They're all so similar in wood species and design that the biggest differences are usually aesthetics, material/hardware quality, and workmanship. I've played Gibson, Epiphone, Ibanez, and Michael Kelly semi-hollows. In my opinion, it doesn't change the tone very much, as neither the 335 nor 339 is a true hollow: the laminated back & front and the solid center block that define the semi-hollow guitar were implemented specifically to reduce the acoustic resonance of the instrument (compared to a carved top true hollowbody) and reduce feedback. Good luck.Įdit: I guess I should mention between the two you mentioned, the AS93 does have better pickups and a pickguard but is obviously more expensive if you're on a budget. You can always upgrade something if you don't like a certain part of the guitar.

Honestly dude, just go try a bunch of guitars at your nearest music shops. Artcores sell between $400-500, while Artstar sells for around $1,000 depending on the model.Īlso be careful choosing which model you buy, you might find you're paying more for functions you don't really use or want such as a trmolo bar, pickguard, or nicer tail pieces when many (but not all) models within the series use the same pickups and woods and you'll get a similar sound anyway.

As for which series as a whole is better, well. I wouldn't necessarily say the higher the number, the higher the quality and price (an af75 sells for $400, while an amf73 sells for an extra $100). Numbers and letters like this also differentiate these guitar if one might have a different trem system (AFS75T). But they are both in the Artcore series and you can expect similar quality (for example, they both have the same pickups, and are made from maple with the same mahogany neck). For example an AS73 has a cut away on both sides of the neck while the AF75 only has one.

As far as I knew this was just to differentiate the different models between the series. I didn't think the numbers mattered so much in quality.

Epiphone casino vs ibanez as93