Ibanez Artcore Expressionist AM93 Semi-Hollow Electric Guitar (Used)
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- Product #H76283
Beautiful quilted maple top Artcore with compact semi-hollow style.
This Artcore Expressionist AM93 semi-hollowbody guitar uses Custom 58 pickups combined with an arched quilted maple top, back, and sides to produce a warm and quick response. The slim and compact 3-piece Artcore set-in neck is made from mahogany and maple. The bound rosewood fretboard with 22 large frets, bound top, and gold hardware offers lush looks accented by white block inlays and multiple binding. The ART1 bridge provides accurate rock-solid intonation while the Quik Change III makes string changing easy.
Features
- 3-piece mahogany/maple set-in neck
- Quilted maple top, back, and sides
- White block fretboard inlays
- Bound top and fretboard
- 22 frets
- ART1 bridge and Quik Change III tailpiece
- Custom 58 pickups
Order this compact semi-hollowbody with full-bodied sound you can really get your arms around.
Review Snapshot®
by PowerReviews(based on 14 reviews)
Ratings Distribution
100%
of respondents would recommend this to a friend.
Pros
- Good tone (5)
- Good feel (4)
- Fun to play (3)
- Solid electronics (3)
Cons
Best Uses
- Practicing (4)
- Jamming (3)
- Small venues (3)
- Reviewer Profile:
- Experienced (4)
Most Liked Positive Review
AM93 Semi-Hollow Electric Guitar
Beautiful, well balanced, perfect tuning and intonation, strong pickups, great bridge and tailpiece, gold hardware, execellent antique yellow finish, as much fun to look at as to play.
Pickups are g...Read complete review
Beautiful, well balanced, perfect tuning and intonation, strong pickups, great bridge and tailpiece, gold hardware, execellent antique yellow finish, as much fun to look at as to play.
Pickups are great, very responsive, as advertised. The neck profile makes playing a joy and the double cutaway allows effortless access to all the frets. The cosmetics are good but not perfect. The flaws are tiny and must be actively looked for to be seen. They do not detract from the beautiful appearance of the guitar. The tiny flaws are on the binding and again, if your'e not looking for them they will never be noticed. What struck me most was how well the guitar tunes and intonates. I have another Artcore model, which I love, but it doesn't tune nearly as well as the AM93. The guitar is heavier than I expected and I presume this is due to the sound block. The guitar is slimmer than 'standard' semi-hollow bodies, which I find pleasing. The guitar sounds great. And the out of the box set up was spot on, no adjustments needed.It is simply a beautiful instrument.
Fit and finish is excellent,only a minor flaw in the binding. The maple finish is gorgeous. The bridge and tailpiece are perfect for this type of guitar and no doubt explains the perfect tuning.
Way more than your moneys worth which is typical of the Artcore series.
VS
Most Liked Negative Review
Great low Price Guitar
Exceptional low cost guitar. I've been debating on purchasing one for awhile, and I play pieces that are typically 4x's as much. I question the construction flaws, and the deeper flaws that are ...Read complete review
Exceptional low cost guitar. I've been debating on purchasing one for awhile, and I play pieces that are typically 4x's as much. I question the construction flaws, and the deeper flaws that are unseen. Although definitely a stage worthy guitar and a great low cost guitar for someone that needs a new or additional piece to there kit. The best bright points are the electronics and functionality definitely makes the piece worth while. Purchasing is far from being a mistake or regrettable,
Extremely pretty guitar. It has great looks. The alnico humbuckers sounded very nice, nice hardware, especially the speed knobs. The knobs are very attractive and function very well. The smaller size is nice and unnoticable for the most part. It's more comfortable when sitting down when compared to its counter parts.
Although pretty there are obvious construction issues. The lines of the binding didn't exactly line up. Granted this is a low cost guitar designed to look a premier expensive guitar, but it just doesn't have the flawlessness of a boutique or standard higher end brand name. I would consider this ranking higher on a list of "lower quality" guitars. This isn't one you are going to keep for 30+ years like the higher quality counterparts.
