ARTCORE
BY ADAM PERLMUTTER rosewood, as is the base for the Tune-o- mati-style bridge. The spectacular paint job is accented by a three-layer crème-black- crème body binding, and crème binding on the f-hole. The AFS80T does feature some thoughtful modern details. The control knobs are surrounded by a rubber grip to keep sweaty fingers from slipping. And where pickguards are traditionally black or tortoise and sit free of the pickup mount- ing rings, the AFS80T’s clear guard sits Maple-laminate top, back, and sides Bigsby-style vibrato ACH humbucking pickups
IBANEZ
AFS80T
Dating back to their much-loved, if infamous, “lawsuit” guitars,
Ibanez has had a knack for delivering
top-quality, great-playing, and affordable
interpretations of classic electric guitar
designs. And when Ibanez introduced its
Artcore series in 2002, the company gave
players access to an affordable line of hollow and semi-hollow guitars that were
inspired by iconic Gibson and Gretsch
designs. Today, the guitars still represent
an unbeatable value.
For instance, the flagship Artcore
model—the AF105—is a Gibson L-5CES–
inspired jazz box for under a grand, and
the ES-335–style AS73 sells for less than
500 bucks. This year, several new Gretsch-inspired Artcore models made their debut,
including the AFS80T reviewed here. This
fully hollow, single-cutaway thinline sports
twin humbucking pickups and a Bigsby-type tailpiece, and will only set you back
about 500 bucks on the street.
Old-School Design,
Modern Details
I’m accustomed to hollowbodies in staid
sunburst and natural finishes, so it was
something of a shock to behold the
AFS80T’s classically curvaceous lines
in sparkling roadster green-metallic
finish and white racing stripes,
not unlike Fender’s Competition
Mustangs from the late ’60s. The
hot-rod look (the guitar is also available in equally loud metallic orange)
may put off some more traditionally
minded players, but underneath the
flash paint job, the AFS80T is about as
traditional as a thinline hollowbody gets.
Its top, back, and sides are made from a
maple laminate, and the three-piece neck
incorporates solid mahogany and maple.
The 24 3/4"-scale fretboard is cut from
