Ibanez Artcore AS73 Semi-Hollow Electric Guitar - Tobacco Brown Reviews

I might have just gotten lucky. None of the frets buzz at all, the fret edges are smooth, the intonation is almost perfect and the action is low. There are no noticeable defects in the Finish. The neck is nice and straight. The neck pickup is only slightly muddy with overdrive but the bridge pickup has great note separation and clarity. The tone and volume pots are very effective. The A and D strings are binding at the nut but I haven't tried lubricating the nut slots with graphite yet. The tuners feel smooth and hold tune well. I will eventually replace the neck pickup with a Phat Cat P-90 and install a bone nut. The guitar is definitely gig-worthy as is.
If you face the amp the guitar produces beautiful controlled feedback. You can also play with relatively high gain without feedback. This instrument is a joy to play. It has amazing warmth and sustain.

I want to start off by giving a huge shout out to Roc at Sweetwater and the incredible service this organization has as it's culture. When I first went to order this guitar, I was disappointed to learn the color I wanted was not available. I resigned myself to looking elsewhere but immediately received a call from Roc at Sweetwater. He advised me he had a demo model on the floor that had nearly impossible to see surface flaw of some kind. He had pictures taken and sent them to my e-mail. After 2 months with this beautiful instrument, I still cannot find a flaw! I received my Ibenez in perfect condition with better packing than anything I had ever purchased from anywhere. The setup was spot on as a floor model. I'm a high-medium to low advanced player, having owned PRS Swamp Ash, Gibson Les Paul's, American Strat, Epiphone (2) Les Paul and 339 and many more. I'm a Blues and Latin Rock guy and needed to have versatility and spot on responsiveness. Have you ever just "bonded" with an instrument? Well I totally did with this baby. Neck is slim, fast and smooth. The tuning is stable, the frets smooth and balanced. The pickups and overall sound quality available from the 3 positions is excellent. Pull the trigger on this baby and buy from Sweetwater!

I have owned a few semi-hollow guitars over the years, and I have to say that this is the best deal for the money that you'll get anywhere. Also, for this price, you'll not be afraid to take it out on gigs anywhere. I am not convinced that a guitar costing ten times this is significantly better, if at all. Also, the size of the guitar is perfect for me (I am 5'5"). I highly recommend this instrument!

The guitar feels very good, the neck is really nice. Nothing wrong with the original pickups but affter some time I did replace them with Seymour Duncan 59's and made a great improvement in the tone subtleties.

Been playing mostly acoustic but I love this electric archtop guitar. Quality is a number one the sound I was looking for great price love it

I've had my beautiful Sunburst AS73 for a couple weeks and like it very much. It arrived quickly, well packed, and in great shape. I've accumulated quite a few guitars over the past 40 years - both made in America and elsewhere, including an an Ibanez AG95. This is a very nice guitar. The price simply makes it a great value also. The construction seems solid and everything is done very well - fit and finish, frets, binding, action, knobs, etc. I mostly play through a Marshall Origin 20H and like the stock pickups more than I thought I would. I have a couple pickup sets with alnico II and IV magnets but am not in a hurry to switch. The neck is a little chunkier than some electrics, but much less than a 50's LP neck. I switched the upper strap pin to the neck heel because that's my preference - very easy if you've done this before. My only other gripe is my finger tips have gotten black after playing, but I'm planning to clean and oil the fretboard, and put new strings on this weekend so this will no longer be an issue.

Bottom line - this is a nice looking, easy playing, good sounding guitar. If you're looking for a semi-hollow body guitar it is worth considering, especially if you don't feel the need to spend more.

Guitar arrived in excellent condition and plays like a dream!

Can't say enough about the quality & sound of this beauty!

I've owned a 335, and this guitar goes circles around it.

WELL worth the price. JL

When you unpack the guitar the beauty hits you. Then once you play that first note or chord, you realize how well built this guitar is. This may not be high priced, but the sound is comparable to higher priced guitars. The tone is spot on. I spent a couple of months deciding on this guitar. I would watch independent video reviews and also read lots and lots of written review and I was sold. If you want a great sound without breaking the bank, this is the guitar for you. This is the first Ibanez guitar I've owned and will likely purchase another type of Ibanez. Also, this was my first time purchasing through Sweetwater. OUTSTANDING service!!!! What a great combination.

