Ibanez AZ 2402 - An honest review
Вставка
- Опубліковано 30 вер 2024
- Here's my review of the AZ 2402! This is my personal opinion on these models, they are fun, but come with problems!
FOLLOW WHAT I DO!
► Instagram - / ibanezguy88
► Facebook- - / ibanezguy88
► Twitter ------ / ibanezguy88
John peppucci
poopoochi
Jump pucci
He literally changed the specs of the guitar and then said it sucks...I own one and literally everyone who listens to me play adores it. The sound of the Hyperions are amazing and the tuning is damn near perfect. This man is too picky....all that and he pulls a pepooocci card smh
That John Petpoocci guy plays ace but he sure smells funny
Honest review my ass....if the review was honest it would be with the stock pickups. Pickups are the major element of sound in electric guitars. Who cares if you are a Dimarzio player? We care for a review of the guitar that we can buy...
maybe we are not buying those AZs after watching an honest review that shows up all their tuning stability issues. I don't care about pickups if the guitar cannot keep in tune by itself.
Has 20 of the same guitar,tries something different, and then doesn’t like it. What a surprise.
And ? When it's shit, you can say it.
Shitty bridge, shitty pickups, shitty overounded headstock,...
I would 100% prefer a HS version than the useless HSS config.
They have a long relationship with Larry Dimarzio, they should come up with something better with him. Not the Suhr direction, with tasteless "cut through the mix" sound. Can't blame all of that on the pickup but...
And stop bringing that volume knob closer to the strings FFS Ibanez !!!
If only the reasons why he didn't like it had anything to do with any kind of comparison with those 20 guitars
@@mms8111 first thing I thought when I saw the Suhr Modern is that it was an Ibanez rip-off. Like an RG and a roadstar. Of course then I thought it was funny when Ibanez is accused of copying them now.
But yes - the volume knob can be 5 inches farther away and nobody has a hard time with it. Do so many people do "volume swells" we we need the knob to ride the strings?
Lastly - AZ is most comfortable neck. I have a 17mm super wizard HP and that thing is great, but i played my AZ for 4 hours w zero cramps or discomfort.
@@mms8111 the volume knob part is so relatable what is wrong with companies, who thought that's a good idea? I have a Cort superstrat and the volume isn't annoying at all but I don't understand why strat knobs are so crowded in one place, I can't switch pickups without possibly touching the oversensitive tone knob or volume pot, no issues at all on my Les Paul
@@mms8111 although it’s your opinion to not like AZ. It’s also they’re opinion to think it’s ridiculous to have 20 Ibanez Jems.
Well, clearly biased in favor of double locking RG style guitars. I would argue that the prestige AZ is one of the best products Ibanez has developed in a LONG time.
I'm seeing these issues mostly with players coming from RG models....maybe these players prefer a setup that is simply not compatible with the more vintage style of this guitar. A 12 inch radius does not allow very low action when bending above 17th. That's pretty much on every guitar. Also you cannot compare a floyd with a vintage trem, same thing. I guess the wrong people are buying the AZ, these guitars are for strat players and not for RG players in my opinion. Think blues and rock, not metal and shred.
Agreed but tuning stability, even when not using the bridge for vibrato, is kinda poor and I feel that's a fundamental function of a guitar. Then again you could argue that RG players, like myself, have been spoiled for their entire lives by rock solid tuning stability, and you could be right, my hope would be that Ibanez would make tuning stability a priority for all types of players and styles.
Even when not bending the AZ guitars or at least the ones i have played goes out of tune...maybe i have played bad pieces but it is just like that and i am a Strat guy.
That us unfounded scientifically it’s also relative. Strat owners say 12 inch is modern while you say it’s vintage, relative. I can setup a 7.5 inch radius to do bends in upper registers with low action. Guitarist need to go back to school or pickup a physics book, in the least learn from a schooled luthier not a tech.
@smug a good friend of mine bought a prestige model HH and since he bought we have set it up a lot of times still facing the same problem... even the once i tried in stores have the same problem. I don't know maybe did set it up the right... amazing Guitar no doubt
smug bridge being flush with body? Why do you think it adds to tuning stability. Just an FYI a floating trem , no matter what angle or how much is always 100% tension balanced between strings and springs. Think what would happen if the tension wasn't equal, seriously think on it then you will realize what I mean.
6:42 "John Pepucci" 😂
Honest review? With not the stock pickups? How strange 🤔
He is not arguing about how "bad" it sounds stock, though.
