Artcore AS53 - Transparent Black Flat

This is an amazing guitar, especially the price point VS value. I've always loved Ibanez and the playability is amazing. The colors are great. The craftsmanship is amazing. I highly recommend this guitar to anyone who is serious about playing.

I had to be skeptical about a guitar pried at $300. I know they're out there, but normally there are major hard-to-correct issues. But this Ibanez model breaks the mold. To my surprise, it's a keeper. I bought it because right now I'm focusing on learning to play blues. Thanks to the Covid environment, I haven't been able to play with a jazz band for the past year or so. For that gig I have a wonderful Benedetto Bambino with .30 flat wound strings. I find it close to ideal for comping singers and horns, but not for playing blues. This Ibanez comes with .10s that I find just about right for the bending needed for convincing blues. The fit and finish of the Ibanez is great. I'm sure one way they keep cost down is by going with the mat finish on wood that's reasonable priced. I noticed the specs say the fretboard is walnut. Don't think I've run into that before, but, at least for now, it seems not be be a problem. The hardware is another area where they must have saved, and I'd say the tuners and pickups may not be the best, but they do the job. I'm really glad I bought this guitar, and I reluctantly did so after having to return two Telecaster Thinline-style guitars from G&L (around $600) and Fender (around $1000). One had a terrible fret buzz and the other was damaged in shipment.

Love this guitar.. It plays great.

for a cheap guitar this is the mercedes...made of african mahoghany the tone is exquisite for a non rocker or metal head...this guitar is for wanna be r and b, mellow ballad,romantic country, or rockabilly players...if you are begginning jazz lessons this is a wallet friendly in strument that works...THE BEST GUITAR I HAVE PURCHASED UNDER $700

I've owned Gibson and Epiphone 335s. Always liked them but sold them off and the semi hollow itch came back. I read great things about the Ibanez Artcores so I played an AS73 and 93 but both were heavy as lead so I bought an Epiphone 335 and absolutely love it. I kept thinking about the AS53 however because it was supposed to be much lighter than the others. At $399 I decided to order it out of shear curiosity. WOW! It came in at 6lbs 12oz, beautiful fret work, irresistible neck and just a hoot to play. I still love my Epi but this one I pick up to play more often. If I had to perform, I would go with the Epi because it does have a slightly more articulate and balanced sound but for just lap playing the AS53 wins! I will replace the tuners but that's probably it. I can HIGHLY recommend this guitar.

I thought I'd have to do a full set up. I didn't. Just changed the strings, checked intonation and neck, all good. You mileage may vary but I think this is a great sounding and cool guitar for all guitarists.

Very solid guitar and an amazing value. Bought this thinking it would need lots of work; but I was wrong - I added new strings and tuned it - sounds & plays great! Also, it looks amazing!

This guitar is gorgeous. The picture doesn't do the finish justice. However, I was expecting a darker fretboard. It's odd to have a fretboard that is lighter than your body on a wood-tone guitar. Sound is subjective, so I won't go too much into that, but unless you're picky, you'll be happy with this sound... and if you're picky, spend more money! Quality wise, it's decent. The frets on the bottom side (high E string) sit slightly proud of the side of the fretboard. They aren't rough or sharp, but you can certainly feel them. The top (low E string) is smooth. The A string has some fret buzz. The guitar comes with instructions on how to adjust the truss rod and an Allen wrench to do so, but I wasn't able to get it to go away completely. I don't know how well it keeps in tune. I've had to retune it several times during each practice session, but this may just be the strings settling. Ibanez is pretty notorious for having bad tuners, but these feel good to me. All three of these issues are pretty easy to fix, though, so it's no reason not to buy the guitar. Coming from an late 90's Squier Strat, this thing feels like a million bucks.