Awesome vid mate! Cheers for the shout out 😃🙏 Loved "the last bus hame" at the end 😎👌 You really nailed that "John Mayer trying to nail 1990 Clapton" lead tone - Perfect! 😃👌
@@stevecassidyguitar cheers our pal, thanks for such a banging deal on it too 👍 Now it's budget pedal chap trying to nail John Mayer trying to nail 90s Clapton tone. I feel this has the potential to be the musical equivalent of a early 2000s email chain mail 😂😂
I really like mine, but sold it off due to peer pressure for NJ Schecter. I didn't like the Schecter after months of struggling, but couldn't get myself to purchase back a AZES now in Tungsten color. My main reason is the short scale neck and small body. It gets a bit cramp at the higher frets. The pickups have some treble rolled off, and doesn't sound as modern as many mentioned. The position 4 is one of the best around in this price range. Plus, the series circuit of the neck and middle makes a really usable jazz tone. Another cons would be the neck pickup is not bassy enough for that John Mayer tone, but it was suffice for me.
@@johnong2655 ah man, I tried the NJ and loved it. I do find myself picking up this Ibanez more and more these days, it's so very comfortable to play 👍
@@JasonWharton82 yeah, I know what you mean. It's got the look of a much more modern guitar, but has the trimmings of a vintage guitar. It sits in two camps kind of. Cheers for the kind words 👍
Compared to their other AZ models, I do find the pickups quite vintage enough. Not much Hi-fi or Hi-Def sound to it compared to many in this price range ie. Sire S7, PRS Silver Sky SE, Schecter NJ. It's definitely different than a Squier Classic Vibe, and darker sounding, but it's definitely vintage sound due to some rolled off treble.
@@jfiery I know loads of people that love them, so I'm willing to give a little leeway with this one. I had a fender player Strat that had them on and I couldn't get the high e to stay in the tuner. It was so bad, I ended up replacing them. Maybe I've been too harsh on them as a whole just based on this negative experience. Once bitten, twice shy though eh 😂😂
Do the higher end ones still have the 3 wire pickups. I’ve been looking for an Ibanez this is kind of a bridge for me from traditional Strat to the typical Ibanez. Nice Dire Straight sounding tune at the end.
I believe the higher end ones use the Seymour Duncan Hyperion pickups (I think they were designed specifically for that range). They could very well be 3 wire, but I can vouch that they sound much better than these 😂😂 they feel like 2 completely different ranges of guitar, the AZ feels really modern, the Es feels vintage
You made those pickups sound spicy as hell, not sure what they are lacking! I think we get hung up on the ceramic/alnico thing too much. In terms of them being too hot, you have a volume knob 😉
@@jcwoodstl aww man, you're too kind. I think I'm very spoilt when it comes to pickups, I have some very 'high def' sounding sets and these just lack a little something. I could easily gig with them for sure, I don't think they are that bad certainly. I could definitely do with them driving the amp a little less though, they are single coils and they should act like it 😂😂
the only thing lacking about the pickups are definition and treble extension, but it's still really good for a vintage voice pickups. That is usually expected for a Tomo Fujita inspired tone or vintage tone.
@@tkabiranik the fusion is a more modern feeling instrument, this definitely has it's toes dipped in the vintage pool. It really depends what you're after, but the specs on the HB are more premium at very least.
@@Steinstra-vj7wl it was a really interesting point bought up by Chris as I'd never heard of them before. I think both are a massive improvement over the Fender ones 👍
The AZES is just an overpriced GRX40 trying to milk the AZ brand name. Plus, now that the Harley Benton ST-Modern Plus is out, the AZES is completely obsolete in that price point.
@@ErebosGR yeah, Harley Benton have got a lot going on at this price point with the fusion and and st modern. They've also got some more vintage inspired picks at a cheaper price. The AZ es is in a bit of a difficult spot to be fair, but the Ibanez brand has a bit more sway than the HB name currently but not for much longer if HB continue to produce great quality and affordable lines 👍
Help support the channel, consider membership:
ruclips.net/channel/UCRgWgj6py1MhgMq4Htw2sQAjoin
Awesome vid mate! Cheers for the shout out 😃🙏
Loved "the last bus hame" at the end 😎👌
You really nailed that "John Mayer trying to nail 1990 Clapton" lead tone - Perfect! 😃👌
@@stevecassidyguitar cheers our pal, thanks for such a banging deal on it too 👍
Now it's budget pedal chap trying to nail John Mayer trying to nail 90s Clapton tone. I feel this has the potential to be the musical equivalent of a early 2000s email chain mail 😂😂
@@BudgetPedalChap Wow! Forgot about the old email chain mails - Blast from the past! 😂👍
I really like mine, but sold it off due to peer pressure for NJ Schecter. I didn't like the Schecter after months of struggling, but couldn't get myself to purchase back a AZES now in Tungsten color. My main reason is the short scale neck and small body. It gets a bit cramp at the higher frets. The pickups have some treble rolled off, and doesn't sound as modern as many mentioned. The position 4 is one of the best around in this price range. Plus, the series circuit of the neck and middle makes a really usable jazz tone. Another cons would be the neck pickup is not bassy enough for that John Mayer tone, but it was suffice for me.