What part of that makes it dishonest?
I've been having the same tuning issues until I angled the bridge just ever so slightly on a "pulling" position...miraculously it worked...for some reason the trem doesn't like dead level angles
Bought it and love it, it covers a lot more than metal, I barely even use distortion, it’s got super clean cleans for a humbucker. Tremolo is perfect, color is perfect, neck is perfect. It’s Ibanez, they don’t mess around with quality control.
Yes indeed, I own a few guitars from different brands, all my ibanez guitars have the most stable quality, especially the necks, love them.
Are you f**king serious🤣
I played high end Ibanez guitars for 15 years. Though my guitars were solid, others I played were total trash and quality control was the issue, It was in 2000 and the same is true now. I’m not trying to bust your chops here but I’ve been doing this for 35 years and when I hear Ibanez has great quality control, I gotta laugh. Here’s one scenario I had. One of my favorites was my Ibanez jpm1 (the original) solid guitar. The black and white jpm, also solid. Fast forward to the jpm4 (I believe) It was supposed to be the same as the prior JPM with different colors but the thing felt like it was made of cardboard when it was supposed to be a prestige! High end guitars regardless of brand should not need a grind and polish among other issues I’ve experienced with Ibanez.
I didn’t intend writing a book here, BUT there’s a lot of great options for the money (unless you have thing for Ibanez) don’t get me wrong, if I didn’t like Ibanez at all I wouldn’t have clicked on the video🤪 Hopefully my little rant opens people up to other options ✌️🤘
@@slappywag7210 sorry to hear that, but i own 5 Ibanez guitars with no quality issue, i also have guitars from those big name brands, they are also great, but quality control wise, I would consider Ibanez as the best. I’m not sure if it’s a quality control issue or something else, the only real problem I had with ibanez is about one of their J Custom model, JCRG2103. It looked amazing on official web and I loved the the color so I asked my dealer to fine me one and so he did. I placed the order and was waiting for shipping. But I suddenly found some pics of this guitar taken by dealers in real life, they were all strangely showing an ugly and much pale blue rather than the nice green on official web, and the color name matched, and I think there isn’t different color schemes for this model. So I asked the dealer to get me a real picture of the guitar before shipping, it was pale blue, looked awful. Thank god, I was allowed to cancel the order with no cost. I’m still confused with this model, not sure if it’s QC problem or something else, but I still would like to own a top Ibanez J custom guitar in the future as I had great experience of my other 5 ibanez guitars.
@@slappywag7210 Obviously this guy has never heard of Ibanez Rules and Rich's treatment of their guitars.
@@shichen4805 Did you gig with them?
You’re in a drop d tuning with 9s on a non locking trem.
Put 10s on it and it will stay in tune. This guitar needs 10s.
@@fredriksvard2603 that’s not the case you just have to set it up right
@@fredriksvard2603 He's using D standard tuning with 9s, most guitars will not hold their tuning with this setup.
People, search a video on youtube called "Does the Ibanez AZ 's Tremolo stay in tune? (Video Test)"
You can see that there are zero tuning problems after heavy abuse of the tremolo.
I own a new AZ and I don't have tuning problems.
But I do bend the strings quite a bit when I change them. Lifting them aggressively with right hand and re-tuning multiple times repeating that. Also bending naturally on fretboard and doing the same process.
I was going to buy this model second hand here in Melbourne..
I took along a ten centimetre straight edge ruler and a 30 centimetre straight edge...plus a guitar tuner..
1. I placed the steaight edge ruler at various points on the fretboard and it was a disaster ...high frets all over the place....on different strings...it failed that test...
2. I tuned it up...did a coupe of dive bombs....out of tune...not played unless you re tune.
I thanked the seller for his time and left..
Very dissapointing...
Ibanez have fallen out with quality, a shame because they used to be one of the best brands
The cons is i can't afford one
unobtainability is the biggest con of all
AZs are not intended to have a low action as on the other models like RG or S series. The Radius of the neck is 305 instead of 400 mm so when you bend a string with a low action the string will buzz or choke because of the radius.
I get what you mean. I 've properly leveled the frets and they sit relatively low as far as "shred' action is concerned. As a final assembler at the ESP USA shop, all guitars we build also have a radius of 305. They can get as low as 1/ 32nd measuring at the 12th top and bottom with ease :)
I have the AZ Charcoal burst and find it is a great workhorse and ticks all the boxes for me. Obviously if you have spent most of your life using guitars with floyds and locking nuts then this may not be the guitar for you. Greeny on the wall is sweet btw.
