Excellent growl and twang, hard to get feedback but that's the way its supposed to work. When it does go non-linear it's sweet and mellow. Set-up was close to perfect out of the box. I stripped the greasy guitar shop strings and dressed with 10's. Jazz, Rockabilly, Country, Rock. It does it all.

Frets are nice and stout, The fretboard is pretty and the neck feels right. Pick-ups are sensitive but not over the top. Mine has a pick guard not sure why but it looks nice and doesn't impede my strumming. Machines are great, better than my old Les Paul. Finish is Dark and the binding looks excellent. Love the gun metal hardware.

I have a line6 150 with the FBV. I haven't found too many settings it doesn't like. It's nice and lite compared to my solid bodies and fairly comfortable.

Not a blemish anywhere, feels very sturdy. Stays in tune even after rough playing. I bend the strings alot and it bounces right back.

For the price this is a sweet deal.

haven't need it...that's good

50 YO wannabe

Blues, rock, jazz

Out of the box the fit and finish was pristine,if you are a fan of nateral wood finishes you will love it.I did have put out another 50 bucks to have it set-up for me. The binding on the guitar is perfict like so many others who are never compleatly happy with anything straight out of the box.( it's got to be a man thing )I had mine hotroded also I had seymore dunkin clasic 59's,Dunlop Strap lock's and locking tuners. It's sweet beauitful wood beauitful sound it dosen't git any better. Honestly I did not give its orginal hard ware a chance. in conclusion I love my artcore it has a look that I love, and construction that matches any other on the market.

I have not had the the pleasure of having to deal with Ibanez, I concider that a positive !

play guitar and blues harp for about 25 years

blues,rock

Great out of the box Rockabilly sound...however it's just as sweet for in your face rock to jazz and R&B. I primarily play it through a Dean Markley DMC-80 and generate some different sounds with some Boss gear. Kicks butt live and in my studio. In fact, I have had a lot of complements form Strat and Les Paul guys on the action and the sound. FWIW, I did have it set up once after I had been playing it for about a month (that was a year ago).

The upper strap connection could have been located higher.The finish is excellent...I saw somebody else whine that it wasn't real wood.WTF? I'm a woodworker...it's 100% real wood. The veneer selections are fantastic.

A lot of folks spend years looking for 'their' sound. I knew this was the one when I 1st sat down with it...let's face it, we're going to use all kinds of stuff to modify the sound for different applications. I have been playing guitar for ...wow, 40 years now; however, today I spend more of my time on my Karma, Motif and Kurzweil; accordingly, this is the One electric guitar for almost all of my live and recording needs. I have an Ibanez AW-60 that I've had for uh...24 years for my acoustic sounds.

Excellent craftmanship all the way around for of the shelf. I have come to rely on Ibanez quality for quite a while. I would tour anywhere with it.

Well worth the price...and like I've seen elsewhere, it's comparable to guitars selling 3/4 times the price.

Never, thank you!

I get complements on it all the time. It sort of motivates me sometimes.

Active Musician/ Recording

R&B, R&R, R&D

Got a great sound - I have heavy gauge strings on it and it wails. The addition of a SD Hot Rodded Humbucker set really finishes it off nice.

I have the Antique Burst finish model. Contrary to other reviews, it is a quality finish, with REAL wood. You need to wait and pick one with a nice finish. The assertion that this is somehow "faux wood" (what does that mean, anyway?) is ridiculous.

Nice playing guitar - the frets, however, are quite high and if you use too much pressure on the strings, they will go sharp on you. That's why I use heavy gauge stings for this one.

Very well built - good fit and FINISH. Built like a tank.

An excellent value for the money - highly recommended.

never needed to contact them.

It's a sharp-looking axe.

Active musician

Rock, Christian Rock

The sound is pretty good, there is a noticble difference between this and my solid body guitars. I don't know if it's great, this is the only semi-hollow, i've owned.

While this guitar seems to be well made the finish has a very '70s mobil home kitchen cabinet feel. I'm wishing I had opted for one of the painte artcores now. The cosmic black hardware rules though. Every company should offer this as an option.

It arrived pretty much ready to play. Only some minor adjustments before it was ready to go.

Everything but the faux wood gets an 9 the faux wood gets a zero.

you get what you pay for and I shouldn't have expected nice wood for the kind of money I paid but I did. The pictures on here made it look freakin sweet but it ain't.

never dealt with them.

hobbyist

most of it.

The stock Artcore pickups are mellow and balanced. No harsh overtones. They're great for most players. If was going to use this for more hardcore music, I would probably upgrade the pickups. There are too many choices to suggest anything. I found I needed to raise the bridge a bit to get rid of an annoying buzz above the 12th fret. Overall the sound is all pro. As good as any stock Gibson humbuckers. Definitely not a cheap sound at all.

The fit and finish are impeccable. I have the dark black finish with black chrome tuners, bridge, quick change tailpiece, and pickup covers. It came with The ACH1 and ACH2 pickups, flame maple top back and sides. A call to Ibanez confirmed that the body is carved from one piece of Flamed maple as are the rest of the guitar. I bought the item with that in mind.... with the hard shell case which is virtually bulletproof.