AF75 is a model that is a part of the highly acclaimed AF series that contains only hollow-bodied electric guitars made by Ibanez. This series is famous for offering a varied range of vintage-styled jazz guitars with fully hollow single-cut bodies. In this Ibanez AF75 review, we would look for all the aspects related to the guitar, good as well as bad. And, would check if the instrument is worth trying.
The body of AF75 is made entirely of maple and paired with a mahogany neck. The topside of the body of the guitar is arched, white in color, and carved with a pair of beautiful holes that are F in shape. The finishes in which this guitar is available are Brown Sunburst and Transparent Red Sunburst. Both of these finishes are available in high gloss.
Ibanez AF75 is one of those rare electric guitars, which can be played without an amplifier. Yes! That’s correct! It is because of the hollow body design of this electric guitar, that you can even play it without an amplifier and still have the confidence of making your listeners hear good music. Ibanez Artcore AF75 Electric Guitar provides tight resonance without feedback. The tone of this guitar is muted jazz. However, the guitar is fully flexible for playing everything from alt-rock to pounding punk.
Ibanez AF75 Review – Overview
Often while playing a hollow body electric guitar, the problem faced by guitarists is tuning. Compared to regular shaped electric guitars, hollow-body electric guitars get de-tuned more often. But this problem is addressed in AF-75 by Ibanez very easily. The Bridge section of Ibanez AF-75 features a tune-o-Matic bridge with a rosewood base and a trapezoid tailpiece in the back. The neck of this guitar is made of Mahogany, while the fretboard material is Laurel. It is the mixture of these species of woods, which ensures a tuned guitar for a longer time.
While holding an AF-75 physically, you do not feel that you’re holding a hollow body electric guitar that’s extremely delicate and fragile like other guitars. AF75 is an extremely sturdy instrument, which means that you won’t have to be super paranoid about the instrument’s safety.
The only big complaint that a lot of musician’s experience while playing the AF75 is that, one may experience some feedback at high volumes on the AF75. One particularly classy touch is the AF75’s laurel fingerboard. It comes loaded with a pair of Classic Elite humbuckers, this hollow body is ready for any musical adventure. With its classic hollow body, design, and tonewoods.
Specifications
Many guitars are available and each has its own set of specifications and features. Companies make every effort to come up with unique surprises with every release. This instrument is no different. It brings with itself a lot of amazing features that would leave you awestruck while playing the instrument.
Ibanez AF75 review focuses on highlighting all the major features.
- Body Type: Hollow.
- Top, side, and back wood: Maple
- Neck wood: Mahogany
- Fretboard wood: Laurel
- Pick up type: Humbucker
- Pick up positions: Neck and Bridge
- Fingerboard radius: 12-inch
- Fingerboard Wood: Rosewood
- Hardware: Chrome
- Number of frets: 22
- Nut width: 69 inches
- Scale Length: 24.75 inches
Unlike most hollow-body guitars, AF75 supports you even for rigorous playing. The guitar weighs only 11lbs. additionally, the white binding on the neck, body, f-hole, and headstock makes it look very attractive. The neck is made of Mahogany set with nice tapering, enabling you to easily slide up and down the fretboard. The guitar has a rosewood fretboard that is well-dressed and fitted with 22 large-sized frets. The standard 24.75-inch scale length complements the overall lighter weight of the guitar. The strings are securely set in place with synthetic bone nut and Tune-o-Matic Bridge that has a Trapezoid tailpiece.
Aesthetics-wise, the trapeze may look a little bit exaggerated, but, the tailpiece and the floating bridge combination offers an interesting sound which compensate for the exaggeration. The real challenge comes while setting up the bridge. If you don’t have much experience with the floating bridge, it gets really tough. The guitar doesn’t have the Grover Rotomatics but the Ibanez tuners are as reliable as the Grover. It is because of these tuners that you can play, comparatively, much longer before tuning them again. The tuners are smooth and very accurate.
Sound
With the right setup of the bridge and strings in Ibanez Af-75, you can get nice-sounding guitar even if you don’t plug it into an amp. The trapezoid tailpiece and the floating bridge combo provide an open and airy sound that touches the ears gently. So, you can achieve jazz and blues tones, like those in the 50s, 60s, and 70s using this guitar.
The guitar is also, just about perfect for rock music. However, the pickups are not that reliable. When attempting to produce hard rock or metal, chances are high of not sounding like you wish to. So, if your preference is geared towards heavy metal, either you should update the pickups or find another guitar that fits the purpose. Also, restating, that this guitar might not be good for stage performance or when you need to crack up the volume. It tends to produce some feedback. Sound-wise this is an outstanding guitar. Keeping aside the open and airy sound qualities of this guitar, you’ll get to hear the clear, fresh, and crisp sound without the edgy feeling of the Strat.
The other thing to note about the sound produced on this guitar is that; if you’re standing amongst one of those screaming amps, you will get feedback on certain pitches. When played live or in a record against an amp in a closed space, a little soft electrical tape over the F-holes solves the problem.
