Artcore AS73 Review

It is a E-335 body style, but the cutouts a sharper. It has an Ibanez Quicktune II bridge, which makes changeing strings much easier. It has double humbuckers with two volume and two tone knobs.

Features:	8.3
Sound:	9
Action:	8.8
Reliability:	9.5
Impression:	9.3
Overall rating:	9
Users rating:	9
Comments:	24

overall: 9.6

Featured review by: MichaelOfCanton, on august 08, 2008

Price paid: $ 330

Purchased from: Musiciansfriend.com

Features: The body is semi hollow and made of soft maple with a set mahogany neck and rosewood fretboard. It has 24 3/4 inch scale with 22 medium-jumbo frets and a pretty flat 12 inch fretboard radius. Two volume and two tone knobs for the Ibanez brand ACH humbuckers (not that good but I've seen them in a semi-hollow RG that costs around $1200 I think Ibanez expects them to be swapped) and a three way selector Switch. Pearloid Dot inlays and headstock logos. Mine also has the brown sunburst finish (costed an extra $30 but well worth it). The body and fretboard are bound. // 10

Sound: It sounds nice with the stock pups. Good muted highs jazzy sound if you want it from the neck and great country sounds from the bridge pup. The tone pots darken it up quite a bit when rolled back. I set mine up with a relatively low neck pup heigth. Very high bridge pup for more output which does a decent job with metal and hard rock as far as cutting through and picking up harmonics. Amazing really considering this is mainly a low/moderate output guitar. If you want to play jazz, country or classic rock the stock setup is decent. And with modification to the pups/electronics this guitar is capable of anything (as I found out by swapping with a duncan phat cat neck and DiMarzio air zone bridge with coil tap). One other thing, being a semi-hollow it is considerablly more sensitve to feedback than a solid body guitar. I don't gig so it's not a problem for me but if you use it in extreme high volume situations you have to be careful around the general vicinity of your amp. // 8

Action, Fit & Finish: Absolutely incredible considering the price. I go to the local guitar center about once a month pretending I'm buing something so I have played a lot of higher end guitars and this cheap Asian model puts their price tags to shame. The bound neck feels as smooth as those expensive "hand rolled" ones. After breaking in the frets are super smooth and very bendable. Intonation must have been very close to perfect because after switching to 10-46s from the stock 10-52 strings after receiving only the low E needed a very slight adjustment. Action was actually a bit too low for me but I like it just a bit higher than the "as low as possible is the best" crowd. The only flaws I found were a tiny blemmish on the bridge tone knob that slightly obscures the number 2 and the finish between where the neck ends and neck pickup begins is a bit rough. It stays in tune like a dream with a little nut lube unless you do crazy bends for about half an hour straight. Tuning stability is as good as I've seen with exception to double locking systems. The sunburst is beautiful. It's on the front, back, and sides of the body as well as the back of the neck. The side profile is especially beautiful with the burst going from black on the back of the headstock and lower fret# area of the back of the neck to oarngish brown in the middle of the neck back to black till you get past the cutout horns with one final oarngish brown area on the skinny part of the guiatar body returning to black below the lower bout. It looks as awesome as that description was too long. // 10

Reliability & Durability: No problems as of yet. Amazingly the electronics haven't given me one snap, crackle, or pop in the six months I've had it. The hardware has no corrosion and the finish is holding up well. The neck is still as perfectly straight as when I got it. Tuning machines work flawlessly. // 10

Impression: Amazing. I like a lot of variety in my guitar sounds and feel it suits me well. You get funny looks when you're riffing metal on what looks like a conservative old-school blues guitar and everybody that doesn't know guitars thinks it's some crazy expensive antique. I like being able to turn a few knobs and go from a great sounding BB King sound to a great sounding ACDC. Some might like the "I don't care if you think I'm too loud" feedback when using higher gain at extreme volumes but most would not. that's really the only thing to me that keeps it from being a truly all genre encompassing guitar. The few features I wish it had (coil tap for single coil sounds, better pickups.. well maybe not better but better suited to me) are easy enough to get done with just a tiny amout of money compared to buying a similar guitar with those features. If stolen I might try out something different but eventually I'd want to have a semi-hollow in the lineup and unless I'm making a lot more $$$ when it happens this would be the one. // 10

