Ibanez AS73 Question????

[Sixwire]

I bought a new AS73 from GC a week ago. I've been trying to decide it it is a keeper or not. I'm used to playing an American Tele Deluxe and a Taylor 710CE. The Ibanez plays decent but does not have the depth, clarity, dynamics and punch of the other two guitars. It has factory strings. I'm most concerned if the Pups are sub-par. It looks and plays nice, but needs to have a sound that stands out. I play bit of acoustic, jazzy, bluesy, I guess I would call Blazz ?? music. The Tele is a bit too bright and edgy for what I need with this project.

Thanks

 

[KokoTele]

Is your question about replacing the pickups?

The pickups in these guitars are pretty good, as guitars in that class go, but a pair of Duncan '59s would sound outstanding.

 

[68 Shovelhead]

I would try adjusting the PUP's and put a size larger strings than you run on your Fenders.

 

[FirstBassman]

There is no question in your post.

The AS73 is a killer '335' guitar, at a great price.

 

[Singin' Dave]

I've tried my buddy's AS73 and I'd call it a pretty decent guitar though I felt the pickups were a weak spot. If it was me, I'd get a set of Seth Lovers off eBay, pop 'em in and see. If they don't improve the guitar drastically, I'd put the old pickups back in, sell the guitar and Lovers (or keep the Lovers for another project).

 

[daddyopapa]

I had an AS 73. I put Stewmac Golden Agers and CTS pots. Made a world of difference, I never should've sold it but I was financing an amp. And change the strings - that alone will make a big difference.

 

[LegChai]

FLATWOUNDS!!!

 

[syrynx]

The Ibanez plays decent but does not have the depth, clarity, dynamics and punch of the other two guitars. It has factory strings.

I'm not much of a modder. Every electric guitar I own still has the pickups that came with it. I've only replaced the nut on one guitar, and the tuners on another. But I'm a BIG believer in aftermarket strings. Them factory ones just don't do it for me.

68 Shovelhead's recommendations make sense to me. The Ibanez's shorter scale invites heavier strings, and I suspect that dropping the pickups a bit might improve the clarity.

 

[bruisedwee]

I have one! Great choice man! At first I was gunning for a secondhand ES-333 on ebay or one of those vintage Japanese Artstars but after this particular AS73 called out to me from the rack of a used-guitar store (it was in pristine condition nonetheless) at a redonkulously low price, the rest was pretty much history.

image removed

Pity it doesn't come in this finish any more. Lots of my friends have been dishing out nothing but praise of the sound and especially the look and finish of this baby.

At first the sound was really muddy and undefined as you mentioned, but after a full-on electronics overhaul (SH-2 and SH-14), I've been playing the artcore more than I do with the rest of my other axes. Be warned though, swapping pickups on this sucker ain't no walk in the park as you have to squeeze the potentiometers through the f-hole! All the best!

 

[elicross]

Before you make any decision, put new strings on it. Use your favorite brand, and (as Shovelhead suggested), use a gauge one notch heavier than what you put on your Fenders (to compensate for the shorter scale on the Ibanez).

See what that does for it.

 

[TeleAnthony]

It has factory strings.

Put on a new set of your preferred strings, experiment with pick up heights. If still not statisfied take it in for a set up and intonation.

IMHO Ibanez are pretty solid guitars.

 

[longbow]

I've had a couple of the AS73's. Great guitars my problem is the body style just kind of to big for me. Makes my arm sit to high for some reason and goes to sleep on me. I put 59's in one of them and burst buckers in another I had and it improved the axe so much I hated to see either of them go. I played the snot out of them regardless though.

Now I've got a AG79 I think it is called, a hollow body with a slightly smaller body both in size and thickness than an ES175. Build quality is impeccable. I also just today took delivery of a Epi ES175 and quality and finish wise the Ibanez is hands down the winner. Both sound nearly the same though. But again the EPI is pretty big as compared to the Ibanez so it might go back. thanks

 

[RubyRae]

The Ibanez plays decent but does not have the depth, clarity, dynamics and punch of the other two guitars.

