Watch It First
What makes the Ibanez AM73G-BK so good? Honestly, it’s the fact that Ibanez keeps making genuinely great hollowbody guitars and nobody talks about them enough.
This is the current generation of Ibanez’s Artcore hollowbody line – a 335-style semi-hollow electric with dual humbuckers, and it carries on the tradition of guitars like the older AM53 that built the Artcore name in the first place.
Let’s get into why this thing deserves more attention than it gets.
Build and Materials
The body is linden, a lightweight tonewood Ibanez leans on a lot in this price range, paired with a bolt-on nyatoh neck and rosewood fretboard.
You get 22 super jumbo frets, a 12″ fretboard radius, and a 628mm (24.72″) scale – shorter than a Fender-style 25.5″, which makes bends a little easier under the fingers.
Hardware is gold-plated, which looks properly upmarket against the black high-gloss finish. It’s a striking guitar in photos and even better in person.
Ibanez has quietly built one of the most respected budget-to-mid-range hollowbody lineups in the business, and this guitar is a good example of the engineering know-how they bring from their higher-end Prestige line down into affordable territory.
Pickups and Electronics
Two Classic Elite humbuckers sit at neck and bridge, wired to independent volume and tone controls plus a 3-way toggle. Simple, classic, no surprises – exactly what this style of guitar should have.
The Gibraltar Performer bridge is a solid, no-nonsense piece of hardware that helps with sustain and tuning stability, both known weak points on cheaper hollowbody guitars.
Playability and Feel
The 43mm nut and shorter scale make this comfortable for players coming from a Gibson-scale instrument, and the neck profile is slim enough for fast playing without feeling flimsy.
Being semi-hollow, it’s noticeably lighter on a strap than a solid-body Les Paul-style guitar. Your shoulder will thank you after a three-hour gig.
Upper fret access is good thanks to the body cutaway, and the super jumbo frets make bending and vibrato feel effortless.
If you’ve played a solidbody like the ESP LTD EC-256, the resonance and air you feel through a hollowbody like this takes a session or two to get used to, in a good way.
Sound and Tone
This is where the AM73G-BK really earns its keep. The hollow body adds natural air and bloom to clean tones that a solidbody just can’t replicate.
Jazz chords ring out with genuine warmth, and the neck pickup in particular has that woody, rounded voice players chase for that style. Blues and indie tones sit naturally here too.
Push it into overdrive and you get a airy, slightly loose grind – not as tight as a solidbody under heavy gain, but full of character. Pair it with something like the Boss DC-2W Dimension C for shimmering cleans, or a Walrus Audio Slö for ambient work, and it genuinely sings.
Who It’s For
Jazz, blues, indie, and rockabilly players will feel instantly at home here. It’s also a great choice for anyone who wants a second guitar with a genuinely different voice from their main solidbody.
If you’re into high-gain metal or need feedback resistance at loud stage volumes, a hollowbody like this fights you more than it helps – a solidbody or the Ibanez EHB600 would serve you better.
Session players love hollowbodies like this one for exactly this reason – one guitar covers jazz gigs, indie sessions, and blues jams without needing to swap instruments between sets.
How It Compares
Against the Ibanez AS93FM, the AM73G-BK is the more affordable, more understated option – less flashy figured wood, same solid semi-hollow foundation underneath.
Stack it against the Ibanez AS53, its Artcore Standard sibling, and the AM73G-BK gets the nicer gold hardware and higher-spec pickups for a bit more outlay – a real „which finish level do I want” decision more than anything else.
Either way, you’re getting genuine Ibanez build quality at a price that undercuts most Epiphone or Gretsch equivalents in the same hollowbody category.
Nickel-free gold hardware like this tends to hold its shine longer than cheaper gold-tone finishes, which matters if you sweat on stage or play out often – it won’t go patchy after a year of gigs.
Strings out of the factory are D’Addario EXL140, a solid 10-52 gauge that works well for the mixed genres this guitar is aimed at – light enough for bends, heavy enough for rhythm work.
Honest Cons and Niggles
Feedback at high gain and high volume is a real concern with any hollowbody, and this one’s no exception – keep an eye on stage volume if you’re running dirty tones.
Linden isn’t the most premium tonewood on paper, though in practice it does the job here fine. Tonewood purists might still turn their nose up at it.
No case or gig bag included, which feels like a slight oversight on a guitar this shape – hollowbodies are more fragile in transit than solidbodies, so factor a case into your budget.
Bolt-on neck construction is a cost-saving choice rather than a premium one, though it doesn’t noticeably hurt sustain here in practice.
Specs at a Glance
- Body: Semi-hollow, linden
- Neck: Bolt-on nyatoh
- Fretboard: Rosewood, 12″ radius
- Scale length: 628mm (24.72″)
- Frets: 22 Super Jumbo
- Pickups: 2x Classic Elite humbuckers
- Controls: 2 volume, 2 tone, 3-way switch
- Bridge: Gibraltar Performer
- Hardware: Gold-plated
- Finish: Black, high gloss
Set it up with a light-medium string gauge and a good tech pass, and it plays as smoothly as guitars costing considerably more – the fundamentals here are genuinely sound.
Final Verdict
What makes the AM73G-BK so good is that it doesn’t cut the corners that matter. Real humbuckers with character, a properly resonant hollow body, and hardware that won’t let you down on stage.
If you want a genuine ES-335-style tone without the ES-335-style price tag, this is one of the smartest ways in. Ibanez’s Artcore range keeps quietly delivering, and this is one of the better examples of why.
