I bought myself an Ibanez Artcore hollowbody

[Blazer]

One of those.



It's a really cool guitar with a healthy Gretsch vibe but for way less dosh.

[Pretty Thing]

nice purchase... I bought myself the AS73 last year. I'm still in love with it.


Really need to upload some better pics.

[ruger9]

Welcome to the club. Nice axe.

If you decide you want a little more "Gretsch vibe", drop a set of Filtertrons in there. (humbucker-sized Filtertrons, that is. GFS Pickups or TV Jones TV'Trons)

[Scoot]

I bought a used AXD 71, I wanted the 81 (violin finish) but
found this one used for the right money and she matches
my black MIM Strat.
These guitars are great! And this one actually cured a case
of "GAS" that would've required 2 guitars. I wanted a LP as
well as a hollow body. So buying this I got a semi hollow
body LP (So to speak).
This is my favorite guitar, until I get to see the Used Tele,
I'm havin' shipped in to veiw (Buy?) at our local Daddy's.
Enjoy

[xStonr]

Originally Posted by Pretty Thing

nice purchase... I bought myself the AS73 last year. I'm still in love with it.

I got one for xmas last year. Two weeks ago, I installed a set of GFS Retrotron Liverpools. Awesome tone. One of my favorites, next to my Tele of course.

[Gord K.]

when my wife and I were in Calgary I went into Guitarworks and heard an AF85 violin sunburst calling my name. Took the salesman three tries to find a case to fit it in for the ride home to Winnipeg!

Gord.

[tdu]

Here is mine!



We are forming quite the TDPRI Artcore club.

I actually even joined the Ibaneztalk.com forums!

[ruger9]

Originally Posted by xStonr

I got one for xmas last year. Two weeks ago, I installed a set of GFS Retrotron Liverpools. Awesome tone. One of my favorites, next to my Tele of course.

How do those Liverpools sound compared to the stock pups?

I've got both my liverpools, to put in my AF75, but don't have the time until the week after Christmas. (I'm also moving the pickups selector switch, and installing a master volume, installing new jack. Waiting for all the parts to get here, to do all the work at once.)

[jwsamuel]

Originally Posted by ruger9

How do those Liverpools sound compared to the stock pups?

I put a pair of Liverpools in my AS73. I love the sound. It's as close as I can get to an old '60s Gretsch without spending the money for a '60s Gretsch.

Jim

[John E]

Originally Posted by jwsamuel

I put a pair of Liverpools in my AS73. I love the sound. It's as close as I can get to an old '60s Gretsch without spending the money for a '60s Gretsch.

Jim

My Liverpools went into my Artcore AM-73... but I am about to pull the trigger on another Artcore, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these axes. Best Bang for buck guitars on the planet IMO. It will either be an AFS75t, red... exactly as the first one pictured... Turquoise like TDU's(If I can FIND one)... or an AF75d like Ruger's. I'm really torn because I sort of want a Bigsby... but the sound acoustically of the thicker AF75d has got to be heard to be believed.

[Pretty Thing]

Which Liverpools did you guys buy? The regulars or the Hots? Thanks!

[John E]

Originally Posted by Pretty Thing

Which Liverpools did you guys buy? The regulars or the Hots? Thanks!

I went with the Standard Liverpools on a recommendation from Rob DiStefano. I was really torn between those and the Nashvilles, Jay from GFS thought I should go with the Nashvilles as I was looking for real chimey Pretenders/James Honeyman Scott kind of tone... but the Nashvilles are Ceramic and I was worried they might've been to Harsh(the Liverpools are Alnico V). I'm considering trying out the Nashvilles on my next artcore though, just as a different flavor.

[tdu]

I am still tryiing to decide what to do about my pickups. IF I change them I am also torn between the Nashvilles and the Liverpools. I love how the sound sample for the Nashvilles sounds more 'chimey' (as John puts it). But I also worry that when I get them running through my rig they might be too harsh. I plan on playing with some pretty high gain at times.