Ibenez makes great instruments without typical super over bloated prices. Beautiful instrument. Sounds great and unbelievable value. Purchase, you won't be disappointed. Sweetwater is the best!

I just picked one of these up second hand and love it. I played a Gibson ES-335 many years ago but sold it when I needed money. I can't justify owning a $3000 guitar anymore. It's been over 30 years so I can't really compare them but this reminds me a lot of my old Gibson. You basically have a Les Paul design with similar pickups and neck connected to a wooden block for sustain, and also the hollow body for a deeper sound. I'm not sure about the neck and frets yet. The rosewood feels a little slippery and although the neck isn't cut to a radius, it feels a little rounded at the edges, compared to the 90 degree angle you have on a classical guitar. The nut appears to be made of plastic instead of bone, although there is a shim underneath it and it's been set up very precisely, I presume by the factory. There is no play at all in the tuning machines, or the potentiometers, and not a single cosmetic flaw anywhere. The pickups are very low noise, but I don't have anything to really compare them with as far as sound goes. I know what to do to make it sound like Alex Lifeson - turn up the gain and compression. I don't know much about pickups but this is a lot closer to the sound of Lifeson or Larry Carlton than you are going to get from a Les Paul. Ibanez is under-rated and this is a very nice instrument.

Right out of the box, just had to tune it and was ready to go. After all these years playing, this is my first semi-Hollow electric. The tone is amazing; the finish is unbelievable, better in person then any of the pix. It can play anything; Rock, country, ballads, you name it. This is an extremely versatile guitar. I would recommend it to anyone. I had an Ibanez 5-string bass before and i loved it. Ibanez is affordable and amazing.

My first purchase through Sweetwater and was very pleasantly surprised! Typically buy quality used but seen the price, style and wanted to see if the reviews where correct.

Turns out they are, a great looking finish, a slight tune on arrival and was able to play right away plugged in and sounded great. The finish looks great and while there are many higher priced models available and different manufacturers as well this is my first Ibanez and I like it great!

Finally it was a great touch to receive personalized service from Ben and a phone call to check in as well. I would recommend this to someone.

I did not know what to expect when I bought the Ibanez AS73 Tobacco Brown guitar. I own two different Gretsch guitars. I am accustomed to the filtertron pickups. These humbuckers are a different sound for me. It took me a few hours to get used to the change in tone. I do not think I could have made a better purchase anywhere near the price that I just paid for this guitar.

It plays like a dream, looks like a dream, sounds like a dream only you are awake the whole time you play. Ibanez has got something going on with these guitars.

The guys, especially Ed Needler, are always most helpful and get it right the first time. I order and it is at my house.

I have my artcore (older model) since 2002 college days and still use it! Its still a dream to play and i would never sell it... from Jazz to metal.. from singing to screaming it does it all!!

I recently purchase a "Blemished" Ibanez Artcore AS73 semi hollow guitar from Sweetwater and was floored by what I received. If you're on the fence about buying this guitar (new or blemished) don't wait "Buy it Now" or you'll have wait until they're available again in six to nine months. The guitar I received is beyond beautiful, I can't imagine how much different the new ones compare to this one!?
From the head stock down to the strap button, it's comparable to my high-end PRS. All the appointments look and feel like an instrument in the fifteen hundred dollar range. Tuner work great (smooth/hold tune), Nut (although plastic) is cut really well and no string jumps, Frets are polished and edge-free, Binding is perfect. Pots are smooth and have a nice taper. The Nyatoh Fretboard is good quality. Three way switch isn't great but isn't bad (functions as it should). Neck is on the thicker side with I love – close to my PRS "Pattern Regular" neck carve. It's definitely not like my old RG with a shredder neck. The Bridge/Tailpiece is similar to Les Paul style guitar (Decent quality). It's closer to a Gibson 339, smaller body size.
Contrary to some reviews, the Classic Elite pickups are really nice (rich with a fat low end) Clean to Jazz to Blues to Dirty – Your imagination is your limitation.
Personally, my tone is with some light drive, delay and a touch of reverb through my HR Deluxe IV, It gives me shivers down my spine!
The pictures don't do it justice – Crazy Beautiful!!
Marty Schwartz, one of my favorite Youtubers uses a Heritage and a Gibson 335 and I was inspired to buy a 335 style guitar but couldn't rationalize spending 3k for one of these guitars. I didn't want to spend a fortune in case I didn't like. So, I did a lot of research on affordable semi hollow body guitars from Harley Benton, Firefly, Epi, Gretsch etc., and keep coming back to this Ibanez model. I'm so happy that I bought this guitar!! Is it a Gibson? No….. Is it a Heritage? No….. You get where I'm going here!
Remember that feeling you got when you first started learning to play guitar…
Well you're in for a surprise- it's that Good!!
Conclusion: The price, quality and versatility of this little gem is beyond argument.
Yes, I recommend this guitar & would buy again

