Ultimate Beginner Guitars? (Ibanez AZES31 and 40)
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- Опубліковано 2 лип 2023
- Ibanez AZES31 and 40 (Ultimate Beginner Guitars?)
Today we're checking out two guitars by Ibanez, that have been called all sorts of things, including incredible and the ultimate beginner guitars. I've been asked to review these quite a lot, so here goes. It's the AZES31 and AZES40.
Enjoy!
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Ever try LTD guitars?
I like your reviews Elmo, no hype, no BS, just facts. Don't ever change man! 👍
Thanks :)
I've had mine on order for 5 months now. So many features, plus the smaller size and scale is good for an old player like me.
Your playing is intoxicating. Very Nice!
as always a good review elmo, thanks.
Thank you for this review! Very helpful.
So refreshing to see such an honest review! Thanks man!
My pleasure!
It is always great that you give a true honest review.
I appreciate that!
Thanks for the review Elmo! Always appreciate your help and inspiration and honest opinion. Cheers. 🙏✌️❤️
Thanks Rick!
I just got a Fender American Pro II Stratocaster in the Miami Blue color on a trade and it's beautiful. It has at least 6 high frets so this Ibanez having only 3 and is playable is pretty damn impressive. The Fender for $1700 new should be perfect in every way and they never are until I fix them myself. My Eart Strats still have the best fretwork out of the box I've ever seen and I should mention the fretwork on my Schecter Nick Johnston Strat is fantastic. Nice review dude I may have to get one of those as a throw around.
Elmo , love your reviews and playing . I was going to get the 31 but decided on the Sire s3 sss for a little more . Great choice ! Thank you for your honest reviews . Very helpful .
Glad you like them!
Always a great and honest review!
Thanks!
Great review. I was considering buying one of the Azes to keep a guitar at my mother-in-laws house for when I visit. Gives me the excuse, "gotta practice!" but honestly I think the Sire S3 kicks the Azes butt. Always a pleasure to watch Elmo!
Yeah, I prefer the Sire.
I have the 31 and it’s actually insane how good the pickups sound. They’re extremely chimey, and the series pickup position allows for a glorious distorted sound
Well done, appreciated the honesty and mythbusting :) thank you
My pleasure!
Thanks for the review, you’e saved me a few hundred bucks.
Thank you very much for that review🙂
My pleasure 😊
I was looking at these for a bit, but once I discovered -through pedals - more knobs mean less focus I moved on. Thanks for a solid review Elmo!
Rob
No problem!
I’ve got the same blue AZES40 and i love it. That toggle switch is awesome and because of that, I’m going to mod a couple of squier strats i have as well as an actual Fender strat when i get it later this year.
Cheers from NZ 😎🎸🤘
Cool 😊
@@MrPolevaulter i haven’t had any tuning issues as I don’t do the dive bombs on trems like these as i have Solar guitars with FRs and my Ibanez Pia for stuff like that.
It’s a good versatile guitar and as I’ve been playing for nearly 50 years I just love the options that toggle switch gives you especially being an HSS guitar. Cheers
I had the opportunity to test and play a bit those both guitars AZES 31 and 40 at the shop. I was very pleasanty impressed. In a word, I would say: very playable guitars. Also very good quality build, more than decent action out of the box, perfect intonation. Regarding the sound of the pickups, I would say functional, nothing special. But hey, we are dealing with budget (300 EUR) guitars ! Overall, my opinion is that those Ibanez are one of the best options you can have within this price range.
Fair enough.
hi elmo, indonesian here! you got my subscriptions . thx for the review
Thank you :)
Real reviews Thanks!
You are correct, i am a beginner myself. The biggest challenge is learning new chords, strumming patterns, getting faster, hitting those notes correctly every time, getting that stretch between fingers, bar chords....in a nutshell play, play, play and play some more, always aim for a small new challenge etc. Stick with the budget friendly instrument and amp, after 1.5 - 2 years then you may look for a "proper" instrument. It is very temping to buy another guitar.....but you need to tell yourself, that the new instrument will NOT speed up your progress or make you better.
Spot on.
