Ibanez AR325QA Artist Electric Guitar Dark Brown Sunburst

I have an old fender squier strat, it sounds great and has been my guitar for 20 years, it plays very comfortable. But i felt i needed an upgrade, something unique and with better finishing touches, for me this was the perfect choice. I consider myself a medium level guitar player, but the details on this guitar are great, it sounds beautiful, jazz, blues, rock, country... clean sound and comfortable playing. Very recommended. I love the 70's shape and the tone changes.

When I was a teenager a local rock band was playing for the drummers bro wedding reception. I was hanging out by the back door, the band came out to take a break and the guitar player had his guitar with him. This Artist guitar is very close to the one he had. I like how it feels in my hands, I love how it looks hanging on my wall. This is only my second electric guitar so I can't compare it to others but I will say the neck feels great, the different sounds you can make with just the knobs is cool. I love this guitar and will recommend it to anyone, and the wait is worth it.

I had a 78 AR that I should have never let go and I wanted a replacement. In my opinion, the AR is better platform than a Les Paul when properly set up. The AR325QA also looks much better in person than the pictures. It's beautiful, classic and timeless. When mine arrived it needed some love (as I expected it would) so I had my Luthier take care of it. Had him install a bone nut, (stock is plastic) leveled the frets (huge improvement) and did a complete set up. Now the tone, sustain and feel matches that of the older AR models. This guitar took the number 1 spot from my 90's Strat when I perform which says a lot...... It plays like a $3000 guitar. If you are considering, just buy one. But take it right to a good Luthier and you will have a new #1.

I have a cherry sunburst model w/ gold hardware and abalone binding which is beautiful, but the rest is the same. The tri-sound switches can be a bit subtle, but they work. Just watch those screws holding the strap buttons one. Both of mine pulled out unexpectedly. You can correct that by gluing in three flat toothpicks, breaking them off, and re-inserting the screw, or, drill it out, glue a dowel in tight, re-drill that and put the buttons back on. Otherwise a great instrument!

I'm just a hobbyist and get into playing on and off. I own a number of guitars and would have given this a solid 5 but unfortunately, I got one with a defect from the factory. One of the tone pots got very tight for a portion of the middle of it's range. Anyway, ignoring that, which was probably a one off, here is what I think. The fit and finish was just beautiful. I'm not one for goofy colors on guitars, prefer the more natural looking types and this fit the bill. Frets well dressed and smooth. Neck is narrow front to back and fret board may be a bit wide for some, great for others. This is a spec I really wish manufacturers would include but do not. They all give you the nut width and that's it. So, for your comparison, the neck width, edge to edge, at the 15th fret is about 2 and 5/16. This instrument has beautiful tonal qualities. Some people call it "sustain", some might call it "resonance." Strum a chord on this and it just rings on and on and on. As a reference point listen to the last chord of the Beatles "A Day In the Life", and that's the sort of thing I'm talking about. And that's just with a little Ibanez practice amp, no gain. Didn't hook it up to anything else, did not want to handle unnecessarily and risk dinging or marring in any way as it was going back. Don't know if it's the pickups, the wood, or a combination. Not an aficionado or "gear" head. Doesn't matter. It chimes like a bell and am sure can growl like a lion if called upon to do so. Not a real big distortion guy so didn't use any. I've seen reviews on other sites suggesting need of a pickup change. I just don't see it, or more importantly, hear it. The tri-tone switches give you all the options you could want. Great all around instrument and don't think you can beat it in this price range and maybe considerably more. Hope this was helpful. MF thus far has been very cordial and paying return shipping because of factory defect.

I have owned many Ibanez guitars since the '70's and I have learned to depend on their quality. The instruments are great looking, have good tone and feel, and never fail to perform.