Ibanez AS73

The features have already been outlined, I liked the basic 335 style knockoff and have a transparent cherry. And for the price can't complain. I do like the separate volume and tone controls for a varity of sounds, would like a serial/parallel pu switch. I am scheduling some changes: ivory/graphite nut, schaller finetune tail piece, and am considering different pu's but basically no complaints with the stock pu's for they are quiet and transparent but would like them abit more warm, full and robust.

Blues, jazz, young, dead, santana, cowboy junkie, scales in the living room or basement when the misses is at home. Using an old 80's Fender solid state M80 combo 1x12. Nice quiet pu's, transparent sound, can easily dial in a variety of sounds and has a ton of sustain. Really like that you can do controlable/predictable feedback due to it also being semi-hollow body and a nice clean sound for jazz. Again for the $ can't complain. Sure I'd like a warm full smooth sound with a real 60's 335 and a fender/music man twin tube but for 10x the price...hey married with kids and a bad snowboarding habit.

Bought used, so the action and intonation was already set up and to my liking. Only complaint is the frets are abit raw, too high and need to be finished. Thus schedule to get the frets flattened, smoothed and polished which should greatly improve the playability on the finger board. Compared to acoustics, which I am used to, this guitar plays like butter...however there's definite room to improve the frets.

It seems durabile and reliable, but time will tell how it holds up, ask me in 30 years.

Haven't tried and don't expect to.

Been playing for 25 years, mostly on acoustic guitars. Did run sound board for a decent bar band for a few years so have some knowledge of what I wanted. So I expect I will put about $150 more dollars in it for an ivory/graphite nut, tailpiece, fret job and then for a total of $300 have a very playable and decent working guitar that I can bang around and not worry about as if it were a real 335 for 10x the price. I highly recommend it for for its price, playability, variety of sound including the predictable feedback and sustain potential.

This is a Chinese-made semi with the usual 335-type features, in a very unusual kind of blue-to-black sunburst finish which looks really smart.
Overall, the build-quality and workmanship is quite outstanding for the money - far better than the equivalent Epiphones which I was originally considering. The binding on the neck and f-holes is especially impressive.
Mine came in a fitted hard case.

I had planned to upgrade the pickups, but his guitar sounds great as it is, with the stock pickups - again, much better than the Epiphones I tried at the same time.
It's used mainly for blues, through a range of amps - Fenders old and new, Trace Elliot Velocette Twin, Wolftone - with an Ibanez TS 9 reissue with the TS808 mod to ad overdrive.
Basically it gives me the full range of sounds I require. I'm sure a #2,000 Gibson would sound better, but for what I paid for it, it's just amazing!
I'm usually a Fender player and I LOVE the way the thing comes to life at volume - you can feel the air coming out of the f-holes!

Dislikes? Well, as a Fender player, I'd prefer it if the guitar had a single volume and tone.
Also, the way the neck has been fretted means the fret ends are very slightly prominent, which feels a little odd - it's not a problem, but just a little strange.
Finally, I find the strap button positioning on the heel of the neck a little strange - another Fender vs Gibson issue, I guess. I've got a bit of a belly and the guitar hangs a bit oddly compared to my Strats and Teles.

Quite simply the best-playing guitar I have ever owned. Quite astonishing, considering the price

The guitar seems to be really well made, so I don't anticipate any problems - I've now had it six months without any complaints.

No cause to deal with them

I have been playing guitar for about 25 years,gigging in in good, semi-pro bands on the UK circuit mainly, but also on continetal Europe.
I own a total of 12 guitars - mainly US, MIJ and MIM Strats and Teles, plus about a dozen tube amps of all sizes - combos and heads and cabs.

These guitars reatil in the UK for about #275 - far less in the USA - and even at this price they are an incredible bargain. For the price I paid, used but just like new (the case had clearly never been out of the guy's house!) it was the most incredible bargain!

I would not hesitate in recommending one of these to anyone who wanted a good solid semi for a really good price... In fact, Owen, the guitarist my band has just bought one, after borrowing mine so often I had to fight him to get it back!!!

I'm assuming 2004/5, made in china, 22 frets, laminated top, standard ES-335 style set up: 2 humbuckers, 3 way toggle, 2 sets of volume/tone knobs. input jack on the side of the guitar as opposed to on the top--not sure if that bothers me yet. No accessories-- this budget model ships in a box with no case or bag. Nice tuners for a 300 dollar axe, hardware looks solid all around, nice big frets with no sharp edges (often a prob. with guitars this cheap)Would have liked a case, ibanez.