So this is the switch that the aftermarket loaded pickguards are trying to imitate, I didn't know what it was called.
Thanks for the sound demo :)
Cheers!
great review, i agree.. beginner need a simple syatem, as a beginner in electric guitar i bought my self a cort x250 with licensed floyd rose.. well i learn alot on setting it, it didn't feel as scary or stressfull as people used to say.. all u need is the right knowledge. it's been 3 years old now.. and i still wiggle the whammy and i love it.. 🙏 but really i want to have another guitar, maybe a hardtail
Cheers!
Great review. I liked your comment regarding the unnecessary multiple switching options being a distraction for beginners. I’d take it a step further and say that applies to experienced players as well. Sure, a variety of choices are nice. But in the end I think most people find the one or two tones they like, and stick with them.
Probably true for most.
Haha love your channel: said it before! But realllyyy looking forward seeing you reviewing Charvel (San Dimas) guitars! My fav brand, and I tried a lot, too! Cheers!
Thanks :)
Thank you so much for sharing!
Cheers 😊
Thank you, for your honesty.
Greetings
My pleasure!
Great job as usual...
I appreciate that
I’ve been looking for a HSS strat style guitar, and your reviews are very helpful.
Now I’m between the Ibanez AZES40 and the Cort G line (g250, g260 or g280).
Which one have you picked up?
fantastic video as always.. can you also review some nylon string guitars too.. Love to see some reviews of that too
Would be interesting, but it's not really my area of expertise.
I recommend Alvaro guitars, Spanish guitars , made in Spain as they should be, I have one of their lower range lefty models ,it was 260 euro new 3 years ago and I am still enjoying the quality of sound.
So Very Cool, Thankyou. I do not own any Ibanez Electric Guitars but own an Ibanez Artwood Acoustic Guitar and it is SO Amazing. Always looking at the low level Ibanez Electrics on "Marketplace' but have missed the ones at My price point (I really don't need any more strat style guitars lol). Greatest T-Shirt EVER, Thankyou, had a well needed Good Laugh. Cheers from Australia
Cheers 😊
I have the single coil version with the hard tail bridge that I use for my play-at-home axe and it’s a nice playing guitar. The only thing I don’t like is the jatoba fretboard feels dry even after using fretboard conditioner. But all in all I like it and would even use it as a backup to the PRS CE24 at a gig.
Hey Elmo! Absolutely love your content and it would be a joy if you could review the shecter demon 6 im considering buying one.
Possibly at some point, although I have no plans to do so atm. Sorry.
I have had the same flesh color hard tail version featured in this video; Ibanez calls it Ivory, but looks kind of orangish pink to me.
I was looking for a squire tele, to mod, and the Ibanez caught my eye because it had birds eye all over the neck. It also had better initial setup than any of the squires at the shop; all fresh out of the boxes.
I spent a while going over the guitar, tightening things, polish the frets, and basic setup. Now it probably doesn’t need any upgrades
It stays in tune, sounds great, and plays really well. I don’t know if it’s as good as a $1200 guitar, but maybe it will be after a few more years of breaking in.
I will still eventually upgrade parts and pickups, but I’m in no hurry. The bridge saddles are awesome!
Cool 😊
I own an Ibanez AZ2204B Prestige which in my 38 years of playing I have never had such a perfect guitar, and my second electric guitar was a Fender American Strat with Lace Sensor pick ups just like Clapton played which the record label I was on back in 1991 gave me for free, "Ah, the good old days". I also have the Ibanez AZ2204N Prestige which has a different type of trem system and lower output pick ups, then I bought the Ibanez AZES31 and it is AMAZING Elmo. I paid 231 euros with a discount and I could gig with it for 6 months no problem. Take care.
Cool 😊
Happy 60th birthday to Yngwie! How about a tribute video, Elmo?
I agree. I guess this switching system makes sense to more experience musicians. It gives option paralysis to a beginner.
Indeed.
"Option paralysis". Great way of putting it. I've been "playing" for about 50 years. I get "option paralysis" every time I walk in to a music store.
Best review I’ve seen for this guitar. I decided to subscribe to this channel. Playing clean without any effects or distortion is what I look for on these videos. I do love metal but I play jazz and blues.
