This $299 INDONESIAN Guitar Rules! (Ibanez AZ Essentials) Feat.
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- Опубликовано: 28 авг 2024
- Jamie Humphries and I check out the brand new Ibanez AZ Essentials series, the AZ ES31 and AZ ES40 at #42GSThree!
AZ ES at Sweetwater: imp.i114863.ne...
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Which one do you like better - all single coils or HSS?
Very torn...buy both??
For that price, why not get both?
*Hits the gong
HSS for lyf. Single coil neck pickup is insane, but for the bridge to have that compression is necessary for me.
HSS
as a teenager, i am finally happy to announce that there is finally a guitar is descent and I CAN AFFORD IT!!
Squire
I have it and damn, it does shred really good.
Pick the HSS one and you'll see.
Look at the 2021 squier affinity models. Very good compared to the old affinity.
I'm from Indonesia, the holy land for "value" guitar, not only Ibanez / Ibanez JR but also Yamaha Pacifica/Revstar, Epiphone, Sterling By Music Man, PRS SE, G&L tribute, Chapman etc lots of them are made in Indonesia, if i'm not mistaken the newer mid-range PRS Archon amp also made in Indonesia as well
glad you guys like it,...
Fender, Squier, Epiphone, Hamer, Washburn, Parker too I know because I used to live near these factories in East Java
@@theshuriken in Purwerejo?
@@fredriksvard2603 imho Yamaha Pacifica 112V have more value than Fender MIM, i have Pacifica 112 V which pickups i replace with Dimarzio set, the overall cost still cheaper than Fender MIM in my country
@@fredriksvard2603 it's okay if you've tried but haven't found one yet, from what i read on the internet and what i owned personally (i own Pacifica 112VMX, Sterling LK100d Steve Lukather, g&l tribute bass L2500, and Epiphone Emperor) they are real good for the price, it's not that a MIM guitars are bad, but at least in my country a Fender MIM is more expensive than a Pacifica 612 which already have a seymour duncans in it or a regular Pacifica 112V with Pickups mods
@@fredriksvard2603 does it have to be a Sterling?, i mean if you're not specific about the brand or if you're not a Musicman / Sterling fan maybe you can check G&L Tribute L2000 (4 strings) or L2500 (5 strings), it has both passive and active pickups (the active pickups has bass and treble boost mode in it) and it also has both series and parallel pickup combination, check it out, maybe you will like it, cheers,...
Thanks so much sharing! Fantastic job!
Shout out to Ibanez for making a hardtail version. Especially in that price range. A good(!) tremolo costs quite a bit of money to build. The material alone isn't cheap. And even on strats with good tremolos 80+% of strat players put the trem bar in the case and never use it again. It's just a lot easier to get a lot of guitar for your money with hardtails.
I wanted a classic strat with a hardtail for a while but Fender pretty much has only the Jim Root or the Hello Kitty strat with fixed bridges.
Love hardtail
Fender really doesn't like offering hardtails, so they? Well, it's risky; they might sell a bunch of them! That would of course cause them to have an existential identity crisis, and that's just bad for business.
I've had several strat style guitars and have never used the term.
I agree, but I also feel like a Made-in-Mexico Fender Player 2 point trem is a solid quality trem that shouldn't cost more than 15% more to manufacture and install than one of these cheap 6 point vintage style ones. There's just no excuse that a decent 2 point trem with a medium sized block should cost that much money to make. Sure, too expensive to offer on a $150 guitar, but a $350 guitar? C'mon now..
@@enthused7591 Agreed, even the new Affinity models have a 2-point. Unfortunately for us these companies will always be about saving pennies (maybe even dimes, in this case) and market segmentation. Saving pennies because millions of pennies adds up fast. Segmentation because if they make the $300 guitar too good we won't buy the $600 one. In light of the AZES, I'm anticipating a mid-range AZ to come in right under the Player strat: $650-700, with a lot more features than this, including a 2-point. Just a guess, but man, I do hope so... not counting this guy, AZ models start at $1,300. They need one in the mid-range.
Whoa. Series/parallel switching, a contoured neck heel, vintage tuners (the original "locking" tuners, lol) and an sensibly designed input jack?! For about $300?!
This is a squire killer, for sure.
Idk. A know a lot of people who refuse to play anything other than the super classic looking guitars. They hate guitars with headstock they aren't familiar with. It's so weird. They judge them purely on looks and I feel like there's way more out there than I personally know.
@@kitten-whisperer it could be the classics are better? I sold my chinese tele for a usa strat. I’m never going back to import guitars
@@Ottophil you sound just like them lol.