Nice sound for what i want it to do. I'm playing it thru a VOX modeling amp (the 60 watter) on the AC15 setting, treble rolled back a little, and it's a great clean jazz tone. pickups are basic stock stuff, nothing extraordinary, but they don't adversely effect anything either. i might replace them w/ p-90's someday. The thing i really liked was that this guitar has a nice sound "unplugged," Not very loud (it's a thinbody) but i think the sign of a good electric is if it sounds good un-electrified. I played guitars quite a bit more expensive while looking for this one, and i'm not sure they sounded any better. Bravo

Action was a little high at the store, but that's an easy problem to fix, and when i did, i had no problems with "fretting out" or buzzes on open notes. If you look closely, it's obvious that this isn't a handmade guitar, but the casual glance could have you believing otherwise-- it's really a good looking guitar. not a very interesting wood grain, but the deep, glossy cherry color makes up for it. Binding is well done, neck feels broken in-- the neck actually reminds me of the neck on an old Gibson SG a buddy of mine owned. Once again, this is a 300 dollar axe, so that's a pretty high compliment. I haven't noticed any flaws, and i don't expect to.

I'm using this guitar for mostly living room jazz sessions, so it's not even going to leave the house, so i'm completely confident in it's reliability. I would think that agressive playing could be brutal on such a glossy finish. I'd always replace strap buttons with something that locks. Hardware is impressive, i think that's the last thing i'll have to worry about. I've always felt that bolt on neck guitars have a better track record with necks staying straight, and i'm using some heavy strings, so time will tell on that. I would imagine Ibanez saved themselves some money with the toggle switch and the input jack, so i'm guessing i'll need to replace those possibly sooner than on a more expensive guitar. no big deal, eh?

haven't had to deal with ibanez...

I've been playing @15 years, so this isn't my first guitar and it probably won't be my last-- My main axe is an am. std. tele, but i was looking for something totally different when i bought this guitar. i got that. I have to be honest, picking up my tele i can totally tell it's a more expensive instrument, and it's definitely more versitile, and easier to play. but i wasn't looking for a replacement, or even a back up to that guitar. For 300 bones, this is impressive bang for the buck-- my girlfriend thought i was lying for days when i told her that's all i spent. if you're looking for a hollowbody for that jazz tone, you gotta try one of these out before you shell out the big bucks.

Features have been well - documented here and are also available on the official Ibanez website. Very well - rounded 335 type setup. I took away a point for headstock insignia. Rightly so.

I'm playing the guitar through a Vox valvetronix 30 watt amp. It is a quiet guitar with suprisingly robust tone, capable of many differnt and usable sounds. I am finding it to be quite versitile (no heavy metal of course) and use it as my main guitar. I play my own brand of spacey rock fusion type music as a hobbyist and this guitar suits my style very well. It is an expressive instrument in that the tone changes with your playing more than any other guitar I have used. I'm going to leave the stock pickups in it for now. I may change to SD '59 in the bridge and SD Jazz in the neck at some point though.

I bought the guitar brand new at a local music shop for 300 bucks and it came with a free hardshell case. That is not the kind of priceline where I would expect much in the way of Fit and Finish. I was pleasantly suprised to find upon thorough inspection that this guitar is well-made, boasting very even binding work, great action, and no defects that I can find. The wood if fairly plain, though. I would be upset about that if this were a $3000.00 Gibby but it is not. Very acceptable quality, was past acceptable when taking price into consideration.

I have not had the guitar long enough to comment on this.

No dealings with Ibanez at all.

I have been playing for 20 years. I own a Fender Stratocaster as well. I have owned well over 15 other guitars, from 60's Gibsons, Rickenbachers, Ernie Ball Music Man, etc. I have only recently begun playing again after a 5 year hiatus. I kept my Strat and sold all my other guitars 5 years ago. I am very happy I bought this guitar. It was inexpensive and its quality far exceeds its price point. I wish it had locking tuners, AAA woods, ebony fingerboard, real abalone inlays, etc. but for the price I am not complaining at all. I advise anyone interested in a 335 type semi hollow to give one of these a try. Even if you are dead set on a Gibson and don't mind paying for it, buy one of these a back up. Sheesh, if you don't mind paying 3k for a guitar what's another 300 bones for a back up. :)

This is a semi-solid translucent cherry stunner ! It was made in 2004 and has a Larry Carlton (Mr. 335) type sound. It has a maple top that looks boutique-like thru the translucent cherryburst. Two nice sounding humbuckers (with chrome covers). Take the covers off and it looks better IMO. Setneck/Mahogany with jumbo frets on rosewood board.

