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3K views 14 replies 8 participants last post by  masdered 
#1 ·
I'm dying to get an Artist, specifically a '78 2619 to '82 AR-300. I was thinking maybe of holding out for one of the new RE's, but with a 3 grand list price I don't think that will be an option for me.

So, who out there has an Artist lying around we could get some pics of? :D

These guitars were some of Ibanez's best work ever, and they don't get much attention here. Let's see what everyone has :D (I'm crossing my fingers here that someone actually has one ;) )
Maybe a nice AR-2000 or two?
 
#3 ·
The AR300RECS was going to be my next guitar, but the price put me off. Makes my 20th Aniversary RG look like a bargain at $900.

That re-issue price is going to have an effect on the market. You can get good Artists for a thousand dollars or less on the bay.

I hope you find a good one!
 
#4 ·
you know, jim...i was at a toss up on finding one of the ar305 burl tops, but opted to go for an edwards john sykes les paul instead. i am currently selling a few of my lower end axes in order to make this happen. i do, however, own a 1978 pf230. so i have mad love for the old lawsuit era ibanez's. currently the only artists i own are the ax220, ax7521, and am73. not artists in the truest sense, but artist-ish.


rich
 
#7 ·
any thoughts on an arx140? seeing how they are only $300 at guitar centers, they are extremely affordable and look nice. Question is, how nice do they play? I have low expectations, but Im considering one (along with the SG i discussed in another thread) since Id like a few fixed bridge guitars..wouldnt mind sticking with ibanez either ;)

the guitar would be used for variations of "rock" (too broad to really name here. Everything from Mars Volta to jimmy eat world to thursday to pavement to meat puppets to weezer), both clean and distorted. Looking for a sound similar to an SG. The pickups would be replaced with humbucker sized P90s.
 
#10 ·
any thoughts on an arx140? seeing how they are only $300 at guitar centers, they are extremely affordable and look nice. Question is, how nice do they play? I have low expectations, but Im considering one . . .
Micah used the word "decent," and that is a good way to decribe them. I like them better than other offerings at that price point. The finishes are good and glossy.

Thing I don't like so much about the neck is the paint job. After I got my RG550 with the satin neck finish, I realized that i didn't like the painted necks as much because they don't allow the hand to slide as easily.
 
#11 ·
Hi guys.

You're looking for one of these things?


I got lucky and ended up getting a reissue from 1997 that was more or
less in mint shape. Even the case was in ungigged condition.

Whoever the owner was tossed a boatload of parts at it: matching Duncan
Seth Lovers, Grover Imperials, Schaller roller bridge and fine tuning stoptail
and yes, the trisounds work fine!

I get the feeling whoever owned it bought it to stare at.

I was considering one of the AR300RECS despite the price but when I found
this I went crazy for it.

Here I am playing out with it on 7/4 which was a lot of fun:



The neck is really similar to that of my #1 guitar, a Heartfield EX-2 I've owned
for 19 years or so, so it was great to pick it up and find the neck profile was
actually not only identical but slightly better.

I highly recommend these if you can find one.

Mine weighs about 10 pounds. I play using a wide padded strap and straploks
and no fears on gigging with the thing at all.
 
#12 ·
Well ... I own an Artist 2619 which I bought in '79 ... but I'm not selling :) sorry to tease you this way ... however... it needs repair :(
Over the last couple years the binding on the instrument has deteriorated, cracked, and is falling off around the body. The neck binding is cracking though not falling off ... yet. When this happens the instrument will be unplayable.
I've sent pictures to a reknown guitar shop in NYC to see if they could do the repair. They kindly declined saying that the materials, time and cost of the repair would probably not be worth the value of the instrument (that hurt).
I wonder if LACS might take on the repair, it is an Ibanez Artist 2619 '79 after all ... though I wouldn't hold my breath ... their shtick is customisation and as for me, no celebrity status though I played in a band late '70s to mid '80s in the NYC tri-state area. Mike at LACS would know about it, his dad was in that band. So what I'm looking for is a shop that will take on the job... on the East Coast, since I go there once every year to visit my kids and such ... did I mention? The guitar and I live in Brazil, so I'd have to schlep the instrument with me on a plane, with added cost for the luggage. I might make an exception if it was LACS, but then I'd only have limited time on my hands ... no idea how long replacing the binding and some of the original hardware that has become corroded (pickup covers, tail bridge) would take. I'm not sure I'd trust anyone in Brazil with the repair, especially since the NYC shop turned it down. The guitar is otherwise in good condition and I love playing it ... still.

Mas
 
#13 ·
Hi, me again...
Thought I'd share some pictures I took of my Ibanez Artist 2619 with the problem binding. I ended up taking the guitar to a local luthier, recommended to me by a musician for whom I have a great respect. I was impressed with the luthier's shop, very well maintained and organised, a man with 50 years experience in guitar repair. He looked at the Ibanez for a while and recognised it, remembered the instrument. He saw the problem and recalled that the material Ibanez was using on the binding during the make of this model was pulled out of production some years later because of this problem appearing with the material... it would dry, crack and crumble to pieces. He actually showed me a sheet of the laminate material in his shop with those problems, and claims it hasn't been used since, or at least he has not seen it used. He asked me to leave the instrument with him so he could figure out some options for me like refinishing the existing binding. The real deal would be to remove the old binding and replace with new of other type laminate material but he claims the cost of time and materials would be very high (strip the lacquer and probably mess with the stain, which means doing the whole guitar... ****!). I wonder if Mr. Hoshino has any ideas ... I almost have a mind to ship the axe back to Ibanez in Japan and tell them "fix this, dammit!"

hmmm ... having a problem posting my pics... sorry

Mas
 
#15 ·
LOL! well ... i guess it makes me a spirit come back to haunt the issue... or a newbie not used to what to look for or at in the forum (didn't really check the dates of the previous posts.. as you can surmise, I don't post that often... anywhere).
I'll just slip back into Neverland ... thanks for your attention.

Mas
 
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