Ibanez AZES40 Electric Guitar: Affordable, Playable, and Great Tones!

[@intheblues]

Hi guys! Thanks for all of the cool comments. This is a great-sounding and playing guitar and for the price it's very impressive. Thanks to Sky Music for the loaner. Check it out below using my affiliate links. 😎🎸 🛒 Sweetwater - sweetwater.sjv.io/75AMny 🛒 Thomann - bit.ly/46MS4Jo 🛒 Guitar Center - guitar-center.pxf.io/DKE3On 🛒 ZZSounds - bit.ly/4cpyc0b 🛒 Sky Music - alnk.to/gzVSyYM

[@jeffharper2661]

If that is the one I think it is Tomo Fujita a professor at Berkeley had a hand in with Ibanez to design and come out with this guitar!

[@BAND-MAID-USA]

Yep. He designed them. They are absolutely insane guitars. I have one of each. HSS and SSS

[@tatialo37]

​@@BAND-MAID-USAI have the reddish hard tail and I want this one!!!

[@tatialo37]

I call them the Tomo Fujita Signature Series guitar!!!

[@simonsmith2642]

He is such a sweet man, and one hell of a player, he knows so much, and can play so flawlessly, if he wasn’t as humble as he is he could make us all feel like beginners. But he doesn’t. He is so encouraging. Love Tomo. Not a fan of the AZ though. Not a cork sniffer but, Feder just does subtle things I prefer to other S style guitars. That said I have MIJ strats from the same factory as these ( if you buy FGN Japan version) and they are good too, but still not what keeps me coming back to Fender,

[@davidyoung8875]

I've had mine for a month and it's one the best guitars i've played in years. the pickup combos are amazing. any sound you want this has got it. I'm left handed and that is my guitar, I love the colour.

[@tatialo37]

Did you tweak the nut? I find it a little too high in cowboy chord position.

[@tres311]

AZ Ibanez and Yammy Pacifica are 2 great guitars for beginners

[@itwaslikethatwhenigothere]

As somebody with smallish hands and fingers, iv never played an ibanez guitar or bass that I haven't liked. The thin necks are so comfortable, and the quality you get for the price is incredible.

[@jamesmoffatt6435]

Hey Shane... Jimbo here from The Great Pacific NW. When I saw the headstock(Ibanez) I immediately knew what the guitar was. It's from their "Essentials" line of strats. I recently watched a video on Anderton's where Lee & Pete were trying the new Laney Foundry Lionheart Series all analog amps. Pete was playing The Laney LF-60 amp pared with this guitar(albeit pink colored). The combination of the 2 sounded really really good, almost rivaling tube amp sounds. Yup, this guitar sounds great, and the playability of Ibanez's necks-like butter. Ciao

[@filotest3093]

Finally someone did a comparison with a mini switch on/off at the same position of the main 5-way switch! Thank you

[@BAND-MAID-USA]

Have both versions for over a year. Two absolutely insane guitars for $300-$350 ever made. I primarily play ESP Japan, Ibanez Japan, several Fender MiM and USA several Japanese Fenders and Squiers. These guitars are easily on that level. And for once a pickup selector switch actually makes an insane difference. I play them everyday out of pure love for them. 40 years as a rock touring musician. These guitars are absolutely ridiculous and will smash a lot of American made guitars EASILY

[@tatialo37]

Did you have to adjust string height at the nut? I find mine a tad too high on mine. I have the hard tail guitar.

[@BAND-MAID-USA]

