The Artcore collection by Ibanez is one of the most famous collections that Ibanez created.
The Ibanez Artcore collection (sometimes referred to as the Artcore series or Ibanez AS Artcore) surpassed a lot of expectations that a lot of people had when it came to purchasing a moderately priced semi-hollow or a hollow body. Ibanez designs the Artcore collection to provide musicians with an intriguing cosmetic appearance, affordability, and a warm, full tone.
The Artcore formula builds on equal parts luthiery know-how, daring design, and a passion for warm, full-bodied tone.
The Ibanez AS73 Artcore is comprised of a set mahogany neck, maple body, double-cutaway styled body, a bound rosewood fretboard, ART-1 bridge, Classic Elite pickups, and chrome hardware.
Combining the maple semi-hollow body, mahogany neck, and a rosewood fretboard provides the AS73 with a warm, robust tone. Adding the Classic Elite pickups to the AS73 combines a broad and balanced output.
When first laying your hands on this instrument take some time to play around with the sound. You may be surprised at the overall quality of this guitar. Ibanez has a reputation for being guitars that market to children and teenagers for hobby playing that may not last more than a few years.
However, AS73 provides even the most experienced musicians with a sense of gratification when playing around with the versatility of the sound that the AS73 produces.
Find all about it in the following Ibanez AS73 Review
Ibanez AS73 Artcore Features
- Les Paul Double Cut body shape
- Gloss finished
- Semi-hollow
- Maple body
- Double cutaway
- ART-1 Bridge
- Classic Elite bridge and neck pickup (Classic Elite pickups)
- Volume and tone controls
- Rosewood fingerboard
- Set neck
- Chrome hardware
- C-shape neck
- Mahogany neck
- 22 frets
- 3-way pickups
Ibanez AS73 Artcore Playability
The neck on the Artcore semi hollow is balanced very well and has a flatter radius, which makes it very comfortable to play for long periods of time. A lot of experienced musicians recommend beginning electric guitar players use the AS73 because this instrument doesn’t come with a whole bunch of bell and whistles, just a three-position pickup selector.
Most musicians enjoy the quality of the tone and volume controls on the AS73 electric guitar. The volume and controls on the AF73 allow users to customize the sound that they’re producing truly; just by slightly adjusting the controls, you’re going to achieve a brand-new sound.
The overall tones of this instrument are very mellow, but if you improve the controls, you can produce a wide array of sounds from this guitar.
If you’ve ever picked up and enjoyed playing with the Gibson 335, you will appreciate playing around with the Ibanez AS73. While the AS73 semi-hollow is a little smaller and lighter than the Gibson 335, these characteristics make the Ibanez AS73 more comfortable to play for longer periods of time.
The neck of this guitar is extremely comfortable to play, especially if you are someone who doesn’t have large hands; the neck itself has a slim profile that is paired with surprisingly smooth frets.
Ibanez AS73 Artcore Sound
The AS73 is most commonly used as a Jazz guitar and can be found in the hands of John Scofield, George Benson, and Pat Metheny. For the price tag of the AF73 electric guitar, you can expect to achieve a large variety of tones from this instrument. The overall sound that this instrument produces is very warm, expressive tone.
The pickups on this semi-hollow are incredibly responsive, and the intonation is very contestant for a
More experienced musicians found that the pickups on the AS73 weren’t of very high quality and they typically ended up upgrading to higher quality pickups.
The musicians with years of experience behind them found that when they turned up the volume knobs above five, they found that the neck pickup became very mushy sounding, while the bridge pickup was very crackly sounding.
After switching out to better quality pickups, these experienced musicians were able to discover all of the capabilities that the AS73 offers fully.
The most significant complaint that a lot of people, both experienced and inexperienced users, have about the sound of the AS73 is that the sound quality isn’t very consistent when paired up with different amps. You can plug in this guitar to two different amps from two different manufacturers, and you will receive separate sound qualities.
Ibanez AS73 Artcore Pros and cons
In case you’re just looking for a quick summary of the benefits and withdraws that the Ibanez Artcore offers, we’ve created a quick chart for you to look at:
Pros
- Stable tuning
- Incredibly affordable for a semi-hollow
- Produces a full sound
- Spot on intonation
- Responsive controls
- Easily comparable to the Gibson 335, which is $1,600 more than the Ibanez AS73
Cons
- Case sold separately
- Doesn’t come with a gig bag
- Neither with a pickguard
- Or with a tremolo
- Isn’t very intricate of a guitar (in case you are looking for something that comes with a whole lot of bells and whistles)
Ibanez AS73 Artcore Alternatives
In case the Ibanez Artcore isn’t what you are looking for, stay with us, we’ll show you guitars similar to the AS73:
Gibson ES-335
The Gibson ES-335 is the guitar that has defined quality for semi-hollow bodies across all markets. When creating a new instrument, most manufacturers compare the quality, tonal color, and sound projection of their instrument to the ES-335.
This is a luxury guitar that comes with a luxury price tag, but it is well beyond worth it if you can afford the hefty pricing.
Renowned for both its playability and great, warm tone, it became a fixture with electric blues, rock and jazz players.
Epiphone Wildkat Semi-hollow
Epiphone Wildkat Semi-hollow – The Epiphone Wildkat is one of Epiphone’s most famous guitars. This semi-hollow body is also comparable to the Gibson ES-335 with a smaller sized body.
It is perfect for young adults or individuals with smaller statures to handle and enjoy playing. Read the Full Epiphone Wildkat Review.
With no notable changes in archtop design by anybody in decades, Epiphone took the archtop and practically married it to a solid body guitar.
Other Ibanez reviews:
Conclusion: Ibanez AS73 Review
The Ibanez AS73 is a versatile semi-hollow guitar with incredibly rich tones and controls that are responsive to make a great entry-level guitar for beginners. If you’re looking to get your hand on a semi-hollow that’s comparable to the Gibson 335 without having to spend more than $1,000, the Ibanez AS73 will do you well.
All you’re going to want to do is upgrade the pickups on the AS73. This way you’ll have a semi-hollow that produces beautiful tones with high-quality pickups.
Even if you’re just starting out on your guitar playing journey, the Ibanez AS73 is a worthy investment and a great guitar. You will be able to grow into and love for many years to come!
The Artcore formula builds on equal parts luthiery know-how, daring design, and a passion for warm, full-bodied tone.
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