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tjon901 « Ibanez straight out of the 80s »
Published on 09/01/11 at 09:16The Ibanez S bodyshape was always the less popular alternative to the RG. This shape has a totally different feel compared to most guitars. These guitars put comfort ahead of everything else in their design. On this guitar you get the super thin S style body made of basswood. The bolt on neck is maple with a rosewood fretboard. The fretboard is 22 frets and has a super flat radius. The neck is one of Ibanez's famous wizard necks so it is super thin as well. The guitar has an HSH pickup configuration with Ibanez pickups all around. Up top there is a locking nut for the fully floating ZR bridge. The ZR bridge is an evolution of Ibanezes floating bridges and it is really nice. The controls are typical with a master volume and master tone with a 5 way blade.
UTILIZATION
These guitars are super comfortable. The super thin body is fully contoured all around so it barely feels like there is a guitar there. It kind of disappears into your body when you are playing it. Some people like this some do not. The guitar is also very light due to its in construction. Some people like this some do not. The bridge is a cool design. It is like a Floyd Rose with a built in tremolo-no. You can adjust the tension on the springs very easily on the back of the unit so it makes changing tunings very easy. The Ibanez Wizard necks are some of the smoothest playing necks out there. They are thin and have a super flat radius. This with jumbo frets means you can get a very low action and you can really shred on them with ease. The jack input on this guitar is perfectly placed. It is just at the right angle to go and wrap around your guitar strap. More guitars should place their jack input like this.
SOUNDS
Stock Ibanez guitars come with some of the worst pickups you can find on a decent guitar. The pickups they put on these guitars stock totally hold back the tone of these guitars. On these S models it is not helped that the guitar itself is super thin and does not provide that much natural tone. A guitar like this absolutely needs good pickups to sound good. The stock pickups are weak and dull thin and muddy and everything else bad you can say about a set of stock pickups. Its always aggravating when I plug in a stock Ibanez and I think my amp settings are wrong because I suddenly have like half the volume. Then I remember its the stock pickups. The neck pickups is smoother than the bridge but overall it is pretty muddy. The bridge pickups is harsh but does not have very much output to it so it cant really drive an amp like you would want a bridge pickup to do in a modern guitar.
OVERALL OPINION
The playability sells this guitar. This guitar is perfect for a lot of people. People with bad backs or people who dont like heavy guitars love the Ibanez S series. They are so light and thin you hardly notice them and you can fully concentrate on playing. The stock tone on these guitars let them down. When getting an Ibanez like this you really need to plan on a immediate pickup swap. The pickups in this guitar are super weak and really have no business being on a guitar this good overalll.
UTILIZATION
These guitars are super comfortable. The super thin body is fully contoured all around so it barely feels like there is a guitar there. It kind of disappears into your body when you are playing it. Some people like this some do not. The guitar is also very light due to its in construction. Some people like this some do not. The bridge is a cool design. It is like a Floyd Rose with a built in tremolo-no. You can adjust the tension on the springs very easily on the back of the unit so it makes changing tunings very easy. The Ibanez Wizard necks are some of the smoothest playing necks out there. They are thin and have a super flat radius. This with jumbo frets means you can get a very low action and you can really shred on them with ease. The jack input on this guitar is perfectly placed. It is just at the right angle to go and wrap around your guitar strap. More guitars should place their jack input like this.
SOUNDS
Stock Ibanez guitars come with some of the worst pickups you can find on a decent guitar. The pickups they put on these guitars stock totally hold back the tone of these guitars. On these S models it is not helped that the guitar itself is super thin and does not provide that much natural tone. A guitar like this absolutely needs good pickups to sound good. The stock pickups are weak and dull thin and muddy and everything else bad you can say about a set of stock pickups. Its always aggravating when I plug in a stock Ibanez and I think my amp settings are wrong because I suddenly have like half the volume. Then I remember its the stock pickups. The neck pickups is smoother than the bridge but overall it is pretty muddy. The bridge pickups is harsh but does not have very much output to it so it cant really drive an amp like you would want a bridge pickup to do in a modern guitar.
OVERALL OPINION
The playability sells this guitar. This guitar is perfect for a lot of people. People with bad backs or people who dont like heavy guitars love the Ibanez S series. They are so light and thin you hardly notice them and you can fully concentrate on playing. The stock tone on these guitars let them down. When getting an Ibanez like this you really need to plan on a immediate pickup swap. The pickups in this guitar are super weak and really have no business being on a guitar this good overalll.