If it's not a floyd just give me a hardtail
Surprised to know that the Prestige has bone nuts whereas the Premium comes with Graphtech PTFE impregnated nuts. You could try using a Graphtech TUSQ XL to see if your troubles disappear
@Ganjang gongjangjang Check out John Petrucci's signature model. It's a non locking floating trem based guitar (Musicman Majesty). No audible tuning issues there.
Il be honest tho , you have done amazing ibanez guitars which are created for full shred and whammy action..
The az2402 is not a one trick pony it is supposed to cover all genres ,
People who want a all rounder guitar dont want the double locking system , I wouldnt be using it enough to lose tuning
I had the same tuning issues-Ibanez promotes their oil "impregnated" bone nut, thinking that this nut will never bind. I was really irritated by the tuning instability, I almost returned the guitar, but someone told me about Big Bends nut Sauce-puting a dab in each slot really fixed the binding in the nut. I have no problems now with extreme trem use. It's my favorite trem system now, I never liked Floyds and locking nuts
I've been using Big Bends for 3 years now on every string change and it really does work on my American Start with a vintage style trem!
Are you wealthy?
Was the issue a high fret or the action being too low for a 12” radius? Sounds like you were only bending 1.5 steps before it choked out, which isn’t exactly aggressive on a 12” radius that high up the neck unless the strings are basically sitting on the frets. You can set up even a Strat with a 7.25” radius to do that without crazy high action.
The Gotoh isn’t going to be like a double-locking tremolo. You can do mild things with it and be fine (I think the regular 510 with solid saddles works better than the one Ibanez uses), but it’s not for aggressive use. The Wilkinson is closer to the original Floyd Rose which didn’t have fine tuners, except the string goes through the block with the Wilkinson.
Some additional ways to test and find causes for tuning instability:
Block the vibrato on both sides inside the cavity, do big bends. Also bend/push the strings above the nut. If this causes the guitar to go out of tune, the nut needs to be modified or replaced by a skilled luthier. Optimally the nut is cut for specific string gauges.
Of course if the bridge does not return to the same exact spot each time, this will cause the tuning to drift, but is rarely a problem seen on relatively new instruments.
Wilkinson locking saddles should help with other bridge related factors that may cause issues.
Non locking, floating vibrato setups can be tuned to achieve great tuning stability, but usually require a lot more effort.
How did I forget this?
u cant treat a 2 pt trem like a floyd
8:18 I haven't played your AZs obviously, but your statement here really only applies to uncharacteristic use. Yes the double locking is an improvement. But apart from constant dive bombs, my 6-screw vintage has no issues staying in tune under use while floating.
9:14 Again... I think you have just been in the world of locking trems for too long. How high are you trying to raise the pitch? You can absolutely set the AZ trem (or any "vintage" trem) to float and pull up to raise pitch.
Seems like these just aren't for you from a style and function perspective, quality control issues aside.
There is a relationship between how low you set ur strings & how quickly it could "fret out" when you bend. Board radius & string height matter. Also, if ur bending more than a whole step, ur gonna experience it on a 12" radius board if ur strings are low, generally speaking. Multi radius boards take care of this issue. A 10-16 ( or 12-16) would be perfect for what this guy needs. Great point to bring up. We should see this on the Prestige models, imhwo. Also, those tuners are awful to live with.....
I've only seen 10-14. There was a video that PROVED that 12-16 is the way to avoid all fret buzz at 25.5 scale with your standard Fender bridge spacing, not any other compound combination. It's a cone and if the strings actually travel parallel to the surface of the fretboard, that reduces variables.
Thank you for the honest review. I have an AZ2204 and I have to say I have not encountered the same issues. The tuning stability is quite good. Bearing in mind it will go out of tune with some wild dive bombs (not always). Otherwise, I haven’t had tuning issues. If you wish to mod the bridge, try the vega-trem. Great tuning stability and allowance for up and down manoeuvres.
All in all, this has to be one of the best mass-produced guitars in the market. I think one of my high frets may need a bit of a file-down but there is no choke, just a tiny feel that something is off when I bend above the 20th fret. I agree you shouldn’t expect this from a high-end guitar. Sadly, mass-produced means QC’s are not what they should be.