I always rate goods in terms of value. This Artcore is a solid five stars. The neck plays beautifully. The action was set pretty low, but I lowered it a little more with no issues. No need to fuss around with the truss-rod.

The sounds is beautiful and incredibly versatile. The neck pickup can sound like Wes Montgomery tone if you close the tone to 60%, and the bridge guitar with distortion can get seriously heavy, pick up harmonics like anything else, with the extra beauty that you can produce feedback easily if you want it (sometimes it's pretty cool IMHO). I haven't had any unwanted feedback yet, thanks to the solid block.

Choosing both pickups and playing with the tones and volumes you can get a nice, round, clean tone, with a lot of resonance. Even unplugged, it sounds really nice. t's such an amazing guitar, for such a low price.

The looks are stunning. And the finish impeccable.

What could be better? Getting the intonation set up took some work. I am sure a more expensive bridge would make it easier. But I got really close to perfect intonation at 12th fret. And the volume controls look a bit cheap. But those are minor things. Pickups? Could they be slightly sweeter sounding? Maybe. I am not sure I could tell the difference on a blind comparison, if you put it side by side with the most expensive in this line. But it sounds amazing to my ears.

Received guitar couple days ago instant boner love this guitar.Have an Epi studio Dot it's nice as well but like the smaller body on this great sounding & playing guitar very happy

I"ve been looking at this guitar for over year and finally decided to pull the trigger on it after it went away and came back in stock a few times. Can"t begin to tell you how glad I am that I now have this guitar in my hands. The color is brilliant and it plays better than some of the higher end guitars I"ve encountered over the years. It"s just gorgeous and I am having a hard time putting it down. In fact it is in my lap right now as I write this. If you are considering a semi hollow body, do not hesitate. You will not be disappointed. And the price point is amazing. Thanks to Jose and the entire Sweetwater team. Keep up the good work.

I had this guitar for a week now and I cannot find anything wrong with it the build quality is outstanding the binding is perfect as is the finish the pickups sound amazing so at this price point it"s a no brainer and with Sweetwaters customer service you just can"t go wrong anyway I can"t end this review without saying thanks to my sales rep Benjamin Jimenez for always taking care of me and answering any questions I may have

Someone wrote that the guitar ( the AS,73) came with 13-52 strings from the factory. They do NOT. They come with 10-52. Which is perfect for this guitar. Just wanted to clear up a mistake by a reviewer. These guitars ROCK right out of the box. Best buy of any guitar on the market. Bar none!!

I was looking for a budget guitar for practicing and possibly to use in praise and worship to try and fill up more of the sound-space. This guitar creates a greater range of frequencies and overtones than my tele, and just sounds great through my Helix to front of house!
Best decision I could"ve made.

Just received this guitar this week and I am just blown away by the quality. Much better than I anticipated. The fit and finish are flawless and the sound is sweet. The setup was excellent right out of the box. Just tuned and it was good to go. Holds it"s tune just as good as my Gibson Melody Maker. Just can"t put this thing down. For the price you can"t go wrong.

35 plus years since I held an electric guitar and I couldn't be happier. Picked up my acoustic 5 yrs ago so I have kept my finger tips calloused and I feel like a kid with a new toy. I purchased the Boss Katana 50 which I'm still playing around with all the the different sound options but so far so good. Love everything about this guitar. Thank you Sweetwater for the personalized service, very impressed.

