Ibanez AGS73B Guitar Review

Ibanez, though well known for making instruments for the harder edged genres of genres, has recently varied their offering quite a bit. Some of the most popular mid-range semi-hollow body guitars today are coming off of Ibanez's factory line. One of these is the Ibanez AGS73B. Let's take a closer look at it to see just what has made this expansion so popular among musicians.

Features: The body of the Ibanez AGS73B, of course, is hollow. The back, top, and sides are made of maple. The body style, meanwhile, is in the general shape of a Les Paul, except a bit thicker. It is, however, a smaller width than other Ibanez hollow bodies. There is mainly one finish available, and it's ebony. It provides a deeply rich look when combined with the fretboard and inlays. The neck is made of mahogany, with a rosewood fretboard that has twenty one frets and specialized rectangular pearloid inlays. The headstock is painted black to match the finish, and is a Gibson style with three tuning heads on each side. All of the hardware, including the tuning heads pickup covers, and bridge, is chrome. And speaking of the bridge, it is in the Tune-O-Matic style for easy adjustment of string action. Electronically, the Ibanez AGS73B has two Ibanez brand humbucker pickups, two volume and two tone control knobs, and a three way selector switch.

Playability: The playability of the AGS73B is, as you could probably expect, a little hindered in terms of an electric guitar because of the hollow body. This does have its advantages, though. The body is nice and light, and is easy to play for long amounts of time. Also, the mahogany neck is smooth and easy to play. The only major disadvantage is that the high fret access is pretty severely limited by the body width.

Sound: The sound of the AGS73B can best be described as jazzy. When playing clean, the neck humbucker is smooth, deep, and rich. And the bridge pickup is very bright, great for playing mid range solos. There is also the ability to play with some distortion. But, be prepared for some serious feedback if you crank it up too much.

Overall: If you're a jazz or blues player looking for a high quality mid range instrument, the Ibanez AGS73B is an excellent choice. It has great clean tones, easy playability, and unmatched sustain. You can find the AGS73B in music stores for about $350.