Regarding the neck, I have to say this is very personal. I can imagine if you come from an RG background (super-flat radii and modern neck profiles) this is going to feel chunky. It is chunky but super comfy. The radius is quite flat in general. I would have loved a compound radius after the 12th fret for more shredding shenanigans but that is just a personal feel and not off-putting.
Ibanez have designed a guitar for non-Ibanez players here.
No need to swap the pick-ups for now. They are so crisp and hit the right note with me.
A guitar for a lifetime. Mods to come in the future if I ever get bored.
I was about to delete this comment but I think I will do future readers a favour if I expand it.
I no longer own this guitar. I had two issues the retailer wouldn't fix and that would have cost me some money to fix through a tech/luthier. One was a couple of high frets that caused buzzing. They set it up in a way where the strings where almost in a seesaw fashion and one string would be higher than the next and then lower, etc. It didn't work. All the acoustic buzzing was too much and it did transfer to the amp.
Tuning stability... I changed my mind after a while. Somehow, something was wrong. My money is on the nut. But it went out of tune quite often. A Mexican fender had more tuning stability (that's why it's still with me, unlike the Ibanez).
It does hurt because I did love this guitar. The chunky neck was special, the articulate Hyperion pickups suited me and it had sustain for days (for this sort of construction). Sadly, I think they have a high percentage of lemons. I don't believe for a second that's the case with all of their production guitars, but it seems to be more than 1 in 100.
It’s a non locking tuning guitar. You’ve been playing locking tuning guitars for over 10 years so yeah it’s just the nature of the beast with vintage style and even modern style guitars with free flowing style trem systems.
Very true, up to date though, I really enjoy the AZ for what it is. Looking back at the review, you nailed my expectations spot on!
Good review, I was thinking of purchasing this very guitar. Think I'll pass.
Have you checked that all the nuts and screws are tight on the guitar? On my AZs I had to tighten almost every screw and nut on the guitar.
I have changed the nut to TusQ and its much better than bone for tuning stability.
I also think that everytime you tune a string you need to go through every string again and make sure all strings are in tune and not like you did in the video only tuning one string. Then at the end of the day there is a reason some guitars have a locking tuning system, the AZs are not ment to be used doing hard dive bombs and slacking the strings completely, its ment to be used with some vibrato from the trem arm.
Love your band, I have some of your albums. I just gotta say, its like you bought a screwdriver and are complaining it doesnt work good as a hammer. Just buy the locking trem guitars for your killer chops. Leave guitars like this for old people like me
I'd have to say you're in the right direction. I had the assumption it would be as stable as a double locking trem, but in my other review on the MSM i've come to terms that they are two separate machines. I just really REALLY wanted it to be as close to my Edge trems hahaha.I am enjoying this guitar though and I appreciate the support!!
@@IbanezGuy88 I know this, love your music. It proves you can rawk without all that growling stuff that's getting old. Damn you guys can play!! Thanks for responding, its an honor man
You are in Holy Grail? Hot shit! I got the Crisis in Utopia cd a few years back on a whim. Excellent. 10 years of playing it and it still sounds better and better. Try turning my old Maiden/Megadeth burnout buddies on to it, still working on that, lol.
@@saltpeter7429 smoking ass metal
i had that choking issue with my at100 japanese andy timmons model after years of playing flat radius guitars, it was just what i expected out of it that was not right , the radius on these AZs are different and you cant bend too high without choking the note. by filing the frets you changed the radius hence you were able to perform those bends, in any case if it works for you now thats great, but i dont think its the guitar's fault.
Maybe try putting in a Vegatrem? Never tried it myself but it looks great. Lots of videos on UA-cam claim it has excellent tuning stability.
I was going to put one of those trems in my other AZ soon haha!
@@IbanezGuy88 have you done it yet?
Maybe you did get a bad one because my thbb10 stays in tune just fine, the frets were not level though so there is clear problems that they need to fix !! Great video !!
Picks up a non-80's squealing chicken-choking vibrato guitar...proceeds to chocke the chicken vibrato...also really bad setup...guitar is bad... This is why you have different tools for different jobs. I am a session musician. Use my Skervesen 40% of the time, my favorite guitar btw. My strat, for practically everything else, best for those jobs, pop/funky stuff. For metal, another skerv, some of my aristides. I never sessioned with my RG. It is useless outside of hair, cheesy stuff. Fun stuff, just no demand for it. The AZ I use for tons of stuff between hard rock and fusion
Pepucci x 3 times
Good review, that bridge and the brother that they put on the Charvels are no go for me. Bought 3 Charvels with that bridge and NOTHING fixed the instability. I returned all 3 Charvels after trying to fix it. Guitars that command a premium price deserve to play awesome with no mods needed. I refuse to buy a trem no. Why put the bridge on it if it can't be utilized? I ended up just getting 3 rg565s.
aren't you always suppose to tune up? if you go sharp you under tune and then tune back up to the note...