@@tatialo37 I have the HSS and SSS. I, out of habit, do a setup on every guitar I’ve ever owned BUT. I hardly did anything at all and it definitely wasn’t needed on either. Neck was straight, action was good, pickup height was good etc. but I just can’t stop myself from seething up EXACTLY to my liking. Plus I also wanted to take the pick guard off when I bought them and look inside the cavity. Which was also great and shielded. So I did do a setup that I do on every guitar I buy whether it’s an ESP Japan or a Squier from China. But it definitely didn’t need it. Actually I did polish the frets on both. But every guitar I’ve ever purchased could benefit from polishing the frets. But the were all perfect and level and no rough ends either at all. It’s a killer guitar. There isn’t another guitar on this earth anywhere near this price for what these guitars are. And I’m serious. Not even close. Even the PRS SE line a Fender player series and a lot of American Strats can’t compare at all. If this said Fender, Gibson, etc in the headstock it’d easily be well over a grand, easily. In fact, Fender and Gibson don’t even make any guitar that’s as well thought out as this one. No matter how much you pay. I’ve had Custom shop guitars from both of them that SUCKED and sent back. The PRS SE line of guitars are nice and between $700 and $1000 dollars and aren’t as versatile as these. I just bought the new PRS NF-3 2 days ago. It’s very nice and somewhat versatile ( not like these tho, ) and it’s $800. There just simply isn’t another guitar made anywhere near this price that’s on par with these. Even the really nice Squier Classic Vibes and stuff aren’t in this level for $200 more. I can’t say enough good stuff about these obviously and Ibanez deserves an award for what they were able to do in this price range. And to be fair, in any price range. Like I said. I’ve spent thousands on Custom Shop guitars from Gibson Fender and PRS and have sent several back. The only guitars I’ve never had a single issue with is ESP Japan and Ibanez Japan. And now both of my AZES’s. Ibanez just showed the world what can actually be done at this price range and every other manufacturer is still playing BS games.

[@9unslin9er]

You should probably just buy this. I think these are some of the best tones you've ever gotten.

[@Natural_Order]

Seriously I really like the sound of this guitar. I might go pick one up myself

[@silverwings1843]

Last year I was looking thru Guitar Center's blemished and damaged stock. I found a black AZES40 for $175 that had a big chip out of the butt end. I figured what the heck and picked it up. I repaired the damage well and replaced and lowered the nut. What a surprise!!! Actually as good as most Strats I have owned. Amazing!! I see that many that own these want to replace the pickups with Alnico. Why?? And what a hassle!!! It deserved a Good Case which I immediately got.

[@kennethc2466]

I own quite a few "expensive, X country/custom shop" guitars. Nothing plays better than my gifted, 2009 CHEAP Ibanez RG2EX2, sans my JEM. I have a Prestige AZ, love it, and that sounds quite similar to your review in applicable tones. Well done demo, and showing what a value some 'cheap' Ibanez guitars are.

[@RyanGunns]

Best beginner level guitar!

[@TheElectricfishmusic]

Great review of a very worthwhile guitar. The pickups do sound great, and the versatility of the extra pickup positions is a big bonus for players who like non-standard options. One thing worth mention is the 25" scale length. Kind of in between normal Gibson and Fender scales.

[@tatialo37]

That guitar is worth more now because it is broken in by Shane, a great guy and great guitar player!!!!

[@DadRockAndGuitars]

Played one of these at Guitar Center a couple of months ago. I was really surprised at how good it was!

[@shanewalton8888]

Very versatile for a budget-friendly guitar.

[@andrewbecker3700]

Maybe not my favorite color, that example. But for someone that's on a budget. That has to be as good or better S type HSS, as anything out there at that price. Could always go under the hood and wire it anyway you want then. Black, with some misc. upgrades. Could build a killer Gilmour or Blackmore hotrod special, with some skillfull used parts hunting.

[@GraphiteandCigars]

I love Ibanez. Had my eye on the Lari Basillio signature model in white. Pricey but sexy tele shaped object non the less :)

[@TheGuitarCurator]

Geez, that's nice. Love the colour! It's really cool that they put that wiring system on a more affordable model! I actually installed a similar wiring system in my strat, and it's a lot of fun. It makes the guitar very versatile. I checked the price locally and could not believe it... that's a lot of guitar for the money. Thanks for sharing, Shane!

[@rselp]

Th QC of even the low end Ibanez guitars is ridiculously great...they definitely compare very favourably to Cort, Squier, Artist, Yamaha etc. You pulled some great tones from this guitar!

[@joltmark3612]

I was just showing a coworker friend this guitar last week. We were wondering about the toggle. Thanks for demonstrating it. I will have to show him the video, it sounds nice!

[@davidkastin4240]

Great Strat. Got an eye on it. Thanks Shane.