I use it for classic rock and funk. I play it thru either a Fender Deluxe Reverb or a Fender 112SE and it sounds sweet thru either. It has a generally warm sound, but by rolling some bass off the tone it becomes a 'ripper' and sounds like a Les Paul on steroids. With the 3-position toggle, I can even get a warm, bluesy sound from it.

The guitar was set up well. I ordered it and requested the setup to be done as my preference and they did it exactly. Low action and VERY easy string bending, even using 10's because of the jumbo frets. Everything was adjusted perfectly as requested.

This guitar has already done about 35 gigs and over 100 jams, rehearsals, etc. and still plays like 'butta'. The hardware is top shelf and the finish is beyond beautiful :-)

They set it up exactly to my specs and have been very responsive in answering any questions I have had. It has a 5-year warranty.

I've been playing since 1962 and I've always played solid bodies. Mostly Gibsons and Fenders, but I don't care what it says on the headstock, as long as it sounds and plays well, and it does. I had compared this with an Epi Dot, Sheraton, ES-333 and a Oscar Schmidt 335 style and this was the nicest looking and sweetest sounding as well as smoothest playing of them all. I used to bash Ibanez, but this guitar has made me a supporter in the best way and I'm so happy that I've found it.

Pick-up selector counter-intuitve and also not very tight.

Played long and hard for nearly a year. Put Seymours on it and still never got a really good sound. Couldn't even cut through a Strat when played through a 30-watt with EL-48s and the Strat was through some solid-state thing. Compared it finally to an Epi ES-335 and the Ibanez just doesn't cut it, even tweaked. Traded the AS-73 in on the 335. Man, does the 335 sustain!

Whacked a doorknob with it pretty hard, didn't even ding it.

FOr the money, get an Epiphone Dot neck.

A basic copy of a 335. I like the location of the input jack better on this (on the guitar's side) guitar than on the Gibson (on the guitar's face).

Two covered humbuckers, 3-way switch, set-neck, maple body, mahogany neck, rosewood fretboard, and a really stupid looking lightning bolt on the headstock?

Minus two points for the stupid looking lightning bolt!

It does what it is supposed to do here: Some people complain about the pick-ups, and that's cool. What I think people need to understand is that they can't please everyone all the time. If they put Duncans in it and marked the price up accordingly, then Joe Schmoe whose favorite pickups are Dimarzios might noy buy it.

If you have a favorite pickup, I'm sure you'll only be happier with the guitar. It sounds quite good, however, as is.

These are really well-made guitars and the only thing that sucks about the "finish" is, again, that stupid looking lightning bolt. That alone somewhat removes this guitar from the realm of 'professional gear. Again, minus two for that stupid looking lightning bolt.

I have owned alot of Ibanez gear in my time and most of it has been pretty reliable. The '7' series effects have switching issues, and I'm sure there are other common gripes with Ibanez, but over all they have been pretty good.

The stupid looking lightning bolt has no detraction from the guitars reliability. Only deductions are for the '7' series bad switches.

I've never dealt with them, but I have heard some stories... The word on the street is that they are a big pain in the ass to deal with, but I don't know from experience.

I didn't actually BUY the guitar... I just can't get passed how amateur the lightning bolt makes the guitar look. Everything else about the guitar is great. If they make one without the lightning bolt, they'll have another customer in me. With out the lightning bolt, I'd have to give it a 9 or a 10.

Ya'll know 'em all by now, mine is in trans Cherry.

Fits my sound to a tee, as I play Funk-inspired rock and soul.
I use it through a Boss ME-50, and an Ampeg J12T all tube amp biased class A. I agree with a previous statement about the bridge PUP being a bit bright, but with the tone on 6 or so, it's not a problem. The neck PUP, on the other hand, is as rich as Ben&Jerry's. It's possible to go from pure jazz tone, to full growl with one roll of the tone control. Best of all, the ME-50 has settings to make a humbucker into a single-coil sound, so the Ibanez does it all for me. Until I get an AR-3000, this is my main guitar.

