Ibanez Artist AR-305, antique violin, made in Japan 1982. Ibanez's Artist series debuted in 1974, and marked a departure from Fender and Gibson style designs and a move into original shapes with innovative specs. By the early 80s, the quality on these guitars was becoming frighteningly good, and early examples like this enjoy a cult following amongst enthusiasts. The AR305 is a fairly rare model: the AR300 is the same specs but with a flame maple top, and they're more common... this one has a gorgeous carved mahogany burl top finished in a rich hue they called 'antique violin'. The finish is paired with all the bling you could reasonably ask for: seven ply binding, abalone and pearl block inlays, an ebony fretboard, a swirly headstock tattoo and gold hardware including the iconic 'cloud' tailpiece. It's a lot to take in, but dang, it's luxurious AF. It's not all glamour though: this sounds and feels freakishly good. The neck is slim, straight and stable, thanks to Ibanez's signature three-piece construction, offering lightning fast movement all the way up to the top frets. The pickups are awesome too. It sounds a bit like a Les Paul, but with a whole lot of added definition on the top end and a rich airy complexity through the midrange, lending chords nuance and sparkle. The little 'Tri-Sound' switches offer humbucking, coil-split and phase-reveresed options for each pickup, so there's heaps to play with: you could comfortably cover jazz, metal and everything in between. This was made at the Fujigen Gakki plant in 1982... fellow MIJ nerds may have already twigged, but that means it was made at the same factory at the same time as the now lavishly expensive and hyper collectable Fender 'JV serial' guitars, and this cost more ¥ back in the day too. I'd wager this to be a very safe investment indeed, both in terms increasing dollar value, and the sheer enjoyment of playing a guitar this good.

Model: Ibanez Artist AR-305 
Made: Japan, Fujigen Gakki plant (serial F825162)
Finish: antique violin, gloss poly
Body: mahogany, mahogany burl carved top
Neck: 3-piece maple, ebony board, 24.75" scale, 12" radius, slim round shape
Weight: 4.705kg
Pickups: Ibanez Super 58 humbucker x2 (passive, inc tri-sound switches)
Mods: none
Case: basic vintage hard case

Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has some minor marks on the end, dimples on the top end, a dimple on the back near the serial, scuffs on the front near the logo and a finish chip near the low E tuner post. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, the binding is discoloured but tidy with no breaks and there's some rub wear and dimples on the back. The back has widespread light scuffs and dimples around the whole body, as well as a couple of small dents on the edge in the elbow area an near the jack. The sides have dimples on the top horn, dimples and scuffs int eh elbow area, a patch of crumbling in the binding in the elbow area, some dimples and minor cracks in the binding near the jack and some light scuffs on the bottom horn. The front has a pair of small dents in the elbow area, some dimples near the knobs and some standard play wear on the horns. Overall: very good condition (7.5/10).

Playing condition notes: Action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good, truss rod works. All electronics tested and working properly. The frets have some normal wear but are pretty even with no major buzz issues, 7/10 for fret life left. Wearing fresh 10-52 Moonshiners strings.