Great instrument, this is my least expensive guitar and first Ibanez...
Very high quality craftsmanship, perfect setup from Sweetwater, low price and huge sound!
Stock setup sounds and plays just fine, but with SD Seth Lover's set it's a perfect blues/jazz machine!
Thank you Shaka and team for another awesome guitar.

WTH? Does Ibanez pack a guitar angel inside the hollow area in these guitars? Because mine plays itself! I have NEVER sounded so good and felt so comfortable playing. WOW! From jazz, to blues, to the gnarliest crunchy metal, this guitar sounds FANTASTIC!

I have about 20 guitars, including one that I built by hand from 3 blocks of wood, so I'm familiar with guitars and I will say that if you don't have one of these in your arsenal, order one immediately! I purchased/received a standard model, from SW, of what people call a 'solid guitar' a week or so ago and had already decided I was sending it back when I ordered this one. I really wanted to like it, but it played poorly, my fingers kept missing strings...?..., and it didn't sound any better than my $200 guitars. This thing is 10x better, seriously, in all aspects!

The fit/finish/looks are impeccable...period.

I am extremely happy with this purchase and now just need to get busy recording all the songs this thing seems to be composing by itself.

This is a hollow body, my 2010 Les Paul studio faded with bursting clear pros is not. Two completely different guitars. I get it. Yet somehow this guitar outclassed my les paul for all the music I"ve been playing I"ve the last year (church band and side projects). I"m not refereeing to clean music, or jazzy/bluesy music. Even in medium overdrive and even with a bit of distortion my AS73 has become my go to axe.

This guitar has all the flexability i need. It looks great, plays wonderfully now that it"s been set up, it"s easier to play high up the neck than my Les Paul, it"s lighter, and has been 100% reliable in everything I"ve asked of it.

I"m not saying all Ibanez are better the Gibson. I"m saying MY AS73 is better for my than the Les Paul I used to have (sold it) for the music I play. I got more compliments playing the Ibanez than with the Les Paul. When I bought the AS73 I expected a backup to my Les Paul. Instead I found MY guitar. I may upgrade the pickups, tuners, and electronics eventually, but I"ve enjoyed it so much over the past year that I"m in no rush.

I received my Ibanez AS73 from Sweetwater about two weeks ago and I've spent that time thoroughly "kicking the tires" and inspecting every square inch of the instrument. I have to say that I couldn't be more impressed with the build quality at this price point. The tonal palette is very good and the neck feel is just right for me; it has just enough beef to it give it that solid feel while not being too chunky (important because I have small hands.) The setup was excellent and the fretwork appears flawless. On the basis of quality/price ratio, I don't believe I've ever owned a better guitar. It is my first purchase from Sweetwater but it surely won't be my last as I found the customer service excellent. Very pleased!

It took me a long time to decide which semi hollow I was going to go with, and I finally went with this Ibanez. Ordered it, great customer service, I was called and asked if I needed help and if I had any questions. I waited and when it arrived it was packed wonderfully to be sure it was damaged in shipping. The guitar itself plays amazingly with all pickup settings and will be an exceptional instrument for my jazz band. Thank you so much Sweetwater for an amazing experience.

This is my second AS73 I have a red one upgraded with Zeth Lover SD Pickups and some Grover tuners which I user for Praise and Worship in Church on this new one I made no changes the set up was almost perfect when it got here and I do not plan to change anything on it except the strings it looks and sound like it cost five time as much 2 thumbs up for the SW customer service thanks Sam Hillman!

I had one of the first AS73's back in 2003 when I was just getting started on guitar. It was my first electric and I didn't appreciate it and ended up trading it. This year, they've upgraded the look with the block inlays and amazing tobacco sunburst so I needed to make things right and get another one. Its lighter than expected but still solid feeling. The neck is a good balance of thin but substantial and its wide-enough for jazz chords but still fast. Good sound and action out of the box (thanks to sweetwater setup). Mine had a couple rough frets but that was an easy fix and not a big deal given the overall great quality.

The stock ceramic pickups sound pretty good and are capable of some interesting tones, but they are a little on the hot side. If you're open to swapping pickups, this guitar is only a few hundred extra bucks away from being a Gibson-killer for a fraction of the price.