Reviewed by: unregistered, on september 18, 2006

Purchased from: Musicians Friend

Features: My Artcore was made November 14, 2005 in Japan. It's a standard 22 fret guitar, which I prefer. I'm not for sure what kind of woods are used, but they seem to be high quality. I got mine in a transparent cherry finish. No picture can capture the look of this finish. It looks much better in person. It is a E-335 body style, but the cutouts a sharper. It has an Ibanez Quicktune II bridge, which makes changeing strings much easier. It has double humbuckers with two volume and two tone knobs. The only thing that I miss on this guitar is a raised pickguard, but I can deal with that. // 8

Sound: This guitar can suit anyones music style. I never thought a semi-hollow could play metal, but I was wrong. I can play anything from jazz to the heaviest metal you can think of. I use it through two amps, a Fender Frontman 25R for practice and a Fender 212R for gigs. The neck pickup is amazing for heavy rhythm guitar. The neck pickup is a little muddy but it sounds wonderful without distortion. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: The only thing that I didn't like was that the action was a little high, but I play with an etremely low action. The fit is perfect. This finish is pain amazing.It didn't contain any flaws from the factory, but my idiot friend stratched it with his ridiculous belt buckle. // 8

Reliability & Durability: I gig with this guitar. The only problem with the hardware is that the bridge looks like it is oxidizing. The strap button placement makes it fall out of a strap easily, but straplocks fix everything. I use it all the time without a backup. The finish is very resistant to scratches and other signs of wear. // 9

Impression: My overall impression is that this guitar is perfect for pretty much any music. I play anything from soft rock to Pantera and Trivium. If this were stolen I would hunt the person down and destroy them with my Glock .40 Smith And Wesson. // 10

overall: 8.8

Reviewed by: RighteousMagik, on december 24, 2008

Price paid: $ 420

Purchased from: A Local Guitar Shop

Features: Made in 05' in Japan this guitar is the Ibanez as73. It has a Standard 22 fret neck, and two humbuckers. I currently bought D'addario electric guitar strings which give it a warm crunch. The way the sunburst finish looks can only be accurately judged in person, and the slightly off white trim makes it look even better. With a glossy finish the colors of the guitar are enhanced and don't look bland or dull like in photos. When I bought it I got a case and a strap for it as well. The strap is a Planet Waves silvery dragon design (that doesn't look cheesy like many other straps). this strap is very comfortable and I would buy from the same company for all my straps. the case looks nice but the outer material can be scraped off if bumped into walls or other hard objects. // 8

Sound: The sound is really good and cam be comparable to many Gibsons I know of. But it is probably a game of luck since this doesn't have the quality of the Gibson brand, and are not made out of the better woods. A little annoyance is some string buzz that can only be heard when playing without an amp. Going through a Marshall amp the sound can be described as a classic tone that will work for alt rock, classic rock, and milder metal songs. // 8

Action, Fit & Finish: Since I bought it used I can't say the action was like this new, but it has a relatively low action that works well for my style of play. I've never done any pick-up work so the locations seem to capture the right sound from the strings. the guitar was slightly worked on, the guitar shop had adjusted the neck and refretted it and so when I bought it it was perfect with no flaws. // 9

Reliability & Durability: This guitar should last a long time with the proper treatment and the sound will only get better. the hardware is a very durable metal that i haven't encountered any problems with yet so it seems like it will last for quite a while. My strap has securely held the guitar and has never fallen off since i bought it. Although back-ups are preferred by many professionals, this guitar doesn't need a back up because of how dependable it is. And finally the finish is very well made that it should last the life of the guitar or for a long time of playing gigs. // 10

Impression: This is a great intermediate guitar that will last a very long time of playing. It is way better than my starter guitar. If it were stolen or lost I would probably get another one. I love the finish and the sound of the guitar. I can't really compare it to other guitars but it is worth the purchase price. It has everything in it that I would like especially for the price. // 9

overall: 8.4

Reviewed by: greendayfan911, on april 08, 2008

Price paid: $ 400

Purchased from: Ted Browns Music Store

Features: I'm not sure what year it was made in But I know it was made in China. My neck is normal size and I believe it has 22 frets. The top layer of wood is maple but the rest is probably something cheap. It has two different tine settings and two different Volume adjustments. The pickups are double pickups and they are the ones that came with the guitar. The tuners are non-locking but it hardly ever goes out of tune. When I bought it, it came with a strap and a hard case. // 7