Thank you :)
Nice... But for the same price or less go for an used Cort G260 from 2010-20122 (wilkinson trem, tusq nut and very good Duncan designed pickups) Happy new year!
Well done Elmo. I have a AZES31, bought to compare against the Silver Sky SE. I think the problem is the variability, as mine turned out rivaling the SE, except for the bridge, which has done everything funny such cheap things can, including squeaking. I commend Ibanez for making the line, though I suspect they should have perhaps focused on a HSS hardtail and no fancy switches. Spend the extra on process/QC. Or perhaps this is a bit redundant to the GIOs.
Cheers 😊
Hi Elmo
Nice video,I wanted to ask you between the cort g250 and azes40 and yamaha pac112j,which one is better in general?
And BTW please make a review of Yamaha RGX121Z
Thanks
After the insane hype, I sat down to play with the HSS model at my local music store. I agree with Elmo 100%. I just don’t know who these guitars are for. The guitar I played was very buzzy too and the switching system is a bad idea for beginners (even though it’s cool)
The hype has been quite something.
Always worth my time watching....thank u brother...
Those reviews are overrated though....anyone who think these will matches those 5x pricing guitar must be delusional.
Yes , the tone might be better, yes better, the playability can be set up to match. But the moment you pick up and feels the guitar, you can instantly tell the differences.
The solidness of the guitar body and neck is obvious.
Ps: yes i m a cork sniffer and i can't shred.
Cheers!
I have 2 of the Japanese AZ models and I rarely ever use the dynamax switch. I was really curious about the single coil AZ to have a cheap strat type guitar that feels familiar… thanks for the review.
Sell one and buy a Vintage reissued Legacy V6 : the difference between the AZ and AZES is mainly the price , the AZ have a better sound with their Seymour Duncans mostly , than the AZES , but it's not a 1500$ difference , there's a shootout between them both and the AZES have a better distorsion if my memory is correct ...
The Vintage is i think easily on par with the AZ and you can get one at 290 euros , they cost around 350/400 euros , it depends on the color .....
But do what you want lol , it's just a comm and what i think ....
The Vintage is closest to a strat than both the AZES or AZ ( very Sire S3 S7 at the sound level ) , if you get a really good one you gonna be surprised ....
Cheers!
Greetings, and thanks for all your honest videos. Could you recommend an Ibanez with a wizard neck that has a better floating type tremolo. Finding it hard to pin down what to buy. Can even raise my budget by 25 percent approx if needed. Edit: Ideally one that at least has a medium level Elmo stamp of approval.
Sorry, I'm not really sure what to recommend. Haven't tried too many of those.
@@MrPolevaulter Sure, thanks anyway.
Hey Elmo, great review! I was thinking of picking up a guitar in the under 300 range, and where I live, these are just a little more than that. Would you think they are worth spending that little extra for, or should I just go for the GRX120SP, GRG121SP, GRX70QA, or something along those lines which is a bit cheaper? Thank you!
Not sure tbh. Whatever you do, try before you buy.
@@MrPolevaulter update: went for the GRG121SP-BMC, as far as my skill goes, amazing guitar, 24 frets, beautiful paint job, plays very smooth, just that the fretboard radius is a little on the higher side, so personally bar chords and such take a little more out of the left hand. All in all amazing guitar, would definitely recommend to anyone else looking!
Thank you so much for doing this. I was thinking about getting the azes40. Always appreciate your honest opinion!
Glad to be of help.
Love your vids. Would you take one of these over a HB fusion 3 hsh? Same kinda money in the UK
Thanks! The HB was better imo.
Was Tomo Fujita one of these guitars designers!?
Of course he praised them. Nice to hear honest reviews not advertising speeches 😁👍.
He worked on it. But it's just a more affordable AZ, with a 25" neck.
I had one. It was the worst guitar I ever had.
I just receive an other one today and it's better. But not the amazing piece of gear UA-camrs says.
@@AstralBayo What was the problem?
@@kipponi it an overpriced piece of wood. Not a bad guitar. But more in the Squier Bullet/Affinity quality and feel range. 300 for that is too much.