"What is that called? An ever tune bridge?! Gross! I'll stick my my les paul that's insanely heavy and the g string goes out of tune every time I look at it too hard"
If you actually think Ann imports are bad because of one guitar you had, well that's just a dumb way of thinking but more power to you.
I really wish they would make these in telecaster version
I was thinking the same thing. An AZSES has to be in the plans
They do already have a line up for it.
Well, they are AZ inspired so they are rather expensive.
For more superstrat stats, all it would need is a vegatrem and maybe a hotrail or two. Leave the pups alone for classic neoclassical vibes. What a time to be a guitarist!
@@andreimclive Welcome aboard! These are stratocasters, and a stratocaster (often shortened to "strat") was pretty much designed to be sort of the AK-47 of guitars with easy-to-replace/disassemble/repair/upgrade parts.
Pups = Pickups. There are three main types: single coil, humbuckers and P-90. Hotrails are humbuckers that are the same size as a single coil for easy swap-out. In the context of stratocasters, here is a video I hand picked for you: ruclips.net/video/-lVWDl-4Ue8/видео.html (If the link does not work, copy this into the youTube search: Guitar Pickups 101 - Here's Eveything You Need To know! )
A superstrat is pretty much a stratocaster designed for high gain sounds (hard rock/glam/metal). Check out this video for a lesson on the differenced between a strat and a superstrat: ruclips.net/video/XXIJ_lvO2w8/видео.html (If the link does not work, copy this into the youTube search: Strat vs Superstrat - Guitar Style Comparison )
I mentioned a VegaTrem because I like my Charvel So-Cal that has a Floyd Rose 1000 series bridge. A Vegatrem attempts to give you similar or even better Floyd Rose style functionality with a stratocaster-style bridge. Check out this video: ruclips.net/video/TWob97UM3Xc/видео.html (If the link does not work, copy this into the youTube search: Tom Quayle testing the VegaTrem VT1 Ultra Trem )
Cheers!
@@brianbergmusic5288 Impossible, first time I’ve seen a nice comment about guitars for newbies
@@andreimclive hell yeah dude, welcome to the mothafuckin THUNDER(struck)DOME
@@brianbergmusic5288
Have you checked out the Vega trem? If yes, how did you like it?
I seriously want to try it out but I'm not sure if it will fit on my AZ premium trem studds and the cavity.
@@andreimclive
Welcome.
Make no mistake.. those guitars fall on the "affordable" section, not in the "beginner" one. Don't listen on Ibanez "beginnerish" marketing, since Indonesian made guitars are usually great instruments for players of all kinds and levels, in this case for those on a budget.
25" scale is not a "short" or "beginner oriented" scale, as most PRSs are 25"and Gibsons are 24.75". Also the variety of tones you can get, the neck accessibility contour, the details on bridge and tuning machines, those are nice details to be taken into account.
Hey, nobody talked about the fretwork, and QC details if there were any.
First time in your channel, thank you very much for your review.
Mines being returned horrible back bow in the neck could not be straighted or zeroed. Tooling marks between frets, chip and no Allen wrench. Piece of junk
@@kennethm.3296 so you’re calling them pieces of junk cause you got a bad one ?😂😂grow up cry baby
My ideal Strat is 3 single coils, 5 way+ middle pickup on switch, string through body hardtail, output jack like a tele or Les Paul, and 1 tone, 1 volume, maple neck w/ rosewood board. The yellow one is basically my Strat?!?! I wish Fender would sell me one :|
Id get one of these if I didnt already have a million too many guitars
Finally somebody is making an S type guitar with a shorter scale length. Not sure why they are branding this as a beginner feature when it's the same as most PRS and longer than most Gibson's, not to mention Fender Mustangs and Jaguars.
More shorter scale S type guitars please
Fender Strat Aerodyne ll (new version) is 24'75 scale guitar with alder body and two point trem.
Finally. As an Indonesian, been waiting for this. We made awesome instruments. But most of the time can't afford the mid priced guitars made here. Ironic
They better do a 7-string AZES version too! Also if you use the bridge pickup with the tone knob rolled halfway down gives you that Holdsworth saxophone kind of tone. Helps clean up some excess string noise, too. There's a sweet spot on each guitar but it's somewhere around halfway. Tone knobs aren't all bad.
For me the Tone Knob is more about controlling how ice-picky my bridge pickup is. Sometimes I want it to really come through like a proper pick with a big hammer, sometimes I want it smooth. I agree btw, those single coils sound really cool
I just wish they'd put another tone for the bridge single coil on the SSS model so we can tame the brightness down a little to ballance it out with the rest of the pickups.