For the features, there are no cheaper options. It has all the top end looked for features including binding, flame top, nice hardware for low cost. One nice value is the alnico pickups. I have a real hard time with Ibanez pickups and find them offensive in most cases, and wish they would sell guitars without pickups. However, these are by far the best ibanez pickups I've heard and would not question playing these and leaving the piece stock.
Reviews
Reviewed by 14 customers
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Displaying reviews 1-10
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Pros
- Fun To Play
- Good Feel
- Good Tone
- Solid guitar
- Very Clear Tone
Cons
- Rough Bridge
Best Uses
- Jamming
- Practicing
- Recording
- Small Venues
Comments about Ibanez Artcore Expressionist AM93 Semi-Hollow Electric Guitar:
From the first time I saw this guitar, I knew I liked it. It's absolutely beautiful and has a sound to match. The tone is very clear. I wasn't quite sure how it would sound with distortion, however, when I tried it, I definitely take back my doubt. This is my first semi-hollow body guitar, and it's safe to say I'll keep it around for a very long time. Great guitar for the price.
Pros
- Fun To Play
- Good Feel
- Good Tone
- Solid Electronics
Cons
Best Uses
- Giging
- Practicing
Comments about Ibanez Artcore Expressionist AM93 Semi-Hollow Electric Guitar:
This modestly priced guitar will compete with and out perform guitars thousands higher. My Am93 came flawless out of the box, needed no adjustments, and the Ibenez case was well contructed and the guitar fit well in the case. I played the AM93 thru several different tube amps and sounded best thru my Fender Hot rod 4-10. Nice slight growl on the clean channel at higher volume settings. Great tone, perfect neck, pickups sound great without any noise, and has very easily conrolled feed back just when you want it. Quality is comparable to my Gibson Les Paul, American Fender Strat, and Godin. Played it last night at a medium sized gig and loved it. My other guitars will sit in the music room for now.
Pros
- Fun To Play
- Good Feel
- Good Pick Up
- Good Tone
- Solid Electronics
Cons
Best Uses
- Jamming
- Practicing
- Small Venues
Comments about Ibanez Artcore Expressionist AM93 Semi-Hollow Electric Guitar:
Love this guitar. I am a petite woman and it fits me perfect. The guitar is sturdy and solid. The sound is great. The electronics are solid.
Pros
- Good Pick Up
- Good Tone
- Solid Electronics
Cons
- Finnicky Truss Rod Adjust
- Fret Buzz
- Neck To Thin
- Pups Are A Tiny Bit Noisy
Best Uses
- Jamming
- Practicing
- Recording
- Rock Concerts
- School Bands
- Small Venues
Comments about Ibanez Artcore Expressionist AM93 Semi-Hollow Electric Guitar:
its gorgeous but the neck is so thin, and i like thin but this is really thin, i still love it though, its sounds really good, pups are just a wee bit noisy but not like a single coil, better pups than my epi dot
Pros
- Best All Around Guitar
- Excellent Pickups
- Extremely Versitile
- Great build quality
Cons
- Absolutely None
Best Uses
- Anything You Thro At It
Comments about Ibanez Artcore Expressionist AM93 Semi-Hollow Electric Guitar:
Been playing over three decades for money.
This is by far the best electric guitar I have ever owned, but not even close to the most expensive.
Great pickups, and the only model featuring these without spending major cash.
If you roll off the volume you can change the load and get even more possibilities.
Fantastic build quality, sustain for days!
Beatiful wood including the neck.
Able to set the action super low without fret buzz.
The price is rediculously low for what you get!
This guitar will nail Blues, Jazz, Funk, and Rock with ease, the pickups also respond very well with quality pedals.
Do yourself a favor and buy this guitar, I am about to buy another one because I know Ibanez will come to their senses and either raise the price or discontinue it.
Pros
- Good Feel
- Good Tone
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Ibanez Artcore Expressionist AM93 Semi-Hollow Electric Guitar:
The Ibanez AM93 is a really nice guitar. Not just a good guitar for the money, but a good guitar. Period.
I think it is above-average in the aesthetics department with the quilted maple and the gold hardware. The bindings are nice. The finish on mine is flawless. I got a yellow one and really like the look.