I have way more better guitar in this price range.
@@AstralBayowhich guitar in this price range can you reccomend?
@@Lukasz531 you better have to find a second hand Sire S3 or S7 if you can add a bit more. WAYYYY better guitars.
Also... Eart SSS. Impressive. And also WAY better than the Ibanez.
Since they are nearly the same price, did you prefer the Ibanez AZ or the Sire S7? And why? I know it's entirely subjective, but being a strat guy myself I'd be interested in your opinion. Or is there another budget strat you would choose?
I haven't tried the S7. I tried the S3, and it was way better. Everything was just a step up from the AZES.
The s7 is double the price of the az in Australia 550 vs 1200 is it worth the extra $$ Elmo?
@@kanetrain979 Don't know. Haven't tried the S7.
I'm curious how you would compare these to the Jem Jr you reviewed a while back. Looking at the AZES close up pics you showed, I thought the build quality/finishing on these was noticeably inferior with a lot of rough looking edges etc.
Although I wouldn't (necessarily) recommend a guitar with a double locking tremolo for a beginner, it can be done. My first electric had a DL Trem and, after a bit of a learning curve, I've never looked back.
I'd be more inclined to buy a mildy used Jem Jr for approx. the same money as an AZES 🤘
Yeah, the Jem JR is much better imo.
Always thankful for your honest review Elmo.. I have played one from that series and it was also Good minus? keep'm coming
Thanks, will do!
Honestly , I'm at the moment buying budget guitar , and I've tried like a descent number of them soo far. And I can tell you that I like Ibanez AZES best soo far between all of those which I've tried.
Just to give you update , I tried few Strats lately, one of them being Squier 40th Anniversary .. It costs 500 € , compared to Ibanez 31 which is 300€ .. Squier is a great guitar, really great guitar actually ... But not sure if it is worth 200€ more than AZES , cause AZES for 300 € is good and solid instrument. So yeah , going for Ibanez. But for anyone else - try before you buy as always, and check all options.
Thanks for being honest on UA-cam
I have the hardtail version, mine has some cosmetic issue but plays nicely, I actually like the pickups and sound options, IMHO these are good value for money, and one of the few hardtail strat options out there. Not great but good guitars.
Cool bananas 😊
Hey, I made a comment days ago on Facebook. Glad you tried it.
I already had one, when they announced it. It was the worst guitar I ever had... But I wanted to try an other one (because I just love the way it looks) and I receive the same ivory SSS today !
It's WAY better. But is it incredible ? No. It makes me miss my Eart even more. Haha
But it also makes me open my eyes about my more expensive guitars (my Fender Player and SE Silver Sky) which are better but not WAY better. Maybe I had to find some better alternatives at the same price range 800-1000€ (any idea* ?).
Great video btw ! Love your work.
*I already have a Schecter Nick Johnston.
Maybe a Sire S7 or a second hand Fender 70's ?
Try an ESP/LTD man and if you got the money the E-2 lineup is the best quality to price ratio
Cheers!
I was hoping these would be good enough as a Gig Backup or Take to a Jam guitar. There are a lot of guitars in this price range. No GAS for me today.
Hey man, would you say these ones have a really slim neck? - that’s what I’m looking for in a strat style :)
At this point, I'm glad to hear these were just "ok instruments, good for the money".. I have my first guitar on order, a Pacifica 112V.. :D
I just started my guitar journey at 29 years old, 3 months ago. Been such a blast, but honestly I'm a sucker for hobbies and gear so I already have my 3rd guitar on the way. If anything, I'd say it's pointless. Skills make almost any guitar sound good, sadly guitars don't come with skill. But at least all my guitars are vastly different from others. I hope you enjoy and stick with guitar, I recommend learning some scales, chord shapes and triads right off the bat. They help you more than you think.
How is the Yamaha Pacifica 112V now? Is it true that it hurts when you strum?
Elmo...Have you ever tried out a Kiesel Guitar?? Just curious cause I have 2 A headless Osiris and A Custom Delos that are both AmAZING! Maybe I could ship one to you for a review??? Of course it needs to come back! ;) -Scott
Haven't tried one, no. You can email me at elmojk@elmojk.com
Away great thank you 😊
You’re welcome 😊
What can you tell us about the tuners? Are those massive or the guitar is out of tone frequently?
