Another indoor day for me as my right leg felt numb for a good part of the morning. Spent time with the SZ2020 here. It's one of the few Prestige models made in Korea. This happened for three years only (2005 - 2007) & excluded the RG Prestige models which were still made in Japan.
Ibanez collaborated with Seymour Duncan to manufacture the Seymour Duncan IBZ pickups which are genuine Duncans made in the USA. The ones in this SZ are based on Seymour Duncan's '59 / Distortion models. They are simply awesome sounding to me. The SZs were the most popular Ibanez model in terms of sales back in the day but they were discontinued despite making money for the manufacturer. When the SZ debuted, it got many players by surprise because Ibanez actually moved away from skinny necks for this model. It's also a set neck construction, again, a departure from the bolt-on design of the RG / S-series. Ironically, the thick neck construction proved to be another selling point for Ibanez today - the AZ series.
4 comments:
Always have an eye on the SZs but could never pull the trigger. I'm always an RG guy and I know they are totally two different worlds. But, what are these SZs similar to in comparison? ART? ARZ? PRS?
I tried this model a couple of years ago during a Swee Lee sale. The guitar was as heavy as an LP. I didnt get it.
@Fred - The guitar is very similar to Schecter's C-Series in terms of appointments & neck profile, only Ibanez managed to make it feel 'thinner' while still being substantial.
@vic - Yes, the guitar is heavy. The Mike Mushok signature version (MMM-1) was the heftiest. There were lighter models eg. SZ320 but it's still heavy compared to the average RG. Swee Lee sale - those were the days.
I’ve owned this guitar for 9 years. I will keep it forever because it plays amazing. A real gem, seems quite rare. I like top, also the set neck is nice.
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