Ibanez as-200

[TaikaJim]

Anyone here own one? What are your thoughts about it?

Im thinking of buying one but a gibson es 335 might be a option also (more money though :D ). What are differences between the two in your opinion? Thanks.

[Guni]

Sorry, I can't be of any help here. I'm a 100% Fender dude ;)

Just a personal note: Every player has different preferences when it comes to guitar-sound and how the guitar should feel in his/her hands. Both companies manufacture very good guitars but in the end the decission is yours.

Of course, these preferences should match your own personal musical development and reflect your style, technique and personality. I sure went through a few axes...

Guni

[TaikaJim]

I completely agree. At the moment i have a Gibson sg standard 1976, which i love like i would love my first born son:D . Its damn versatile and almost perfect for my needs. Lately ive been wanting something with more deeper sound which i think would be accomplished with a semi hollowbody/hollowbody.

As for strats i love the sound but hate the feel. I owned a strat once but the neck is just not for me atleast in new strats. The old strat necks are more playable for me. I guess i could buy an early 70s strat some day for my funk needs.

[EricV]

Originally posted by TaikaJim
As for strats i love the sound but hate the feel. I owned a strat once but the neck is just not for me atleast in new strats. The old strat necks are more playable for me. I guess i could buy an early 70s strat some day for my funk needs.

I am more or less a "Strat-player" ( although I don´t really subscribe to generalisations like that ), and I have used and owned a bunch of different Strats that all felt very different.
Right now I am using a early 60´s Strat with a late 80´s Custom Shop-neck, and that neck really is quite different from the ones I had seen on other Strats... it is WAY thicker and rounder than the usual Strat-neck, and the width of the fretboard reminds me of a classical guitar sometimes.
I had some alterations done to the electronics and switching, and it ( at least to me ) is a VERY versatile guitar, lots of different sound options, also very reliable´, and I have used it for all kindsa stuff, from metal to blues, from jazz to country...

http://www.ericvandenberg.com/strat3.jpg

It often depends on checking out a bunch of different models or even considering some modifications.
A lot of players always say that one should take the time, check out a lot of guitars and buy the perfect guitar "off the rack", while I always was someone who did slight modifications to make it even more perfect or to "personalize" it a bit more...
Just my 2 cents ;)
Warm regards
Eric

[szulc]

The sg has a shorter scale length than a strat(24.75 " as opposed to 25.5") .
Strats (especially ones with wang bars) are tempermental beasts, due partially to the neck being bolted on instead of set like your sg ( also this will increase the neck body joint thickness).
I was originally a Gibson (short scale length man) but over he years and with patience and a great deal of research and modification I now play start /start type guitars exclusively.

The action usually requires more attention on a bolt on neck than a set neck.

You need to know about things like compounding the neck radius and such. I have custom warmoth strats with compounded radius necks one has a schecter floyd rose wang and the other has a fishman powerbridge (modified wilkenson). Compounded radius necks allow for better action by the action of the frets flattening out as you move up the neck, which gives the string more room to vibrate(without buzz). Since the largest amplitude of vibration of the string occurs half way between the endpoints, the compound radius neck really helps. I am certain that Ibanez compounds most of their necks.
As for getting a deeper sound; On a guitar with electric pickups, the body has little to do with the sound, except the density of the wood (if this is a hollow body then you are actually likely to get a less deep sound) One of my strats is partially hollowed out mostly to decrease weight, but it does help the body resonate a little more ( not very noticable with the magnetic pickups, but very noticable with the fishman power bridge this really helps get that acoustic sound)

If you just want a deeper sound you may want to think about your pickup or your amp configuration.

SG's are mahogany which is pretty good on the top and bottom end.

I suggest that you actually play the guitar in questio before you buy it. You want to feel it, you want to hear it, never buy a guitar with out first playing it to make sure it is not a dog.

[TaikaJim]

Thx for the info szulc. Obviously im gonna test the guitar before i buy it.

Anyways, i always thought that the wood/body had more influence to the sound than pickups.

[Bongo Boy]

Originally posted by TaikaJim
Anyone here own one? What are your thoughts about it?

Im thinking of buying one but a gibson es 335 might be a option also (more money though :D ). What are differences between the two in your opinion? Thanks.

I've not seen the AS-200 but I just looked at the AF-200, which is an older full-hollow that looks pretty much like the AS (semi-hollow) in plan view. John Scofield used the AS-200 as his main guitar for about 20 years, until replacing it recently with the new Ibanez Scofield signature model--so I guess it can't be TOO bad a guitar.

I certainly can't say anything about the sound, either. BUT, if I had had a credit card with me I today I would have bought the AF200 on sight. It's a beautifully-made guitar. I have a Gibson ES-135, which I have to think is quite a bit like the 335 (the 335 is a thin, semi-hollow, right?). I LOVE that Gibson, but the workmanship can't begin to compare with the AF-200 I saw (which would have sold for a few hundred more than the ES-135, I think).

I think it's wise to touch and feel the specific instrument you're going to buy--quality control on Gibsons is, to my mind, not the greatest. That is to say, I think it varies from unit to unit quite a bit.

[Bongo Boy]

I just brought the AF200 to its new home--and thank goodness. This instrument had not a single scratch on it, but it looked like it had been played only a few times by someone who insisted on eating a few pork sausages before playing each time. I mean, what a mess. I took the strings and bridge off (don't worry) and spent about 3 hours cleaning this poor thing. Replaced the strings with an exciting new set of Thomastik-Enfeld flatwounds and who---babeeee.....even an idiot such as myself can tell this is really a nice sounding guitar.

I'm promised Spousal Unit that I have NOT succumbed to the disease that deflicts so many guitar player wannabees--and that I will not buy several dozen more guitars--as though they were so many sets of golf clubs.

Anyway, I have heard Ibanez is not too highly regarded in some circles, but this seems to be a fine instrument..at least to this neophyte. I sure wish I had found it before I bought the Gibson!!!