I ended up purchasing the model above this one ~ however I played this one for at least 30 minutes. The feel and play-ability are excellent. When I plugged it into an amp, I was blown away. At this price point, there's not much out there that delivers this level of quality. Easily worth at least double - if not triple the price.

I ended up spending more $ and got the model above this one, which has a few extras and some additional details. Ibanez is such a huge player in the guitar market. They easily hold their own against American brands like Fender and Gibson. Anyone that says otherwise is either drinkin' the Kool-Aid or simply hasn't done the research.. Ibanez has been around at least 50 years (if not 75 or 100) and makes extremely high quality instruments.

Nice finish, hot pu's, very playable

I could not find anything negative to say.

Good for any type of music, it can really rock!

Shames a comparable Epiphone (I tried both together, same price point), the AS73 looks better, sounds better, and feels better than the Epi. As a matter of taste, the AS73 pickups are hotter and more burstbucker like than the Epi, the AS73 has a more solid feel, very fun to play with all the nuance that makes one want an ES-335 style, it's no 335 but it's also $ less. Tuners have a smooth solid feel and it seems to stay in tune though I will probably swap out the nut for a self lubricating model.

Beautiful fit and finish! Light weight. And sounds amazing! I thought I would be replacing the pickups but the Ibanez Classic Elite pickups are tonefully delicious.

Highly recommended.

I'm an old fart on a fixed income, so I was looking for somthing affordable. While searching for a used Epiphone, I came across this beauty. After reading all the positive reviews, I decided this was the one for me. It plays and sounds as good, if not better, than a 1965 Gibson ES-335 I used to own. It is also better looking. I could not be happier! Thanks, Sweetwater.

I love this guitar. Craftsmanship, sound and beauty are amazing.

Just received this guitar yesterday, and all I have to say is wow! I had wanted a semi hollow body guitar for some time now, and was constantly going back and forth between several different makes and models. I looked at a Washburn, Epiphone dot, Epiphone Sheraton, and a Prs Zach Myers. Never once did I consider the as73. My wife wanted to get me the guitar for an early Christmas present, and suggested this one. I was leaning towards the dot since I've played several of those, and liked the way they felt. The ibanez is hands down the better guitar. The finish is absolutely stunning, The pictures truly don't do it justice. They really paid attention to the details with this one. The finish around the f holes is immaculate, where as the dot is known to be a little untidy in that area. Also the pickup selector switch is solid, and not overly springy like the dot. Lastly the volume and tone knobs are awesome, better than some guitars 10x the price. The knobs on the dots I played were a little wobbly. Lastly the pickups give a nice warm, clear tone, and can get mean when you wanna go there. You can't find a better guitar for 400$, I don't know if you could find a better one for 1000$. Play one and you'll agree.

After reading the reviews of this beauty I pulled the trigger and purchased this fine instrument from Sweetwater--my first ever purchase from them. I must say that I am blown away by this unit in looks, sound and playability. She plays like a dream come true and is a real gem. This is my 2nd guitar made in China. I must say that they are manufacturing some fine instruments. Last year I purchased an outstanding Eastman E-10--a dreadnought guitar with Adirondack spruce top and completely hand made. I would recommend that guitar as comparable to a Martin D-28 for $1800 less and of equal or better quality; I digress from the topic at hand. I have owned some fine guitars over my 45 years of playing including Gibson, Fender, Martin and Guild. This guitar holds its own with these fine brands. I highly recommend that one consider this guitar to scratch that semi-hollow body guitar itch. I know I did and couldn't be happier BTW...Sweetwater rocks and I would buy from them again in a heartbeat!

Everything is picture perfect, I plugged it in and the Pups growl way more than I expected. Perfect setup from Sweetwater.

