The Ibanez AF55 Artcore hollowbody electric guitar delivers a quality instrument in a stripped-down, aggressive-looking package. The full-hollow sapele body of the AF55 offers you a large, round tone with plenty of woody warmth that's well-suited for jazz, blues, older country styles, and rock. The flat finish and lack of extra ornamentation give the guitar a no-nonsense look that will be right at home onstage with a loud rock band. Ibanez's Artcore series delivers great quality instruments, such as this AF55, at an attainable price.

Ibanez AF55 Artcore Hollowbody Electric Guitar at a Glance:

• Identifiable and versatile hollowbody tone
• Straightforward aesthetics
• Part of Ibanez's popular Artcore series

Identifiable and versatile hollowbody tone

The sapele top, back, and sides bring out clarity and note definition in an otherwise warm-sounding design. The deep body ensures you'll hear plenty of woody resonance. Working in conjunction with the wood and design, the uncovered Ibanez Infinity humbucking pickups have enough output to perform well in many genres, but are subtle enough to bring out the clarity and nuance of your playing.

Straightforward aesthetics

The first thing you'll notice when seeing the AF55 is the no-nonsense appeal of its design. Music Experience guitarists agree that the flat finish begs for the instrument to be played hard, but it also has a quiet elegance. The uncovered Infinity pickups continue the aggressive aura of the instrument and allow for more attack to come through when you play. Dot inlays on the fretboard, minimal chrome hardware, and single-ply binding round out the aesthetics.

Part of Ibanez's popular Artcore series

Introduced in 2002, Ibanez's Artcore series has shown that quality hollowbody guitars are within reach of the majority of guitarists. Their workmanship, tone, and affordability have put them in the hands of players and artists in just about every genre of music. The AF55 carries on this tradition by offering a hollowbody that reaches across genre lines to deliver a guitar that will appeal to your eyes, fingers, and ears, no matter what style of music you play.

Ibanez: a brief history

Ibanez began its life in 1908 as the Hoshino Gakki company in Nagoya, Japan. However, the company didn’t get into the guitar business until 1929, when they started importing Salvador Ibanez guitars from Spain. In 1935, Hoshino Gakki began building Spanish acoustic guitars under the Ibanez Salvador name, which was later shortened to Ibanez. Although Ibanez began manufacturing electric guitars in 1957, the company was relatively unknown in the West until the 1960s, when they started producing guitars based on American designs. By the late 1970s, Ibanez had stopped producing derivative guitars and had begun manufacturing the original designs that the company is now known for. Ibanez is also famous for their effects pedals (most notably the Tube Screamer) and guitar amplifiers.

What Ibanez Says...

The AF is the most traditional of the Artcore series. The traditional full-hollow construction means there are no sound blocks in the body. Producing rich and complex tones, the AF is the guitar for the purist in all of us. Ibanez introduced Artcore in 2002 and has been the hollow-body guitar of choice for musicians for the last 10 years. The Artcore's combination of quality workmanship and affordability has created legions of fans from diverse genres as blues, country, rock and jazz. Musicians can find the purity of an old school style jazz-box to a hybrid semi-hollow rocker. Artcore is highly respected for its tone, sustain and the way they hold their tuning and how the series continues to push the boundaries of guitar building.