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King Loudness « Great mid level guitar »
Published on 12/31/11 at 10:05The Ibanez SA Series in general is a great way for musicians to get into a killer shred guitar without having to pay a high premium or deal with the hassles of a locking tremolo unit. This particular instrument was one of my very first "good" instruments when I was quite young. It features a basswood body with a quilted maple top (likely a veneer) a maple neck with rosewood fretboard and 22 frets, sealed chrome tuners, an Ibanez non locking tremolo bridge and a trio of Ibanez designed pickups (two single coils and one humbucker). The guitar itself features a slightly thicker neck than is found on the RG models, which makes it ideal as well for musicians who like Ibanez guitars, but can't get on with the thinner Wizard profile found on so many of the guitars. It's not a baseball bat type neck, but it's got enough girth to be eminently playable.
UTILIZATION
The design of this guitar is quite ergonomic I would say. It's very thin and lightweight. I used this guitar from the age of 7 'til the age of 10 and never once did I have an issue with weight or holding the instrument for long periods of time. The SA shape is very comfortable and is easy to play as well. The upper fret access is great too, I learned a lot of classic Yngwie type licks on this guitar and never had issues getting to the top frets. This is due to the All Access Neck Joint heel that is used and allows the hand to extend right up to the 22nd fret. Very nice.
SOUNDS
I used this guitar with various cheaper solid state Peavey and Yamaha amps. I always thought it had a good tone for what I was doing. I primarily used it to play hard rock and shred styles as that is what I was focusing on. However I did use the guitar in a jazz band for a couple years and it always held up well. The single coils had a nice bright tone, very Stratty and the humbucker was a medium output model that had a nice punch and sustain. The pickups weren't as good as DiMarzios or Seymour Duncans but they did do a good job at both clean and distorted tones for sure. It also had the 5 way pickup switch which allowed some cool "split" tones a-la a Strat as well.
OVERALL OPINION
All in all I think the Ibanez SA160QM is a great buy for someone who wants a classy looking guitar that is light and easy to play, plus has a range of very good tones within. I won mine in a contest, but I do recall them selling for about $700 new when I got it back in 2002. They can be had used for about $250 now which is a great deal considering that you're getting a good quality instrument that plays and sounds quite nice. Definitely worth a look if you want a guitar on which to shred.
UTILIZATION
The design of this guitar is quite ergonomic I would say. It's very thin and lightweight. I used this guitar from the age of 7 'til the age of 10 and never once did I have an issue with weight or holding the instrument for long periods of time. The SA shape is very comfortable and is easy to play as well. The upper fret access is great too, I learned a lot of classic Yngwie type licks on this guitar and never had issues getting to the top frets. This is due to the All Access Neck Joint heel that is used and allows the hand to extend right up to the 22nd fret. Very nice.
SOUNDS
I used this guitar with various cheaper solid state Peavey and Yamaha amps. I always thought it had a good tone for what I was doing. I primarily used it to play hard rock and shred styles as that is what I was focusing on. However I did use the guitar in a jazz band for a couple years and it always held up well. The single coils had a nice bright tone, very Stratty and the humbucker was a medium output model that had a nice punch and sustain. The pickups weren't as good as DiMarzios or Seymour Duncans but they did do a good job at both clean and distorted tones for sure. It also had the 5 way pickup switch which allowed some cool "split" tones a-la a Strat as well.
OVERALL OPINION
All in all I think the Ibanez SA160QM is a great buy for someone who wants a classy looking guitar that is light and easy to play, plus has a range of very good tones within. I won mine in a contest, but I do recall them selling for about $700 new when I got it back in 2002. They can be had used for about $250 now which is a great deal considering that you're getting a good quality instrument that plays and sounds quite nice. Definitely worth a look if you want a guitar on which to shred.