The neck has a nice feel; it is not super thin but not chunky either. I have always liked the volute detail on the back of the neck like the '70s style Gibsons. The guitar is a nice size as well. I find the ES-335 style guitars to be a little too big. This guitar is bigger than a Les Paul, but not as large as a traditional semi-acoustic electric.
Mine was set up pretty nice right out of the box. I raised the action just a tad because I thought it was a little "slinky".
As far as I can tell, all of these Artcore guitars are really nice. I played a buddy's Ibanez AS73 at a jazz gig the other day and I was enthusiastic about that guitar as well.
I have played guitar for over 35 years and have owned some pretty fancy guitars (Gibsons, Rickenbachers, PRSs). This guitar compares favorably with any of those, and it comes at a very reasonable price.
My suggestion: Buy one. I'm really glad I got mine.
Comments about Ibanez Artcore Expressionist AM93 Semi-Hollow Electric Guitar:
my overall rating for the guitar is a 9 only because i think the pickups should be a little responsive. acoustically you will notice the guitar just feels and sounds good..but none of the overtones follow through with the stock pickups.
Ibanez has been one of those companies that offer great value instruments for less.
The figured maple and aesthetics of this guitar is great and the tones are astounding
Frets were well leveled and no dead spots.
Comments about Ibanez Artcore Expressionist AM93 Semi-Hollow Electric Guitar:
You can't beat this Guitar for the money. I have the Yellow. Worth way more than they charge for it. It sounds as good as them 5 times the price models. On mine I found no flaws in the finish and the setup was perfect right out of the box. The sustain is more than you can ask for and this axe never goes out of tune ! It comes with D'Addarios which are Ok but I threw some Elixer Polyweb superlights on it and I'm in heaven. Buy it - you won't be disappointed.
Comments about Ibanez Artcore Expressionist AM93 Semi-Hollow Electric Guitar:
I would recommend this guitar to anyone who plays jazz, blues, and rock. Well, I would say it would work for country too-the bridge pick-up gives a clean, crisp, and brilliant tone. (Probably not a first choice for a metal head, but they generally don't play semi-hollows anyway.) The neck pick-up gives a GREAT jazz tone, mellow but versatile. And by the way, do not let the slightly smaller size fool you!
OK, the guitar is the stock 2 pick-up, 2 volume, 2 tone set-up, and that's all that I need, or anyone else for that matter. Listen people-the pick-ups are GOOD! Also, the fact that it is a wee bit lighter than a typical semi-hollow is a definite asset.
This instrument is firstly a beautiful guitar- I don't think that there is any controversy about that. It plays very well, although I did tweak the set-up to my liking-I personally like a heavier gauge on the bottom strings. (by the way, I am quite picky about set-up.) I didn't see any dings, scratches, misalignments, or inconsistencies with the binding. Anyway, my primary concerns are sound and playability and both are first rate. The pick-ups are good-dramatically better than the ones Ibanez usually puts in their lower end guitars. I think that makes a BIG difference-the guitar works beautifully for jazz and blues, but also works for rock and roll. I REALLY dig this guitar!
This guitar has got to be one of Ibanez's best kept secrets, seriously. I can't figure out why more people have not commented on it!
Comments about Ibanez Artcore Expressionist AM93 Semi-Hollow Electric Guitar:
This guitar is a real steal. I don't know how, or why, they do it. Way too much guitar for the money. I have bought a lot of guitars, This came as good or better than most. The factory setup and attention to detail was excellent. Even the volume and tone knobs are extremely classy.
Very responsive controls, great tuners, The bridge and tailpiece are excellent and quiet. There is no buzz or rattle in the bridge which is a welcome relief after owning some of the "expensive" guitars. Strum without any amp and you just hear the strings.
A major problem on my guitar was tarnish on the gold. The fret ends are not as smooth as one might expect from a bound neck. Not worth doing anything about. Other than that the guitar was perfect. The setup that I needed to do was really very minor. This guitar was almost perfect, right out of the box.
You will not believe the quality for the price. Plays like an expensive guitar. Solid, well made and a real beauty.