Wow! I am not disappointed and actually surprised because this guitar exceeded my expectations. I have owned and still own lots of high end guitars including Gibson�s and USA Strats and the build quality and finish of my Ibanez is equal to those. I have the AS73 in Tobacco Brown and it looks even better when delivered than in the pictures. I thought it would be a project guitar and I would replace the wiring, pups, tuners, etc. But so far I love it just the way it is, of course I did put on some 46-10 Slinky�s-my favorite. But it comes with Daddario XL strings I am guessing 56-13 which are quality strings, just a little heavy for my taste. Played clean the neck pick up has that jazzy sound, and the bridge pick up is clear with a little bite. Played through a distorted amp it sustains and sounds just great, the tone knobs can vary the tone quite a lot as well-they really work! The feedback is mostly under control but you can get it to feed back; mind you I love musical feedback and that is part of the semi-hollow body scene baby! Two cool features are the tailpiece which makes string changes a tad faster; and mine has a truss rod cover that swivels allowing truss rod adjustment without having to remove the cover screws-how cool is that?! And by the way I did not have to make any adjustments to this guitar after shipping; one string was out of tune. Other than that the neck relief, intonation, and action are spot on. Seriously, this baby traveled in the back of a semi truck 1200 miles and only one string was out of tune-awesome! I believe that is due to Sweetwater�s 55 point inspection process, and because Sweetwater does a really good job of packing these guitars-they use a really heavy outer box with lots of packing wrap inside. I have purchased at least five guitars from Sweetwater over the years and they have all arrived with no damage. Other online guitar sellers are going to ship you a guitar without even removing it from the factory box. Sweetwater takes the time to check your guitar before shipping and make adjustments; that is an incredible added value and I for one continue to buy guitars from Sweetwater because of that, their online gallery, and the customer service-and no I don�t work for Sweetwater. My sales engineer Dennis K. is always on top of my order and even sent me the website gallery pictures of my guitar; most of the other online retailers won�t even bother to communicate with you let alone send pictures of your new axe. Of course the other retailers would actually have to take it out of the box to even take some pictures�.. So all in all this a great guitar, worth every penny; and my advice is buy your guitars from Sweetwater because they take the time to actually check, inspect, and adjust the guitars to make sure you are going to be satisfied with your purchase.

Well have spent hundreds and thousands on all types of guitars, from Gibson's to Martin's and can not believe the quality and build of this very fine guitar. It plays like a dream, the set up by Sweetwater with their 55 point inspection made this guitar a dream come true. It's always a shot in the dark with you buy online but not this time. Would I purchase this guitar again? Hell yes I would. I would pay triple the costs to have this guitar knowing now the true value of this guitar. Go get one you will love it.

Best 400 bones I've spent, ever. Very good craftsmanship for the money. I'll change out the pots and pups later on but I planned on it. I believe the 400 you spend here is on the woodwork. I would spend the same 400 on a set of Gibby 57 classics and a wiring harness but in the end have 800-900 in a guitar instead of 3K. I chose this over an Epi Dot for aesthetics and better overall review and I was not disappointed in any way. It was ready to play right out of the box after a little tuning. It came with a good set of D'addario strings. I spanked my new plank for a day then pulled the strings, cleaned and oiled up the fretboard (was a little dirty and the frets seemed grimy/tarnished) and loaded up some D'addario 11/49's. Happy Camper.

Got this guitar as a gift last night. First off, the looks are incredible. It looks even better in person. The neck profile is reminiscent of a Gibson SG Standard my friend once owned. The pickups sounds great and so far have no desire to replace them. Action, fret leveling and crowning were spot on right out of the box. The tuning machines might be something i'm going to upgrade, but there is nothing on this guitar where you have to upgrade immediately before feeling comfortable playing it. Buy it now, you're going to love it! Just mulling and just buy it!

This guitar is fantastic in sight and sound and plays like a dream both clean and through a overdrive, Sweet sweet bliss plus Sweetwaters 55 check out and shipping and packing are top notch. If your looking for a Semi-Hollow at an extremely affordable price, you simply can't beat this guitar. Buy it yesterday.

I have to admit, this was my first guitar in the semi-hollow world. I was looking to go a little more budget friendly as I wasn't sure how I would get along with it. I had always heard that the Ibanez AS Series were very good guitars. Needless to say, I was just stunned at the quality of this guitar for what I paid for it. The finish is just beautiful, I was really taken by the cosmetic beauty of the Tobacco Brown finish. The build quality far exceeded what I expected from a $400 guitar. Then....I plugged it in.....a resounding WOW here too! The clean tone was just awesome! I expected the pickups to be a little flat and uninspiring, but once again I was wrong. The block running under the bridge and pickups really does eliminate the feedback. The guitar reacts very well to gain too, whether it be an OD pedal or the lead channel of my tube amps. It's very easy to play as well. I'm more of a 9-42 string gauge guy, but this guitar plays effortlessly with 10's on it. All the hardware is above average. Overall a great value and I would highly recommend this guitar. Now I just need to grab a case for it since I now know it's a keeper!

