Ibanez Premium AZ242F-tsg £1,069 (inc soft shell case)
Scotch-Brite pad made them feel very satinsmooth, especially those Prestige necks.
The modern/vintage vibe certainly continues to the actual sound. None of the guitars have an overly resonant response: it’s quite firm but with oodles of zingy sustaining ring that’s a noticeable contrast to the woodier unplugged response of the more traditional vintage-y bolt-ons we have for comparison.
Getting your head around the sound options takes a little practice. As we said, the ‘standard’ mode is with that two-way Alter switch pointing down towards the tone control and with the bridge humbuckers measuring around 14.8k ohms (the neck ’bucker measures approximately 9k ohms), the single coils just over 10k ohms, these are far from vintage spec. The humbuckers impart a thick but not overly dark voice; the single coils, despite that overwound reading, sound full but nicely contrasting and well-balanced in context.
A little time spent with the HSS Prestige reveals a beautiful hard rock platform that retains quite a woody, percussive bolt-on character while it certainly doesn’t wimp out in bridge position. As ever the single coils provide the more textural contrast and through a clean Fender amp voice, with a little volume reduction, produce more than credible Stratty funk rhythm, Texas Blues sizzle and a lot more.
Accessing the other four sounds, with the two-way switch pointing up towards the volume expands the core sounds (and retains the go-to bridge humbucker voice) with some reasonably complex series links and, in this mode, the only true single coil voice (the slug coil of the bridge humbucker). Any switching system like
this is ultimately a compromise and the key lies in learning to navigate it. About the only thing not covered here is a proper neck humbucking voice – it is an HSS, of course! But that said the neck and middle in series certainly goes in that direction with quite a wide and thick voice. No, it ain’t a classic PAF-alike but with a lot more gain there’s a vocal character that’s near perfect for your Beck-esque emotive instrumental leads. Switch to clean and it’ll get you through a more muted jazz/blues tune with absolutely no problem.
With no proper single coils, the 24-fret dual humbucker format models would seem to move away from Fender-like voicings. If we’re honest, a three-way switch for just the humbuckers would make this a hugely valid rock machine but there are another seven sounds to explore from the inner or outer single coils, to the solo slug and screw coils of the neck and bridge respectively. These sound a little thinner and brighter than the 22-fretters’ proper single coils but again, in context, they add huge stylistic versatility.
And then there are the ‘Power Tap’ voicings of either humbucker or both together. Now these don’t capture a ‘true’ single coil voice – we already have those. No, these PT voicings sit somewhere between a single coil and humbucker. There’s slightly more single coil-like hollowness compared to the full ’bucker’s direct power yet still
the breadth of sounds on these AZ models might surprise those who’ve pigeon-holed ibanez as shred guitars for the masses
with considerable humbucker depth. Clean they benefit from a little volume roll-off – there’s even a hint of a Rickenbacker’s unique growl – while gained they provide another texture, especially so at the bridge. Indeed, in this secondary mode a different guitar emerges and having the solo single coils in the mix positions – then simply switching the Alter switch to introduce the inner or outer single coil mixes – gives immense Fendery flavour that’s far from the clichéd image of the none-more-rock RG.
The more affordable Premium guitars have all of the above although do sound a little softer, slightly less percussive and bold especially on those more single coil-y voices. For high gain settings, basswood has its credentials and if that’s your sole sonic aim then you could save yourself a large wedge of cash. But the AZ design is about covering more bases and the alder-bodied Prestige models, to our ears at least, sound more ‘grown-up’.
The vibrato systems are all slightly differently set but, with strings stretched, tuning stability – not least with the huge up/ down pitch range – is impressive. Sure, you can’t deck the vibrato as many prefer but then that falls into more traditional bolt-on territory: don’t forget, these are still Ibanez guitars through and through.
Verdict
Hugely interesting, these AZ models might well surprise many players who’ve pigeonholed Ibanez as shred guitars for the masses. They certainly do that with plenty of potential for Floyd Rose-style whammy tricks (without the hassle of locks) but the Prestige models in particular would get you through a more conservative covers gig, no problem. In fact, with the expansive switching systems on both the HH and HSS platforms there are plenty of credible sounds for players never intending to hit the high-gain channel. If Ibanez had added a proper tap – perhaps via a pull/push switch on the tone – to pull down the heat of the ’buckers for a more vintage spec voice, they’d have created the near perfect hybrid.
But, as is, for the player wanting to cover virtually everything from jazz to shred, well, they’ve pretty much done it. These are seriously versatile, good-sounding, tidily-made instruments that deserve to put Ibanez squarely back into the mainstream.