Ibanez ART300 Review

For Ibanez, the ART line of guitars is a deviation from their normal specialty. For a few decades now, they have been best known as makers of great metal instruments. They have been used by the likes of virtuoso Steve Vai, and are heavily associated with high distortion, screaming solos, and heavy power chords. The ART300, unlike these, is made much like a Les Paul to give the average non-metalhead something to like. Let's take a closer look to see how this deviation from the norm performs.

Features: The body of the ART300, unlike the more metal oriented line of Ibanez's instruments, is made of mahogany wood. It provides a bit of a different sound that the others. As an added feature, they put a scalloped maple top on the surface of the ART300. The neck is set into the body, and has a bound rosewood fingerboard with twenty two medium frets and diamond inlays. The inlay design alone makes it obvious that this isn't much like other Ibanez lines. The bridge of the ART300 is branded as a Gibraltar III. It's more or less Ibanez's version of the more famous Tune-O-Matic bridge in which the strings don't go through the body and stop with a metal tailpiece. Electronically, the Ibanez ART300 has two active humbucking pickups. They are activated with two AA batteries. Also included is a three way selector switch and volume and tone control knobs.

Playability: As you could probably guess from the Les Paul style body of the ART300, it doesn't play quite as well as other Ibanez's for shredding. The twenty two frets are just medium sized, which is a big deviation from other Ibanez guitars and requires more precise fretting. Also, since the body is made of mahogany it's a little heavy. But compared to other Les Paul copies of different brands the ART300 still plays very well.

Sound: The ART300's active humbuckers, as you can infer from their name, are a little better at picking up exactly what you're doing. They are a bit more versatile that some other Ibanez brand pickups as well. On the clean end the neck pickup is very rich and the bridge pickup is bright without being too piercing. On the distorted end, the neck pickup is great for highs, but the bridge pickup is better for both highs and lows.

Overall: Many players love the feel (and price) of Ibanez made instruments. They have a good quality build and are very playable. If you are looking for this plus a little more versatility, the ART300 is an excellent choice. You can find the Ibanez ART300 in music stores for about $400.