Product Description

Artist Guitars Amp Deal Artist Guitars Amp Deal mobile
brand_logo

Artist AP54J Vintage Burst Electric Guitar w/ P90 Pickup

The Artist AP54J is a premium single-cutaway guitar. If you're looking for a minimalist punk rock machine, this AP54J is the choice for you; punchy mids and responsive controls in a very tidy package!

It features a timeless Vintage Burst finish over a solid African Mahogany body, with a simple black scratch plate completing the look. The Mahogany bolt-on neck has a high-grade Eco-Rosewood fretboard, Dot Mother of Pearl Inlays, 22 frets in a 24.75" scale length, and a comfortable C-shape radius.

The AP54J also features a Wilkinson wrap-around bridge, with adjustable bridge posts and saddles to lock in your intonation, and the 43mm Bone nut and Chrome machine heads will keep you in tune through any basement punk show! With a single dog-ear P90 in the bridge position, the AP54J has got some serious bite, and we have used premium-grade hardware to ensure the tone and volume controls are responsive to the touch.

With just a single Volume and Tone knob, this guitar has a surprising tonal range for those willing to experiment with their controls. Alternatively, this is the perfect guitar to just turn everything up, plug into a cranked amp, and let rip!

This comes strung from the factory with D'Addario EXL110 strings.

The Tech Features

Model: AP54J

Body:

  • Solid African Mahogany
  • Single cutaway

Neck:

  • Bolt-On Mahogany Neck
  • Eco-Rosewood Fingerboard
  • Dot Mother of Pearl Fingerboard Inlays
  • C shaped neck, 12” Fingerboard Radius
  • 22 frets
  • Bone Nut 43mm / 11116
  • 24.75" Scale Length

Finish: Vintage Burst with Gloss Polyurethane Finish.

Hardware:

  • Chrome Machine heads
  • Adjustable Wrap-Around Wilkinson Bridge
  • Simple, Two-Control Layout with Gold “bonnet” Knobs

Pickups: 

  • "Dog-Ear" P90 in Bridge Position
  • 500K Volume Control 
  • 250K Tone Control 
  • 1/4" Output Jack.

(17450)


Reviews (11)

Write a review

Great guitar with great price

By: on 2 October 2023
This is the best guitar ever made with so many good quality of features to start with my guitar learning skills and my music journey. Amazing work done by Artistguitars

Artist Guitars Response
We are glad to hear that you are happy with our product. Thank you for sharing this feedback with us and for the support!

The Only Thing Entry Level Is The Price

By: on 11 April 2023
I have had the AP54J for several weeks now and I am super impressed – this guitar is fantastic! I just wanted a no-frills P90 guitar, and based purely on its price, no-frills was what I was expecting. This, however, is a beautiful looking and really well-built instrument. I thought it might feel and play “cheap”, but this guitar feels great, plays well and the tonal range is awesome. The P90 pickup is way better than I was expecting. The bolt-on neck is fine – the guitar has nice sustain and tuning stability is pretty good. It is hard to believe that such a simple and inexpensive guitar is capable of sounding so good from bright, jangly chord strumming, to big heavy riffs and great lead tone. I love this guitar - not only does it look awesome and is it fun to play, but the sound and the versatility of this instrument is amazing.

Artist Guitars Response
We are pleased to hear that the guitar has exceeded your expectations. Thank you for your purchase and for leaving a review.

Cool Junior style Guitar 5 Star Rating

By: on 23 March 2023
Purchased this guitar for very good student I am teaching....He wanted a Gibson LP junior...but did not quite have the funds. So I saw this AP54J advertised for $229.00 and thought it would a good start for him...as at the price...he was happy. BUT !!!!! When I saw the guitar....I was knocked out at the quality of it.... Here is my Review... Stunning paintwork....very nicely finished.....with a nice vintage burst. Very good P90 pickup dog-eared style....puts out just over 9k resistance...so quite a bit of power here. The neck has medium frets...extremely smooth straight out of the box...with no rough edges....very very good quality frets. The neck is a very nice c shape...just enough chunk to give it that vintage feel...and good tuners fitted. The intonation was spot on out of the box...and was instantly playable. I have never seen a guitar of this quality for the price.....so.....well done by Artist guitars...for a stunning junior at an affordable price. My student was delighted at having a quality junior....his favourite guitar....in his hands...for a price he could afford to have his own guitar. PROS......Get one....as they say...."TAKE MY MONEY"....Best value guitar I have seen. CONS....Absolutely none.....

Artist Guitars Response
Thanks so much for your awesome feedback! We are glad that you love this guitar. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us should you have any questions, we are always happy to help!

100% Worth the punt

By: on 11 March 2023
The price was right to be worth a gamble on a single P90 guitar and I'm happy to say it paid off. A pleasure to play and great tone from the P90, I'm not surprised they sold quickly. I can say that the AP54J and the Grungemaster are my favourite two Artist guitars to date.

Artist Guitars Response
Thank you so much for the awesome review. We're very glad to hear that from you. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to contact us. Cheers!

