Something a bit different!

Have this itch for a hollow body and until last weekend, had no idea this guitar even existed in the Ibanez lineup. I'd been looking at the AS153 too. After seeing the AJD91 I thought, why not! Managed to snag it for under $300. Had a few worries it would be in poor shape. It's anything but! No fret wear and no major dings or chips. It's a good score. Have it here at work and unplugged it's very loud, much more so than my Thinline Telecaster. I was a bit worried the smaller body wouldn't give that hollow body vibe but I may be wrong. Action is a bit high but I'll give it a good setup and go from there. If I like it, new electronics and pickups are going in, along with complete and utter removal of anything remotely gold. I hate gold more than I hate chrome.

The only bad thing about this whole adventure is I'm on a one in, one out program. If I end up keeping this guitar, another must go. And I only have one I can really sell as I could replace it easily. The others, not so much.

Guitar feels pretty good overall. Neck is no original Wizzard but it''s comfortable and still fairly thin. Will know more when I play through an amp. Hoping this is a good blues guitar. It's not super flamey but it's good looking overall. Didn't like the knobs until I realized they were real wood. I still may swap them out if I keep it.

A few quick iPhone pics:

Nice score, those are pretty cool.

Classy looking guitar. Congrats.

Well....not so quick. Took it home, took it apart, cleaned everything, new pure nickel strings, was hoping for the best. Did a setup and I'm getting a lot of fret buzz, fourth string in particular. The action was pretty high when I got it and I think at the very least, it'll need either a fret job or possibly new saddles to get the action where it should be. String height at the 15th fret is well over 3mm, closer to 4mm (6th string) yet the fourth string is still buzzing. Beautiful guitar and it has some interesting sounds so I'm sort of on the fence about it. Going to talk to a tech on Saturday about it but it may be going back. Truss rod is working fine, adjusted it both ways but nothing got rid of the buzz other than extreme string height. I've set my LP up without issue but this guitar is not liking me at the moment.

I'll post some more photos tomorrow, getting late.

So how far would you guys take it? Guitar is mad light. I picked up my LP right after and it was like lifting a tank (and it's a light LP!). Like the looks, like the overall shape of the neck, fret size is just about perfect for me. I actually liked the way it played with high action but it wasn't the fastest! I think I can get some great tones out of it. It has exceptional sustain. Better than any other guitar I own. It's not full of 335 semi-hollow goodness though. Definitely different sound emanating from the guitar however which is what I'm looking for.

What I would change....pickups sound great clean and can handle a bit of dirt but not much. I already have a set of Dimarzio Air Classics to go in. I think I'm looking at at least a new bridge with properly cut saddles to match the radius which I believe is 305mm. Pots are scratchy and all the electronics would go. Possibly a new nut. Seems fine but if I'm doing the bridge, might as well get it right out of the box. Fret job is an unknown. Right now, when everything is set to my liking, it's buzzing above the 9th fret only but consistently up and down the neck from that point on. Raise the bridge height and it moves ever so slightly up the neck but is more noticeable on the 15th and above. I think there might be at least one high fret. So that's an additional $100 for the fret job. Could be the neck angle isn't 100% spot on.

All told, I'd be spending around $300 which brings be to just below the cost of a brand new Hagstrom Viking Rex Tone I've been eying for a year. The overall build quality of the guitar looks great on the outside but not so good once you remove the pickups. I'll show you a shot later but the neck tenon isn't matched to the body well at all.

At the very least, I'm going to have a tech (not a luthier) look at it on Saturday and go from there. But feedback appreciated. I know they're not all winners but this one does have potential. Just not sure if it's worth it in the long run.

Beautiful guitar, sucks about the issues though.

A few photos, tenon first. It's hard to tell from the photos but the tongue isn't full depth the entire length. There's a corner broken off and the wood goes down towards the back of the guitar at an angle. The general finish in these areas is really rough but again, the guitar has great sustain. Go figure.





Another issue is a small "hole" in the wood grain on the rosewood fretboard. After I put the guitar back together I played it to see if I could feel it. I can't. Doesn't affect playability and the photos make it look worse than it really is.





Bridge screw studs have a lot of play in them when they're just sitting in there and the bridge is not attached.

Looks like the inserts are glued in so it's not possible to easily replace the entire assembly.


The Ibanez quick change tailpiece is solid though. Nice weight and feel to it.


When I took the tailpiece off, there was tons of polishing compound in the crevices. This is AFTER cleaning.

Back of the pickups, same number, one marked with an N, one with a B.


Hard to tell from this photo but the truss rod doesn't sit square in the hole. Works fine, just not optimally placed vs. where the access port was cut. Some damage to the top edge of the access port but it's hidden by truss rod cover.

Guitar is going back. Ordering an AS153 as we speak. Had a 20% discount coupon code. Guitar has an ebony board and comes with a case, two things I really wanted. More than I was going to spend but it's only money! Nothing a freelance gig can't take care of.

Anyone interested in a mint S5470 Prestige, red viking flame with a full set of Gravity Storm pickups and fast track in the middle position? Comes with the Prestige case and all the other stuff.