Ibanez AS 200 Artist 1979

This AS 200 dates from 1979, the first year of production and was clearly inspired by the Gibson ES 335.

The body is made of laminated maple and equipped with a precisely fitting sustain block. The flamed grain of the visible layers is beautifully highlighted by the antique violin sunburst finish.

The neck is one-piece, made of mahogany and offers a C-shaped profile with an ebony fingerboard. The frets were renewed in the Plekhaus Berlin with subsequent Plek setup.  Since then, the playability has been excellent with fantastic string action.

As a top of the line model, the AS 200 is equipped with gold-plated hardware. It consists of a quick change tailpiece, a traditionally designed bridge (fixed with nuts by me for easy string changes) and Velve tuners with pearl-like plastic buttons. Abrasion and patina have left their mark here over the years and give the guitar charm, but the function is still perfect. The AS 200 has also been given elaborate bindings; the sides, F-holes, fingerboard and headstock are partly framed in multiple layers and block inlays made from a combination of abalone mother-of-pearl serve for orientation on the fingerboard.

In the first two years Super 70 humbuckers were used. To my ears, however, they were unable to fully exploit the sonic potential of this guitar. I replaced them with a pair of 80’s Super 58 humbuckers. Since it is almost impossible to find old Super 58 pickups with a 4-wire connection cable (usually they are 3-wire), the Tri Sound circuit had to be slightly modified. Instead of the somewhat thin-sounding Out Of Phase function, in addition to the obligatory humbucker operation, the inner or outer coil of the neck pickup can now be switched as a single coil.

This guitar is also impressive in terms of sound. The response and the full, wooden tone have addictive potential, these characteristics are very pronounced even when not amplified. It intones absolutely cleanly across all registers with a strong, clear fundamental tone and pleasing sustain. Silky highs with a balanced bass component create a well-rounded sound and always whet your appetite for more.
With the Super 58 humbuckers, the sound characteristics of the guitar are also optimally reflected in the amp. In my opinion, they are very successful, good-sounding PAF-typical pickups with moderate output. Its sound is sweetly warm, very harmonious, combined with transparency, clarity and a slight midrange emphasis. They convey a great playing feel and make this guitar an expressive, truly musical instrument.

The Japanese luthiers have established their good reputation with guitars of this quality, and rightly so. Everything is just right here, from the quality of the materials used to the workmanship with attention to detail. It is undoubtedly worth investing in or maintaining such instruments; they reward you with pure joy of playing and great sound.