1995 Ibanez Artstar AS120 Semihollow Electric Guitar

This '95 Ibanez was made at the Samick factory in Korea. It's clearly a downmarket ES-335 clone, but in this case downmarket is kind-of ironic because it handles as well and sounds as good as plenty of actual 335s that have been in the shop. It doesn't have that lived-in charm or the "supernatural" '60s Gibson humbucker thing going on, but it gets you pretty close to the mark. The neck is slim and fast and the construction is tidy and accurate.

It's also white -- and has cream binding -- and deco-style f-holes. How cool is that?

A consignor of mine has owned this since new and, while it's mostly stock, he did add a few things. There's a Bigsby (licensed import) whammy tailpiece added and a replacement, roller-saddle bridge. A Gib-style "Custom Made" plastic plate covers-up the old bridge stud holes just like on "the real thing." The truss rod cover was also replaced with a Gib-style one and, while the pickguard is removed and the mounting holes are plugged and painted-over, it does have a homebrew tortoise pickguard and brackets in the case.

I gave it some cleaning and a setup and it's ready to go and playing fast and on-the-dot. The frets show just a hair of wear to them here and there but it wasn't enough for me to have to level and dress them. It looks like a guitar that was played lightly maybe for a year and then left to case-sit. The finish has "aged-in" a little, though, which gives it a more interesting look than if it were still bright white.

Repairs included: cleaning and setup.

Body wood: semihollow (ply maple)

Bridge: aftermarket gold roller-style ABR

Fretboard: rosewood

Neck wood: presumably maple

Pickups: 2x Ibanez humbuckers

Action height at 12th fret: 1/16" overall (fast)
String gauges: 46w-10 with unwound G

Neck shape: slim C

Board radius: ~12"

Truss rod: adjustable

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: medium-wide

Scale length: 24 3/4"

Nut width: 1 11/16"

Body width: 16"

Body depth: 1 3/4"

Weight: 8 lbs 13 oz

Condition notes: replacement tailpiece/whammy, added Custom Made plate for bridge stud covering, replacement roller bridge, replacement truss cover. Otherwise it's original and in good order, though the original pickguard is missing and there's a spare in the case. There's light scratching here and there on the body but overall it's very clean. The mounting holes for the pickguard brackets have been plugged and touched-up with paint -- they're not obvious from a few feet a way but are there upon inspection.

It comes with: a nice hard case.