Playability
The neck of the Ibanez AF75 provides users with the ability to play quickly without having to worry about hand cramping. There is a nice tapering to the neck of the guitar that lesser sliding time taken by your hand. The life-long playability of any guitar can be determined from its weight i.e. the lesser the weight is, the longer the playability of the guitar will last. Ibanez AF-75 is a lightweight guitar which means that it has longevity in its playability.
Hardware
There are complaints by various players about the strings that you get with Ibanez AF-75. Because of this, they end up changing the guitar strings for a better tone of voice. Not only the sound of this guitar is improved by changing its strings, but also it increases the overall playability of the guitar.
The strings you can change are the .10’s to .11’s flat wound strings. However, this isn’t a straightforward process because Ibanez has a floating bridge. Meaning that one wrong move can cost you the intonation of this guitar. However, you can take the help of a professional luthier on this.
Apart from the strings, the tuners that Ibanez offers are very reliable. In a way, the carelessness of Ibanez, shown in the strings is completed by some extra carefulness shown in its tuner. For a hollow-bodied- electric guitar it is unusual to have such good tuners as Ibanez has. Once everything is set, the strings stay in tune very well because of the reliable tuners from the manufacturer.
Controls
Ibanez AF-75 comes along with chrome hardware that can make anyone fall in love with itself because of its beauty.
The guitar has two volume and two tone controls with a three-way toggle switch for pickup selection. Both, the knobs and the selector switch are easy to reach for making quick changes on the fly.
The Ibanez AF75 has two closely covered humbuckers. As mentioned above also, the humbuckers bind on the neck, f-holes, body, and headstock. The toggles and switches that are available on the AF75, is a three-way toggle that doesn’t jam and is also easy to reach. There is also an individual volume knob and control knob.
Build Quality
Ibanez AF-75 has a single-cutaway body construction. You’re going to love the color options offered by Ibanez. Transparent Red Sunburst, Brown, Vintage Sunburst, and Olive Metallic are the unique color choices that Ibanez offers. Although Brown is more vintage-looking and Olive Metallic displays a rocker character, the Transparent Red Sunburst is just perfect.
As mentioned earlier as well, you can play this without connecting to an amp. This characteristic of Ibanez AF-75 is something that every guitar player would like to have. Some guitarists prefer keeping this guitar for practice at home and right before their performances. Though the guitar is said to be designed for the rock genre, the pickups onboard aren’t powerful enough to accommodate hard rock and metal. One thing for sure is that, for this price range, those are the best pickups you can expect to have. So be ready to live with them unless you’re planning on upgrading.
The trapeze and floating bridge combination are what make sound wonderful and open. The three-way toggle is problem-free and fairly easy to reach. The individual volume and control knobs work well to fulfill their purpose. The body of Ibanez AF-75 is laminated, but nicely shaped maple. The fit and finish of the guitar overall are nearly as perfect as one could expect from a nicely-made guitar. The finish of the coloring is flawless and the frets are medium and are extremely well finished.
Ibanez AF75 Review – Pros/Cons
Guitars are manufactured to awe their users. However, there are a few limitations you must acknowledge before making the final decision. In the Ibanez AF75 review, all the points, either good or bad have been given unbiased stand. Find out what are the perks as well as the cons related to this instrument.
- Ibanez AF-75 has a better performance compared to electric guitars that are even costlier than this guitar.
- The guitar is, overall, quite versatile that accommodates jazz, blues, and classic tones.
- Build quality of this guitar is excellent enough to last longer.
- The floating bridge of AF-75 is easy to adjust the intonation according to your liking.
- Ibanez AF-75 is a perfect guitar for those who choose to play guitar as a hobby. They can be both, intermediate players, and advanced players.
- Ibanez AF-75 is not good for playing on stage because of its feedback at higher volumes.
- The fretboard of this guitar is flatter which can be challenging for players accustomed to rounder neck.
- Action on Ibanez AF-75 needs adjustment depending on the guitarists’ preferences.
- The bridge’s placement is difficult to adjust and it is recommended to take help of some assistance, either physically or virtually before doing it.
Ibanez AF75 Review – The conclusion
- Like in any other guitar, so in this one too, there are a lot of good things as well as ‘not so good’ aspects. Ibanez AF-75 is a quite versatile guitar that accommodates different genres, including jazz, rock, and blues. And the neck and fretboard are excellent to keep you playing for longer hours, which makes you want to buy it.
- The other things that you need to know about this guitar are the action, strings, intonation, and pickups. Additionally, the fact that you may also need a professional luthier to set it up for you to get the sound and performance it promises. It makes you think that this guitar needs extra attention before you can maximize its fullest potential.
- However, if you’re looking to get your hands on a hollow body electric guitar without having to spend much, Ibanez fits your choice like no other. Ibanez AF75 is the perfect budget for those guitarists who do not want to spend much and yet get the sound like an electric guitar generally has. There are very few cons when you look over this guitar, which means that you’re going to be purchasing yourself a guitar that not only sounds great and looks even better and will accompany you on your musical journey for years to come.
All in all, if someone needs a hollow-body electric guitar with classic looks and premium modern touches — all for a song then take a good look at the Ibanez AF75. Drive into your local store and ask to play it and decide. This beautiful instrument features a nyatoh set neck; a linden top, back, and sides; vintage-styled holes that are F in shape; and an old-school look with modern tonal expressiveness.
