Huge shout out to Gaby for lending me his chops here! Check out more tone samples and full songs at his YT channel: m.ruclips.net/p/PLcETkyNE9YO5Paym3o4-_wKGv8UJFtFFR&si=bl5Xz-8JcKwzE4gz&fbclid=IwAR1S2lQuYFrM5Adn38egUZcAH89vUdQs3uapjarLZXXAXLJkGdlvDzf5iVc
I'd say the Ibanez Premium AZ range (e.g. the AZ242F in Tequilla Sunrise) is a more logical competitor at the price point. It's Made in Indonesia but is equipped wiith the same Japanese Gotoh hardware and Seymour Duncan Hyperion pups as the prestige model. The Shije looks beautfiful but since the brand is still relatively new - and AFAIK without Dealer Support - it will always be a gamble. These guitars are unlikely to hold their value as well as an Ibanez either...
Yeah If the Tequila Sunrise model was still in production I would agree with you for sure! That particular one was a great option and worth the extra money. The only current Ibanez premium model that's comparable is the black one at $1299. Great price but it's a basswood body with no top and a plain black finish. I forgot to mention but the Shijie has a maple cap on it with that gorgeous quilt. I also find the quality of the Shijie tremolo (made by Gotoh in Japan) to be better, fretwork is better than the MIJ Az's I'vd tried but the premium's fretaork is every bit as good. Tuners are comparable. The pickups are preference but you could argue in favor of the Duncans on name alone. It's a fair comparison. Both guitars are good. Thanks fot tossing that option in there!
What happened to your budget guitars? I wanted to buy this, but then I saw the price. OMG.!!! When are you going to do more buget guitars?? Ever heard WINZZ guitars? They look pretty cool why don’t you get one and review it four hours
Jajaj budget guitar reviews are coming! This one I just needed to share with the world. It's not mine (it's Gaby's) but for the price and what it is, we think it's phenomenal.
The covers on humbuckers make no difference to their sound, every other review of this guitar says the frets on newer models without pickup covers are stainless steel.
These were confirmed nickel at the time by both Shijie (via messaging) and the spec sheet that came with it which listed them as Jescar nickel frets. The new ones might have stainless but the website does not seem to confirm it despite other models clearly saying Jescar stainless in their product description. As far as pickup covers, some people like myself hear a small difference where it rolls of the top end and others don't. In this case however, Shijie relayed to me the uncovered pickups sound better. It might just be a different pickup model altogether. I do think the chrome covers look better however.
Gabby needs some better recording equipment man. It sounds like listening to something through a wall in a different room, very unclear and so low at points where you can't hear what he's doing at all.
Yeah most of that is on me. He sent me some direct recordings and in the room sounds and some got mixed up and when I was mixing this clip I used a BT headset that makes it harder to discern output level. I might end up reuploading at some point but this video works best when played through your phone's speaker at max volume.
To be honest I do have to get better at mixing as well. Maybe get a better DAW. Not sure if my gains, eq, etc from my interphase, in the DAW channels and mixdown are mixed properly.
Thank you brother!! That one took a lot to get down cause of small details in the phrasing and attack. Frustrating cause there’s one Raf didn’t use that is on my channel. Completely improvised and imo a better composition. So one took forever, the other one, one impovised take 🤷🏽♂️
@@kirkhunter146 It's currently $1049 USD with free shipping. It might be out of tbe price range for some but it's a solid guitar for the money. And gorgeous to look at.
Huge shout out to Gaby for lending me his chops here! Check out more tone samples and full songs at his YT channel: m.ruclips.net/p/PLcETkyNE9YO5Paym3o4-_wKGv8UJFtFFR&si=bl5Xz-8JcKwzE4gz&fbclid=IwAR1S2lQuYFrM5Adn38egUZcAH89vUdQs3uapjarLZXXAXLJkGdlvDzf5iVc
That purple is everything! 😮😮
I know right??
Beautiful and love the specs!
It's a beauty!
