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Stefant
Username: Stefant

Registered: 09-2006
Posted on Wednesday, September 20, 2006 - 4:55 pm:   

I bought an AF220 a few months back. It's in beautiful condition. I got it because I didn't want to take my vintage Gibson ES-335 out to rehearsals and gigs anymore. It came with a nice Ibanez case with a shroud, Gibson-style.

But when I tried to find out about the guitar, I couldn't. Seemd these are rare as hen's teeth. It's a great guitar, why weren't they more popular? What are they worth nowadays? Anybody else got one?

[IMG]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c300/jazz451/avatar.jpg[/IMG]
Tristan
Username: Tristan

Registered: 03-2005
Posted on Wednesday, September 20, 2006 - 6:03 pm:   

It's from the late 90's line of Ibanez. Most collectors don't seem to care much for new guitars, but I've played one and it's a great guitar (as any Ibanez is)
I would even dare paring it with a PM model.
Price was around 1600$+- new, I think one of these can fetch 1000$ easily, I haven't seen one on ebay at all this year.

Here's the great Norman Brown with one
norman brown
Johns
Username: Johns

Registered: 02-2001
Posted on Wednesday, September 20, 2006 - 9:47 pm:   

Stefant:

Another member scored one of these off of ebay in April of 2005. Check out the messages in this thread:

http://www.ibanezcollectors.com/cgi-bin/discus/show.cgi?tpc=16&post=26017#POST26 017
Stefant
Username: Stefant

Registered: 09-2006
Posted on Thursday, September 21, 2006 - 10:46 am:   

Well, that's a pretty low price, I don't regret getting mine at all. I play in a jazz big band, and it's perfect for that and it looks great on stage.
Wildfield
Username: Wildfield

Registered: 05-2005
Posted on Thursday, September 21, 2006 - 4:29 pm:   

Stefant,

Nice looking guitar. The photo attached to the link is a little small so it's hard to see the details, but it appears to be a honey blonde finish. Is that true? Also, the body depth appears to be fairly shallow - I'm guessing around 2-1/4". Looks like a very nice guitar. It is the first time I have seen an AF220...I feel some GAS coming on.

Congratulations on acquiring such a nice guitar. Maybe can post a more detailed review of the guitar sometime.

Darryl
Johns
Username: Johns

Registered: 02-2001
Posted on Friday, September 22, 2006 - 1:41 pm:   

Here's the best pictures of the AF220 that I have found, They are from the '98 US catalog. This is the only year that the AF220 appears.

AF220Whole
AF220Body

The copy says: "Also new for 1998, the AF220 is our first full bodied guitar designed for rockabilly, modern rock and country swing players who want a traditional sounding hollow body that's not too traditional looking."

Specs:
Top: Spruce
Back and sides: Maple
Neck type: Artstar
Frets: Medium
Fingerboard: Rosewood w/Pearloid blocks
Bridge: Rosewood with ge103b (same as the PM100)
Pickups: Super 58
Finish: Butterscotch Transparent (BT)

It is thinner than the other full size jazz boxes, but I can't find that measurement anywhere. Maybe Orval can help us out?
Stefant
Username: Stefant

Registered: 09-2006
Posted on Friday, September 22, 2006 - 3:26 pm:   

No, it's not blonde, the guitar is a sort of light orange color, and the reddish-brown tortoise shell binding is transparent. It's a gorgeous guitar. And yes, it's thinner than a regular jazzbox, but thicker than a 335-style guitar.

These seem to be very rare. Part of that has to be due to misguided marketing, Country/Rockabilly guys wouldn't spend nearly $2000 on an orange Ibanez, they would have gotten a Gretsch instead, and the guitar does have a fair bit of gretsch-ish vibe going on. Good luck finding one. I have no Idea how many were imported, but they seem to be genuinely rare. Mine is amazingly well made -- it's definitely a keeper.

I use D'addario Chromes (.011s) and the tone, resonance and sustain are incredible.

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