I was at the local guitar shop and they had an Ibanez S-Series for like $950, now I've always hated Ibanez guitar but I never got a chance to try a higher class model out, so I gave it a chance.

Holy shit, this guitar SHREDS. I was only plugged into a Vavlestate head through a cab since JCMs with teh volume at 1 sound worse than anything. The action was set up perfectly, perfect action with the right amount of string tension so that its easy to bend but not easy enough to accidently bend when playing fast. The Neck was very nice, it wasnt a wizard so I didnt feel like I was holding a knife. Overall I was very impressed, worth $1000? Not at all, I payed $250 more a Jackson USA Soloist that totals destroys it, but I was VERY surprised that Ibanez made a guitar I really liked. Price wasnt right though.

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Yeah, theyre cool. BLS hates them though.

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Ibanez? good guitars?

yeah i like 'em.really confortable to play.

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ibanex makes TONS of good guitars.


since when did ibanez make an s series without a wizard style neck?

i personally think wizard style necks are the most comfortable things ever.

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LOL, bro. i love you and all, but you SUCK at this whole "sarcasm" thing.

I've played wizards before and this wasnt one.

And this is the only Ibanez I've played that I would ever think about buying, but just not for $950.

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despite the quality of the S series, the RG series kills them in my opinion.

I've played several RGs and they felt cheap and cheesey.

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you got a us jackson for 250? fuck man, thats like the deal of the century.

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weird... i feel the opposite, i like the series alot, but the rg's just have more mojo or something imo.

but comparing the feel and tone of an s series to an rg it's like comparing a gibby les paul to a parker fly... both sweet but totally different.


um... i wasnt being sarcastic. i own two ibanez guitars, an rg570 and a pgm30... both are top notch instruments. they sound and feel great.

hopefully soon i'll be buying an ibanez artist series, those things are fucking sweet.

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you played the wrong versions hehe.

S's don't have great sustain, mostly 22 frets and bah. their trems are horrible IMO.

they play light like rg's and theyre not heavy and shit, thats cool, so is the neck, but overall, I'de take an RG over an S any day of the week.

if you can get a usa made soloist for 1150... thats crazy, they're insanely expensive over here. (but fuck that, I've got my custom Ran beeing build right now, hah!)

sure do...

waste of wood IMO.

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I payed eitehr 1150 or 1250 for the USA soloist. It was fro musicians friends a few years ago before Fender bought them and it was on sale.

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My 2620QM rips the S-Series to shreds....


I have to stop saying that, but I cant!!!

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haha, i know. i meant i was being sarcastic with my first post.

oh, i'm an idiot.... i thought you were saying i must be being sarcastic... er... yeh... go ibanez.

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i fucking love ibanez s series guitars. Really comfortable to play, the body shapes just right and the neck is fucking fine and smooth, its made even nicer by the white binding. The only problem is they dont have much sustain but theres ways around that.

Anyways, I was wondering whether you (DEAD) played the SA series guitars by ibanez and not the S series? because all S series guitars have wizard or wizard 2 necks whilst the SA series doesnt, instead it has a slightly thicker neck.

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Jezus, thats like half of what they'de cost over here, I envy you, they're great guitars. they don't change hands used here much either.

you damn euro dudes get raped on american stuff... but at least you fucks have engl,framus,h&k,ect... at reasonable prices too.

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it all balances out in the end... they get framus guitars for cheap, and we get jacksons.

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give me a framus over a jackson

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gimme a Ran over both

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Jacksons and ibanez are my favorite brands, even with the presence of ran.

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hell yeah. but I really can't tell untill I get mine in march! mine is a mix of a soloist, esp mh, kramer stagemaster, les paul and something else, haha!

I've tried allmost every Framus guitar and wasn't impressed at all, the body feels weird and the balance was shit, the necks are kinda what fucks up the balance I think. they're pretty solid guitars on the other hand, but I didn't like them too much. they aren't fast players IMO.

I'de rather get a jackson usa soloist but thats just a matter of personal preference

that sounds like it'll be one bitchin guitar...


apples and oranges, i've only played one framus guitar and i'm not even sure of the name of it... not a thin neck shred guitar at all like my ibanez's or a jackson soloist, but more of a huge thick tone guitar... the sound was amazing no matter what i'd plug it into.

