Rare 1983 Ibanez Artist AR550PW 3 band EQ Super-58 Pickups Made in Japan

Maker: Ibanez

Model: Artist AR550PW

Condition:  Very good

Description: 

Here for your consideration is a 1983 Ibanez Artist AR550PW in a stunning and extremely rare "Polar White" finish! The AR550 is one of the more rare models in the coveted early 80s artist series with the polar white version being extremely hard to find - supposedly only 38 were made in this finish. This one is in overall very good condition and plays like a dream! Body shows some very light surface marks, a couple of very minor dings, and some yellowing of the binding but otherwise is very clean. Neck is in excellent shape with no notable damage. Headstock shows some cracking in the binding and some very light surface marks but is otherwise in great shape with no major damage. Fretboard is excellent and frets show only very light signs of wear. Some of the gold hardware has faded particularly on the bridge and tuning machines, and some pitting on the pickup covers pick but otherwise all hardware is in great working condition. Electronics work great and features Super '58 pickups and an active 3-band eq/+6 dB boost circuit. Control layout is - Neck volume, Bridge volume, Boost volume, 3 band EQ with treble, mid, and bass control, on/off switch for eq and boost circuit with status LED, and coil split switch for both pickups. Versatile is an understatement! This guitar can do it all. It plays amazing and has an incredible and rare Polar White finish. An incredible guitar. Includes original case. Has been fully inspected and setup here by our team at Coast Sonic and is ready for a new home. 

Weight: 9lbs 12oz

Neck Profile: C

Neck Thickness: 1st fret .806", 12th fret .926"

Fretboard Radius: 12"

Nut Width: 1 11/16"

Pickup Values: Neck 7.24k, Bridge 6.99k

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From the web:

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.

The AR550 is an Artist series solid body electric guitar model introduced by Ibanez in 1983. It was made in Japan by the famed Fujigen factory.

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 pcikups, 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 independent 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.

Includes original case. Has been fully inspected and setup here by our team at Coast Sonic and is ready for a new home.