Pink & blue

Ibanez decides to end the year by giving two new colours to their AZES models. The AZES40 here gets a pink one. Ibanez calls it pastel pink.

The AZES31 gets a blue overcoat which Ibanez refers to as purist blue. Lest we forget, the AZES models are 25" in scale length, slightly shorter than the RG & many other Ibanez models.

Pics: Ibanez

Seconds

Not in the best of moods. Did what I had to do, came home & played guitar. Just thankful that these are my benevolent distractions, always there to see me through, making sure nothing untoward happens to me. Just want to hear some single coils in action today but not from a Fender so I had the above guitars out.

AZES31

I like everything about this guitar; the fixed bridge, the default single coils & even the rosewood 'board. I usually prefer maple for single coils. That slightly shorter scale length - wonderful. This is one of those single coil guitars that actually likes to be distorted. I have a 095 set in this one, no plans to change string gauge any time soon.

Silver Sky SE

I spent some time tinkering with the action of this one, before settling with a slightly higher version from the rest of my guitars. Not much higher actually, just a wee bit to make it right for speedy moments. There won't be any guitar that would not induce me to play fast but playing fast is not what I do all the time. The single coils in this one sound much more appealing in clean mode compared to the AZES. They don't sound as thick in distortion mode though, they are what I refer to as crunchers - lesser distortion, more volume for optimum performance. 

Both the AZES & SSSE exist with expectations to fulfil the performance of their bigger brothers, the AZ & Silver Sky respectively. This is a difficult feat considering the compromised features they were conceived with. Then again, we are not objective if we buy these guitars with such expectations. It's a myopic assessment of what these instruments are all about. They hold their own in their respective price brackets & should not be seen exclusively as they budget alternatives of their greater manifestations. 

In any case, both manufacturers made a wise commercial move with these instruments. Ibanez - in view of how popular the AZ Series are in the mean time with the endorsement of next gen guitar mavericks to back up reputation, do note that the AZES models are not given the GIO label, despite residing in a GIO price range. Ibanez retain the class appeal of the AZ by letting the budget interpretation reside in its own domain referred to as the AZES. The Silver Sky SE had to happen, considering the SE models are bringing in the money for PRS across the board, not just the Silver Sky version. PRS did the right thing by making each & every SE model good contenders of playability & tone by paying attention to quality all round. As such, they remain as hot sellers despite not really being that accessible in terms of price, for beginners especially. 

Dark singles

Raining + no money = Stay home, play guitar. The Strat lasted for 10min. Not a Strat day for me, kept making mistakes, movements across strings were awful. The AZES - 30min. I am just glad I have different guitars in the house when this kinda situation happens. On some days, for some unfathomable reasons, I just can't play a certain guitar but in other days, that same guitar is great. Today, the Strat was just not it but I want to hear single coils in action so the AZES more than made up for things.

Dark here refers to the dark fretboard. I have a thing for maple fretboards when it comes to single coils but there are days the darker rosewood has more tonal appeal. The AZES31 on the other hand has a jatoba fretboard but still exudes the warm midrange. 

Essentially better

Spent time with the AZES31 today. Ever since I owned it, I find the default single coil pickups in this guitar above average but there's one thing it's unable to manifest well - twang. 

The main suspects were the default 500K pots & 22uf capacitor as evident in this entry: CLICK Took it down to Beez today to swap them out for 250Ks & a 47uf capacitor. That humongous Orange cap happened to be the most proximate when I was looking for a replacement capacitor. Verdict: It went from good to great. I still believe that single coil pickups match well with 250K pots. Some of us might enjoy the extra crispy tones of the 500K ones but they will take away some twang factor, that's what I noted.

Gave it a fresh set of EB Primo set (.0095s). I bought this pack about a month ago & intentionally kept it away for some time to see if rust spots would appear on the strings but none were seen here. However, due to the delayed use, the 'slinkiness' were not as apparent as those coming from a fresh pack. Not a bad Tuesday after all. 

Sale: Swee Lee Peninsula

This was just announced today - Swee Lee is having a clear out at its Peninsula branch. Stuff are going for 35% off, some go for lesser & the rest are not on sale. Most of these items are B-stock stuff but include out-of-the-box instruments as at Saturday, 2/10/2021. Please don't ask if they can bring in another one of the same model because most are just one-offs / the final unsold unit. 

Please take note of the sale rules, it's mostly appealing to your senses. It's still COVID times so only 2 customers are allowed at any one time in the store. There's a designated queue space outside the store, please observe safe distancing as well. Most importantly, only one Swee Lee staff will be overseeing sale proceedings, his name is Mr. Fahmy. He's the one entertaining your queries, packing your stuff, finalizing payments & managing the sale queue, among others. Please be nice to him.

