In the 1970’s, Ibanez got into serious legal trouble with their copy of a Gibson Les Paul. Probably the biggest reason Gibson got upset with Ibanez is that by many accounts the Ibanez copy was, at the time, a far better instrument than the real thing!

Enter the Ibanez ART100. No Gibson lawsuits here. With this instrument, Ibanez shows that they haven’t forgotten how to make a great single cutaway guitar for a fair price. What are the specifics on this killer guitar?

The Ibanez is equipped with a mahogany body and neck. The set neck also has a rosewood fretboard and 22 medium-height frets. Electronically, the guitar has two Ibanez Artcore pickups (a 1-S neck pickup and a 2-S bridge pickup).

Since it only costs $300 brand new, you really can’t complain about the ART100 a whole lot. It’s very playable, even though it doesn’t have the celebrated “Wizard” neck. This isn’t really a criticism, though. It just has its own feel.

We chose the Heritage Cherry finish and were very pleased with it. We found no discernible flaws in the finish. The guitar has no inlays with the exception of a custom inlay on the 12th fret. A classy look, in our opinion, especially for a $300 guitar.

Regarding the sounds, the strengths are certainly the distorted and overdriven tones, though the clean sounds are certainly passable.

You could easily swap in replacement pickups if you so choose, though the stock pickups perform admirably in most situations.

The only downside is that it doesn’t ship with a case. We would recommend the SKB Les Paul style case for the ART100, which is a world-class case for a great guitar. Overall, we definitely recommend the Ibanez ART100 for those looking for Les Paul bite without the Les Paul cost. It’s a fine guitar. Highly recommended!

Searching for the absolute best price on a new or used ESP ART100? Then you need to visit Ray’s Guitar Shop! They offer the most competitive prices on all used and new guitars. It doesn’t matter if you’re searching for a Washburn, an ESP, or a Gibson, Ray’s Guitar Shop has what you’re looking for!