Wow. Wow wow wow. Those are some killer tones to get at 300 bucks. The value proposition on under-$500 guitars right now is just out of this world. Thank you, Tomo.
100% yes! The guitars that you can get for under £500 these days are incredible. I think the entire industry has shifted. Affordable guitars are infinitely better, which means that mid priced guitars are also infinitely better. It's a great model because if you really want to get a guitar for life, you can do so these days for less than £1000!! Thanks for checking out the video!
You're kidding, where did you order? I was told October lol Edit: I ordered HSS in black… but with my freaking luck with trying to buy any guitar lately…
Oh no really?! We were told when we shot the video that 1st September was the video launch date but we weren’t told any retail dates. I would’ve assumed October or November. Brands typically want videos out a month or two before something hits the stores. I hope you don’t have to wait til next year!
@@dereklovenstein8606 oh wow, SweetWater for me, I guess it could be a long preorder list. I really hope we don’t have to wait that long and are pleasantly surprised!
Back in about 1982 I purchased an Ibanez Blazer (my first ‘real’ guitar) it was a Strat style MIJ cost me £160 I had the option of buying a JV Squier for 10 quid less, I chose the Blazer cos it had 2 switches which much much later I found out put the pickups out of phase giving it that kind of thin wiry tone which was very different and I liked I’ve still got the Blazer. Although from a financial point the JV Squier has certainly appreciated far more than a Blazer but it is still a very playable guitar. Ibanez do produce decent guitars although I do prefer Yamahas
Those old Blazers are really cool guitars. I keep seeing them pop up on eBay from time to time and I'm always tempted to pull the trigger on one!! haha
Got me the Vermillion one and enjoying it- only downside to these is you can't really replace the pups without getting a new pickguard. Good thing Ibanez made these sound and feel pretty killer for 300 bucks.
Hey! Oh really? Why can’t you change them? Are they sized different to a standard single? I didn’t notice that when I was playing it. If it’s just the pickup covers rather than the pickups themselves you could always just fit new pickups to the existing covers. Interested to hear more about that! I wonder why Ibanez chose to make it that way
They're pretty affordable already so you don't have to worry about too much of a price drop, although with them being in fairly high demand I wouldn't be surprised if the initial Reverb listings all hike the price up!
@@LeighFugeGuitar Yeah, now that you mention it when I was looking for my most recent guitar (the AZ224) I was initially looking at the Charvel DK24 HSS, but decided I wanted 22 stainless steel frets. But anyways, all the used listings for both models had pretty outrageous prices at the time. New DK24's were hard to come by, and I don't like the new finishes on the AZ224 premium. The one that was on reverb was only $50 less than new. I got lucky and found one on GC online (not a fan of them but it was THE guitar I wanted). It's by far my favorite guitar ever. One of these will be next. Hope you have a great day, thanks for the response!
As a beginner.... do I consider the 25 scale length as a positive? Will it be a massive change for me to play a 25.5 scale length on a different guitar. If I learn on the AZES will it be like having to learn again changing scale length later? Hope that makes sense
It is a great scale length. You won't have much if any trouble with different scale lengths. I haven't played one of these, but I have an AZ premium, and these seem like the absolute perfect guitar for a beginner, or someone on a budget. Just my opinion
Great question Paul! Scale length is totally subjective. Les Pauls (and other Gibson style guitars) have a 24.75" scale length. Fender style guitars like Strats and Teles (as well as things like Jacksons, Ibanez RGs) will have a 25.5" scale. The AZES having a 25" scale is right in the middle of the two. PRS often experiment with scale lengths in this region too. Scale length determines how the strings feel. Longer scales = more string tension. 24.75" guitars will feel very slinky and easy to bend, 25.5" guitars will have a tighter, snappier feel... as a general rule. The 25" scale is a great hybrid of the two. I always recommend to anyone to try out a bunch of different guitars and either get used to switching between different scale lengths (If you want to play a few different styles of guitar) or keep playing until you find the scale length that clicks with you. The overall feel between scale lengths, in my opinion, isn't that noticeable in terms of the guitar feeling longer. You can definitely feel it's longer, but it's not night and day, but to me, the big difference is in how the strings feel. When I play my Strat I notice the string tension more than if I play a shorter scale guitar. So, in answer to your question, if you learn on a 25" scale, that's great, you shouldn't feel too different switching to a 24.75 or 25.5". Hope that helps!
