Ibanez AZ series

Owain

They look beautiful, I'd like to try one

Kebabkid

I was in Andertons today and I tried a Premium HH AZ (Made in Indonesia and this one)
https://www.andertons.co.uk/guitar-dept/electric-guitars/ibanez-az-roasted-maple-neck-seymour-duncan-pups-gotoh-machine-heads-deep-espresso-burst-finish-az242bc-det

First impressions were that it seems well made. The neck is substantial, and not thin, but still comfortable. All the sounds were good and the in-between ones for a HH with a 5-way were decent but not as strong as on Suhrs (I think Suhr get their in-between or coil-tapped sounds on twin humbucker guitars absolutely right with the just the right degree of spank, volume and body).

The flip switch for additional sounds was ok but I wasn't wowed by the sounds it allowed but the overall sound of the guitar and pickups were good and it was nice guitar to play.

I'm looking forward to trying a HSS model and a Prestige model to see if there's any difference and what another £700 brings to the table.

In comparison to the other 2 guitars I tried today, which were more expensive and included a roasted neck EBMM Luke III HSS and a used Suhr HSH (a bit G.Govan-y but plain, no coil-tap, tremol-no with quite a few dings) it held up pretty well but I think the Suhr was the best player and sounding guitar from the lot. However, I think the AZs will cause a bit of a stir and sell well.

Kebabkid

I just tried my second one of these  - Ibanez Premium (made in Indonesia) AZ224F in Brown Topaz Burst and a HSS as opposed to the HH I tried and mentioned above. Once again, I had my pedal board with me and went into a Deluxe Reverb.

Good player and looker and the sounds were decent and useable but I'm still not convinced of the cleans on the single coils here and they're definitely different (dark, harder and middly) in comparison to say, regular Fender or CS pickups or Suhr offerings, although I find the Suhr V60LPs and MLs can be a little like that but they still have some bounce and snap. The additional switch does add some interesting and useable tones (one was a bit Tele-ish).

The Trem was good and smooth and things stayed in tune although the arm seems a tad long, but it all worked really well. I think this one was strung with 10s and they felt good and bending was still easy.

Apart from the pickups (propriety Seymour Duncan Hyperions), the only other thing I didn't like was the Volume taper - it's one of those all or nothings when cleaning up a sound and the guitar sounds dull when rolled back but all that can be easily remedied for a few quid.

Given some of the top end appointments, it's probably worth its £1,069 price tag (it comes with an Ibanez semi-hard case) and I've played some Suhr Classic Pros that weren't as good as this one, yet they cost nearly double and I think that's its closest rival, based on the spec BUT it does feel cheap-ish.

As they've started coming into the shops, I'd be interested to see if anyone else has tried them and what their thoughts are on them and it will still be interesting to see how they compare to the Prestige models and if the extra £700 is justified.

After my initial thoughts when they were launched at NAMM, I can't help thinking that Suhr have nothing to worry about.

Limehouse_Blues

I have one of the limited koa topped Prestiges coming my way next week. Looking forward to getting my hands on it and I'll post a review as soon as I can.

Spec wise I think these are the most interesting Ibanez guitars in a while. I had a JS a few years ago which I really liked - the Strat like neck on it was far preferable to the Wizards. However, the Floyd trem was wasted on me and whenever I played my JS it felt like I was sitting behind the wheel of a Ferrari without really knowing how to drive it properly.

By contrast, after the JS, playing a regular Tele or Les Paul felt like a Land Rover. I'm hoping the AZ will sit somewhere in between Lambo and Land Rover in terms of feel and playability. 

It's a shame it's taking so long for these guitars to hit the stores as there seems to be a lot of interest from players. Too bad about the colour choices as well, which I think are not that great. Sod's law that the only one that really floated my boat was the pricier koa one.

Limehouse_Blues

So my AZ arrived today. Fantastic guitar. Flawless construction and fretwork. Plays beautifully out of the box.

The neck really makes the guitar. Looks (smells!) and feels fantastic. Super fast. The profile is chunkier than a Wizard but perhaps a little less beefy than a JS (at least that's how it feels to me). I like it.

The pickups are great. Harmonics are easily conjured from the bridge HB and the neck is creamy. The coil tap is pretty handy too. This is no Strat but decent single coil sounds are definitely available.

Elwood

That looks amazing.

not_the_dj

Very nice. I really should try these, the specs look great. 

Limehouse_Blues

The roasted maple neck is really something. I'm not a fan of maple necks (this is only the second maple board guitar I've had since 1997) but this thing is gorgeous. Super, super smooth and a delight to play. 

The variety of tones available is impressive. This is a real Swiss army knife guitar and I think Ibanez have done well in releasing something that's going to appeal to a wide variety of players.

Picking up a guitar for the first time in 1991 and with Satch as my guitar hero while I was starting to learn, Ibanez is a brand that I associate with my youth. I remember going into Musical Exchanges in Brum in 93 / 94 and it wasn't the Fenders or Gibsons I was interested in, it was the fabulous multi coloured offerings from Ibanez.

Colour choice aside Ibanez have knocked it out of the park with the AZ and I reckon they're going to shift a lot of them.

MagicPigDetective

Has anyone else bought or tried an AZ? It would be good to hear your views. A year on and I’m still interested but have yet to see one in a shop. The espresso premium is down to £830. 

lysander

I saw a couple in a shop today, the ugly sunrise finish one was near £900, and the espresso one was around £1050 and one of the pickups wasn’t even screwed straight...
These weren’t the only disappointing guitars I saw / tried, but I feel they got either the price or the QC wrong or both on these models.