Regis' AM70

 

 

As far as I remember, I have always been interested in (semi-) hollow body guitars because of the beauty of the woods and shapes and in Ibanez guitars, because they were cheap quality guitars when I began to play in the 80s (yes, things have changed concerning the price !!!). My two favourite guitarists Abercrombie and Scofield were both using Ibanezes and I naturally chose an Artist semi hollow body, an AM 70. I now play an AM 205, but still use the two guitars for different music.

I first love the smaller body compared to the AS or the Gibson ES 335. The AM 70 has always been a trusty guitar. I have never had problem with it, nether with the wood, nor with the electronics. I only changed the frets because this guitar was highly played. The guitar is not very heavy. The neck is very thin and playable. It‚s a real pleasure to play on. Of course, this is not a "jazz" neck, but who cares ? The main problem is that you must limit the strings to a .10-.56 gauge. I replaced the frets by jumbos a little larger than the original ones and it is now even more comfortable. The sound is not a pure jazz sound, but blues (not Chicago) or rock oriented. The neck pickup is warm, powerful and very meaning. I use it most of the time or coupled with the bridge pickup. This one is too much acid, I think, to be used alone. This guitar has an interesting personality and is dedicated to rock or jazz-rock. The clear sound is much better than a Gibson SG or so and the - little - distorted sound (with an Ibanez tube screamer, of course) doesn‚t suffer comparison.

I possessed a Gibson ES 135, but was not very satisfied with the sound, too much impersonal. Neither was I satisfied with the too big neck. I was looking for a second hand AS 200 when I found on an Italian web site an AM 205 in good condition. This is a pure gem. This guitar is really a pro guitar. I am still surprise that no "grand" guitarist play on such a guitar. You can play what you want on it (except Telecaster sound), the guitar translate into music what you have in your mind. I think I have found my guitar, you probably know what I mean. Compared to the AM 70, the 205 is heavier. The wood, especially the back is beautiful. The neck is more thick but there is no problem to play on it. The neck pickup sound is marvellous and jazz. You hear the mahogany of the body in the sound. One of my friend has an ES 335. I think my sound is warmer than his (direct to the amp). The bridge pickup is not acid at all and can be very useful for solos. Both the 70 and the 205 have a high output level, but with the 205, you can have very smooth, sweet, aggressive or percussive sounds. This guitar is very versatile, but has a strong personality. Both the mahogany and the ebony give an impression of a massive guitar.
For the fun, I would like to have an AM 255 (I never played with a tremolo). I played on several guitars (A strat, a mustang, an SG). I also have a Godin LG, but I like my AMs, which are my favourite guitars. Why on earth doesn‚t Ibanez still build such guitars !