No way. You may not even perceive the difference. Half an inch is so minimal. I go back and forth between a 25.5" Player Strat and the (quite short) 24" Player Mustang. That's significant, but needing to relearn? No way. On a difference of 1.5" like that, there is a noticeable difference in feel and fret spacing, and you quickly adapt to it. Besides, differing feel is true of any different guitar you may try. Switching from a strat to an ES-335 to an Ibanez RG takes a little adjusting. But not relearning.
A few years ago I bought my youngest son an Ibanez mikro, what an absolute fantastic kids guitar, he lost interest in about two weeks and I ended up selling it on ebay but a killer guitar for small people
The Mikro range is so much fun! I have a Mikro Paul Gilbert model here that I’ll be shooting a video on soon. They play really well and are great quality considering they are under 200 pound!
Hi. When the mini-switch is on, in position 1 and position 5 the neck (1) and the bridge (5) pickups will be series-connected to the central pickup, so you get a kind of humbucker sound. It's a very useful feature, especially when you are playing live and you don't want to bring too many guitars.
Yeah the Alter switch is a great way to unlock loads of new tones from the AZ. I'm really pleased they decided to add it onto the new affordable version, that was a great decision on their end!
Not sure why they decided that, I guess they wanted the three single coil model to be as simple and basic as possible and having a fixed bridge is a simple way to do that. Plus, it sets it apart from most Strat types I guess. It's quite a nice change to get a hardtail Strat style.
So I don't know if you'll reply this, but right now I'm struggling to make the call to either buy a Player Strat HSS, or this one with the same configs, I'm not sure if the Strat really worth the $800 price and if the Essential AZs have any compromises, so what should I pick? Also our country is under lockdown bcuz of covid, so I have time to decide Also, does the AZES felt small?
Hey Alan, Thanks for checking out the video. That's a good question. I haven't personally played any of the Player Series Strats so I can't compare the two, but I can almost certainly say the Fender one would probably be a higher quality guitar. That's not to say the AZES is not a good guitar. In fact, the AZES is a fantastic guitar. For the money, it's going to be hard to beat. Really, the best way to decide is to play both and compare how they feel, but at the moment that's not possible for you. The AZES will probably have some compromises in terms of build quality, but most guitars in that price point do. To my ears, the pickups are great, it felt fantastic and held tune really well so for the money, it's a killer guitar. I suspect you could upgrade it with better hardware, maybe better pots and pickups (If you didn't like the ones in there), but they do sound great out of the box. It didn't feel small to me. It does have a slightly smaller body than a regular Strat style, but I didn't feel that when playing it, it just felt like a Strat under my hands.
@@LeighFugeGuitar I’ll definitely try both after the pandemic, but I can see Ibanezes at these prices are usually better than most Squiers, but the Dyna-Mix switch thing is definitely a cool feature that would prove useful for me, the Strat doesn’t have that;). Quality wise, usually guitars like these looks SIGNIFICANTLY better irl than in pictures, so I don’t think the build quality is that bad for the price, one thing for certain- Should I pick either of the guitars, I’ll definitely mod it, and seems like the AZES is looking good! Thanks for the tip!
But, some Americans might be watching. That guitar is also commonly referred to in that pronunciation even by British channels. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone call it AZed
This is the 4th video review I've watched about this model. I'm gonna get one. Thanks for the review!
That's awesome, thanks for checking out the video. They're great guitars for the money, hope you like it!
Wow. Wow wow wow. Those are some killer tones to get at 300 bucks. The value proposition on under-$500 guitars right now is just out of this world. Thank you, Tomo.
100% yes! The guitars that you can get for under £500 these days are incredible. I think the entire industry has shifted. Affordable guitars are infinitely better, which means that mid priced guitars are also infinitely better. It's a great model because if you really want to get a guitar for life, you can do so these days for less than £1000!!
Thanks for checking out the video!
But how much are the amp and the pedals part of this sound?
I ordered a mint green yesterday!! So stoked! Not expected until next year :(.
You're kidding, where did you order? I was told October lol
Edit: I ordered HSS in black… but with my freaking luck with trying to buy any guitar lately…
Oh no really?! We were told when we shot the video that 1st September was the video launch date but we weren’t told any retail dates. I would’ve assumed October or November. Brands typically want videos out a month or two before something hits the stores.
I hope you don’t have to wait til next year!
Guitar center website preorder
@@dereklovenstein8606 oh wow, SweetWater for me, I guess it could be a long preorder list. I really hope we don’t have to wait that long and are pleasantly surprised!