A great version of an old classic Blues/Rock guita

By: on 6 March 2023
I received my Artist AP54J based on a Gibson LP Jr and am stoked. This simple but elegant single P90 pickup single cutaway is a raw Blues/Rock machine. I love the 'growl' from the P90! It plays nice too. I also have a HB DCjr in 'TV yellow'. It's nice but I prefer the Artist, even if it has a bolt on neck. Fender still does it after 70 years! No problems. Nice unpainted back satin neck with good playability. I only did a minimal setup and the Wilkinson wrap over bridge gives you perfect intonation. It joins my Falcon which also arrived to join my Artist guitar collection. Love it Well done (again) Artist!

Artist Guitars Response
It's our pleasure and thank you so much for taking the time to leave feedback. We really appreciate the support!

Single cut above the rest

By: on 18 February 2023
So again Artist have come up with a quality affordable option based on (we all know ). After a set up which is and should be expected, the AP54 is as sweet as any guitar in my collection. Plays and sounds killer with the single P90 along with the benefit of no pick up option paralysis. Tone, volume and an amp are all you need to make this thing work in any genre or style of music. Value is unbelievable IMO..

Artist Guitars Response
We really appreciate it for taking the time to leave feedback and are glad to know that you are happy with our products and services.

Nice Cheaper Version of a LPJr

By: on 23 January 2023
I'd pre-ordered this guitar as it's one guitar type I'd never owned, so I was looking forward to it. The initial plans was to have a more regular honey colour in the centre (like Gibson and Epiphone), whereas what ended up being was almost a tobacco burst instead. Still a nice looking guitar though. The guitar was setup perfectly out of the box (nut height, intonation, fret ends) and I was really impressed with this. The pickups are OK, I would have liked them with a bit more gain, but they're OK. One thing that looks a bit out of place is the bare neck (well it's covered in clear). I probably would have finished it in the same colour as the back. The necks finish is also a little grainy around the heels which I look care of with some 400 grit and polish. The neck isn't huge, but not thin either. I would have gone with a thinner 60's tapered neck. The necks also a screw in, much like the epiphones. I would have paid extra for a glued in neck. Minor things really when you look at the price of this. There's something to be said about a simple one pickup guitar.

Artist Guitars Response
We truly appreciate your feedback and input about the guitar. Thank you for your detailed review about it.

Absolutely stoked :)

By: on 9 January 2023
Anyone who follows the Artist Guitars Designer Facebook group may have noticed that I've been pitching for agess for this guitar to be made. I was absolutely stoked once it appeared in the initial survey of possible models to be made. I voted for it as many times as I could. Anyhow, I was pleasantly surprised when my fiance bought me this guitar for Christmas. Feels nice, great weight to it (without being too heavy). But all in all, I just love the simplicity of the single bridge pick-up. My only issue is that the P90 can be a bit noisy when playing high gain stuff (Metal & punk etc), but adding a noise gate to the signal chain pretty much solves that issue. Perhaps a BullBucker version could be introduced down the stage. But as an overall "jack of all trades" guitars which can be applied to a wide range of genres, the AP54J is a must have!

Artist Guitars Response
We are happy to hear that you loved your Christmas present. Thank you for your good review about the guitar.

A great value version of the LPJr

By: on 4 January 2023
Received my Artist AP54J and it was better than I expected. Basically OK to play straight out of the box. Being fussy I did a slight adjustment of the bridge and saddle for intonation and lowered the nut slots slightly. Plays beautifully and holds tune well. Love the raw blues/rock sound of the single P90. With just a touch of drive it breaks up nicely as the volume control is increased and cleans up nicely as the volume is reduced. Solidly built and the bolt on neck is just fine and stable. For the price I can't recommend it any higher.

Artist Guitars Response
We really appreciate it for taking the time to leave feedback and are glad to know that you are happy with our products and services.

Brilliant little rock machine

By: on 3 January 2023
I preordered this little beauty a while ago. And it was definitely worth the wait. I cannot believe how good this little beast is. Was it playable out of the box? Absolutely yes. If a beginner was gifted this guitar, they could have tuned it up and played immediately. The intonation was even pretty close. And the string height at the first fret was spot on. No nut filing required. So cowboy chords for beginner fingers would be nice and easy. But, while watching a movie one night, I set it up to my liking. Removed strings. Polished the frets with 0000 steel wool to remove the slight scratchiness. Very lightly oiled the fretboard. Changed strings to my preferred gauge. Tuned it down my preferred half-step. Re-adjusted the neck relief and intonation. Then adjusted the action my liking (low and fast). It sounds absolutely awesome through my Marshall tube amp and Boss Katana. And it plays like a much more expensive guitar. The overall finish and appearance of the AP54J was almost perfect out of the box. Gloriously shiny, great burst finish, nice looking grain and no sharp fret ends. Were there any flaws? If I was being super picky, I'd only be able to name 3 things. Slightly scratchy frets (only noticeable when bending), very minor tooling marks above the 22nd fret on the bottom E string (beyond playable range anyway) and the matte finish on the back of the neck was a little rough to the touch on one part of the neck (but this disappeared after playing for a while). If you want a fun little rock guitar, then the AP54J is one you should really consider. And if you're looking for a first or beginner guitar that's a bit different, this is really worth a look. I really can't give this any less than 5 stars. Great job Artist Guitars. The AP54J is an absolute cracker.

Artist Guitars Response
We truly appreciate the detailed review about the guitar. Thank you so much.

Lefty?

By: on 2 September 2022
Any chance of any of the new guitars coming in a left-handed version?

Artist Guitars Response
I am sorry but we still do not have plans yet but we are not closing the possibility in the future.

Bargain Bin