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true, thats what they have 'tone' and they are pretty huge too, as in playability and such, but if you're into that, you'de probably love it.

they do have a bunch of models, Its kind of a portable les paul, so to speak.

Herman from DragonForce uses pre-ZR S-Series guitars and wants to upgrade to the ZR trem, saying it's the best trem he's ever played with.

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cool, at least some1 agrees with me saying their good, although it doesnt really matter for herman lee, because he could probly do some good shit with a crappy bigsby trem

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ZR trems are horrible..

fucking hate those things

GAH!

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yeah, dragonforce is pretty funny though.

but ZR trems are horrible, Kahlers and OFR's definetly own their asses.

Well, Herman has some leet skills. He's no beginner. He would know what he's talking about. Maybe it's just different playing styles that result in such differing opinions.

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why does everyone hate the zr trems so much?

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Cause ive been spoiled with my Kahler and Edge Lo Pro's..

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No, just try them yourself and find out.

its basically the reason why I never bought an S series ibanez. our other guitarist has an S (SOL finish) old ass prestige but it has a shotty trem too.

The s-series is great!!!! I own a S470SOL from 2001 with a Lo-TRS trem, i think.
I never had any problems with that guitar. I first thought it has not that much sustain. But that's wrong!!! I played it at the last gig with an ENGL Blackmore and i was really amazed.
I had just once problems with the trem, not really the trem. I had new strings. Then we went from from a really cold backstage area onto a fucking hot stage. I think every guitar will have the same problems. I know, that was a bad idea!!!
The only problem is the wizardII-neck. You can't use it like an axe. You have to be careful! But i know about this problem, so this isn't a huge thing for me.

BTW I hear a lot of people mourn about Floyd Rose-trems, but i don't know why! Can someone tell me what's so bad about these trems?

Another BTW That's some close review of my guitar. Well, it's in german, but you can see, how nice this guitar looks like.

Attached Files

Ibanez-s.pdf (54.5 KB, 439 views)

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Floyd Rose trems are great....

ZR trems arent, please dont get them mix up Poldi

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What the hell are ZR trems then?

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i'm not quite sure what you're trying to say....

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Crap!




I think he means their thin... dangerously thin

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haha our other guitarist has exactly that setup, including the ritchie blackmore, funny

but guitars aren't meant to be used as an axe you silly german, they're made for wicked fast shredding \m/

I mean you can't really jump across the stage with that neck. It's really dangerously thin. You just need to give some pressure onto the head and it sounds like a dive-bomb. So basically i've got two Floyd-Rose-system in my guitar.


I just played the ENGL Blackmore, but i don't own it. Although i'd really appreciate to own one.

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that's a load of crap... they arent THAT thin... i own two ibanez's and have played a couple dozen more, non of them are anything like that..
i can get pretty wild sometimes and never worry about snapping it, and my rg570's wizard neck is SANDED DOWN too.

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Surely i exaggerated a bit.
But with that neck and the thin s-series-body it bends more than other guitars. But i can handle this.

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all guitars will bow at the neck pretty easily... to much and you'll crack it, trust me... but it's cool on a low rung out palm muted chug then bend the neck forward and back...

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Better get that sealed soon

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why? i like the feel of it like that.... just sanded wood... it's been like that for a couple years....

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Its maple, the sweat in your hands will litterally rot the wood.

From Warmoth.com

"We understand the attraction of raw or lightly oiled necks. They feel fast and are not sticky. Unfortunately, they are much more susceptible to moisture related warping and twisting. Our experience is that hard finished necks seldom warp. Less than 1 out of 200 (0.5%) are returned for warpage. Raw or oiled necks don't fare as well. About 10% are rendered useless from the torture. The more acidic your perspiration, the higher the odds are against you.

If you must play a raw neck, that's cool; it's ok. A neck is just a tool. Just be aware of the risk. If yours does the pretzel act, we don't want to hear about it."

even Tung Oil would be sufficient, nice and smooth but it provides some form of protection.. just have to reapply it every 6 or so months.

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meh, it's fine now and probably and has been/will be for a while... if it rots away or something i'll just buy another, it's a bolt on.
i like the feel of it...

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