Another fantastic review Raf! The guitar looks great and it sounds awesome!
Thanks for watching!
Beautiful guitar! Thanks so much for the review!
Thanks for watching!
Great video. Awesome playing as well!
Thanks! Gaby's a great player!
I'd say the Ibanez Premium AZ range (e.g. the AZ242F in Tequilla Sunrise) is a more logical competitor at the price point. It's Made in Indonesia but is equipped wiith the same Japanese Gotoh hardware and Seymour Duncan Hyperion pups as the prestige model. The Shije looks beautfiful but since the brand is still relatively new - and AFAIK without Dealer Support - it will always be a gamble. These guitars are unlikely to hold their value as well as an Ibanez either...
Yeah If the Tequila Sunrise model was still in production I would agree with you for sure! That particular one was a great option and worth the extra money.
The only current Ibanez premium model that's comparable is the black one at $1299. Great price but it's a basswood body with no top and a plain black finish. I forgot to mention but the Shijie has a maple cap on it with that gorgeous quilt. I also find the quality of the Shijie tremolo (made by Gotoh in Japan) to be better, fretwork is better than the MIJ Az's I'vd tried but the premium's fretaork is every bit as good. Tuners are comparable. The pickups are preference but you could argue in favor of the Duncans on name alone. It's a fair comparison. Both guitars are good. Thanks fot tossing that option in there!
There are dealers in the US, UK, other countries as well
Ibanez guitars do not retain value either, speaking as a huge fan of them.
What happened to your budget guitars? I wanted to buy this, but then I saw the price. OMG.!!! When are you going to do more buget guitars??
Ever heard WINZZ guitars? They look pretty cool why don’t you get one and review it four hours
Jajaj budget guitar reviews are coming! This one I just needed to share with the world. It's not mine (it's Gaby's) but for the price and what it is, we think it's phenomenal.
Winzz rings a bell but I haven't tried one yet!
£800 is a budget guitar, consider what you might pay for something that says Gibson on it.
Well the Shijie TM is cheaper than the AZ.
The covers on humbuckers make no difference to their sound, every other review of this guitar says the frets on newer models without pickup covers are stainless steel.
These were confirmed nickel at the time by both Shijie (via messaging) and the spec sheet that came with it which listed them as Jescar nickel frets. The new ones might have stainless but the website does not seem to confirm it despite other models clearly saying Jescar stainless in their product description.
As far as pickup covers, some people like myself hear a small difference where it rolls of the top end and others don't. In this case however, Shijie relayed to me the uncovered pickups sound better. It might just be a different pickup model altogether. I do think the chrome covers look better however.
Thanks for the review! But the sound is so washy, it's not a good tone demo.
Yeah Gaby was mentioning he needed to fix some kinks on his audio recordings. Fantastic guitar nonetheless.
At least Gaby's playing shines though.
Gabby needs some better recording equipment man. It sounds like listening to something through a wall in a different room, very unclear and so low at points where you can't hear what he's doing at all.
Yeah most of that is on me. He sent me some direct recordings and in the room sounds and some got mixed up and when I was mixing this clip I used a BT headset that makes it harder to discern output level. I might end up reuploading at some point but this video works best when played through your phone's speaker at max volume.
To be honest I do have to get better at mixing as well. Maybe get a better DAW. Not sure if my gains, eq, etc from my interphase, in the DAW channels and mixdown are mixed properly.
Awesome playing BTW mate. The all my love recreation was totally unexpected.
Thank you brother!! That one took a lot to get down cause of small details in the phrasing and attack. Frustrating cause there’s one Raf didn’t use that is on my channel. Completely improvised and imo a better composition. So one took forever, the other one, one impovised take 🤷🏽♂️
That sucker is expensive
It is! It's a nice one though.
@@RafsGearReviews yes it is...
No it isn't, you can buy them for £800.
@@kirkhunter146 It's currently $1049 USD with free shipping. It might be out of tbe price range for some but it's a solid guitar for the money. And gorgeous to look at.