In certain genres of music—such as bebop jazz or rockabilly—only a hollowbody archtop guitar really does the trick and captures the right sound. Because of the additional labor involved in every step of the construction process, these guitars often come with astronomical price tags, which prohibit aspiring players and hobbyists from accessing their unique sound.
Thankfully, Ibanez has solved this dilemma with their Artcore Series! Built overseas to keep costs low, the Ibanez Artcore Series guitars are built to deliver the look, feel, and sound of treasured vintage archtop guitars. While other brands have attempted to build similar guitars, nobody has accomplished the low-cost archtop guitar concept to the same degree as Ibanez.
The Ibanez AF95 is a straightforward hollowbody guitar that can deliver a wide array of warm archtop sounds. It features fully-hollow construction with two ceramic-magnet hum bucking pickups, which produce thick but responsive tone. True to the archtop tradition, it has a floating bridge with a tune-o-matic style saddle and a trapeze tailpiece. The result is a guitar that can produce all of the rich, complex tones you would want from an archtop guitar.
This 2012 Ibanez Artcore AF95 sports the Violin Sunburst finish, which adds a gorgeous amber hue to the Flamed Maple veneer. It shows some minimal playwear, but it is very clean cosmetically with no scratches, dings, or issues. It includes a molded plastic hardshell case.