It is a nut friction problem 99%. No lubricant can address it, it needs filing because a narrow or irregular surface slot cannot be addressed by graphite or other lubricant. However, after you'll get the filing work done, dive bombs or more than 1 whole tone bends probably still won't allow you to play complex chord voicings, at least right after them (if you play some more after the "heavy pitch stress" to the string, things might slowly get back to a decent balance so your guitar might get back in decent tune). Your style probably needs a floyd rose anyway.
Meanwhile try the following:
- always tune your wound string from up to down in pitch (if you get lower past the correct pitch, go above it again and tune down slowly). We all rarely bend those strings, at the same time those are the most catchy on the nut because of the windings.
- always tune your plain strings from down to up (as above, if you miss the pitch and go above, go down again and slowly raise to the target pitch). Those are the "bending strings" so you must be sure the tension behind the nut is equal or at worst higher than the tension from nut to bridge, never viceversa.
having massive tuning issues with my brand new az prestige as well. Also the trem arm makes a horrible squeaking noise whenever i move it. Definitely considering returning it and getting my money back
Yeah the squeaking is result of the trem arm bushing. This happens with their Zero Edge bars as well.
was the tuning stability better with the thumb screw Gotoh tuners? Cause many who had tuning stability issues said that was for tuner's malfunctions as non properly locking the strings in place with the automatic mechanism ...
It's wild how you bought two of a kind of guitar you don't really like. Help me out with some career advice. I want to go into whatever field you're in. That's a lot of expensive gear and you're like half my age. WTF have I done with my life? Is your full-time job music related? If so, I'm screwed because I am not a great audio engineer and my musician skills aren't going to win many auditions. :)
Well, my USA G&L with their 2 point bridge do not give such tuning issues even with their vintage split head tuners where you cut the string and push perpendicular into a hole in the middle.
It's the nut, if the strings are going sharp they are catching on the nut, if they are going flat they need stretched more
14:35 Agreed. The thing about the SAANJ is it goes a bit too far up the neck for a 24 fret guitar so it is inferior to the 30 yo AANJ even though Ibanez did profile its shape. Depending how high you strap the guitar you can play like a C-shape G or A arpeggio with the root on the A string, 22nd or 24th fret respectively, for Jason Becker type stuff for instance, but that does feel more stretched and less easy than on any RG since 1994, Genesis line aside. That's not that big an issue for most people, but definitely a bit of a downgrade.
It's a shame Ibanez barely offer the Ultra neck anymore--not that they used to do that a lot either--for people who want the ergonomics of a RG without the super thin necks.
Idk this review seems wildly biased to be very “honest” like I’ve seen a few people mention this too the AZ was designed for an entirely different player then the RG is. And I feel like the tuning issue is kind nit picky. No unlocked guitar is going to stay in tune the same way a locking nut/bridge does. And I’ve played several guitars even made in Indonesia or Mexico that have vintage styled trem bridges that stayed in tune perfectly fine once you got the strings stretched out properly. I’ve also found angling the bridge slightly up on these types of guitars helps a lot for whatever reason. But ya I mean might just be me but I would take too much stock from this video especially as far as tuning goes.
Thank you! All the sponsored biased reviews praise the az, while obviously the basic problems are still there😢 tuning stability should be taken care of at this price.
John Prepucci
Great, honest review. Been pondering one of those guitars, for a while, glad I didn't get one now. And TBH, I don't really like the looks either.
Um, you payed one? I'd say this is a totally biased review. Dude clearly is uncomfortable on non locking, more traditional guitars. It's not an accident that his wall is loaded with RGs, JEMs, etc.
I would consider these if a few things were in place. A locking/recessed tremolo, a better nut, no string tree, get the darn volume put out of the way, a compound 12-16 radius. That feature of the Strat SUCKS and no one plays like Ritchie Blackmore in The Mule anymore and it sucks even more with that kind of modern knob. There are volume pedals now. That's Steve Vai's fault on the RG just as much, look at his Dr. Evil Pinky quirk.
