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tjon901 « Stripped down SZ full sized tone »
Published on 05/30/11 at 17:19The SZ series is a variant of the famous Ibanez S series. Unlike the S series these guitars are not super thin. These guitars are nice and thick and are supposed to give you a more Gibson like tone but with the famous Ibanez playability. This guitar features a set mahogany neck in a mahogany body. It is a bare bones guitar that gets the job done. It has basic Duncan Design pickups made for Ibanez. It has a volume knob for each pickup and master tone knob with a 3 way selector switch. The bridge is a string through body design for more sustain and a little more brightness and clarity. It has Ibanez's Gibratlar 3 bridge which is a lot better than most tune-o-matic setups. The guitar has a 25.1 inch scale which is quite strange. I guess Ibanez was trying to get a balance between a Les Paul scale and the typical Fender scale they normally use. The guitar has 22 medium sized frets on a rosewood fretboard and the back of the neck has finish on it.
UTILIZATION
Ibanez prides themselves on the playability of their guitars and this guitar is no exception. The guitar barely has any neck joint heel to get in your way so the playability is a lot better than your typical Gibson set neck. The Gibralter 3 bridge is a very nice substitute to a typical tune-o-matic. The surface on the bridge is very smooth and does not have any sharp edges like a typical bridge. I could play this guitar for hours without getting a single scratch on my hand. The scale is slightly shorter than on most Ibanez guitars so the string tension is lower. This adds to the comfort of the guitar making it a breeze to play.
SOUNDS
This SZ is Ibanez's attempt to get more of a Gibson sound. The shorter scale is close to that of a Gibson and helps get the string tension lower to what you would expect on a Les Paul or SG. The guitar is made of mahogany to get you a good deep tone. The string through bridge helps balance out the dark mahogany by adding some brightness and clarity. The Duncan Design pickups add a good amount of bite and clarity to the tone also.
OVERALL OPINION
This guitar is Ibanez's answer to the people who say their guitars are too light and sound to thin. This Ibanez sounds thick and heavy and feels like a real piece of wood in your hand. Not many people play these models so you wont look like a poser and you will sound better than the people playing the popular models. This guitar is a bare bones stripped down rock machine. If you are a fan of Ibanez playability and want a slightly bigger sound this guitar is made for you.
UTILIZATION
Ibanez prides themselves on the playability of their guitars and this guitar is no exception. The guitar barely has any neck joint heel to get in your way so the playability is a lot better than your typical Gibson set neck. The Gibralter 3 bridge is a very nice substitute to a typical tune-o-matic. The surface on the bridge is very smooth and does not have any sharp edges like a typical bridge. I could play this guitar for hours without getting a single scratch on my hand. The scale is slightly shorter than on most Ibanez guitars so the string tension is lower. This adds to the comfort of the guitar making it a breeze to play.
SOUNDS
This SZ is Ibanez's attempt to get more of a Gibson sound. The shorter scale is close to that of a Gibson and helps get the string tension lower to what you would expect on a Les Paul or SG. The guitar is made of mahogany to get you a good deep tone. The string through bridge helps balance out the dark mahogany by adding some brightness and clarity. The Duncan Design pickups add a good amount of bite and clarity to the tone also.
OVERALL OPINION
This guitar is Ibanez's answer to the people who say their guitars are too light and sound to thin. This Ibanez sounds thick and heavy and feels like a real piece of wood in your hand. Not many people play these models so you wont look like a poser and you will sound better than the people playing the popular models. This guitar is a bare bones stripped down rock machine. If you are a fan of Ibanez playability and want a slightly bigger sound this guitar is made for you.