I am looking for a Rockabilly style sound though and if I was going strictly by the sound samples of the pickups, I would go for the Nashvilles. The sound sample sounds perfect. But you can't just go by samples :(

[xStonr]

I went with the standard Liverpools also. I love the sound of these pickups compared to the stock ones. Clear high end and nice tight low end, not muddy the way the stock pickups are. Also, the Liverpools are Alnico magnets which I seem to like much better than ceramic magnets in my pickups.

[markothefish]

Man that is sweeeet!! I am seriously thinking of buying one for my Fortieth birthday in January I have the model all picked out AG75 , just waiting to tell my wife shes buying it for me I love the tone and warmth on those guitars , I can't think of a better sounding, inexpensive Jazz box

[J. Hayes]

Hey Blazer, mine's just like your's except for the color! I have the blue finish. Did you see the article in Guitar Player magazine about these guitars? I believe it was in the July '03 or thereabouts issue. It really got a rave review in the bang for the bucks catagory. I gig with an Elvis impersonator and was using mine for the 50's Scotty Moore type stuff but I recently bought another Artcore for that. I don't have the guitar in front of me right now so I don't have the model number but it's a thick bodies archtop with a single florentine (pointed) cutaway and a really cool gold metallic finish. It looks a lot like the old Gibson Scotty Moore played at one time and also like the guitar sign outside of Sun Studios in Memphis............JH in Va.

[Blazer]

The very thing I heard somebody (our bassplayer) say about my new guitar was "Whoa dude! Did you buy yourself a Country Gentleman?" It then dawned on me that it actually looks like the Gibson version of the Country Gent.

I guess I should install a Banjo armrest to complete the illusion.

But when I started playing that guitar everybody looked in awe with the tones I was getting, this thing sounds way better through my Peavey Classic VT amp than through my Hi-watt Maxxwatt solid state combo which I have at home to play on.

Man what a viscious little hollowbody this axe turned out to be. I rocked it HARD with tunes like "Black night" from deep purple and got a good twang on Elvis' "Suspiscious minds" that guitar did it all beautifully and no screeching feedback. But all the same I could make it do a howling foghorn sustaining feedback if I wanted to.

Now our leadsinger and occasional rythm guitarist wants an artcore too. I told him that I would take him to a shop that has them so he can try out and buy one for himself. Knowing his love for Elvis I guess he'll go with the scotty Moore-looking Goldtop version.

[tdu]

I saw that gold one for the first time on the Ibanez site the other day. For some reason it wasn't up on the Canadian version of the site.

I love that model. The only thing is I HAD to have one with a tremolo on it. I wil never understand why they don't offer the tremolo system as an option on more of the line.

[jwsamuel]

I have an AF75 and an AS73. Next up is one with a tremelo.

Jim

[Pretty Thing]

Originally Posted by jwsamuel

I have an AF75 and an AS73. Next up is one with a tremelo.

Jim

I was thinking the same thing... Now that everyone mentioned it, get some GFS pups as well. 8)

[dhdfoster]

I wish they'd offer at least one or two models with dogear P90s or "DeArmonds".

[J. Hayes]

I took the Bigsby style vibrato from my blue Artcore and swapped both it and the roller bridge with the ones on the gold guitar which is the exact one you've pictured. Used the same holes and everything. I also drilled a small hole on each side of the bridge bottom piece and screwed that to the guitar so it'd stay in place when no string were on and wouldn't move when playing....JH in Va.

[rusticman]

i mean thes no control-plate to pop off. how do u solder the new pups to the pots? using very skinny hands trough the f-hole?

i wanna get one of those green ones myself with the faux bigsby.


rust

[tdu]

rustic, people have explained it to me but there is no way I will try it on my own I don't think. I am going to get a tech to do it. I guess you work through the pickup holes from what I have been told.