It never will, totally different animals.

My thoughts are (and this is after owning one and trading it 2 years later) is that they are decent low line semi hollowbodies. They are not in the same class as Gibson (or USA fender, Taylor, etc.) You can upgrade the pickups and try flatwounds and that will get you a better tone. It's never going to sound or play like a Gibson 335. You know what I mean...they look pretty, but they are still $200 guitars.

 

[elicross]

You know what I mean...they look pretty, but they are still $200 guitars.

They may or may not be $200 guitars...but they cost $400.

I like mine a lot. I'm sure a $3,000 ES-335 plays and sounds better. I'd sure as hell hope it would. But I like mine a lot.

 

[longbow]

I don't know how much better one will sound over the other. I mean if you put in high end pickups in a AS73 and compare it to a comparable Gibson style of guitar, with the same amp settings and player would you be able to tell the difference between them? I'd like to see a comparison done myself. I don't think the difference would be all that discernable. thanks

 

[Clump]

I have an AS73B that I've had for a couple of months. New strings helped a lot and pickup height adjustment helped some too. My bridge was so high the strings buzzed on it with any kind of hard picking!

It really sounds pretty good, but the pups are the weak point. I've been looking at different choices. A lot of people put Gibson '57 Classics in these. SD 59s, Seth Lovers seem like good choices too. I was also looking at the Stew Mac Golden Age for a cheaper choice. At this point DiMarzio 36th anniversary PAFs are in the lead. I'll replace the pots, etc at the same time, so it still adds up to a few bucks.

Mine is ocean blue flat. Yes, it's an odd color. It sat in the shop for quite a while and I got it on closeout. The color has actually grown on me. I'm thinking double cream pups would look pretty good.
image removed

 

[daddyopapa]

Wow

Change the strings as fast as you can!!!
The strings that come on these things are garbage. I'm always amazed with guys who don't change the strings on new guitars as fast as they get them. Even guitars that come with half decent strings such as Fender and Gibson could've been sitting on the rack for months or years with little 12 year old nose pickers and jelly sandwich eaters rubbing their grubby paws all over the strings.

 

[Dan German]

Wow

Change the strings as fast as you can!!!
The strings that come on these things are garbage.

I hope the OP has changed the strings... this thread started in February!

Clump, that blue one is gorgeous. It really stands out, and a gloss finish might make it look cheap and plastic-y.

 

[elicross]

I hope the OP has changed the strings... this thread started in February!

I did not notice that!

I don't think the strings that come stock on an AS73 are garbage; mine came from the factory with D'Addario XLs installed, and that's my favorite brand. But strings get old. Even if the guitar's just sitting in a shipping carton in a warehouse, waiting for some store or player to order it, its strings can age and oxidize. So they might *sound* like garbage...but they started out as pretty nice strings.

 

[tlimbert65]

I've had an AS73 for a few years now, and at first I was underwhelmed, but with a very small amount of tweaking, I'm now very happy with it. First thing is the bridge. I don't know if I got a bad one, or what, but my bridge was crap. Very poorly machined, and the first time I tried to adjust intonation, TWO of the saddle adjuster screw heads just snapped right off with minimal pressure from a small screwdriver. So, I replaced it with a Gotoh bridge from Stew-Mac (it appears to have the identical dimensions to a Les Paul bridge) and the difference was amazing. Better action, better intonation, and I swear better tone.

I use Ernie-Ball Standard Slinkies 10-46 on mine, and they sound and feel great. Many people recommend heavier, but I think you'd have to widen the nut slots.

Get the action set nice and low, and don't have too much angle where the strings come off the bridge on their way to the tailpiece. I'm thinking of replacing that stupid slotted tailpiece with a regular LP one so I can wrap it around.

Experiment with pickup height. Makes a big difference.

The neck pickup is sweet, and sounds great through a warm clean amp. The bridge pickup is a bit weak, if you ask me, but does just fine through a rock-style distortion pedal like the DS-1 (yes, I like the DS-1).