Setup was good, and all I did was to raise the PUP pole pieces to get a bit more out of them. The top was the best shade of red out of about seven I saw, and the grain in the wood has really interesting shadows in it. Finish is great, but the 22nd fret stuck up a bit on the high side. The stop bar isn't perfectly in line with the bridge, but I've had it out ten times, and haven't ever had a problem, except esthetics. Everything else is rock-solid and works flawlessly.

Like I said, I've had it out ten times now, and it has held up great. It goes out of tune a bit after I've wailed on it really hard, but then, all hollow-bodys slip a bit due to heating up, and being played hard, so I'm not worried. Finish looks thick and tough, but only years will tell. I replaced the stock butons with Schaller lockers, and they are solid as the day I put them in. Very dependable(more-so than my Epi. Alleykat) and after I get my Ar-3000 this one will get to be my backup.

N/A

20 years in, and this thing feels and sounds at least 8 of 10 in comparison to a new ES-335 I tried side by side for about two hours. I think the PUPs might be the one thing I'd fix if I ever modify it, but the 8 out of 10, when taken in light of the price difference is nothing short of brilliance on the part of Ibanez.

2004 model in the Transparent Cherry finish. Laminated semi-hollow body with dual humbuckers, 3-way switch, 2 volume and 2 tone controls. Looks and plays beautifully. I compared this with an Epiphone DOT and chose the AS73 for the sound and because of the neck. The neck has a very comfortable feel with the string spacing just perfect for me. The frets are perhaps a little thinner than what I'm used to, but I put flatwound strings (D'Addario Chromes .11's) and it is not noticable anymore to me.

I was looking for more of a jazz sound, than a rock/blues sound and this does the trick for me without breaking the bank. I normally play a Fender Strat into a Fender HR Deville and was looking for something different. I play the AS73 with the neck pickup only through the clean channel and am very pleased with the sound. It has a medium output pickup and occasionally can produce some faint hum if my fingers are not touching the strings. I wrote to Ibanez telling them that their pickups need better shielding, but it really is a minor issue. The sound quality itself is great, and the guitar has an incredible amount of natural sustain. I'm sure that an ES-335 is a better guitar, but I still can't see how it is $2,000 better.

The action setup almost perfect from the factory. After I put on heavier strings, I lowered the action slightly. No finish flaws and the controls seem solid. Mine stays in tune with no problems.

Everything seems solid and well built. I like that the tuning machines are smooth.

I have not had to deal with Ibanez customer support.

I've been playing for over 20 years (all styles of music). I've only played solid body electrics until now. The AS73 is a fabulous addition to my collection. I would definitely buy another one again, and am already thinking about getting one of their full hollowbody models.

No need to go over the features again here as they're all the same. I had a choice of cherry finish and the blueburst so I took the blue. Great finish and looks great under stage lights. The tuners are a little suspect though. The center posts move when there's no string attached and that could cause tuning problems. I may change to a good set of grovers but we'll see.

I play everything from classic rock to progressive fusion originals to Satin Doll and Mack the Knife. This thing has tone. I also use a Musicman Sillouhette. The Ibanez will overdrive better. I use a Carvin SX200 head into a Carvin 4X12 bottom. My effects are a Zoom GFX-8 and a talkbox. The zoom set on the acoustic simulator gives the guitar a jangly sound a lot like a Ric. This thing is dead quiet too, no hum or buzzing. Great sound.

I took mine right off the shelf at my local Guitar Center and stuck it into the not included gig bag (I remember a time when you got a case with the guitar you bought at n/c). The action was already set where I like it and with a change of strings (d'addario xl 10's) I was off and gigging. The finish is stunning, the nut seems ok, no problems with the pickup switch although locating it in a different place would help quick pickup changes. Again though I'm going to watch the tuners.

So far no problems. Only had a few gigs though so time will tell. I play every weekend and if there's a problem I'll find out soon. I bought this to be my backup so I won't leave the house with out my M-Man. I hate when a guitar goes out of tune or pops a string during a song and you don't have a backup.

N\A. Never used.

I've been playing since Beatlemania was around and have only owned one Ibanez. I bought that one in 1983 and was an artist AR100. I kept it a lot of years because it was just a great guitar. This one may stay around as long. I've owned a lot of guitars, Fenders, Gibsons, even a Hagstrom 335 copy (sucked). This one impressed me right away with it's look and it's tone. The playability is great too. My board player's first guitar was a 68 335 which he still has. It's very very close to it's feel. So really for under $300 how can you go wrong? I like this so much that I'll be getting it's big brother the AF75 jazz box. That played like a dream too.