I reckon 9 out of 10 budget guitars are all made in the same massive Cort factory but I could be wrong, they mostly sound the same to me.😂
Entertaining in the extreme as always...so the sss has a stacked single coil simulator..or emulator? Fascinating but no room here any more for even a ukelele 🎸 😢
Cheers!
I just bought mine yesterday. It has a bunch of fret sprouts. I feel weird taking it back though got it from Guitar Center
So should I buy it or do you recommend any other guitar in similar price?
Yo escuché que la Ibáñez tiene problemas de trasteo y el alma...también calibrar el puente. Es cierto?? Fuera de eso suena muy bien. Gracias por el video.
Hace un año q tengo la AZes40 y hasta ahora ningún problema.
on ihanaa tuntea sinut rakas Elmoooo
Elmo, here in my country (Brazil) these guitars are priced as expensive. So, in that range, they're as good as any other guitar at the same range. Guitars that cost over 1000 dollars around here are a fortune, and not many guitarists play them. For our reality, these Ibanez azes are not beginner guitars at all.
I understand.
Mano, peguei essa guitarra para aprender, a azes40, só que peguei fora do país, como sou canhoto as opções são poucas, pelo preço que paguei achei que valeu a pena, saiu cerca de 280 dólares, e as opções medianas pra canhoto no brasil tão em torno de 2500 reais
You must be looking at my web searches. I have been looking at these because I want to get a strat sound, but I don't like the 25.5" scale length, I'm more comfortable with 24.75". And it's hard to find just a strat at 25", prs are all just splits. And at 24.75" with single coils you can tell the difference. I don't know, I was hoping 25" would be better. I used to play a strat, but went all experimental with some new guitars and found my perfect size is a Toronado, I like the fender c shapeneck, and it's a reduced scale. Actually, I found the offsets are easier to play because the neck is higher. While I'm rambling, I found that jazzmasters with 24.75" conversion necks are probably the most comfortable, but a jazzmaster with 25.5 feels okay compared to a strat. It's all about the offset. You'll notice the strat leg countour lines up with the middle pickup, the jazzmaster lines up with the back pickup, and the Toronado lines up somewhere between. PRS released their offsets, but the leg countour position has hardly moved from before. As you can probably tell, I've spent too much time on this. Anyways, I can see these guitars are pretty good, but can't really say they have that strat sound, so thanks for your review. Sorry for the essay, and no, I haven't been drinking.
Haha 🤣 I've been spying 😀
Tje shop here only has in black. No my type. Wating for the next post. Maybe they arriva in blu
I had the yellow azes31 and I really loved it for my beginning...but I had to admit that my stratocaster sounded much better. So I have sold it again, because I thought about exchanging pickup..and then I thought..now..maybe just sell it. :) For me it had to much options for the sounds... Imho now: for a starter: less is more. The handshake was better than with my strat and my tele now..but well..they still sound better. Would I recommend it? Yes for a starter.. And the humbucker version should come with a hardtail, i guess.
👍
Hello I own two Yamaha Pacifica’s 112 xj and 112v both really nice . Are they better than the 2 Ibanez guitars on here . Thanks. Neal in the UK
Not sure tbh. I've had mixed experiences with Pacificas.
I LOVE U ELMO
Aww :)
Took me a minute to hear Summer Song in there
What colour is it?
Have jou try Fender Richi Blackmoor Strat ,mexico?
Wonderfol guitar😊
Haven't tried it.
how much for the blue one.
Im a beginner and trying to find the best option for my tight budget. Would you recommend this or the Squier Bullet Telecaster? Or is there something else you'd suggest much more? thank you in advance.
The Yamaha Pacifica 112 is always a good option for a beginner´s guitar.
Too funny! Thanks Elmo!
Glad you enjoyed it!
As long as you're not sure what to look for in a guitar, i would advise any beginner to buy a guitar in a store in the company of an experienced player. If that is not possible: Get a Pacifica.