Moving on to some worthy recommendations, I have two in the mean time. This Ibanez AZES31 is definitely a steal because it's a new release & it's on sale. Meaning, if you wish to acquire something that's next to brand new for good money, this is the most unmolested guitar in store. 

The next worthy consideration is this PRS S2 McCarty Singlecut. Sweet all round tone, great playability. OK, I better not talk too much, I have no money. Bye.

Pics: PRS / Ibanez / Swee Lee FB

Essential 31 (3)

Here we go - the cavity route for the Ibanez AZES31 is the HSH version. Hope this gives some joy to the people out there who have plans to mod theirs. Of course, the after market Strat / RG pickguards will NOT fit. Please be informed. 

The pots might be the initial consideration for you folks if you ever consider swapping out stuff to make things sound 'better'. Not that these are bad - I like them - they are the 500K version & this is the reason why the tone is bright in this one. It might be too much for some of us. The Dynamix switch (between the pots) is actually a circuitboard & not something a 3-way toggle can handle if you wish to replace this one as well. There's a whole bunch of wires actually hiding underneath the pickguard as seen here. I have plans for pickup replacement but I will save that for another episode.

Hope everyone is safe & please continue to be safe. The Covid numbers are running crazy & it's only gonna get crazier so safety first, yes?

Essential 31 (2)

At this price point, a guitar of this nature necessitated a compromise when it comes to areas that can indeed tolerate a compromise. The string retainer of the AZES31 is not the rounded version, the one equipped in the Premium / Prestige selections.  Seen here are the budget M / butterfly style retainers & they are asymmetrical to address the non-staggered tuning shafts. If you've missed it, the ones in the Premium / Prestige models are the staggered version; the reason why only one is needed. 

I have swapped them out for this Gotoh pair. If you are interested, the specific model reference is seen above. What's the big deal? The rounded retainers are devoid of sharp edges & would decrease the likelihood of strings snapping at this end. These are available at Davis GMC. 

Essential 31

So ten days after it was sent to me for a re-string / set up, I have taken over the ownership of the Ibanez AZES31 (I would have preferred the red version over this one but that's purely a cosmetic preference). This was paid for after selling off some other miscellaneous stuff which I had lying around here at home. I managed to shave off nearly half of the asking price for this instrument through this financing & must remind myself it's still not the right time to buy gear in the midst of settling my chemo bills; still expecting at least four more to be in the mailbox soon. Really looking forward to finally declare I have nothing to do with treatment bills any more. Wonder when this day will come...

Anyway, would like to share with you why the previous owner decided to let it go:

• Does not feel like a Strat. Of course, it's not a Fender & it's not trying to be one / outperform one in any way. It's appealing mainly to the Ibanez campers to embrace something more traditional without moving over to the competitor's camp. If you have a good / preferred Strat to begin with, high chance you might not deem this worthy / embrace the subtle differences.
• No whammy bridge. That's right, it's a fixed bridge. If you want the whammy version, the AZES40 has that feature. I'm with fixed bridges these days & welcome this readily.
• No use for that extra switching. This is the signature feature of the AZ models; giving the player  extra tonal manifestations & pickup combos to make it 'unique'. Yes, some of us prefer an S-style guitar to remain as one in its strict manifestation. The extra options are not to our preference & we wonder why we paid for that to begin with

I'm not averse to these features & largely an Ibanez fan so these are acceptable details for me. A 3x single coil combo in an Ibanez is something I've not owned & that added to my OK list for owning this guitar. 

Essentials (3)

OK folks, my final coverage of the new Ibanez AZES series is this AZES31. Yes, it's the Ibanez version of an S-type guitar but this one has a fixed bridge & that definitely hyped me up. A 25" scaled guitar + triple single coils, that would put us in the PRS Silver Sky territory without paying for one ($429 vs $2,999) but we know it's not gonna be a like-for-like comparison, just a thought.

How would that dyna-MIX switching system serve this guitar since there's no humbucker in there? The above reference shows that, in use, there are series options in position 1 & 5. In position 3, you get a Tele-style pickup combo giving a total of 8 different tonal responses. Keeps you busy on days when counting grass might be an interesting proposition.

Finally, this is something I had left out in my previous coverage - a one piece input jack. Meaning - the entire baseplate is your input jack. Good - a single unit means you won't be dealing with the shaft coming loose over time, reducing connectivity issues. Not good - if the entire plate gives way (eg. crack / break), you think there's a ready replacement out there? Of course, if you don't mind a non-one piece unit like an LP type feature, it's good. I can't confirm this compatibility till I measure one in person. When will that happen? Hmm...

Pics: Ibanez

Essentials (2)

The new Ibanez AZES models are now in stock at Swee Lee with the listed prices depicted above (no bag included, please note). I'm happy because the local dealer here actually sync'd the availability according to the international release. Keeping things current is the way to go - thumbs up! 

PS: Thank you branch manager Mr Faizal for keeping me informed. 👍

Pics: Ibanez