That, with trem will be my perfect guitar.
I might just get the HSS one and lower the humbucker down to ballance the output. It's never ganna be as icy bright as single coils anyways no matter how much I lower it so.
Plus, it comes with a trem so.
Tried one and a fender player series. The fender had issues with the top two strings, wesk output and sustain. More straty souvd, slightly better subjectively. Very nice color and finish. The ibanez felt more substantial and sturdy, zero issues with any of the strings or the frets, more confidence inspiring. Slightly less straty sound but not a bad sound.
Id get a fender if i could sift through 20 of them and pick out the best one and the ibanez if i was buying online.
Genius marketing by Ibanez. Seriously considering picking up one of these.
Maybe it's just based on Jamie's playing style during the pickup demo (6:28), or maybe just the amp setting, but I feel like the stock pickups on this will really appeal (tonally) to a lot of new players coming into guitar today inspired by modern indie stuff, math rock, shoegaze, neo soul, Insta guitarists, etc. Which, I know some people are probably cynical about that stuff, but that is gonna be a lot of new guitarists, so props to Ibanez for that. Then again, it's also just kind of the AZ vibe, in a junior format. I mean, go figure, it's an AZES... Incredible option for an
Wow, Ibanez is going to be selling a LOT of these! Wish the colors were better, though.
Yes, a sunburst hardtail, just so the wife can't tell I bought another guitar!!! Lol
Yeah that mint green pickguard ruins the Ivory one
@@greg6509 Have you seen one in person? It’s makes a difference. I played one today (same color) and I liked it alright. I ended up getting the same one, but with a “tremolo” bridge.
I thing Prb looks good
Man I would love to buy the humbucker with two single coils in red color and put a Dimarzio super distortion bridge and two fender noiseless singles in the guitar and hear and feel how it plays. I think It could be a really good option for a cheap superstrat, maybe competing with the Fender player series ? As it stands right from the box they sound very bright and twangy almost like a telecaster, even the humbucker does not sound fat and warm like the usually do. I found with the "it does something knob" on one setting made them too bright and hard to listen to almost. I think at least a classic Dimarzio Super D in the bridge would transform this guitar. And the Dimarzio pickup is like 90$ so the guitar would still be a steal.
They both are totally not wired like a Stratocaster at all. Ibanez have reconfigured the pickup settings and combinations plus the switch where another pot would be on a Stratocaster gives untold tonal variations. Awesome guitars.
This one and ibanez AZ Premium made in Indonesia. The craftsmanship in Indonesian very good, love it💋
Welcome to Indonesia netizen.. Hello everyone.. keep rockin!
After debating getting the original AZ because the high pricing and they slam me with this. PERFECT TIMING IBANEZ
You got one Indonesian fellow here pal! :)
In all honesty you couldn't go wrong with either guitar, both are made very well and offer a lot for their pricing.
Sad to see these big brands. they never targeted us or endorsed our music. the salary set by the government is no more than $200 per month. while the guitars they sell for $ 350 and above. I also never saw them support our guitarist and bassist. domestic artist signature models, music education, or something like that. that's just, produce bass-guitar, ship overseas, and make a lot of money. 😓
oh no ...
Wow, I have been checking out the AZ series for a long while. Finally getting one, I think 😅
Wow! I'm from Indonesia and I don't know that Ibanez is made in Indonesia 😄
Diamond wipes: the Best video transition ever
🔷
Yup helo also back from Jakarta, Indonesia.
Loads of great guitars are made in Indonesia. However, not available for Indonesians, as they dont even sell em here.
Solar, strandberg, the newer legator, and many Ibanez models are never sold here.
I was hoping for an AZ in the $500 to $800 range. I think that would be the sweet spot for me
Agreed. I'm kind of surprised they haven't come out with an az model in that price range yet.
@@pastorofmuppets1968 I was chatting to Rich.Words.Music about these and he says this is a prime modding instrument. Turn it into a custom $500-$800 AZ yourself!
@@peterklein5861 if there was one with a roasted maple neck and fingerboard I would have definitely considered doing that
Yes, an alder bodied AZ hardtail with a roasted maple neck, sunburst!