@@johnong2655 ah man, I tried the NJ and loved it. I do find myself picking up this Ibanez more and more these days, it's so very comfortable to play 👍
It's not vintage styled guitar enough for me but of all the S type head stocks out there, I think Ibanez do a good job. Great vid budge!
@@JasonWharton82 yeah, I know what you mean. It's got the look of a much more modern guitar, but has the trimmings of a vintage guitar. It sits in two camps kind of. Cheers for the kind words 👍
Compared to their other AZ models, I do find the pickups quite vintage enough. Not much Hi-fi or Hi-Def sound to it compared to many in this price range ie. Sire S7, PRS Silver Sky SE, Schecter NJ. It's definitely different than a Squier Classic Vibe, and darker sounding, but it's definitely vintage sound due to some rolled off treble.
It may be the 1st thing I disagree with you on, I love the split top tuners. Another great honest review Chappie.
@@jfiery I know loads of people that love them, so I'm willing to give a little leeway with this one. I had a fender player Strat that had them on and I couldn't get the high e to stay in the tuner. It was so bad, I ended up replacing them. Maybe I've been too harsh on them as a whole just based on this negative experience. Once bitten, twice shy though eh 😂😂
@@BudgetPedalChap nice little reference to slip in there at the end
Do the higher end ones still have the 3 wire pickups. I’ve been looking for an Ibanez this is kind of a bridge for me from traditional Strat to the typical Ibanez. Nice Dire Straight sounding tune at the end.
I believe the higher end ones use the Seymour Duncan Hyperion pickups (I think they were designed specifically for that range). They could very well be 3 wire, but I can vouch that they sound much better than these 😂😂 they feel like 2 completely different ranges of guitar, the AZ feels really modern, the Es feels vintage
@@BudgetPedalChap thanks for the review, I shouldn’t be thinking about getting anything else until I start selling some stuff🤣
@@SearchingForTone I shouldn't have bought this one, but here we are 😂😂😂
You made those pickups sound spicy as hell, not sure what they are lacking! I think we get hung up on the ceramic/alnico thing too much. In terms of them being too hot, you have a volume knob 😉
@@jcwoodstl aww man, you're too kind. I think I'm very spoilt when it comes to pickups, I have some very 'high def' sounding sets and these just lack a little something. I could easily gig with them for sure, I don't think they are that bad certainly. I could definitely do with them driving the amp a little less though, they are single coils and they should act like it 😂😂
the only thing lacking about the pickups are definition and treble extension, but it's still really good for a vintage voice pickups. That is usually expected for a Tomo Fujita inspired tone or vintage tone.
This or Harley Benton Fusion III? Which one between the two do you recommend?
@@tkabiranik the fusion is a more modern feeling instrument, this definitely has it's toes dipped in the vintage pool. It really depends what you're after, but the specs on the HB are more premium at very least.
What did you think of the Ibanez AZ es? Let me know here in the comments
Ibanez did not copy the Highwoods but they sure got inspired by them. I think the Highwood's look better.
@@Steinstra-vj7wl it was a really interesting point bought up by Chris as I'd never heard of them before. I think both are a massive improvement over the Fender ones 👍
Idky the world hasn’t converted en mass to staggered tuners and just gotten rid string trees.
@@misterknightowlandco that would make things so much more simple for us all, right?
The AZES is just an overpriced GRX40 trying to milk the AZ brand name.
Plus, now that the Harley Benton ST-Modern Plus is out, the AZES is completely obsolete in that price point.
@@ErebosGR yeah, Harley Benton have got a lot going on at this price point with the fusion and and st modern. They've also got some more vintage inspired picks at a cheaper price. The AZ es is in a bit of a difficult spot to be fair, but the Ibanez brand has a bit more sway than the HB name currently but not for much longer if HB continue to produce great quality and affordable lines 👍
@@BudgetPedalChap If Ibanez could update it with a 2-point trem and better-sounding Alnico 5 pickups, they could make it a viable option again.
@@ErebosGR completely agree. It's only a few steps away from being great, but it's just not quite there