One of the multiple slogs hurled at Ibanez is that they produce a very wide variety of guitars that are quite similar, and apparently for some people this turns into option paralysis. Except here’s the solution to that problem. Get thee to a guitar shop and try a number of different guitars. A great shop will have all manner of options in the budget that you have allocated. One key thing is to have an idea of what you want the guitar to deliver as a player, the label on the headstock doesn’t enter into the playability question for smart folks. Consider the weight, the balance, the feel of the neck, the fit and finish, how it sounds not plugged in, and then once you have a short list, spend 10-15 minutes with each one with an amp that you know. Spending an hour in a guitar shop is fun, and a great shop wants a customer who is going to make an intelligent buying decision. It reduces buyer’s remorse and the probability that further business will come. A shop that rushes you or chases you out is a place that you won’t want to deal with anyway.

So far this year, I have reviewed more Ibanez guitars than in the history of my channel. My reasons were that I had tried a number of guitars in the past and left completely underwhelmed. When my dear friend Cody pushed me to try the Ibanez S 521 earlier this year, I was blown away by how good it was. I still advocate it in the under $600 CAD category overall. Since then I have tried a number of Ibanez instruments with the only criteria that they pleased me. Most were decent guitars, some needing more work at the store before leaving than I would consider acceptable and one unnamed instrument that I couldn’t handle for more than 5 minutes. I was starting to think that the S521 was an anomaly, until Fraser of The Arts Music Store arranged for me to review the Ibanez Iceman. I loved it. It’s simple. It does exactly what it is supposed to do. Yes, it is made in China, and that meant nothing negative in practical use. So I was more open minded when Fraser put this article’s guitar in my hands.

I am told that the AZ series refers to the A to Z changes made to the RG series based on customer feedback. I did review an RG and thought it was decent and would never personally buy one for fit, feel, comfort and usability reasons. The AZ42P1 was completely different. Light, balanced, a terrific neck feel and a in hand sense of superb quality. So, I decided that a review was worth my time. I receive no compensation for this work that I do, nor do I receive consideration in other forms either. I enjoy great guitars.

AZ42P1 Overview

The guitar that I had for the review is pictured at the top of the article. It is finished in what Ibanez calls Prussian Blue Metallic and as I have a direct experience with a certain German built sports car in Prussian Blue Metallic, this guitar finish is two shades too bright to qualify, but that nit is truly irrelevant. It is an S Style body with a two point Gotoh vibrato bridge, a five way pickup selector, two Seymour Duncan Hyperion humbuckers, one volume, one tone and a micro switch with a, to me, silly name between the control pots. The arm clicks into place and position can be set for swing tension with a simple rotating nut. The tuners are Gotoh locking tuners on a roasted maple C shaped neck with a very nice rosewood fingerboard. The 24 frets are stainless steel, the dots mother of pearl and the side markers are Luminlay. It came strung from the factory with D’Addario EXL 110 strings in the 10-46 gauge package.

Specifications

Rather than type in the specs, I am sharing them with you exactly as published on Ibanez’s site, saving you the time to find the model in the voluminous listings.

Playing Experience

The guitar came in a dedicated gig bag that offers decent protection given how light and slim it is. In the bag was the arm, and a folding toolkit that EVERY guitar should come with. All the tools in a simple pocket tool not unlike a certain red multifunction knife. All the hex keys, the micro screwdrivers, the truss rod adjuster all in one unit that is really nicely put together. Whoever is responsible needs really positive recognition, this is so much better than the usual plastic bag of immediately lost tiny bits. Ibanez please take notice of this genius.

The AZ42P1 is from the Premium subgroup of the AZ family. Here in Canada it sells for $1819.99 CAD MAP. This puts it in the $2K price range which has become rather crowded with both sub par versions of more expensive guitars and overpriced versions of underwhelming same old same old. With the exception of the superb MIJ Charvel I reviewed recently, the AZ42P1 puts its competitors for the dollar in the bin. One of the key things for me, is how light weight the basswood body and maple neck combo are. I’ve picked up similarly priced Swamp Ash bodies from another vendor also made in Indonesia that come in at nearly twice the weight of the AZ42P1. Weight matters over time, no matter how big and muscular you are. Why work so hard?

I play EVERY electric guitar unplugged first. If the guitar doesn’t ring and perhaps sing on its own, amplification will not make a pile of dead lumber live. This instrument rings like a bell. I can feel the resonance into my chest and hands. It’s a fabulous experience.

The pickups sound good. There is a volume fall off in positions 2 and 4, but this is not uncommon, and the micro switch that taps the coils (Ibanez says tap not split) sounds ok, but not like actual single coils. I found the guitar sounded better with overdrive than clean tones, which surprised me given how good the instrument is acoustically.

Fit and finish are superb, an enormous step up from the RG and JIVA Jr, that I have evaluated in the past. No frets sticking out, the neck smooth and quick although the carve is definitely uneven. Not bad, just not even.

The output jack is on the side of the guitar near the strap button. This means if you stand the guitar up not in a hanging stand, there is unnecessary strain placed on the plug in the jack. Why the jack could not be in a more standard position on the side of the lower bout is beyond me. It feels like different for the same of different with no actual player benefit delivered.

Example Sounds

In the first clip I recorded the AZ42P1 directly into Logic Pro via the Clarett 8+ Pre and used a PRS Archon amp with a clean preset. As I found with other amps, if the volume and tone are up full, clean is very hard to achieve with these pickups. The sequence is Power Tap Off, bridge, position 2, middle, position 4 and neck. I then repeat this with exactly the same settings, but this time with the Power Tap On. The chart above shows what each position does.

The second clip is much shorter and uses the bridge pickup with the Power Tap Off into a Marshall 2555 with two microphones on the 4x12 and some minor delay.

Wrapping Up

There is nothing at all wrong with this guitar. The build quality is excellent, the neck shape is very comfortable and by going with Gotoh hardware all the issues that I have encountered over time with in house Ibanez hardware are gone. The Seymour Duncan pickups have good versatility, although in my opinion, I did not find anything particularly exciting about them. It’s substantially better than some guitars that I have played in the thousand dollar range, and average in its current price point. One might find a less expensive guitar that would need some pro tweaking to bring it to this level of playability. While this guitar did not have the dye stink of the PRS SE CE 24 Standard Satin, that guitar is much less expensive and was as easy to play, and I liked the pickups better. However, the body resonance on this Ibanez was incredibly good, and on that alone it gets high marks.

If you decide to get one, please consider getting yours from The Arts Music Store as they help support the channel and please support the channel yourself by becoming a member on Patreon. Send in questions or post comments, I read and respond to all. Thanks as always. I’m Ross Chevalier and we will speak again soon.