AR300RECS

[ibanezfreak1960]

Has anyone ordered this guitar and if yes when is it expected to be in?

[JohnS]

Hey Freak!

I guess that no one has ordered it yet! They are very cool guitars. Those who really liked the early/mid '80s Artists will really appreciate the detail that has gone into recreating that era's features.

I'll put some feelers out for expected arrival, but can't promise I'll get any info.

JohnS
Webmaster

[jason43]

I can't imagine that many of these have been ordered. Its a beautiful guitar, but looking at the prices of the previous Prestige AR's and the current value of vintage AR300's, is not a good deal by comparison. You can pick up a minty AR3000 or early 80's AR300 for $1000+ less. Sort of kills the whole bang for the buck concept that Ibanez is known for. I will say that compared to LP's in the same price range, its alot more guitar for the money.

[ibanezfreak1960]

I can't imagine that many of these have been ordered. Its a beautiful guitar, but looking at the prices of the previous Prestige AR's and the current value of vintage AR300's, is not a good deal by comparison. You can pick up a minty AR3000 or early 80's AR300 for $1000+ less. Sort of kills the whole bang for the buck concept that Ibanez is known for. I will say that compared to LP's in the same price range, its alot more guitar for the money.

No one is getting MY AR3000 for a grand I'll tell you that.

[JohnS]

The not-so-bad news is, a source at HoshinoUSA told me that the AR300reCS are supposed to begin arriving in the US in late summer. Yes, it's later than expected. These are Prestige series guitars produced by Team J Craft at Fuji Gen. I guess you can't rush a good thing.

The good news is, I'll being doing an in-depth review of the AR300reCS and posting it on the IRW site (in the Electric section). I'll also do a side-by-side article comparing the '08 AR300reCS and my '82 AR300CS.

At this time, I have no other info on how many have been ordered or how many will be produced.

[toms_korber]

CUTE!
But there are only 2 mounting screws on each pickup and the knobs are Sure Grip IIs!

[JohnS]

Toms:

Cute!??? This guitar is a monster!

Your observations are correct. But strictly speaking, this is not a reissue. It's the Team J Craft's version of what the early 80's AR300CS would be. It's a mixture of old and new. Most of the new is incorporated in the neck, fretboard and headstock. With the exception of the 2 screw pickups (but still Super 58s and also used on the AR2000 and AR3000s) and the SGII knobs, the body is pretty close to my '82 AR300CS.

This is the first time, to my knowledge, that a Prestige series Artist has been made with the older bridge and tailpiece/cloud. I think that says something about the classic nature of the design of those older pieces of hardware. However, just as you'll not see old Velve or Smooth tuners reappear, the SGI's are not likely to see the light of day again.

[toms_korber]

Ok - let's say it's a cute monster then...

The AR5000re has brass knobs, the Artwood Twin re has gold ones without rubber, but what was used on the "Cowboy"?!?

Any idea why they changed from Gibraltar I to Gibraltar II in the first place? Has anyone ever compared 2 otherwise mostly identical axes to figure out how to two different bridges affect the sound? (IIRC they're not interchangable...)

[JohnS]

toms:

The AR5000re has brass knobs, the Artwood Twin re has gold ones without rubber, but what was used on the "Cowboy"?!?

The Cowboy had SureGrip IIs.

[toms_korber]

Sacrilege! 

I'd guess for THAT kind of money one could expect Hoshino to replicate the SG Is - or buy a couple of used ones on eBay...

[bobzilla]

are you sure about brass on the ar5000re?

[toms_korber]

are you sure about brass on the ar5000re?

Actually, no - but it looks like brass on the pic you posted in the ICW gallery...