You can't go wrong with a Pacifica for your first guitar, I would almost prefer it over this Ibanez with a PAC012/100 Series which sits around the $300 price point.
Is the tuning stable after using tremolo?i use the tremolo frequently..i am thingking of getting it…
I think I tried the trem in the video.
totally off topic, but great shirt! lol
Haha 🤣 Thanks! 😊
Between AZES 40, GRX 40 and Cort G250, which one do you prefer?
Not sure. Maybe Cort or GRX40. Been a while since I tried them.
This is Marshall sv20 ? You do many test of guitars on this Amp ? Im right
Marshall 1987x.
Between this and a Fender Player Strat, what would you recommend?
Fender
Like the 40, but I don't want a trem. Seems a lot of HSS Strats arent hardtails
I think these are not just for beginners, but also intermediate to advanced players. I think Ibanez realized putting something at this price bracket needs more stuff to compete and differentiate vs other companies. On the other hand, Ibanez beginner guitars are really really basic lol.
Dows it have a trem system?
Please review the donner dst 400 next
I have it waiting to be reviewed.
Looking forwarrrd nowww😂
does anyone know how to say his last name
Keep up the honest reviews man way too many posers pushing crap gear.
Thanks, will do!
That sss is better for strat sounds, the hss i like is more in your face!
The tremolo bride is super stiff on my azes40..😔
Sorry to hear.
Having tried a few of the most recent guitars from Ibanez i have found them to be ok but not good enough to make me want one, Sire and the Harley Benton fusion models offer better guitars for similar outlay. Without a full set-up any guitar in this price range will not be suitable for a beginner.
Yeah, HB and Sire make some nice stuff.
Yeah I think my best beginner guitar is my single p90 epiphone Coronet. Only tone and volume to fiddle with. Everything else must come from my fingers. (Which are old and unpractised, so it’s not great)
👍
I enjoy my AZES31 and im no beginner. But im a shorter scale than Fender kind of guy, and flatter radius kind of guy so for some reason its a guitar that i have been noodling on allot for some reason. I like it, and for around 3000 swedish kronor you can't go wrong with it i think.
Well, Elmo, art cannot but objects can be quantified. Tell me which guitar under 300 euros, it has to be less than 300 euros that you've played that is better than the ES series by Ibanez? I don't know but I've owned dozens and dozens and dozens of guitars over almost 4 decades of all prices and I personally have difficulty finding a better guitar under 300...but maybe that's just me.
Eart Strat (the one they don't make anymore), Jet JS300, and Cort G110 off the top of my head.
@@MrPolevaulter Thanks a lot Elmo. I had a Cort a while back that I bought from Thomann it cost me circa 599 euros. It was considered one of the expensive models but as soon as I set it up and changed the strings to 11-52 which is what I normally use but on some guitars I put 10-46. It sounded horrible so I changed the strings again to 10-46 and it was just a bad guitar, I sent it back. But maybe the cheap models are better quality. Take care, Mike from Lisbon.
Beginners have to find out what sound they like so having a guitar that provides both single coil and humbucker sounds at once serves that purpose. And if one extra switch is too much for their little mind, they should have bought a Telecaster anyway.
Yes, one can waste time with multiple guitars. Will coil splitting on a humbucker guitar provide about the same thing as these guitars had, but it reverse? Some of us beginners even wonder about going to the keyboard as the many sounds offered are tempting. Good review - A rating of good from Elmo means good enough for many of us.
@@daniellarson3068 Coil splits ae generally weak when in single coil mode.
Having a guitar with a bucker in the bridge position will not give a full idea of how a humbucker sounds, especially in any HSS.
The demeaning omment by the guy above is just stupid. "shoulda bought a telecaster..."
@@popsfereal3192 I was scratching my head when I read this. Elmo has such good English. He has virtually no Finn accent. Here I grew up knowing little more than English and I run into this word "omment." Elmo would know. I looked up the definition of "omment." I was getting a little ashamed. I was praised in school for my vocabulary. It finally hit me "Comment," not "Omment." I was relieved. I was as stupid as the guy who made the comment above about buying a telecaster. Thanks.