@@LeighFugeGuitar yeah that’s the answer I got, “October, maybe November” but I’m being optimistic 😅 … trying too be 😂
Just got mine today. Nice guitar. Thank you for the review.
Back in about 1982 I purchased an Ibanez Blazer (my first ‘real’ guitar) it was a Strat style MIJ cost me £160 I had the option of buying a JV Squier for 10 quid less, I chose the Blazer cos it had 2 switches which much much later I found out put the pickups out of phase giving it that kind of thin wiry tone which was very different and I liked I’ve still got the Blazer. Although from a financial point the JV Squier has certainly appreciated far more than a Blazer but it is still a very playable guitar. Ibanez do produce decent guitars although I do prefer Yamahas
Those old Blazers are really cool guitars. I keep seeing them pop up on eBay from time to time and I'm always tempted to pull the trigger on one!! haha
@@LeighFugeGuitar yeah Japanese made so decent quality
Oi MUSH! This was fun beyond and those guitars!! - Well, the video speaks for itself ;)
That was proper fun wasn’t it mush? Proper Townhill style fun! ‘Ave it! Let’s go down Jaks for a shandy!
I got one last night for $209 and it’s amazing
That's a killer price for one!
Got me the Vermillion one and enjoying it- only downside to these is you can't really replace the pups without getting a new pickguard. Good thing Ibanez made these sound and feel pretty killer for 300 bucks.
Hey!
Oh really? Why can’t you change them? Are they sized different to a standard single? I didn’t notice that when I was playing it. If it’s just the pickup covers rather than the pickups themselves you could always just fit new pickups to the existing covers.
Interested to hear more about that! I wonder why Ibanez chose to make it that way
I'm also curious why you said you can't change pickups without a pickguard
Gonna get one of these when they hit reverb for cheap. Love my AZ224f.
They're pretty affordable already so you don't have to worry about too much of a price drop, although with them being in fairly high demand I wouldn't be surprised if the initial Reverb listings all hike the price up!
@@LeighFugeGuitar Yeah, now that you mention it when I was looking for my most recent guitar (the AZ224) I was initially looking at the Charvel DK24 HSS, but decided I wanted 22 stainless steel frets. But anyways, all the used listings for both models had pretty outrageous prices at the time. New DK24's were hard to come by, and I don't like the new finishes on the AZ224 premium. The one that was on reverb was only $50 less than new. I got lucky and found one on GC online (not a fan of them but it was THE guitar I wanted). It's by far my favorite guitar ever. One of these will be next. Hope you have a great day, thanks for the response!
The ivory is awesome and they sound great. Knocked it out of the park
The Ivory one was my favourite too! They play fantastic considering how affordable they are!
@@LeighFugeGuitar I think I'll get one and heavy relic it. Why not
As a beginner.... do I consider the 25 scale length as a positive? Will it be a massive change for me to play a 25.5 scale length on a different guitar. If I learn on the AZES will it be like having to learn again changing scale length later?
Hope that makes sense
It is a great scale length. You won't have much if any trouble with different scale lengths. I haven't played one of these, but I have an AZ premium, and these seem like the absolute perfect guitar for a beginner, or someone on a budget. Just my opinion
Great question Paul!
Scale length is totally subjective. Les Pauls (and other Gibson style guitars) have a 24.75" scale length. Fender style guitars like Strats and Teles (as well as things like Jacksons, Ibanez RGs) will have a 25.5" scale.
The AZES having a 25" scale is right in the middle of the two. PRS often experiment with scale lengths in this region too.
Scale length determines how the strings feel. Longer scales = more string tension. 24.75" guitars will feel very slinky and easy to bend, 25.5" guitars will have a tighter, snappier feel... as a general rule.
The 25" scale is a great hybrid of the two.
I always recommend to anyone to try out a bunch of different guitars and either get used to switching between different scale lengths (If you want to play a few different styles of guitar) or keep playing until you find the scale length that clicks with you.
The overall feel between scale lengths, in my opinion, isn't that noticeable in terms of the guitar feeling longer. You can definitely feel it's longer, but it's not night and day, but to me, the big difference is in how the strings feel. When I play my Strat I notice the string tension more than if I play a shorter scale guitar. So, in answer to your question, if you learn on a 25" scale, that's great, you shouldn't feel too different switching to a 24.75 or 25.5".
Hope that helps!
