banjomike
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- Nov 27, 2022
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A good friend and former bandmate bought an AR-100 around 1982 and still owns it today.
He said he loves it still the last time we talked.
Throughout our time together in the same band, the AR was his guitar with humbucker tone. His other guitar is a 25th Anniversary Stratocaster. He used the Strat mostly for playing Country, and the AR for everything else.
Back then, I stuck with a 1969 Tele w/ a Kent Armstrong stacked humbucker rhythm pickup.
We were the first twin-lead guitar band in the region, and that combination worked very well for us.
The AR is a heavy guitar, and the action feels a lot like a Les Paul. The tone of the Ibanez 78 pickups has a bit more bite than a Gibson humbucker, and it had a lot of sustain that was very pleasant. Overdriven, it was very close to a Les. The Ibanez pots tend to become very scratchy and noisy if they aren't lubricated fairly often, and they don't have a wide sweep in the volume and tone changes in-between full treble and none at all. The Gotoh tuners on them are OK, but Gotoh makes better ones now.
I think all that would be needed on one of them would be a good cleaning and a can of lube. They're very solidly built.
I designed a couple of banjos and a mandolin for Ibanez in the 1970s. The Ibanez company's policy is to always introduce new and different into their line- something for everyone and every taste. The AR was a good design, and the guitar was well received by players, but Ibanez dropped it before it became well known.
He said he loves it still the last time we talked.
Throughout our time together in the same band, the AR was his guitar with humbucker tone. His other guitar is a 25th Anniversary Stratocaster. He used the Strat mostly for playing Country, and the AR for everything else.
Back then, I stuck with a 1969 Tele w/ a Kent Armstrong stacked humbucker rhythm pickup.
We were the first twin-lead guitar band in the region, and that combination worked very well for us.
The AR is a heavy guitar, and the action feels a lot like a Les Paul. The tone of the Ibanez 78 pickups has a bit more bite than a Gibson humbucker, and it had a lot of sustain that was very pleasant. Overdriven, it was very close to a Les. The Ibanez pots tend to become very scratchy and noisy if they aren't lubricated fairly often, and they don't have a wide sweep in the volume and tone changes in-between full treble and none at all. The Gotoh tuners on them are OK, but Gotoh makes better ones now.
I think all that would be needed on one of them would be a good cleaning and a can of lube. They're very solidly built.
I designed a couple of banjos and a mandolin for Ibanez in the 1970s. The Ibanez company's policy is to always introduce new and different into their line- something for everyone and every taste. The AR was a good design, and the guitar was well received by players, but Ibanez dropped it before it became well known.
Very nice guitar