Ibanez Artcore

[DocNrock]

Anyone know anything about these. Seems like they might make a great jazz guitar, and perhaps a cheaper alternative to the ES 335. Any thoughts?

[CharvelRocker]

My only issue with the lower ones is I would be concerned about the build/wood quality. A shop here has/had a killer one though that had some nice inlay work and a great stain job. It sounded nice and played better. The neck felt a bit thinner than the Washburn or Aria Pro II I tried the same day, or a Gibson ES series. The tones sounded a bit thin electrically though, which I suspect was due to the pickups. Epiphone also makes some really nice hollow bodies I would check out, though I have never played any. What is your budget?

[DocNrock]

I grabbed an Artcore AS73 off of e-bay in what appeared to be a forgotten auction. Comes with a hard shell case. Already planned to swap out the pups and electronics. Just was wondering how they played.

[Robert Burns]

I grabbed an Artcore AS73 off of e-bay in what appeared to be a forgotten auction. Comes with a hard shell case. Already planned to swap out the pups and electronics. Just was wondering how they played.

IMO it's hit or miss with these sub $350 ones... some are rough, and
not good players (very thin sounding) and then another one right next
to it, seems to be 3 times better? Like a $650 Archtop?

[goodwood]

I have the AG85 that I bought second hand. They sell somewhere in the $500+ range here in Canada and I got mine for $325 and replaced the broken bridge piece that holds the saddles with one made by Gotoh for $30ish. I am not a hollow expert by any means but it seems to be a decent guitar although to me a bit like a toy when not plugged in.

[Flatpicker]

Anyone know anything about these. Seems like they might make a great jazz guitar, and perhaps a cheaper alternative to the ES 335. Any thoughts?

Picked up a AG 73? I think at CG for $150.00 new back in 07.
Really good jazz guitar, but needed a better pickup cuz it was muddy.

[skorb]

Anyone know anything about these. Seems like they might make a great jazz guitar, and perhaps a cheaper alternative to the ES 335. Any thoughts?

well be sure what you want there, b/c a 335 and their derivatives are not really jazz guitars, they are semi-hollow designs with a solid middle that can handle distortion. jazz designs are hollowbodies which cannot handle distortion (or much of it).

Ibanez makes both of these within the Artcore series. I considered getting one, they are very nicely built, but have the cheap tuners/pups in them. I ended up getting a sweet Hamer Echotone 335 w/ solar flame top and an ebony board.

[DocNrock]

well be sure what you want there, b/c a 335 and their derivatives are not really jazz guitars, they are semi-hollow designs with a solid middle that can handle distortion. jazz designs are hollowbodies which cannot handle distortion (or much of it).

Ibanez makes both of these within the Artcore series. I considered getting one, they are very nicely built, but have the cheap tuners/pups in them. I ended up getting a sweet Hamer Echotone 335 w/ solar flame top and an ebony board.

Interesting. I guess I'll have to figure out what I bought first, then decide what to do with it. Thanks for the heads up. FWIW, I already planned to swap out the hardware and pups.

[DocNrock]

well be sure what you want there, b/c a 335 and their derivatives are not really jazz guitars, they are semi-hollow designs with a solid middle that can handle distortion. jazz designs are hollowbodies which cannot handle distortion (or much of it).

Ibanez makes both of these within the Artcore series. I considered getting one, they are very nicely built, but have the cheap tuners/pups in them. I ended up getting a sweet Hamer Echotone 335 w/ solar flame top and an ebony board.

It turns out it has a solid middle.

So, this guitar came yesterday. I was really happy with the purchase. Firstly, given that this model sells new at GC for $350 with a gig bag, I thought I was getting a used one when I won the auction for $295 since it came with a case. When I opened the box, there was a brand new Ibanez case, and inside it was a brand new AS73.

It sounds and plays pretty damn good for what I paid for it. Since I am a perpetual tinkerer, however, I'm already considering new pups for it. I'm thinking an Air Zone for the bridge and an Air Norton for the neck.

[JACKSONFREAK]

As far as inexpensive hollow/semi hollow bodies go. I really like the Epiphone Sheriton. I havnt found a bad one yet. Even beat up they play great. Nice comfortable necks and the electroncis arent bad out of the box. Very usable pups. Altho ive heard some with SD 59's in them and they were incredable sounding. Much better build than some of the ibanez artcore series. If 600+ is out of your range try the Epiphone Dot. Its basically a 335 copy. Very nice as well. slightly differnt neck shape and doesnt have all the astetic apointments of the Sheriton.
Gil

[spencer4hire]

The Ibanez Artcores are a very good bang for the buck. I have 3 already with a 4th one on the way from a EBAY auction I won. They play and sound better than the Epiphones IMHO. Here are a couple pictures of mine.




And this is my somewhat rare AM77. It has a slightly smaller body than my blue AS93.

[DocNrock]

Those are really nice. I especially dig the flame figuring in the AS93. It goes really well with the trans blue finish.

[CharvelRocker]

Hey, I just bought an AM77 today! It has the Ibanez Bigsby copy and Cosmo black hardware. I got a great price on it. The craftsmanship isn't bad for the Chinese. Good fretwork and nut work. The finish seemed good, though I'm a tad disappointed the spot behind the neck pickup wasn't finished better The binding work wasn't the best, but you can't really notice it. Plays great and sounds huge. It's buzzless too, which is amazing. The pickups are alright, but my amp can offset that. The small body was also a huge plus, as I looked at some of th ebigger ones but they were too big, the Strat-style semi-hollow wasn't as unique. The 20% off helped too... Can't complain for the small amount I paid.

[DocNrock]

Hey, I just bought an AM77 today! It has the Ibanez Bigsby copy and Cosmo black hardware. I got a great price on it. The craftsmanship isn't bad for the Chinese. Good fretwork and nut work. The finish seemed good, though I'm a tad disappointed the spot behind the neck pickup wasn't finished better The binding work wasn't the best, but you can't really notice it. Plays great and sounds huge. It's buzzless too, which is amazing. The pickups are alright, but my amp can offset that. The small body was also a huge plus, as I looked at some of th ebigger ones but they were too big, the Strat-style semi-hollow wasn't as unique. The 20% off helped too... Can't complain for the small amount I paid.

Congrats! Post some pics, please.

[CharvelRocker]

Well, it will probably be a couple days, but I found the receipt. It's the AM78T...