Thanks for the great review! It's a shame to hear about the QA woes - it can really spoil the enjoyment of an instrument. I had the same with a Fender American Ultra strat, and it doesn't matter how well regarded an instrument is if the one in your hand feels kinda crappy.
If you don't isolate the issue you'll never solve it. Tuning issues could be a bad setup of the floating bridge, the nut or the tuning machines...rare to see all these in one guitar. Moreover what is the magnitude of the tuning instability? Less than a quarter tone or more? How many springs do you have attached on the bridge?
In any case, you can't expect the same performance of a Floydrose tremolo on a simple floating one, that's for sure.
Stupid review you changed the guitar. It’s basically a sterling jp15 with upgraded pickups. Why would you change out the Duncan’s? You already have a million with DiMarzios so it’s not really a review. And it’s John petrucci
If a guitar goes out of tune so easly for me is not an instrument, just a trial with good looking. With my RG i just need to tune when changing strings, is always in tune. Double locking tuner is a pain but for me assures that the instrument does not go out of tune and that for me is priceless. If most of the time you are tuning your guitar that thing is a crap, sorry, and there is no problem with that, if you pay 500 or something like that.
Az are good guitars ... but most of them have 3 pieces body...neck is not one piece .... fancy price but quality is just ok ... better buy suhr guitars
I had mine PLEK’d by Sweetwater and they also put in a fallaway at the end for me, they also rounded off the edges. This is pretty typical, sadly, for all Ibanez guitars. There’s a reason why they sell them for much less than Suhr 🤷♂️. Just gotta buy them from a dealer that can look it over and fix any problems before it gets to you.
which is the best non Floyd Rose Ibanez with a tremolo?
I never understood people who have a lot of guitars that are the same. So weird. And then you get something different and you want it to be the same as the other guitars.
Unacceptable. Thats just insane for a prestige 2000 dollar guitar. Don't even want to try.
Bro Floyds are designed to do dive bombs. Gotoh trems are designed for flutters and subtle vibrato on chords. And you ditched a set of Duncan pickups custom-wound just for that guitar purely because you are a "DiMarzio Player." Maybe if you stop trying to make this guitar behave like an RG and play it for WHAT IT IS, you might have an easier time. And I'm not even a massive AZ fanboy. I play a Charvel. This guy is just... frustrating.
He has no credibility because he owns a million ibanez Jp guitars but he can’t pronounce John petrucci correctly. I can’t even get through this video
Great guitar...but mine have the same fret issues...kind a embarrassing for Ibanez.
I really do not think y’all are thinking much the tuning instability might be because the trem and nut haven’t broken in it. A lot of rg players play these and expect the same, it’s not, these are versatile guitars but they are more for the strat guys. You gotta break in the trem to get good tuning stability, I read the comments of people going to the stores and trying them out the problem is they are brand new you gotta abuse it a bit for it to be solid
I do agree. As of now, it does stay relatively in tune. My initial expectations were a little high haha but that's what happens when you have guitars for 15+ years with double locking systems and try something new.
Nut has to be filed down then your tuning problem is over.
One word CHARVEL !!!
what about charvel?
For sure, Charvels are cool, they don't sound great, but just change the pickups and they still will be cheaper than an Ibanez Prestige. And they look as good as the AZ, you can even get the same, but with a T style. I love Ibanez, but still.
I have had many prestige’s, and I prefer the new AZ both in sound and playability. I hate the typical tone zone and air Norton they use now.
If i'm paying 2k for a guitar the frets better be level. I was considering getting one but after seeing this and numerous other reviews I'm gonna pass.
Malmsteen and Ritchie Blackmore have been utilizing Fender's vintage tremolos for decades without experiencing tuning issues. Perhaps there is a secret technique they employ
I installed a brass nut on this bad boy and it definitely helped haha.
Nice review, but it would be more useful to demo guitar before moding, not after.
True, but then again there are a lot of other videos demonstrating the Hyperion pickups it came with. I'll be doing a review soon on a Charvel DK24 with nothing altered soon!
Tuning instability on any guitar is absolutely frustrating! I bought an AZ for myself about two years ago and sent it back for the exact same tuning instability issues. Totally frustrating. I’ll take my double locking RG Prestige and Premium guitars any day over the AZ’s. Nice to see a completely honest review about the AZ models. The real time playing/tuning issues was a very good segment to this video. 👍👍
Is this a common problem in AZ models?
