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Hatsubai « One of the last Edge S series »
Published on 05/18/11 at 08:22The Ibanez S series guitars are a thin bodied strat shaped guitar that feels absolutely wonderful to play due to its light weight yet huge tonal properties. The S-1220 is a Japanese made Prestige S series guitar that features a mahogany body, maple neck, rosewood fretboard, 22 jumbo frets, a unique center inlay, an Edge trem, two humbuckers, one volume, one tone and a five way switch.
UTILIZATION
The S series are some of my favorite guitars made by Ibanez. While they lack two frets compared to the RG series, they tend to feel a little better due to their lighter weight. The neck heel on these is very minimal, so getting to the higher frets is a breeze. The fretwork on the Japanese Prestige models is also great, so no issues there. The Edge tremolo that's in this model is also one of the best floyds on the market. It has no issues with even the most extreme whammy bar action.
SOUNDS
Since the guitar is made out of mahogany, it sounds pretty big, even though it's a thinner body. The biggest problem with these guitars is that the pickups suck. However, once you replace those, you're good to go. I like using the Air Norton in the neck and something like an Evo 2 in the bridge. When you put an Air Norton in the neck, the neck position becomes super fat and absolutely sings for lead tones. The Evo 2 in the bridge helps accentuate the natural frequencies of mahogany along with giving the guitar some amazing harmonics. The five way switch on this guitar also helps make this thing more versatile as you have parallel and split options to choose from.
OVERALL OPINION
If you're on the market for an Ibanez S series, this is going to be one of my top recommendations. Today's S series are made entirely in Indochina, so I highly recommend buying an older one that was made in the original Japanese facilities. I find they're put together better, and I find them to sound a bit better. Just be sure to replace the stock pickups as they're pretty bad. Aside from that, this is an awesome shred machine with huge tone.
UTILIZATION
The S series are some of my favorite guitars made by Ibanez. While they lack two frets compared to the RG series, they tend to feel a little better due to their lighter weight. The neck heel on these is very minimal, so getting to the higher frets is a breeze. The fretwork on the Japanese Prestige models is also great, so no issues there. The Edge tremolo that's in this model is also one of the best floyds on the market. It has no issues with even the most extreme whammy bar action.
SOUNDS
Since the guitar is made out of mahogany, it sounds pretty big, even though it's a thinner body. The biggest problem with these guitars is that the pickups suck. However, once you replace those, you're good to go. I like using the Air Norton in the neck and something like an Evo 2 in the bridge. When you put an Air Norton in the neck, the neck position becomes super fat and absolutely sings for lead tones. The Evo 2 in the bridge helps accentuate the natural frequencies of mahogany along with giving the guitar some amazing harmonics. The five way switch on this guitar also helps make this thing more versatile as you have parallel and split options to choose from.
OVERALL OPINION
If you're on the market for an Ibanez S series, this is going to be one of my top recommendations. Today's S series are made entirely in Indochina, so I highly recommend buying an older one that was made in the original Japanese facilities. I find they're put together better, and I find them to sound a bit better. Just be sure to replace the stock pickups as they're pretty bad. Aside from that, this is an awesome shred machine with huge tone.