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tjon901 « The S series nowadays »
Published on 12/15/11 at 11:40When the S series was introduced back in the late 80s it was the perfect compliment to the RG. Its super slim body was very comfortable to play and it was light so you could play it all night. Over the years it has gotten some upgrades in hardware and electronics. This guitar has a basswood body in the classic S shape. The neck is a bolt on neck with 3 piece maple construction. The neck has the wizard 2 neck shape that everyone likes. The fretboard is rosewood with 24 jumbo frets. You get a locking nut up top for the tremolo. The tremolos on S series guitars are really cool. Since the guitars are so thin they cant really put traditional style tremolos so they designed new super modern units for them. The tremolo in this model is the ZR Zero Resistance tremolo that operates on ball bearings. The controls are a master volume and a master tone with a 5 way blade swtich. The output jack is recessed into the put and placed at an angle so the cord perfectly wraps around your strap.
UTILIZATION
Comfort is the name of the game when it comes to the Ibanez S series. The super thin body is light as well and when you play it the guitar feels like it isnt there. It disappears into your body. Some people like this and some do not. 24 frets is not something you get on every S model but this model has it and it means there is better fret access on the high end of the neck. The ZR tremolo is cool. It can be easily adjusted to string tension so changing tunings and strings isnt as much of a pain. The ballbearing system means it is super stable. The Wizard 2 neck is super thin and has a flat radius up top. This combined with jumbo frets means you can get a super low action on the strings to make playing effortless.
SOUNDS
The super thin body and neck however do not help the natural tone of this guitar. This combined with the bad Ibanez stock pickups mean this guitar sounds pretty weak right out of the box. When I plug in a stock Ibanez it is like I have half the output of my personal guitars. I have to adjust my amp settings to compensate for this. The pickups in this guitar are pretty thin sounding. This would almost be a good country the guitar with the amount of thin twang it has. The neck pickup is pretty smooth but still has a bit of shrillness to it. The bridge pickup is pretty muddy and has a undefined sound. Personally I think a set of Dimarzios at least in the humbucker positions would really open this guitar up and give it a more cutting edge modern sound to go with the looks and feel.
OVERALL OPINION
This is the same story you get with a lot of mid to low end Ibanez guitars. The playability is there but the sound isnt. Ibanez is one of the worst companies when it comes to stock pickups. These pickups are fit for the garbage can. When you buy an Ibanez like this you pretty much have to factor in the cost of a pickup change into the price because you will need it. This guitar is a great player and would be a great all around guitar once a better set of pickups are dropped in.
UTILIZATION
Comfort is the name of the game when it comes to the Ibanez S series. The super thin body is light as well and when you play it the guitar feels like it isnt there. It disappears into your body. Some people like this and some do not. 24 frets is not something you get on every S model but this model has it and it means there is better fret access on the high end of the neck. The ZR tremolo is cool. It can be easily adjusted to string tension so changing tunings and strings isnt as much of a pain. The ballbearing system means it is super stable. The Wizard 2 neck is super thin and has a flat radius up top. This combined with jumbo frets means you can get a super low action on the strings to make playing effortless.
SOUNDS
The super thin body and neck however do not help the natural tone of this guitar. This combined with the bad Ibanez stock pickups mean this guitar sounds pretty weak right out of the box. When I plug in a stock Ibanez it is like I have half the output of my personal guitars. I have to adjust my amp settings to compensate for this. The pickups in this guitar are pretty thin sounding. This would almost be a good country the guitar with the amount of thin twang it has. The neck pickup is pretty smooth but still has a bit of shrillness to it. The bridge pickup is pretty muddy and has a undefined sound. Personally I think a set of Dimarzios at least in the humbucker positions would really open this guitar up and give it a more cutting edge modern sound to go with the looks and feel.
OVERALL OPINION
This is the same story you get with a lot of mid to low end Ibanez guitars. The playability is there but the sound isnt. Ibanez is one of the worst companies when it comes to stock pickups. These pickups are fit for the garbage can. When you buy an Ibanez like this you pretty much have to factor in the cost of a pickup change into the price because you will need it. This guitar is a great player and would be a great all around guitar once a better set of pickups are dropped in.