Sound: This guitar puts out a sort of jazzy light rock kind of sound which is basically the sound I want. The guy at the store tried talking me into getting a solid body guitar which was more of a hard rock kind of sound. I use this guitar on a Vox Amp and I like the sound it makes because it can be loud without being annoying. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: I don't know what the action is but I love the finish and the color. My whole guitar is absolutely perfect and there were no defects. This guitar fits me well and I especially like the tuning pegs because it hardly ever goes out of tune. One thing I don't like is the fretwire is poorly filed and the edges are kind of sharp. Other than that I love it! // 8

Reliability & Durability: I can depend on this guitar because it's extremely sturdy and I think it's going to last me a long time. I has very good durability and has extremely good reliability. Except My dad dropped a box on it so it has one crack on the side of the neck. But other then that it's still is in really good shape. // 9

Impression: My style is light rock and it fits my style perfectly. I've been playing guitar for 3 years and I own three guitars and one amp. I have a Fender and an acoustic Crafter. My amp is a Vox and I love the Sounds that come out of it. If it were stolen or lost I would probably buy a totally different guitar because I like to get a variety of things and I would like to try something different. I love the sound that my guitar makes and I like the shape and appearance but it wasn't made with the best kind of wood so that makes me mad. // 8

Comments

[Strongbow]

Nice guitar, how much was it?

[thrashing4god]

doesn't say dangit

[thisfallen]

I forgot to put how much it was. It is $300

[thisfallen]

I messed up again, its the bridge pickup thats good for metal

[peever]

it destroys the epiphone dot
and is cheaper!

[-Atticus-]

dots better.

[jackusaureles]

looks kind of gay. but im not into that kind of music so what ever

[hemi-san]

why not just go all the way and get an es

[laparsons]

i find it hard to beleive that a semi-hollow would do any sort of metal justice...not a bad price though

[Kunundrum]

Very versatile. When i have a show and need to play many genres, i bring this one guitar instead of 4 or five.

[guitarmakerpugh]

If you have ever played one, you would find that when put through a good marshall, it just tears everything to shreds. it is good for metal, believe it or not. ES-335 is still better though

[stradivari310]

I can't afford an ES.. this looks great.

[stradivari310]

I'm getting one for christmas.. very exciting

[SkAsupafly]

amazing ska guitar..... kalnoky played this before it got stolen... he switched to a gibby es 335

[Mr.Krinkle1410]

this guitar is amazing i was surprised by how good it sounds wen i play metal on it. this thing is also like scratch proof ive hit it on stuff so many times and there are no scratches i highly recommend this guitar for any genre.

[Sublym611]

i have this guitar and i agree it is a very nice guitar for a very low price. I would recommend it to anyone, a beginner or a pro. The only problem that i found was the action but i had it lowered and it is very nice.

[Mo_Malone]

is it's neck set it?

[JFenderBender]

really good for the price
amazing
sounds beautiful and looks great
i got a transparent cherry

[MichaelOfCanton]

as for the comments that it cant do metal, the bridge pup could rip somebody a new place to poop, even the stock one i replaced mine with. it was just too nasal, which would make it even more ripping to the eardrums perspective.

[MyDogDoesTricks]

I bought the AS 73 this weekend at Guitar Center. It listed for $349 but, with the 10% off coupon from their website, I paid $314. I got the transparent cherry red which looks way better in person than online. It's a very beautiful and well made guitar.

[MyDogDoesTricks]

Mo_Malone wrote:

is it's neck set it?

yes, the neck is set.

[ivri]

played this one as well as the AS73B. these are real eye openers. i can't think of any other make that gives you as much bang for your buck (pound,denar, shilling, ruble, shekel...) than Ibanez. they've totally converted me from being a les paul snob. but to get back on subject, this guitar and its 73B sibling are worth checking out if you are seriously considering a semi-hollow.

[gerbil_mastr]

hemi-san wrote:

why not just go all the way and get an es

Because not all of us can just pull $1000 out of our ass for a guitar

[Jeff Gu]

I bought an AS73 for my wife, and play it myself quite a bit... the guitar's construction and attention to detail is excellent... every ES-335 I've looked at in the last few years has had too many flaws that just shouldn't show up in that price range... stain bleeding into the binding, poor neck joint, sloppy fretwork, etc. The Ibanez has none of these issues. If the wife wasn't happy with the pickups (she is) I would swap them out... but then, I do that on almost everything I own. These are very nice "poor man's 335" guitars, a bit better than the Epiphone DOT but not as true to the 335 shape, obviously. It's meant to compete, not clone. When I record blues backing tracks, I use this guitar for all of the clean tracks, unless it's a purely acoustic one, then I use... well, pics on my profile will give you a clue... you guess which one...