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!

With the ART100, Ibanez proves that they can still make a killer single cutaway guitar at a great price. Let’s take a look at the details.

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.

Aesthetically, the ART100 is a winner. The fingerboard is absent of inlays save a custom inlay on the 12th fret, which looks pretty classy. Available in a variety of finishes, we opted for the Transparent Cherry and could find no significant finish flaws.

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

The stock pickups do a fine job, but if you want some different sounds, you could always swap out the stock pickups for some replacements.

Our only real real complaint is that it doesn’t ship with a case, but that’s a small complaint, given the guitar’s price. This is a great budget guitar at a price that can’t be beat.

Searching for the absolute best price on a used or new ESP ART100? Then you must visit Ray’s Guitar Shop! They offer the lowest prices on all used and new guitars (acoustic and electric). It doesn’t matter if you’re searching for a Washburn, an ESP, or a PRS, Ray’s Guitar Shop has what you’re looking for!