Ibanez Prestige AZ2204-iCm £1,779 (inc case)
b y design, the AZ series is all about function: a tool to do a job. That said, both the body and neck adopt a more vintage bolt-on guise that’s less pointy, more classic than we’re used to from Ibanez. The body contours here, especially the rib-cage cut, is very deep and although the edge radius is pretty tight these are comfortable, familiar guitars. The weights are good too – the Japanesemade Prestige’s alder bodies slightly weightier than the basswood (with a thin figured maple or bocote topped three-ply facing, see Spec Check) of the Indonesianmade Premium models.
All the AZs, as you’d expect, are based around the classic 648mm (25.5-inch) bolt-on scale length. There are both 22- and 24-fret models in both Prestige and Premium lines: the 22-fret models have an HSS pickup configuration and a Strat-meets-RG-style scratchplate; the 24-fret models have dual directmount humbuckers with no scratchplate and rear-mounted electronics. Bridge positions are the same on both 22/24fret platforms, the 24-fret neck therefore sits slightly deeper into the body and as a result the treble cutaway is slightly deeper, too.
All use the same heavily rounded ‘All Access’ body heel with four recessed screws that sit into inset washers; the heel area is slightly thinner in depth than the rest of the body and both cutaways have quite considerable scooping on the back, not the front. High fret access is easy.
Roasted maple is becoming the neck wood of choice for those serious about their bolt-ons. The Prestige models use something called S-Tech wood – a patented torrefaction process created by Sendai Technologies in Japan that “decreases the density and improves the wood’s dimensional stability. It also gives the wood a more uniformly dark appearance”. The Premium models use roasted maple, which has a lighter colour (and on the AZ224F a very vivid grain) that’s still darker than untorrefied wood. Material aside, the necks are spec’d with a similar ‘oval C’ profile, a standard 305mm (12-inch) Gibson-like radius and jumbo stainless steel frets – those on the Prestige models being very slightly wider and taller. Nuts are oil-impregnated bone on the Prestige models and Graph Tech Tusq XL on the Premium models. Position markers are black dots on the face which do lack a little contrast on the darker Prestige ’boards but side dots are the modern musthave glow-in-the-dark types. Oh, and that headstock is far from pointy and employs a ‘vintage’ logo. It all helps to move the AZ away from Ibanez’s overly rock image.
Hardware too is very similar. Tuners are Gotoh’s SG381 with both height adjustable posts (HAP) and Magnum Locks. The former allow you set the post heights to maximize the string angle behind the nut although Ibanez still uses a string tree on the top two strings while the locking element self-locks as you wind on the string
As well as different woods and pickups the Prestige models clearly have an extra level of detail, too
and unlocks – usually with a little help from a blade or coin in the top notched tip – as you unwind it. Once you get used to ’em they’re fine but both the locking element and setting the post heights can be, well, fiddly at first.
The vibrato bridge is essentially the same design on both ranges, based on Gotoh’s ‘modern classic’ 510 with two height adjustable and lockable pivot posts, plus a new-design knurled collar to tension the push-fit vibrato arm. The Prestige’s T1802 version uses nicely-shaped titanium saddles and a full steel block without deep drilled anchor holes; the Premium’s T1502 uses plated steel saddles and a tapered die-cast FST block, which has deep drilled anchor holes. Spacing is quoted on both as 10.5mm – which should mean an E-to-E string spread of 52.5mm when in fact on all four it measures bang on 52mm at the saddle’s break point. The vibratos sit virtually flush with the guitars’ top face but a recess underneath means travel, especially upbend, is enhanced without having to tilt the unit.
Pickups and Control
Having gone to so much detail it’s little surprise we have a completely new set of AZ-exclusive pickups: Seymour Duncan Hyperion designed collaboratively, we’re told, with Duncan’s Maricela ‘MJ’ Juarez. While we’re told the pickups on both series are the same our Prestige HSS pickups are clearly marked as originating from Duncan’s Custom Shop; those on the Premium appear to be standard production – an easy ID are the copper foil wraps around the Premium’s humbucking coils; the Prestige’s are black. They’re classed as ‘moderate’ output (the Premium units have a slightly lower DCR) with Alnico 5 magnets. However, it’s the switching system that provides yet another twist.
The HSS guitars have the dyna-MIX 9 system introduced by a two-way minitoggle ‘Alter’ switch placed between the master volume and tone controls. In position 1 (towards the tone control) we get the usual selections from the five-way: neck, neck and middle, middle, middle and slug coil of the bridge humbucker and, lastly, the full bridge humbucker. Flip the Alter switch towards the volume control, however, and we get four additional sounds: neck and middle in series, neck and screw coil of the bridge humbucker in parallel, neck and middle in series plus the bridge humbucker added in parallel, the slug coil of the bridge humbucker and, once again, the bridge humbucker.
The HH guitars go one sound further with the dyna-MIX 10 system. Here with