@@GDCDGC I think it's a common problem with two-point vibrato bridges in general
@@GDCDGCnah depends on the calibration
if they made the locking nut on it with the gotoh still on it that would be great because the normal floyds and floyd style bridges don't look classy to me
Finally someone who has the balls to address quality issues in general. Awesome, well done.
i would love Ibanez release a new versión of the AZ's with neck through , Locking saddles and Fishman fluence Pickups . all that with a better craftmentship would make this guitar everything that it is supose to be .
A 2000$ guitar made in Japan, better craftsmanship? This thing should be damn near pristine when you get it.
I'll been searching a guitar with some floating but with simple locking because i lost my patience with all the ibanez double lock system like lo pro, zr, edge and edge pro.... Bad resonance and bad stability....... But if these az are bad too maybe i need a charvel, a surh or even a fender... But please no Floyd rose system!! 🤣
Dude this guitar not for yor music still 😂 some super artist whose playing this guitar they have special custom one ,you can’t find on the market . I also use rg , js, jcustom and talman from İbanez. I agree with some of your comments.
👍
Agree 100% on the tuning stability, been an Ibanez player and fan for 20yrs, this is the first one I have ever needed to tune on a regular basis, it needs locking saddles at a minimum. Other than that, great guitar, but no mistake, it's a big issue as it makes me not trust it live.
I don’t think the neck or frets are faulty I would think those instruments are not designed for such low action. You altered the design by creating a run off, but the quality is consistent, they do what they were meant to do.
Having had 2 Charvel DKPro Mod24 models which have the Gotoh bridge, set floating, I can attest to tuning issues. These come set up .009 and no matter what you do, (lubricant, skip the string tree, stretching, increase string etc.) they go out of tune from bending, by hand or with the trem. So, not surprised this occurs with the Ibanez. That said, I've become so accustomed to it, I have adapted to it, and with all the measures above, and tuning regularly, I can get around it. But, at first, wow did it bug me, almost enough to get rid of the first model. My point being, you may just not be accustomed to the standard floating style bridge.
This is an honest review from somebody who is obviously an Ibanez fan.
I haven’t owned an Ibanez AZ, but I have played Ibanez guitars since 1992 and have owned lots of them, with their 12” radius guitars being my favourites (Roadstar, AR2000), but also enjoying the RG series. I love the Ibanez quality and playability, and you could say I’m a huge Ibanez fan.
Just before the AZ series was released, I bought an Ibanez Talman Prestige from Germany. The setup of this guitar was shockingly bad for a Prestige model. The nut wasn’t cut deep enough... all 6 nut slots were too shallow. I also suspect that the angle of the bolt-on neck needs adjusting with a shim... either that or all of the upper frets need filing down! I just cannot get a decent low action on this guitar. I’ve owned many Prestige Ibanez guitars over the years, and this Talman is sub-standard for Ibanez. What I’m saying is that maybe their standards have dropped. I really hope this isn’t the case though, because Ibanez and I have a long beautiful history.
About the tuning stability,
I think the problem is the nut, apparently the bone nuts on the Prestige suck. The Premiums which come with Graphtech nuts stay in tune like tanks and I've never heard any complaint about their tuning stability.
I highly suggest you replace the nuts of your AZs with Graphtech nuts, your tuning stability will become much better
Edit: after I got my AZ Premium I removed the string tree and it stays in tune even better
@Ganjang gongjangjang why should it be the other way around? Graphtech is cheaper than bone and it's even better, both should get Graphtech. Even Gibson stopped using bone on their production models and uses Graphtech.
And btw does the Premium come with 9s from the factory? Mine is supposed to arrive from Thomann at any moment
@Ganjang gongjangjang got mine a couple of days ago and it seems to have 10s on it, I string most of my guitars with 9-46, the lows felt the same but the highs were tighter, logically means 10-46
Now all we need is a compound radius.
@@einarabelc5 I'd rather just have the usual flat 16" Ibanez radius :D
12" is still pretty good though
May I ask what AZ Premium you got? I'm planning to buy the AZ47P1QM in Black Ice Burst HSH config.
That’s the worst tuning stability I’ve ever seen.
Holy shnikes! I just stumbled onto your channel. Great content! As soon as I heard you say that you were in the band Holy Grail, I smacked that subscribe button. Love your band!
