Quote:
Originally Posted by kspeed
The body's mahogany with a maple cap, but the beauty (as always) is in the straight-through, 3 piece maple neck. It runs the entire length of the guitar and has no heel to speak of, allowing for easy access to the upper frets.
If the pickups are original they're both V2's, which are medium/medium high output with good high end. The lower toggle is aftermarket - can you tell us what it does?
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Whoa, hold up there. First thing to ask for is the serial number. The first letter tells you the month it was built, the second two numbers tell you the year. G82 would be seventh month (July) of 1982. If the year is 1978 or after, chances are good it's an AR-100 in Antique Violin finish. Prior to that there's a different numbering system (2218 or something) and the bodies are a bit wider and thinner. It's an AR-100 and not an AR300 because it has dot inlays and a rosewood FB. AR-300's have big block MOP/Abalone inlays on an ebony fretboard. Yours also has single binding around the edge of the body, where AR-300's have multi-layer binding. AR-300's came with Super 58's with gold covers, your pickups are likely V2's. The miniswitch is an aftermarket tack-on (Tri-Sound switches have square tops and are located as in the shot of the AR-300 elsewhere in the thread). While it may be a phase switch, it might also be a coil tap switch. Set the pickup switch to "both", run the volumes up to 10 on both pickups and then flick the switch on and off. If you get a VERY thin and nasally sound, it's a phase switch. If the volume drops slightly and you just get a slightly thinner sound, it's likely that you have a coil tap switch installed. Flick to a single pickup after turning the switch on. If the sound is suddenly MUCH fuller, you have a phase switch. If you put the pickup switch to one pickup or the other and flick the miniswitch on and off, the sound won't change if it's a phase switch. If it's a coil tap, you'll get a more single-coil sound on each pickup and probably a bit more noise as well.
The neck is
not a three-piece maple neck-through. It's a mahogany set neck with a very smooth neck joint. You'll be able to see where the neck joins the body. if there's a smooth line there with no separation, you're gold. If there's a crack there, and if it's just slight (as in "finish only") you may still be good. If there's a lot of stress in the binding on the neck or the body in that region, or if there's separation of any kind between the body, it has, will have, or might already have had problems with the neck.
If the knobs have a thin rubber belt around them, they're original. Do not...repeat...DO NOT "upgrade" those things. If you do, send them to me. I need a set. The previous owner of my guitar "upgraded" them to speed knobs because he thought these looked like "skateboard wheels." He promptly lost the originals, and was very dismayed to learn that he'd devalued the guitar by about $200 doing that. The knobs appear from time to time on eBay, but run about $45 *each*. Same goes for the pickups. These are excellent pickups and do NOT need upgrading, but there are the inevitable goofs who pull them and put in SDs or whatever, only to find that they've devalued the guitar. If you do pull them, whatEVER you do, don't toss anything from this guitar away; you'll regret it later. DO NOT change out the bridge or the tuners. If you're tempted to do that, send everything to me. No, seriously.
These are excellent, outstanding guitars. If the frets are level and if the neck is set up correctly, these guitars are better (IMHO) than any comparable LP. You have better upper fret access (thanks to the smooth neck heel) and you have all the characteristics of an LP (small dense mahogany body, etc.), but the neck is faster and the craftsmanship is really really good. EASILY worth the money and a collector's item in the making. Buff it up and put a good coat of carnauba (no silicone) wax on everything (yes, even the metal bits). You'll be amazed at how heavy that bridge is. I dunno about the AR 100's, but on the AR300's, it's screwed into a block of brass (or, later, pot metal) that weighs about 10 ounces, called a sustain block. That sustain block is further screwed into the body and provides extra good string-body coupling and gives you better highs, more focused lows and, yes, more sustain.
Great guitar, good find, and if the neck is straight and the neck joint is solid, worth every penny.