I have been really impressed by the quality of Ibanez guitars lately, and this Artcore AS73 is no exception. This guitar is so immediately playable, it felt like I had it for 5 years the first time I picked it up. Great action, wonderful intonation and rich tones...unbelievable combination for a guitar in this price range. Kudos to Ibanez for their workmanship and to Sweetwater for carrying this truly wonderful guitar.

After a many year hiatus, I returned to the enjoyment of playing guitar. In spite of all the positive reviews, I was still apprehensive about ordering a guitar sight unseen (except for the website images). Out of the box, the condition of the Ibanez Artcore AS73 was immaculate. I could not find a flaw or mark in the finish anywhere. Setup simply involved tuning, setting the intonation and lowering the action just slightly. The AS73 is a joy to play. The sound is full and clean. The volume and tone controls have a good feel and response. The one change I would like to see is a pickup select switch with a slightly more positive feel.

From sales to expert packaging and delivery, doing business with Sweetwater could not be smoother. Followup by a Sales Engineer provides a one-on-one relationship with the company and you new instrument. Thank you Reid. You have earned a new customer for life.

I mean what is there to say. This guitar plays like it cost a thousand dollars.... All I did was adjust the neck and wow! She has a great sound and fret board.

I had some trouble deciding on several Ibanez models and want to highlight how helpful Ian Angle and Nick Kochanek were through the process. I normally begin my gear searches at Sweetwater for 3 reasons; Fair prices, great service, and fast shipping. Whatever I order is on my front porch in 2 or 3 days.

The Artcore AS73 delivers an exceptional instrument for a surprisingly low price point. It looks beautiful, plays like a dream, and sounds amazing. Last summer I demo'd a 4k Collings I-35, and the AS73 fretboard plays as well. I adjusted the action low and pickup height to my preference, and noted the truss rod adjustment was how I like it, very slight relief almost straight.

The guitar is nice and lightweight, just a little over 7 lbs. I had read the pros and cons of the pickups but they sound pretty good, you just need to dial back the treble more than usual. For overdrive I use a SBAD with gain very low, stacked into a Keeley BD2. This arrangement works well for a nice fat and soaring tone, good bite but not over-the-top trebley.

Normally I gig a tele and will probably only use the AS73 for a couple songs, partly because the semi-hollow doesn't hang comfortably for me off a strap, it tilts forward slightly making the fretboard a 'guessing game'. I may try and discover how to attach a strap button to the upper horn, rather than on the back as it is now, or sitting on a bar stool works.

Got this one a few weeks ago, was set up great right out of the box, nice tone! Will consider getting a second as a backup. Got a home run with this, however as a word of caution, buying online is not guaranteed, so if you are not 100% satisfied take advantage of the return policy-fortunately for me, I had no need.

This is my first exploration into the world of Hollow Body electric guitars so I don't know that a 5 rating would be fair to those of you who are familiar with this style of guitar.I have played Acoustic for over 20 years and decided in my retirement that I would learn Jazz and Blues lead, I have always had an interest in Hollow Body guitars - I like the sound and looks and the AS73 does not disappoint. Having played acoustic the size of the neck is very comfortable and the action is wonderful. I am playing it through a Vox 9158 15 watt amp and it sounds very nice.I am able to get the nice crisp Jazzy sound and the funky blues sounds with minor volume and tone controls. I had to do some minor intonation adjustments, but otherwise it arrived ready to go.To me this is an excellent guitar at an entry level price. Every time I open the case to pick it up I smile and when I play it I do not want to put it away. I love it!!

This is a sweet sounding, good looking and easy playing Semi-hollowbody archtop guitar. It is in fact better that the price would have you think. Honestly why pay more?