You took out the pickups...that ruins the point of this review
I have the Ice Blue Metallic AZ HSS Prestige. Man I am not a fan of the SDHyperion...doesn't handle moderate to high gain tones very well, too nasal...I wish they just put a Dimarzio in there.
Even with the Wilkinson WLS130 saddles it won’t stay in tune? What a shame. I loved my AZ but tuning stability drove me crazy. Was hoping the saddles would’ve worked
The Wilkinson definitely helped but I eventually installed a brass nut and it holds tuning and sustain even better now. I might have to make a follow up video but who knows haha.
I have the premium version made in Indonesia and it has the same issues. Would be interesting to see if it's actually the tuners.
I have az2402 tff and the problem that I have with me is that there's ground earthing...i have open up the guitar but still couldn't fix it... please kindly share if you have a solution to this
It's possible one of the connections is touching a ground inside the cavity, that could include hitting one of the shielding walls. The best thing I could offer is to find a multimeter, put it in the ground setting, and test each point of contact including the hot outputs.
Thanks for the honest review. I am having some of the same problems with the Charvel DK24 hss
I will be doing a review soon on the DK24 HH actually!
What kind of issues? I own the DK24 HSS Shell Pink
Have you tried to file the string slots at the nut? That made the whole difference for my AZ. That is a common issue with new bone nuts (not specifically for the Ibanez AZ).
I did just a bit with no luck. However the MSM was sent to Ibanez LA shop and they tried to fix the nut issue there, but it still goes out of tune.
Hello. Great to see honest reviews! As a guitar tech I would suggest to:
1-Check the string gauges and see if they match the nut grooves (maybe you have to enlarge them with nut files)
2-File the nut above the strings (the excess material sometimes grabs the strings).
They are 10-46. Ibanez is famous for 9/42. It shouldn't matter as much on Floyds though.
I agree, the Charvel GG who introduce this concept of locking tuners, staggered and a small, locking tremolo doesn't have that problem.
You're the first guy to say anything negative about this series of Ibanez. Some of the issues addressed could be related to the type of player you are. It's not a bad thing it's just that type of trem is not suited to your type of playing. All in all it probably is a nice guitar just not for metal.
Damon Wolf I totally agree with ya bud! It’s just weird Ibanez wouldn’t have an option for a locking trem version. Charvel has the option for their DK24, along with the Gotoh 510 option.
Ok, but having to have the lower frets redone, because the bends are choked? What kind of players do you have in mind? The chugging only, no solo ever, type?
@@Juicexlx For guys playing rhythm, the frets 14-24 wouldn't be an issue if they don't play leads. It's mainly lead players that will have problems. There were high frets 17, 22, and the 24th that were high so even fretting a note behind those frets would cause the note to choke out, or to be muted due to the issue. Wide vibrato players like Brandon Ellis, Ryan Knight, and Taylor Washington would have a bad time bending haha. There's always that fine line of having low action with some/no buzz. The radius also plays a big part, so having a flatter radius will help out with the bending problem.
@@IbanezGuy88 Ugh. And to think that you bought a 2nd one just to make sure that it was as bad as the 1st one. Looks like they're only slowing you down, by now. May I suggest you sell them. Minimize the money drain on your wallet and move-on from the failed experiment. Shit happens, eh? :)
@@Juicexlx Haha possibly, but at this point, I might ask Ibanez to send me an AZ Premium to see how they handle. This way I played all AZ options from lowest to highest.
I'm with you 100% 👍🏼
I haven't played an AZ yet, but I don't understand Ibanez not making a parallel RG line to the AZ's, I mean, think of a "pointy" RG style body, maybe cleaner without pickward or pickup rims, wizard shape, roasted maple, more switching options and STAINLESS frets... They keep bringing back old RGs with the Genesis line, but man, we are almost in 2021!!!
P.S.: I hyped when saw solar guitars and they prices...
Now THAT would be an amazing Ibanez!
@@IbanezGuy88 lets push ibanez 🤣
Looks like a charvel 😂
1:56 John Poopoochi
Who the hell is John Pepucci?
It’s supposed to be John Petrucci of Dream Theater
Have you heard about the Guitar Nutbuster Tune Stabilizing System?
Thanks for this review. Just what I needed to hear right before buying one.
And that is why I play Les Pauls mainly, once you find one where the G string doesn't go out of tune you can forget of every problem (unless headstock breaks)
that's bullshit. strats and teles are the way to go for a non issue guitars. I get nothing but trouble with les pauls.
Man f this guitar