You hit both sides of the coin with those two artists. Clapton can be seen playing both styles of guitar, but hes most commonly seen playing one of the solid body guitars, Telecaster, Les Paul, Stratocaster and others. But he played an old fully hollow bodied Gibson in "Hail Hail Rock & Roll" a tribute to Chuck Berry's 60th on "Wee Wee Hours".


When it comes to B. B. King his style of guitar is VERY well known.

Fron the internet:

"Lucille in her current form is a Gibson ES-355. B.B. has been playing the ES-355 for at least 25 years, before that he played an ES-335. The main difference between those two guitars is that the ES-355 is a solid body. B.B. likes to think of the ES-355 as the "big brother" of Gibson's Les Paul. Although B.B. is partial to Gibson guitars, he has played just about any guitar he has gotten his hands on. His very first guitar was a Stella acoustic. Early in his career, he played and owned many different makes, such as Fender, Gretsch, Silverstone and of course Gibson."

The Gibson Website describes it a bit differently:

"B.B. King Lucille

Blues legend B.B. King had been playing Gibsons for over 40 years when he and Gibson officially joined forces in 1982. B.B.'s personal touches on his signature model include the fine-tuner tailpiece, the semi-hollow body with no soundholes and, of course, the name that has adorned his guitars throughout his career— Lucille."

I called Ibanez to ask about the difference between (i) the ACH1 and ACH2 pickups in the AS73 guitars versus (ii) the ACH1-S and ACH2-S in the AS73B... and the service rep I spoke with did not seem to know the answer?!

· The rep did not have impedance data on either set – so no way to know if one is hotter than the other by comparing output in ohms.

· He insisted the pickups are “different,” but this because “they have different part numbers.” He did not know if the two sets are actually wound differently or if there are any other differences beyond that fact that one set is covered and the other is uncovered.

My guess is the two sets are identical but for the covers. I noticed the ACH1-S is available on some other Ibanez guitars (ARX320, ART100, AMF73) and always appears in uncovered form. Similarly, the ACH1 (without S) is always covered. Seems unlikely a large manufacturer like Ibanez would go to the expense of creating a specially-wound “S-version” pickup to put in only four guitar models.

The added brightness in the AS73B is likely due solely to the lack of pickup covers, not different winding or output.

Tracy Dae, thanks for the reply. I can not see the pictures. What I know is that here in the UK they sell the AS73 and the AS73B for exactly the same price!

Setting aside the fact that you've conveniently ignored the U.K. pricing, what is your specific theory as to the $50 price difference in the U.S.? It seems rather logical that a matte finish and uncovered pickups are $50 cheaper to produce. Your implication that the B model is $50 cheaper because it's inattentively constructed just seems flat-out absurd, quite frankly.

Perhaps an Ibanez rep is reading and can kindly spell out the actual difference?

I totally agree with my fellow Ontarian (Aguitarnamedzero) here. It's fairly straight-forward and common practice among ALL guitar manufacturers. You mentioned LPs but even a more significant example would be the Epiphone DOT series of guitars. As the price goes up and down, you find a BIG difference in how much work was done on the finish. All of the electronics and PUPS are identical on the standard models (except the DOT studio which has only 2 pot switches on it), but if you've ever picked up a low-end DOT with that ridiculous matte ugly finish on it, then moved up the line one price range to the next higher model, you see an IMMEDIATE difference in the two.
I think that was Tracy's point as well... just sayin.

The best part is when firms like Gibson and Fender try to fool us by calling cheap, crappy paint jobs "VINTAGE" finishes... talk about insulting my intelligence. At least Ibanez hasn't stooped to the level of sheer rip-offs like that.

I agree with "Evan333" that the "less attention to detail" comment is vague and misleading. From what I've seen in the guitar shops, all of the AS models get adequate "attention" as far as quality control is concerned... And "Aguitarnamedzero" is correct that the price increases from one model to another relate mainly to cosmetics.

Each of the AS73B, AS73, and AS93 have a similar feel in hand, and the "upgrades" you get as you move up the line are not material in terms of sound and playabilty (but for the pickups, perhaps, on the AS103, depending on the tone you're looking for).

The extras stack up as follows:
· AS73B: One-piece neck; matte finish; uncovered pickups.
· AS73: Add shiny laminate finish; covered pickups.
· AS93: Three-piece neck; upgrade to quilted maple finish; add gold hardware; add fancy inlays.
· AS103: Five-piece neck; add pick-guard and wooden knobs; upgrade to Custom 58 pickups.

Hope this helps...