[rusticman]

im quite the handy-man when it comes to buliding and fixing guitars but this hollowbody thing have always puzzled me.

i guess the easy ting would be to use the allready instelled wires and cut them at the pickup-side. but then again that would in some peoples view ruin the stock pickups for later use.

[Blazer]

Here's a picture of the actual guitar I bought on the site of the shop where I bought it.

[tdu]

nice! I believe that's the same as mine, but in red. It looks great that colour.

[Ryan]

It seems I'm the only one with the AG85 :(

[David Barnett]

Originally Posted by rusticman

i mean thes no control-plate to pop off. how do u solder the new pups to the pots? using very skinny hands trough the f-hole?

I think they remove the knobs and nuts from all the pots, pull them out through the F-hole, and work on the wiring outside the guitar.

[xStonr]

Originally Posted by David Barnett

I think they remove the knobs and nuts from all the pots, pull them out through the F-hole, and work on the wiring outside the guitar.

That's the way you do it!

[lobotomyactivist]

No longer have the pickguard on, haven't taken a picture in like, 11 months (I got it last Christmas).

[tdu]

So why do you guys think they made the AF75 and the AFS75's different thicknesses? It's weird. They are both the same guitar except they made the AFS75's thinner and put the tremolo on them. They shoud have just made them both the same thickness.

[John E]

...yup, that's my next one... oh the deal I'm getting! I am completely psyched. Could you post a pic without the pickguard on it? Just curious to see it Sans pickguard...

TDO... I like the thin body on the AFS75t's, I think they really fit the mold for guys that want an ES335 type "thinline." Honestly if I had tried those before my AM73, I probably would have the AFS75t! They are thinline, but have much more of a full hollowbody vibe. But, I'm also puzzled at why they don't offer the Bigsby on their "thicker" models... luckily for me, I don't need the Bigsby... although it would be nice to have... that's why I have been going back and forth between the AF75D and AFS75t's for a while now. The price I'm getting on the AF75D is just WAY to good to pass up...

[tdu]

John, at the price they are I could always buy a one of the thicker AF75's in the future and swap some of my parts around.

[John Backlund]

Here's my (current) little stable of frugal boxes:


I may or may not keep the orange AF75, I would like to pick up the turquoise model and a 105, so I may sacrifice it for 'the cause'......or not, what the heck.

[Pretty Thing]

Just bought a red one just like Blazer's on saturday!!!

Almost got a wildkat, but it was a beat floor model. Settled on the Ibanez. It sounds alot different being a full hollowbody as opposed to my semi hollow AS73. It really resonates acoustically as well! Can't wait to get home tonite to play it!

[tdu]

To all you Artcore owners, does this look like the standard Artcore switch? When I switch the pickups on this guitar, I want to do any other upgrades to the guts while I am at it. The previous owner switched the pickups and put new pots in it. I am wondering if he might have done any other upgrades while he was at it since it seems like common sense.

The other photos of the same model as mine in this thread LOOK like hey have a black colouted switch. That's the other thing that makes me curious about the switch. Those photos aren't close ups though so I am not 100% sure.

The nearest store with an Artcore is 45 minutes from here, so I have nothing to compare to.

Thanks

[John E]

I am about 99% sure that the switch was changed based on that pic. I'm almost positive the stock switch on the Turquoise has a white tip on it, also none of the other Artcores I have ever played had the chrome tip, it's either been black or white.

[ruger9]

I guess there's a possibility that only the TIP of that switch was changed, but since the previous owner also changed the pots, they probably changed the switch too. That's what I'm doing. And I've already got my chrome tip! Now if Guitar Electronics.com would just ship my friggin' order, I'll have everything else I need to get to work!

[tdu]

John E I didn't even think of looking at the photo on the Ibanez site *duh*. You are right the switch does appear to be white on there.

It doesn't show as well when you are comparing a closeup photo to one of the shots which show the full guitars, but the switch appears to be 'beefier' as well. It LOOKS larger than the others and that is without any kind of tip on it.

So I guess it's a good possibility that is was switched.