price of only $995.00, ‘Ibanez’ certainly has achieved this.
One thing I noticed even before picking this guitar up is the exquisite finish and attention to detail by the crew at ‘Ibanez’. The ‘violin sunburst’ coloured flamed maple top / back and sides are very impressive looking, right down to the matching flamed maple pick-guard and ‘Artcore’ DX fingerboard inlays. This is a beautiful looking guitar with a faultless appearance. On my first play of this instrument, I found it to be very well balanced and easy to play sitting or standing. It came strung with medium-light strings, that felt good for me, but real jazz players will have to replace them straight away with much heavier strings, which will only add to the already fat jazz tone.
Most full and semi-acoustics in this price range feature simple bolt-on necks, but the ‘Artcore’ series feature a painstakingly crafted ‘set-in’ mahogany neck for a fuller tone, more sustain and easier upper fret access. It has 22 large frets which where tapered and seated very neatly with not a sharp fret edge in sight. The neck was so smooth it felt like it had been played for years. The action was perfectly set up straight out of the box and the intonation perfect.
It has the very distinctive ‘Ibanez’ jazz headstock with three die cast tuners per side and it kept perfectly in tune during the whole review. As you can tell already, I am pretty impressed with this guitar and felt settled with it straight away.
The AF-85 has two medium output ‘Artcore’ pickups with chrome covers, which produce clean, clear full and semi-acoustic tones. Obviously perfect for jazz, but add some gain and they crunch up nicely and sound perfect for rock as well. I played this guitar through my ‘Marshall’ JCM-600, using just the amps clean and crunch channels, and I really enjoyed getting that raunchy rockabilly sounding - "Living End" tone just by winding on a little gain, which sounded great.
The neck pick-up sounds very warm and by adding a little reverb you will get that very nice fat jazz tone. The ‘Artcore’ pick-ups have definitely been matched perfectly for the tones you would expect from this guitar. I then I played it through my ‘Digitech RP-21d’ digital effects unit and found the pickups also worked well with effects in the chain, a perfect mixture and very versatile. Unplugged, this guitar is also seriously loud, with a very resonant body, the large hollow body and the ‘F’ holes really making for a big acoustic sound. With easy upper fret access and the extra sustain of a ‘set-in’ neck, this guitar felt great for playing both rhythm or lead styles. As you can tell, there is not much that I don’t like about this guitar.
The AF-85 is fitted with the ‘ART-1’ bridge, which looks very similar to the ‘tune-o-matic’ style bridge, but with the jazz style chrome tail-piece which attaches to the base of the guitar. Looks very ‘jazzy’, solid and adds to the overall great look of this guitar. A three-way toggle switch switches between the neck, bridge or both pick-ups together, and each pick-up has its own volume and tone control for greater tone adjustment. Of course the knobs are vintage style and match perfectly with the ‘Violin Sunburst’ finish.
For those of you who really love your guitar specs, I thought I would include these dimensions. Scale — 628mm / 24.75", Width at Nut — 43 mm, Width at Last Fret — 58.5 mm, Thickness at 1st fret — 21.5mm, Thickness at 12th — 26.5 mm, Radius — 305. All in all, these specs make up for a very comfortable and easy to play neck.
In the ‘Artcore’ series there are 4 different models available - the AK/ AS / AF and AG. There is a huge assortment of styles, both true hollow body guitars and semi-acoustics in all different sizes, thicknesses and shapes. The AFs ‘tremolo’ fitted model offers an original design vintage vibrato with a roller saddle bridge and all the great vibe of the classic trem’s — with none of their traditional tuning glitches. With ‘Artcore’ series of guitars you get an amazingly affordable price plus the quality and tone you expect from ‘Ibanez’, the guitar company with over four decades of experience making full and semi-acoustic guitars. With a retail price of only $995.00, I have certainly changed my mind about the old "jazz box", so get on out there and have a play of one, I’m sure you will be impressed…. Awesome…!!!