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For other AR300 versions, see AR300 (disambiguation).
AR300
AR300 Antique Violin (more images) Red copyright sprite

The AR300 is an Artist series solid body electric guitar model introduced by Ibanez in 1979. It was made in Japan and replaced the earlier 2619.

The AR300 features a dish carved flame maple top with multi-binding on a double-cutaway mahogany body mated to a set-in three-piece maple neck with a 22-fret ebony fingerboard with binding and pearl and abalone split block position markers. Components include a pair of Ibanez Super 80 humbucking pickups with individual volume and tone controls, a Tune-o-matic style Gibraltar bridge with embedded sustain block and tailpiece and VelveTune machine heads. Each pickup has a Tri-sound switch with three pickup settings: humbucker, single-coil or reverse phase.

The first AR300s were produced in mid-1979 and were really just renamed 2619s. The only difference between the two models was a modified headstock inlay design. Several changes to the AR300 were introduced in mid-1980: the body became thicker, the neck was set more deeply into the body and the neck joint became a bit less streamlined as a result. These changes added mass to the body and also helped prevent neck dive which some players complain of with the 2619. Also in mid-1980 the Super 80 pickups were replaced with Super 58s. For 1983 the Gibraltar bridge and tailpiece were replaced with the Gibraltar II and Quik Change II and the tuners were changed to VelveTune IIs. For 1985 the ornamental cloud plate behind the tailpiece was discontinued and the Smooth Tuner II machine heads were adopted.

The Marine Sunburst, Polar White and Gold finishes are quite rare.

The AR300L is a left-handed version. The AR300GR is a similar model equipped for a Roland synth. The AR305 is a similar model with a burl mahogany top. The AR330 is a similar model with a birdseye maple top that was produced in limited numbers. The AR350T is a related model with a double locking tremolo bridge. The AR400 is a similar model with a 2-band Active Tone system. The AR200 is a related model with a rosewood fretboard with dot inlays and with a single tri-sound switch.

The AR300 was discontinued after 1987, but another model with the same name was introduced in 1989.

Specifications[]

Related content: Artist series | Models-icon
Specifications for AR300 (1979–1987)
Model name: AR300 (1979–1987)
Year(s) offered: 1979–1987
Sold in: Worldwide
Made in: Japan
Finish(es): Antique Violin (AV) / Black (BK) 1979, 1982, 1984 / Cherry Sunburst (CS) 1980–1987 / Gold (GL) 1982 / Polar White (PW) 1983–1984 / Marine Sunburst (MS) 1983–1984
Body
Body type:
Solid body
Body material:
Mahogany w/ 2-piece bookmatched flame maple top w/ binding
BK finish: Mahogany w/ binding
Neck joint:
Set-in w/ smooth heel
Bridge:
1979–1982: Gibraltar (w/ sustain block)
1983–1987: Gibraltar II
Tailpiece:
1979–1982: Gibraltar w/ plate
1983–1984: Quik Change II w/ plate
1985–1987: Quik Change II
Knob style:
Sure Grip II
Hardware color:
Gold
Neck
Neck type:
AR
Neck material:
3-piece rock maple
Scale length:
628mm/ 24¾"
Fingerboard material:
Ebony w/ binding
Fingerboard inlays:
Pearloid/ Mexican abalone split block[1]
Frets:
22 / medium
Nut:
Half-bone/ half-brass
Machine heads:
1979–1982: Ibanez VelveTune
1983–1984: Ibanez VelveTune II
1985–1987: Ibanez Smooth Tuner II
Electronics/ Strings
Pickup configuration:
HH
Bridge pickup:
1979–1980: Ibanez Super 80 (H)
1980–1987 Ibanez Super 58 (H)
Neck pickup:
1979–1980: Ibanez Super 80 (H)
1980–1987 Ibanez Super 58 (H)
Controls:
Two volumes / two tones / 3-way toggle pickup selector / 2 Tri-sound switches
Factory tuning:
1E,2B,3G,4D,5A,6E (E Std.)

Images[]

Additional finishes/ details
1979 AR300 BK
Black
1982 AR300 CS
Cherry Sunburst
1983 AR300 GL
Gold
Marine Sunburst
HH 3-way tri-sound
Pickup switching diagram
Controls 2V2T 3-way tri-sound
Control layout
AR330 AR300-BK AR300-GL ad
Ad in Japanese Guitar magazine for limited edition BK and GL versions[2]
1981 AR300-MC924 Japan
Japanese ad showing the AR300 and MC924 bass
AR300 Player-1982
1982 ad from Player magazine featuring Yasuhiro Suzuki of Wikipedia:Off Course[3]
AR300 1980
AR300 ad from December 1980 Guitar magazine (Japan)[4]
Wimage An image for this article is missing!
An image of the AR300 Marine Sunburst (MS) and Polar White (PW) is wanted for this article. You can help by finding, uploading and adding it!

Sources[]

  1. Artist series description, 1980 Guitar catalog, page 4
  2. Abuman's AR330, Our AR's (Artist registry), archived August 2020
  3. Secret room #13, Our ARs (Artist registry), archived October 2018
  4. Secret room #18, Our ARs (Artist Registry), archived October 2018
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