I bought the transparent cherry version. At this price point, this is a very nice guitar. I had read and watched a number of reviews before making the decision to buy it. I wasn't disappointed It plays great, sounds great, stays in tune well. It also looks great and the finish is very nice. I may change the pickups later on but, then again, I may not. I'm very pleased with this purchase. I've played guitars that cost twice as much or more, that did not play as well or sound as good. To me, it's certainly worth more than the price!

Beautiful instrument, great sound. This is my second ibanez hb, they are great guitars. Great job setting it up sweetwater, it was ready to jam out of box!! Two shows with it already, performed flawless.

I have not found a single thing wrong with this Guitar. I have USA Fender, Gibson etc.. So I can compare quality side by side. The pick ups aren't as bright as more expensive guitars but they are still very good. Fit/ finish is top notch, set up was perfect from Sweetwater. This is a bargain at $399.00

For what it’s worth, I’ve been playing guitar since 1976. I’ve owned seven electric guitars, four of which I still have. The Ibanez AS73 is the latest addition.

As we all should know, you get what you pay for. A “real” Gibson ES-335 costs something north of two bills. That gave me pause before purchasing this instrument ($350 without case). I was pleasantly surprised. Here’s my experience.

Very solid fit and finish. Body, neck, and sound-hole bindings are crisp. Set up upon delivery was pretty good. The frets are well installed. The finish (which I assume is nitrocellulose) is flawless. The nice chrome hardware has narry a rattle nor blemish. The wood is nominally maple. After reading online descriptions, it’s still not clear to me if the sides, top, and back are solid or laminated. Part of me doesn’t want to know. There’s no pickguard, but I really don’t miss it.

The guitar came with a slightly heavy set of round-wound strings. I immediately changed these for a light (.010 - .046) set, but found that these are too light for this instrument, even after loosening the truss rod all the way. In short, the light strings buzzed off the frets too much for my liking. I replaced these with a set of light-top, heavy-bottom half-round strings (0.010-0.052), and that VASTLY improved the fret buzz issue. I find that these strings, on this guitar, stay in tune longer and intone better. That last point refers to a common malady with “cheap” guitars—the fact that you can tune it to play an open G chord, but the E chord will be out of tune, and vice versa. I’m not getting this issue from the Ibanez AS73.

Extra design touches are nice. The headstock has a truss rod access cover that is hinged to pivot to an open position. Has no one ever thought of this before? The input jack is located on the side instead of the face (traditional ES-335 design), which is my preference. The tail piece has slotted grooves which generally make it easier to replace strings (this apparatus will be familiar to a mandolin player). The design is faithful to the ES-335, particularly the configuration that joins the neck to the body at frets 15-17. This guitar does not give you spank and twang—that’s what Telecasters are for. Rather, it hums and purrs like a ES-335 or even a Gretsch. Independent volume and tone pots provide a rich tonal palate, allowing you to blend tones within each of the three pickup settings (neck, bridge, and both). If you’re in the middle position and roll either volume pot to zero, the whole guitar goes silent.

My complaints are few and very minor. The pickup covers are easily dented. I found this out while wrapping a guitar cable that inadvertently whipped the surface, leaving a dimple. There’s still a residual fret buzz issue, isolated to the G-string only. The bridge does not provide individual saddle height adjustment. I have yet to work this out (Truss rod? Fret leveling?)

This guitar rocks. I play it clean and mellow in church and with a bit of bite and overdrive for a praise and worship band. It works well. I was lucky—maybe it was a good day at the factory. I got more than my money’s worth.

I've had my As73 for several years now. I recently enhanced it with a Bigsby vibrato. Made a great guitar even better!

In this case you get more 335 style guitar than others!Very solid and nice sounds and nice handling!You cant go wrong!A realy beasty one!

BOUGHT THIS WITH A MIND TO MOD IN THE FUTURE. AT THIS PRICE POINT, VERY GOOD QUALITY OF CONSTRUCTION. NECK IS SOMEWHAT CHUNKY AL LA 50'S STYLE NECK. NOT A SHREDDER!
PICKUPS ARE FULL SOUNDING.

After having some initial tuning issues, I am pleased with this guitar. And the response from Sweetwater was very good. I will buy from them again.

Great feeling, nice action and really nice set-up from Sweetwater. Nice warm and mellow tone which is the reason for my purchase of a semi-hollow body but just will not stay in tune. Hoping its just break-in period and will improve.