No way. You may not even perceive the difference. Half an inch is so minimal. I go back and forth between a 25.5" Player Strat and the (quite short) 24" Player Mustang. That's significant, but needing to relearn? No way. On a difference of 1.5" like that, there is a noticeable difference in feel and fret spacing, and you quickly adapt to it. Besides, differing feel is true of any different guitar you may try. Switching from a strat to an ES-335 to an Ibanez RG takes a little adjusting. But not relearning.
A few years ago I bought my youngest son an Ibanez mikro, what an absolute fantastic kids guitar, he lost interest in about two weeks and I ended up selling it on ebay but a killer guitar for small people
The Mikro range is so much fun! I have a Mikro Paul Gilbert model here that I’ll be shooting a video on soon. They play really well and are great quality considering they are under 200 pound!
I am a beginner and a had a affinity strat I like the hardtail ibanez but is it beter than a sterling cutlass ct-30?
Hey!
I haven't played the Cutlass CT30 to compare it, but all the Sterling stuff I have tried is also awesome. I think you can't go wrong with either!
Hi.
When the mini-switch is on, in position 1 and position 5 the neck (1) and the bridge (5) pickups will be series-connected to the central pickup, so you get a kind of humbucker sound.
It's a very useful feature, especially when you are playing live and you don't want to bring too many guitars.
Yeah the Alter switch is a great way to unlock loads of new tones from the AZ. I'm really pleased they decided to add it onto the new affordable version, that was a great decision on their end!
Dat vintage white will be in my collection SOON!
I know man! I want one too! They're fantastic!
Activen la opcion subtitulos en español a traves de smart tv y smartphones, les dará mas suscriptores
UA-cam automatically adds subtitles in all languages, you just have to click the CC button then click the settings icon to change the language 😀
@@LeighFugeGuitar no, por medio de smartphone y smart tv funciona eso viendo el video vía Chrome.
Why doesn't the AZES31 have a tremolo bridge?
Not sure why they decided that, I guess they wanted the three single coil model to be as simple and basic as possible and having a fixed bridge is a simple way to do that. Plus, it sets it apart from most Strat types I guess. It's quite a nice change to get a hardtail Strat style.
So I don't know if you'll reply this, but right now I'm struggling to make the call to either buy a Player Strat HSS, or this one with the same configs, I'm not sure if the Strat really worth the $800 price and if the Essential AZs have any compromises, so what should I pick? Also our country is under lockdown bcuz of covid, so I have time to decide
Also, does the AZES felt small?
Hey Alan,
Thanks for checking out the video. That's a good question. I haven't personally played any of the Player Series Strats so I can't compare the two, but I can almost certainly say the Fender one would probably be a higher quality guitar.
That's not to say the AZES is not a good guitar. In fact, the AZES is a fantastic guitar. For the money, it's going to be hard to beat.
Really, the best way to decide is to play both and compare how they feel, but at the moment that's not possible for you. The AZES will probably have some compromises in terms of build quality, but most guitars in that price point do. To my ears, the pickups are great, it felt fantastic and held tune really well so for the money, it's a killer guitar. I suspect you could upgrade it with better hardware, maybe better pots and pickups (If you didn't like the ones in there), but they do sound great out of the box.
It didn't feel small to me. It does have a slightly smaller body than a regular Strat style, but I didn't feel that when playing it, it just felt like a Strat under my hands.
@@LeighFugeGuitar I’ll definitely try both after the pandemic, but I can see Ibanezes at these prices are usually better than most Squiers, but the Dyna-Mix switch thing is definitely a cool feature that would prove useful for me, the Strat doesn’t have that;).
Quality wise, usually guitars like these looks SIGNIFICANTLY better irl than in pictures, so I don’t think the build quality is that bad for the price, one thing for certain- Should I pick either of the guitars, I’ll definitely mod it, and seems like the AZES is looking good!
Thanks for the tip!
You need more reverb....
There's always room for more reverb!
can i say tesco on your channel?
You can say whatever supermarket you want on my channel haha
Andy has the best white guy afro.
Andy is more afro than man.
$30 more bucks? It's $30 bucks more there Tex lol JK
Come on, we're not Americans, it's AZ'd, not AZ'e!
But, some Americans might be watching.
That guitar is also commonly referred to in that pronunciation even by British channels. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone call it AZed
@@LeighFugeGuitar it has been called the AZ'd, and Americans don't pronounce anything right anyway?