Ibanez ART300BKC

[Bahamut]

So they got one of these in at the fulcrum of musical evil, merry olde guitar center. It's $400, and I almost bought one tonight. Before I shelled out the cash, I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on this particular guitar.

Mahogany body, set neck. The one I played seemed to have great action, and half decent pickups. The finish was wild too.

Any thoughts greatly appreciated, I'm thinking of buying it tomorrow!

http://www.ibanez.com/eg/guitar.aspx?m=ART300

[Rich]

Chinese of course but I thought they were pretty cool with the pressed top texture like that. Past that, make sure the fretwork passes the grade.

[GP13]

are all the ARTs made in china?

[Rich]

http://www.ibanezrules.com/namm/2008/art.htm

[taracatac]

I tried one of these at SamHash. The fretwork was poor. Sharp edges protruded off the edge of the fret board. The neck was also very thick. I was hoping to be impressed, but I wasn't.

[Bahamut]

Anyone know anything about the active pickups in it? Apparently they're battery powered.... My initial thought was "OH LOOKIE THEY ROUTED IT FOR EMGS FOR ME" but.... honestly I didn't know ibanez even made active pickups. Powered by AA batteries no less.

[Bahamut]

So I got it. I absolutely love it so far. I'm finding the pickups to be a little flat sounding, but they seem to respond really well to tweaking via the amp. The sustain is really good, the fretwork seems pretty solid indeed.

I'll post some pictures soonish..

[Bahamut]

Ibanez ART300BKC

ART300BKC from ze back!

The collection, which I believe to be complete now!

So, I've been jamming on this thing for a few hours now, and I'm feeling like I robbed a bank or something. What a sweet guitar for $400. The fretwork is great, the finish is unique and awesome, and the pickups scream.

As a long-time Ibanez guy it's always just been a given to me that when you get a new guitar you have to change the pickups, but I'm thinking these new LOZs are here to stay. I'm very impressed. They distort like crazy through high gain, the first thing I had to do was roll the gain WAY back from where it usually is. They seem very responsive to the EQ on the amp, and gave a really loud clear and crisp clean tone through my xxx that I found very pleasant.

The finish really has to be seen in person to be appreciated. It doesn't seem to be a "textured" finish at all, I think it's actually a carved top on the guitar. It's a transparent finish thats not quite black over what they call a "scalloped" maple top. I've never seen anything like it before.

The neck is thicker than I'm used to from Ibanez, but I'm finding it very comfortable. The fretboard is a lighter colored rosewood, and the inlays, while obviously cheap, seem to be very well done.

The "Tone" pot doesn't seem to have much of a sweep, but other than that I can't really find a flaw in this instrument.

I love it.

[taracatac]

Congrats! I am still interested in one, even thought the first one I saw was not up to par. I guess I just need try a bunch until I find the right one.

[Rich]

ART300BKC - ART set neck, bound mahogany body, medium frets on a bound rosewood board, mahogany neck, Gibraltar III bridge, LoZ-N neck and LoZ-B bridge pickups, available in BKC [Black Caiman shown here], and BNC [Brown Caiman shown below]. The body has been pressed into a quilted pattern that is quite raised giving it a 3 dimensional texture. Very cool. $533.32 List price. Case is the AR100C at $129.99. Chinese made.

[Spudman]

Originally Posted by Bahamut

So, I've been jamming on this thing for a few hours now, and I'm feeling like I robbed a bank or something. What a sweet guitar for $400. The fretwork is great, the finish is unique and awesome, and the pickups scream.

As a long-time Ibanez guy it's always just been a given to me that when you get a new guitar you have to change the pickups, but I'm thinking these new LOZs are here to stay. I'm very impressed. They distort like crazy through high gain, the first thing I had to do was roll the gain WAY back from where it usually is. They seem very responsive to the EQ on the amp, and gave a really loud clear and crisp clean tone through my xxx that I found very pleasant.

The finish really has to be seen in person to be appreciated. It doesn't seem to be a "textured" finish at all, I think it's actually a carved top on the guitar. It's a transparent finish thats not quite black over what they call a "scalloped" maple top. I've never seen anything like it before.

The neck is thicker than I'm used to from Ibanez, but I'm finding it very comfortable. The fretboard is a lighter colored rosewood, and the inlays, while obviously cheap, seem to be very well done.

The "Tone" pot doesn't seem to have much of a sweep, but other than that I can't really find a flaw in this instrument.

I love it.

I'm right there with you. I played mine out for the first time after only having it two days. I LOVED IT! The neck is fat and I thought I'd only play it part of the night but went the whole night on it and I'm very impressed. I can't believe these are going for only $400. They certainly are worth more.

The body is nice and resonant, the pickups are very articulate, the neck while being fat is very comfortable and the short scale makes the action yummy. I had absolutely no hand fatigue at the end of the night. I usually play Strats. I could get a wide variety of tones and every one of them sounded full and pleasant. Another nice thing is that it is a light weight guitar so no shoulder fatigue.

I got mine used and everything is in tip top shape. The textured top really plays nicely with lighting. Lots of colors and reflections. A superb guitar in every sense. Do I have any niggles? Nope. This guitar rocks!