mutha fuggin artcore.

  • Thread starter Thread starter oh_the_blood
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oh_the_blood

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so just tell me how sweet it is.

and then just tell me how bad it is.

thank you.
 
Guitar or bass?

I've always thought the F-holes were too weird. Like this.

Looks worse in a lighter color.
 
Ibanez has always done a remarkably good job of making budget archtops. It is pertinent to note that George Benson retired his D'Angelico (a real one, not some factory made knock off) from the road in favor of an Ibanez archtop, and Pat Metheny completely retired his (much abused) Gibson ES-175 for an Ibanez. Now, those are both artist signature models, and they both have non-production line, custom shop instruments. Even if you get one of there signature models, you are not getting quite the same guitar as they play, but awfully close. I love the George Benson model Ibanez.

The real problem I see is if you mean THIS ONE, then you have to deal with the Bigsby. Do not, even for a second, imagine that you can use it to do Jimi Hendrix style dive bombs or wild whammy stuff. It is for VERY subtle vibrato, and that is about it. And even doing that, you are going to have problems with your tuning, guarantied.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Of all the budget hollowbodies I've checked out recently, the Artcore was the best.
 
i thought everyone loved the bigsby?

i probably wont ever use it

so should i get the artcore without the bigsby?

i really want the turquoise one though.

thatd be the only one id get.

but if it had a bigsby and came out of tune, then its not worth it.
 
oh_the_blood said:
i thought everyone loved the bigsby?

i probably wont ever use it

so should i get the artcore without the bigsby?

i really want the turquoise one though.

thatd be the only one id get.

but if it had a bigsby and came out of tune, then its not worth it.
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The main thing you need to worry about, tuning-wise, with a tremelo bridge/tailpiece is tension retention in the nut. The strings must slide as frictionlessly as possible through the nut and any string T's, or the nut must lock.
 
I have a hard tail Artcore. As other's have said, it's a great guitar. I think there's probably nothing wrong with a Bigsby if your using it for a nice, subtle vib. Johnny A uses a Bigsby - it adds a lot of flavor to what you're doing.

If you're doing dive bombs and really going wild on the trem - then you probably don't want an Artcore anyway.

If tuning's a prob, switch to Graphtech nuts/saddles/etc. (or a roller bridge or whatever) or just add a touch of 3-in-1 oil to the slots (a little goes a long way). I did the Graphtech treatment on my MIM Strat and I can wack and bomb and raise to extremes with very little effect on tuning... in most cases, the tuning doesn't go out at all with "normal" treming.

You just need more than one guitar is the real answer :rolleyes:
 
The artcores are great guitars. The bigsby really can't be used for more than vibrato, but it does add a cool effect and it looks pretty damn nice. Also the bigsby won't give you tuning problems if you're not using it, so if you like the look of it and have the choice between that and a hardtail you might as well get the bigsby.
 
oh_the_blood said:
i was thinking the guitar.
like the turqouis one.
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I have that color. IMO, it's a great guitar. I use it on everything I record.
It's also great for playing unplugged. It has just enough volume without being loud like an acoustic.
 
Reverend Horton Heat would play a torquoise full bodied hollowbody with a bigsby...in a torquoise sequined tuxedo with a gold crown and a martini :D
 
beautiful.

edwon, did you order it off a website?

and to everyone else, what would i have to do to adjust it to make it the best to its ability?

thanks thoroghly.
 
oh_the_blood said:
i thought everyone loved the bigsby?
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I detest them, along with every other gang-strung vibrato I've ever used in the past forty years.
 
ibanezrocks said:
Also the bigsby won't give you tuning problems if you're not using it, so if you like the look of it and have the choice between that and a hardtail you might as well get the bigsby.
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Any floating gang-strung vibrato will cause tuning problems due to the very way they're designed, unless they're blocked. Every string's tension affects the tension of the other five, for starters. Nothing good comes from that premise, and there's no way of getting past it.

Conventional vibratos are just engineering nightmares.

Folks can tweak them and tweak them until the tuning problems are minimized, but they're never eliminated. I have four or five guitars with Bigsbys and though they're tweaked about as far as they can go, I never use them for anything except recording when I really need the effect, which is rarely.
 
oh_the_blood said:
beautiful.

edwon, did you order it off a website?

and to everyone else, what would i have to do to adjust it to make it the best to its ability?

thanks thoroghly.
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I ordered mine from either Music123 or MusiciansFriend. I can remember which one.
When mine arrived it was almost in tune. I don't think I really did much setup wise. I might have messed with the action a bit but it was pretty much playable right out of the box. I did experience some rattling from the plastic thing that goes around the bridge pickup. I just locked her down with a screw driver and it was all good.
I love my Artcore.
 
i have a red artcore (the turqoise is super nice too).

its an awesome guitar with great overtones. plug one into a blues jr and let the feedback ring out. its an amazing sound. my bigsby works just fine for vibrato effects. i dont plan on doing the eruption on it.

i wouldnt buy one without the bigsby. for me the guitar would be way less fun.
 
bongolation said:
Any floating gang-strung vibrato will cause tuning problems due to the very way they're designed, unless they're blocked. Every string's tension affects the tension of the other five, for starters. Nothing good comes from that premise, and there's no way of getting past it.

Conventional vibratos are just engineering nightmares.

Folks can tweak them and tweak them until the tuning problems are minimized, but they're never eliminated. I have four or five guitars with Bigsbys and though they're tweaked about as far as they can go, I never use them for anything except recording when I really need the effect, which is rarely.
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I disagree. I play an old Strat with a whammy bar, and it stays in tune very well. I lubricate the slots in the nut with teflon grease and graphite whenever I change strings, and I replaced the steel string T with a graphite one. The bridge assembly is very simple as is; I didn't do a thing to it other than to adjust the springs so that about 90% of the play is in the direction that lowers the pitch. Yes, changing the pitch of one string affects all the others, so tuning it the first time with new strings takes a bit longer than does my Les Paul, but once it's in tune, it stays there.

The only thing resembling a hardship is that if I break a string while playing, I have to stop; all the rest of the strings go sharp. I break about two strings a year, so it's no biggie for me.

It's like anything else - it's a tool that one needs to understand in order to use effectively. DISCLAIMER: I don't know nuthin' 'bout playing with no Bixby tailpieces.
 
I too have a turquoise artcore with the bigsby trem. I got mine from musicians friend, no plug intended. :) It's the 12th guitar in my collection, but the number 2 guitar I play the most. I like the tone as well. I play alot of blues and rock, I can definetely say it's not geared towards hard rock or metal by any means. My strat covers that just fine, but for the blues and rockabilly stuff we do it's great. I've had mine since Feb. this year, and have had no tuning problems at all. I do use the trem quite a bit, ala the brian setzer stuff we play, but as it's been said already, it's just for subtle effect.

Eric
 
thats awesome!

i really want the turquoise one and i think ill break down and order from musicians friends... dun dun dunnn.

i just hope itll sound okay through a crate all tube half stack and doesnt get too much feedback...

well since this is about artcores and i can ask about whatever i want...

how is the feedback when your playing with distortion?

haha thanks so much guys.

anything else i need to know before i buy it?
 
Just like any hollow body, you can make it feedback at will. :D
I use mine in the studio so I don't know about running it through a big ole stack but I have a 90 watt fender amp that I can crank and I haven't had problems at all with unwanted feedback. Huge tube distortedy goodness could get away from you pretty quick if you are not carefull.
 
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