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Ibanez AR300

 

Review of the Ibanez AR300 by The Man in the Jar

Being a traditional kinda' guy I liked the look of the Ibanez 300 right out of the box. It looks like a cross between a Yamaha SG and a Les Paul, but it costs a great deal less than either. 

Features of the Ibanez AR300

Tuners - Unbranded sealed tuners with large pearloid plastic knobs. Smooth and efficient.

Headstock - The headstock is quite long and puts good space between the tuning knobs. Faced in black it has the same antiqued binding as the neck and the body.

Nut - The white plastic nut is tidily cut.

Neck - Slimmer than one would expect on either a Les Paul or a Yamaha SG and, for my taste, this makes it easier and more immediately comfortable to play. The maple neck is specified as a three-piece, although this isn't evident by looking at it, such is the closeness of the grain. It's a set neck and the shape of the heel is very, very similar to the Yamaha SG, extremely comfortable with great upper fret access. 

Fretboard - Medium-light rosewood board with antiqued binding. Rectangular white position markers are enhanced with a diagonal block of rainbow abalone, the 12th fret bears two diagonal flashes of the same. 

Frets - Medium to medium-thin with a nice rounded profile.

Action - Great from the box with no issues.

Body - The mahogany body again nods towards Yamaha and Les Paul territory. The carved maple top glows nicely under the sunburst finish although the grain on the model I tried ran in the other direction than shown in the photo' above. Contouring on the top edge gives comfort against the body whilst helping reduce the weight. The antiqued binding is enhanced by a triple pin-stripe which adds a certain touch of class.   

Bridge - Standard tune-o-matic type with an enhanced stop-tail design. Instead of threading the strings through holes in the tail they are dropped into a diagonal slot. The slot dog-legs at the bottom of its channel and narrows to trap the ball-end of the string. Although that sounds complicated to read, in reality the whole re-stringing process can be done at the bridge end by feel alone, which might save your skin on a dimly lit stage.  

Pickups - Two chrome covered Super 58 humbuckers sit in cream plastic surrounds. 

Controls - Volume and tone for each pickup with a three-way pickup selector on the upper horn.

Strap-buttons - Medium sized buttons occupy the usual places.

Output Jack - On the lower edge set in an oval plate.

Finish - Faultless throughout.

 

Sound of the Ibanez AR300 

Running clean these pickups immediately sparkle with an endearing vintage voice. The bridge pickup excels with a gritty treble sound that evokes memories of classic rock tones from the last century (crumbs, doesn't time fly?). The neck pickup is voiced differently and delivers a cherry-flavoured, middly mellowness that I immediately liked. Run together the sound is beautifully complex but remains nicely balanced.
Cooking up on overdrive the weight of the mahogany body allowed the excellent clean voices of these pickups to shine through with power and sustain to spare. But they aren't called '58's for nothing, so Nu Metal grind come uncomfortably to this guitar. But if classic rock is where you lay your licks and get your kicks, then the Ibanez AR300 is talking to you.     

 

Overall Impressions of the Ibanez AR300 

I actually own a Yamaha SG and the overall vibe of the Ibanez AR300 is very similar. But it would be wrong to call the Ibanez an "SG-Lite". The AR300 is very much a complete guitar in its own right, as lovely to look at and play as the SG with voices reminiscent of the Les Pauls of yesteryear. If you want a top notch "classic" but can't stretch the budget far enough for the obvious "name" candidates then this is a creditable alternative. The Ibanez AR300 is a deeply satisfying guitar to play.

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