I am from indonesian and so thanks 🤘🏼
The ivory one is compelling. Looks and sounds amazing
Just got one of these. And this guitar is really great! I literally have been playing it every day since I got it. I’m still figuring out the switching. But certainly interesting
Regarding the “let me see your settings comment”, that is really kind of just someone saying they like your tone and want to emulate it. I know the “learn to dial it in yourself” argument and typically do agree but, some people are just awful at understanding amps, pedals, and just eq in general 😂 I don’t consider myself a tone connoisseur by any means but, I realized some of my buddies would regularly ask for help when dialing in stage tones or when they’d get new gear. So all in all some people really just don’t get the technology but, can play like hell. I just learned more about tone and other aspects of guitar because I wasn’t virtuosic, I needed some sort of edge and getting a killer tone plus having good fundamentals got me on an even playing field if that even makes sense.
White SSS and hardtail, thats a winning combination. Im hoping its better than a squire at the same price, but thats a tough competition.
i have a squier vintage modified stratocaster from indonesia that was about the same price at launch. i can't wait to get a hold of these bc the neck is pretty thick on the squier and the frets are spaced out wide. i have small hands and I think the 25 inch scale, and 22 frets, instead of the 21 on the squier, will help with comfort
Hey, greetings from Indonesia guys!!! :)
please, please can we have more Trey & Jamie content - you guys are so entertaining together
If the people demand it
@@treyxaviermusic I don't know if this goes without saying but we demand it
Gear Street Videos... YES!!! Love those Ibañezeseseses! 🎸🤘😎
hope this has lefty versions, i'd buy in a heartbeat!
Didn't find any. No lefty support.
@@otakurocklee i agree but they do offer many other models lefty,but yes a lefty version of one of these guitars 🎸 would be nice,for the price $299 is a steal
Well, to all lefthanded beginners
Just go with right handed guitars. Of course, for more variety of guitars you can get and plus, the right handed guitars are actually easier for us to play because we have stronger left hand fingers.
I'm saying this as a left handed person and started with the normal right handed guitars and still playing right handed guitars.
Big love from Indonesia, auto subs from me.
Welcome!
In my day we had to build our own guitars from logs, rocks and cat guts and, we were THANKFUL.
That ICHI10 in the back tho👀👀 Please review it
Hi...
I'm from Java, Indonesia
Cheers mate 🍻
Yes Hi Gear Gods, Indonesians here... we have huge interest in guitars we even started making our own original brands (not internationally known yet) but i can say that they are just as good as entry level and medium class guitars from famous brands =) Im interested in the AZEs 40
Lol I love it, and playing through a $5,000 amp setup is fine, but I'd love to hear what they sound like through an all-tube 15-20 watt Orange or Marshall head in a mid-range Celestion V30 1x12 cab. Maybe a $700-$900 setup. It should still sound great, but a top-of-the-range Friedman goes a looong way I feel toward potentially making these sound a little higher end than they are haha.
Too bad that they don't offer nicer looking colors. They both sound awesome.
Agreed. The only one that isn’t pastel is the black, and it has a white guard. Frustrating.
@@stuminnis4050 guards are interchangeable, along with hardware.. it’ll take you 10 minutes and 15 bucks for whatever color guard you want
Hell yeah Jamie is a legend
Helo apakabar.....im come from Indonesia....you guys should be come to my country.... I'm Luthier from jakarta ...i build guitar by my self...but i'm proud the ibanez company make factory in my country...... Salam damai selalu dan selalu buat video yg sangat bagus seperti ini
You and Jamie are great together, you should do more videos
Greetings from Indonesia 🇮🇩
Hello
They are cool...
Do they have an HSS in the hard tail?
Never mind. I'll look and find out.
Come here to Indonesia mate... It's to die for. :v
It's so strange after them becoming synonymous with polyphia and chon to hear regular rock and metal tones coming from an AZ rig
There probably isn't a better all-rounder for 300 smackeroos
The Gretsch Juniors are probably better made and have better all-around tone, but they aren't a contoured strat shape, so it comes down to what people want. Gretsch absolutely makes the very best overall guitars under $400-$500 though.
I heard from some of the dudes in the liop that the classic vibe actually played better but about which sound better? idk, im gonna try it myself to be fair.
@@enthused7591 The AZES are are are meant for everything from blues to thrash metal, a "jack of all trades, master of none" as it were. But yeah, I'm probably inclined to agree with you since Gretsch tends to focus on certain music types
@@TheMrMRsmoke If it's the like MIM Fenders for $300 less, but $150 - $200 more than the AZES; then those dudes are probably right
I think I gotta buy this one, absolutely fantastic sound price wise, the only thing I would do is put a Locking tuners
As a guitar player, don't you hate it when someone starts fkn with the amp settings as you are playing?
I just bought the hss version in mint green all I can say is what a guitar for the money.
