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Hatsubai « HH version of the S540 »
Published on 05/18/11 at 13:00The Ibanez S series is a super sleek and thin bodied superstrat style guitar. The S-520 model is an HH version of this famous guitar. The guitar features a mahogany body, maple neck with a rosewood fretboard, 22 frets with S wave inlays, an Edge tremolo, two humbuckers, one volume, one tone and a five way switch for a ton of different sounds.
UTILIZATION
The Japanese S-520 is an awesome guitar. It's a well made guitar that has great fretwork, a super sleek neck, sleek body contours and great access to the upper frets. The fretwork on these models is always top notch thanks to the luthiers over in Japan taking their time with them as compared to some other luthiers around that area. Getting to the higher frets is a breeze thanks to the All Access Neck Joint. To top it off, the guitar has an Edge trem which is one of the best trem systems in the world.
SOUNDS
The guitar sounds absolutely huge despite it being a slim bodied guitar. I really believe this is due to its mahogany body. When using mahogany instead of basswood, the wood characteristics seem to come out a bit more. Basswood can sound a bit middy and plain sounding in the top end. Mahogany has a strong low mid quality with some pleasant top end. The biggest issue with this guitar is that the stock pickups are pretty bad. I recommend replacing them with something from the DiMarzio line as they seem to suit Ibanez guitars the best.
OVERALL OPINION
If you're looking for an HH version of the famous S-540, this is the guitar you want to look for. I find that these older Ibanez guitars tend to not only sound better than the current models, but they also seem to go real cheap on the used market for whatever reason. If you're looking for an S series and can't afford the newer models, look for one of the older Japanese ones like this.
UTILIZATION
The Japanese S-520 is an awesome guitar. It's a well made guitar that has great fretwork, a super sleek neck, sleek body contours and great access to the upper frets. The fretwork on these models is always top notch thanks to the luthiers over in Japan taking their time with them as compared to some other luthiers around that area. Getting to the higher frets is a breeze thanks to the All Access Neck Joint. To top it off, the guitar has an Edge trem which is one of the best trem systems in the world.
SOUNDS
The guitar sounds absolutely huge despite it being a slim bodied guitar. I really believe this is due to its mahogany body. When using mahogany instead of basswood, the wood characteristics seem to come out a bit more. Basswood can sound a bit middy and plain sounding in the top end. Mahogany has a strong low mid quality with some pleasant top end. The biggest issue with this guitar is that the stock pickups are pretty bad. I recommend replacing them with something from the DiMarzio line as they seem to suit Ibanez guitars the best.
OVERALL OPINION
If you're looking for an HH version of the famous S-540, this is the guitar you want to look for. I find that these older Ibanez guitars tend to not only sound better than the current models, but they also seem to go real cheap on the used market for whatever reason. If you're looking for an S series and can't afford the newer models, look for one of the older Japanese ones like this.