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Jazzzbo
Username: Jazzzbo

Registered: 09-2005
Posted on Thursday, August 31, 2006 - 7:54 pm:   

Im wondering if the Ibanez af 105 fnt might be the best guitar for the features, and price being a major concern. the Benediito pick up would be the only change, not sure about the tailpiece. i would use this for a different sound than my 2355 ., but i dont have the funds for a johnny smith or george benson, so, any input would be appreciated, jazzz
Wildfield
Username: Wildfield

Registered: 05-2005
Posted on Friday, September 01, 2006 - 10:18 am:   

I really like my AF105FNT. Nice playing guitar, great neck, good hardware and good amplified sounds. The only things I did not like:

1. The pickguard - color and shape made for a gawdy look in my opinion. I replaced mine with a Benedetto ebony pickguard/finger rest.

2. The pickup - actually it sounds great, but the high E is a little soft. If it had adjustable pole pieces, I could probably adjust for that. Makes me want to buy a floater with adjustable poles but haven't gotten around to.

Otherwise, I'm completely happy with this guitar.
Guitartim
Username: Guitartim

Registered: 04-2001
Posted on Friday, September 01, 2006 - 12:28 pm:   

I'm with Wildfield on this one. AF105's are a great 'bang-for-buck' jazz box. Plus they're inexpensive enough to customize to your personal tastes.

Benedetto's are great pickups, but so are Kent Armstrong's PAF's that HE personally winds. They are available at www.archtop.com
Jazzzbo
Username: Jazzzbo

Registered: 09-2005
Posted on Friday, September 01, 2006 - 1:42 pm:   

Thanks for the info. do you guys see these selling used and at what price, jazzz
Wildfield
Username: Wildfield

Registered: 05-2005
Posted on Friday, September 01, 2006 - 4:06 pm:   

In my area, they sell for about $700 to $750 at retail (new) with case. I've been kind of watching them on e-Bay. If you can get a used one for around $550 or less in "mint" condition, in my mind that is fair. Deduct accordingly for imperfections, etc.

I got mine new for $500 without case. I bought it from Guitar Center. They were moving to a new location and selling off their inventory. I happened to have an artcore TKL case at home that fit perfectly so it worked out great.

Now, if I could just adjust the volume on the darn E string!!! :-)
Guitartim
Username: Guitartim

Registered: 04-2001
Posted on Friday, September 01, 2006 - 5:01 pm:   

There are a couple of AF105's on Ebay. One has a BIN of about $530. The other has a six finger tailpiece that's pretty nice.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Ibanez-AF105-Hollowbody-Guitar_W0QQitemZ220021961766QQihZ012 QQcategoryZ33043QQcmdZViewItem
Emzc
Username: Emzc

Registered: 09-2004
Posted on Saturday, September 02, 2006 - 3:14 am:   

I bought one AF105F NT this summer, and I must say it's great value for the price. The luthier who made the setup was amazed by the quality of the work. The sound is really great, even the high E string sounds right, sorry wildfield. I string it with Thomastick Infeld flatwound 12-50.
Emmanuel.
Wildfield
Username: Wildfield

Registered: 05-2005
Posted on Saturday, September 02, 2006 - 10:16 am:   

Emmanuel,

Congratulations and glad your pickup is picking up the strings evenly. No apology necessary. Personally, I think that pickup sounds GREAT...which is why I wish it picked up that E string better. Other than that issue, the stock pickup seems like a good one.

I noticed there are several 105F's and 105's on e-Bay right now. Might be a good opportunity to get one at a low price. Good luck if anyone tries to snatch one.
Jazzzbo
Username: Jazzzbo

Registered: 09-2005
Posted on Sunday, September 03, 2006 - 5:30 pm:   

How would anyone describe the sound of the 10f5 one pup, say compared to the sound of the 2355 with 2 pups,. actually im not that impressed with the stock pups on my 2355 , but i dont know if i wanna mess with buying new pups . new pots etc etc, tanks, jazzz
Ibanezfreak1960
Username: Ibanezfreak1960

Registered: 03-2004
Posted on Sunday, September 03, 2006 - 8:56 pm:   

Jazzbo check this link out. The player does it no justice but it is a sample video.
http://www.gearwire.com/ibanez-af105f.html
Jazzzbo
Username: Jazzzbo

Registered: 09-2005
Posted on Monday, September 04, 2006 - 12:11 am:   

thanks for the link but i cant download the clip on my crummy mac, guess ill just have to go out and buy one of these, seems like its a no brainer for the monies, cheers, jazzz
Ibanezfreak1960
Username: Ibanezfreak1960

Registered: 03-2004
Posted on Monday, September 04, 2006 - 8:14 am:   

Ry this one it is a You Tube link of somone playing one.

http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=menchi37
Garyelcrrt
Username: Garyelcrrt

Registered: 03-2006
Posted on Friday, September 08, 2006 - 12:19 pm:   

To my ears, the biggest single factor in listening to my own AF105F is how amazingly "woody" the tone can be. Its not my best player, but it is completely stock compared to anywhere from $200-900 in modifications on my other guitars, including a pair of Gibsons that are very good anyway. It is, however, very very close and is without doubt the best playing electric guitar straight out-of-the-box I've ever seen, with the exception of my Eastman AR800 (which is simply impossible how good IT is...). You can do all the usual things with pedals and gain, etc., but after its all said and done, the reason I keep coming back to this guitar is the absolutely beautiful clean, woody, round, full jazz tones I hear from any amp I plug it into.
Wildfield
Username: Wildfield

Registered: 05-2005
Posted on Friday, September 08, 2006 - 2:05 pm:   

I agree with a lot of what Gary is saying. Particularly, the AF105F is, out-of-the-box about the best sounding, inexpensive guitar I have played to date. I think the guitar's tone sounds a lot like Tal Farlow on some of his older records...which is weird because Tal seemed to play guitars with top mounted PAF's. Anyways, I echo Gary's comments that the guitar has a very woody tone and it is one I am really enjoying.

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