It’s the return of the Blazer, except not made in Japan
Think I found my next guitar purchas AMS has these for less than 30 a month!
this is not 'affordable' for average indonesians
for context: Yamaha Pacifica 112j and Cort c50 brand new is around $140 each
yes but 112 c50 is a junk 😂
@@wahyus7964 wrong
i am from indonesia thank you mister
6:01 yoooo that's super cool! Anywhere that we could buy that piece individually from?
Too much amazing sounds. Nice neck Profil. Good enough .Ibanez rules. 😃
It’s a shame that they don’t offer than nice rounded shape on Japan series with stainless steel frets.
What do you mean?
All AZs have stainless steel. Premium and Prestige.
@@user-pt1ye7vd7m not those ones
@@notalkguitarampplug-insrev784
Oh you meant the features on the Japanese.
Not that you want them to add those features to the Japanese line.
I see.
I guess I misunderstood.
Hello from Bali - Indonesia.... Like #513 and I've been subscribed looooong time ago :)
Thanks man, i'm from Indonesia
I’ve wanted a hard tail Strat-type forever. Now I can get one without having to resort to Fender’s stupid top loading cheapout bridge.
My Country Indonesia, Hello guys...
I saw one of these at G.C. A few days ago and it was impressive. The neck was great, the frets had no sharp edges, and the action was low with no buzzing. I’ve seen way too many 2k plus guitars that are terrible out of the box. I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen strats with the bridge pulled up from the body so far that the action is so high it is unplayable. I saw a Vintera in the same store with all the frets sharper than I’ve ever seen on a Squire Bullet, I guess it got boxed up before the fretwork was finished.
It’s a shame that quality is such a crap-shoot with so many of the major manufacturers. I think Ibanez has some of the best out of the box quality and set-up among all the big name brands.
The two biggest names in the electric guitar biz have been just going through the motions, for far too long. It’s shameful that so many Strats and other expensive guitars are unplayable out of the box.
I’m not suggesting that they get a professional set-up at the factory, but at least have it in the ball-park out of the box.
Thanks for moving that damn strat volume knob location I hate so much. WTH does the switch really do?
AHAHAHHA the old guy was absolutely shredding and the other dude RIPS out the cable and makes a fool of himself.
Oh, hey. That’s the LickLibrary guy. 👋😬
How is the setup? Is quality control on point? What's the weight? I need to see the trem under the plate.
Funny that this Ibanez is made in Indonesia and as of right now i was searching for these guitar online or guitar shops and they are not available everywhere lmao, to all Indonesian please help me find this :)
Might have to get one of these... as if I need more guitars. Fml
They sound great!
Hallo GEARGODS ,, Favorite guitar in indonesian
I'm from indonesia, but i can't find this guitar here... 😔
The switch is a series parallel switch.
@12:02 What happened here???
Ohhh 299$ !!!! Want it 🔥🎸
sound great
Also Ibanez do something. I like a lot as someone who isnt buying his first guitar. I think strats are overrated and one thing I dont like is the tremolosystem not staying in tune. So I like hardtailstrats and Ibanez does it, at a good pricepoint.
It should be called the Tomo Fujita special!!!
Hey trey can you do a vid on how to set up midi swiching for live?
Just missing 2 freats…..its almost perfect
I really Like thats buttercream, it's Look so cool 🤟
how does it compares with Ibanez GRX40?
sound is Friedman
Hallo again ....Perfect
Hello,, cheers
Im Indonesian
That looks exactly like the early 80s Roadstar II Series which was my intro to Ibanez. Still one of my favorite guitars. I wish I still had it.
Love my azes31
Good sound 👍🤟
can I buy the dina mix 8 separately?
Nice colour 🎸👍
Looks really good for 299.
Jamie taught me about 20 years ago
NGL, this is the price class that almost all those ibanez' with that headstock LOOK they should be in from all the press material I've seen. I really don't think they, minus a few like the Tim Henson signature, have a premium look / vibe.
Whattttttttt lol I love mine truly. It plays and sounds incredible, looks are subjective
@@TylerSmithMusic1 yeah but when I spend 1500 plus on a guitar I want it to look the part as well 😋 I agree they sound terrific.
@@RJW14 personally I love the way mine looks. But to each their own! To me the neck is really gorgeous, and the sea foam green, pink models looks really refined. I promise I’m not some guitar snob lol
@@TylerSmithMusic1 I know it's just my taste in guitars :) Also the one I like least is the H-H one with the flat sunburst. 😂
Personally I like carve tops with figured woods.