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The AR550 is an Artist series solid body electric guitar model introduced by Ibanez in 1983. It was made in Japan by FujiGen.
The AR550 features an arched flame maple top 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 58 humbucking pickups, a Gibraltar II Tune-O-Matic style fixed bridge, a Quik Change II tailpiece with decorative "cloud" ornament, VelveTune II machine heads, and boomerang-shaped Dead End strap buttons.
Controls consist of independant volumes for each pickup, a ±6 dB boost knob, a mini-toggle Duo-sound switch to spilt the coils of both pickups, a 3-band ±15 dB active EQ — 230Hz bass, 2KHz middle, 6KHz treble — and an EQ bypass toggle with an LED indicator.
The AR500 is a similar predecessor which had individual Tri-sound switches for each pickup, a master volume pot, and a passive tone control.
While the AR550 is not a signature guitar, it is closely associated (especially in Japan) with Yasuhiro Suzuki (ja: 鈴木康博), who was known for his work with the band Off Course (ja: オフコース). The change from individual Tri-sound switches to a single duo-sound switch was made at Suzuki's request to simplify switching in a live setting. The passive tone control was removed to minimize noise and high frequency loss in the complex circuit.[1]
The AR550 was sold only in Japan and was discontinued after 1984. It's believed that very few examples of this model were produced including perhaps as few as 38 in the polar white finish.
Specifications[]
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Images[]
Sources[]
- ↑ 1983 Japan catalog (pp. 4–5)
- ↑ Secret room #26, Our ARs (Artist registry), archived October 2018