[@doogledog1740]

Thanks for reviewing this Ibanez, Shane. I'd liked the look of these since they were released a year or two back but hadn't heard much about them. It's another reminder of how good "lowly" ceramic pickups can sound.

[@ronpatterson6420]

I had a chance to play a couple of those a few times and they are very impressive. Great demo Shane! 👍

[@kal_george32]

I've got one of these, amazing guitar for £300. After playing it I had to have it. My other option was the Squire and Yamaha which were both good too but to me the Ibanez felt the best.

[@neilwilson5871]

Had one for a few months ( lefty😉) and I'm planning to change the split peg tuners and the trees, after dumping one of the springs and fitting .10 strings it's an incredible lively guitar...I'm now dreaming of a Prestige AZ instead of the American Vintage/Professional 🤣

[@shadowminister4090]

Love the jack position & the 25-inch scale length

[@Da_Porkchop_Xpress]

holy crap....that was great!

[@honkytonkinson9787]

I’ve had one of those for a couple years I have a complaint; scratchy pots, so I took the pick guard off to clean the pots, and when I put it back the bridge pup had stopped working. I attempted to reflow all the solder joints but no luck. I’m not skilled enough to fix the PCB 5 way switch so I’m saving up for new electronics As far as pup replacement goes, not much info online, except that standard sized single coils don’t fit, so I’ll have to modify the pick guard when I get new pups I have the hard tail version so I’m pondering modding to make a Tele looking thing

[@robertfalconer5054]

This is Great for beginners. Next, Try a Ibanez AZ Prestige - Amazing. Also the Nick Johnston S Type is a Awesome Guitar as Well..

[@GRBAquatics]

Very cool, Thankyou Shane. Ibanez always on my Radar but just have never owned one ... yet. Stunning looking and sounding guitar, and playing amazing. Shane, you seemed to REALLY bond with this guitar .... All the best. Cheers

[@ImLeuff]

Those wiring options are too complicated to wrap my head around, at least from just watching this one video, but I must say it sounds impressive. Don't know how much of it is up to amp and your skills but all the sounds and intro jam were really impressive. Nice one Ibanez!

[@Jonw8222]

It's pretty simple. One side of the switch is traditional regular sounds. The other side of the switch is fatter sounds (in most positions) closer to a humbucker. Think of it as a pseudo humbucker switch. Except for position 2, which is the bridge split for the country twang sounds. The bridge is unchanged regardless of switch position. So one side is standard HSS sounds, and the other side is 3 fatter humbucker sounds with a bridge split. It's not a true humbucker sound but it's close in that direction. Less bright and thin, and more midrange.

[@ImLeuff]

@@Jonw8222 What I mean is this is a budget guitar with some additional wiring options which I usually don't like. I'd rather have simple options that sound well than versatility but no good sounds. But Ibanez somehow made their versatile budget guitar sound really really impressively good. Well done for them

[@Jonw8222]

@@ImLeuff Fair enough. The good thing is you can ignore the switch if you don't need it, the only thing is the looks of it, which may or may not be a big deal.

[@thegoodguy44]

Beginner guitarists note: This sounds so good because he has dialed in a very good guitar amplifier sound. It’s not going to sound like this unless you have the equipment.

[@intheblues]

It's more about the playing than the gear, but you're correct. A beginners amp won't sound the same. That said, I could get this sound out of any of my amps.

[@misterknightowlandco]

Beginners note: This sounds good because the man playing it has played for 20+ years, played plenty of gigs, recorded albums and knows how to dial in a tone. You as a beginner could have a 59’ burst running through a 65 deluxe reverb… and it’ll sound like garbage because you haven’t learned how to play YET. Beginners out there… when you hear us old timers quibble over gear, you’re hearing experienced people argue over the 5% to 10% difference gear makes in tone for people who know to use it. So I’ve been playing 30 years since I was 11 years old and if I’m just jamming with my old high school buddies or playing a gig in a dodgy area, I’ll take the squier bullet Strat I bought in 94 with my pedal board and a peavey bandit and it sounds fine, no one complains. The reason old timers make fun of budget gear is because old timers remember it sucking because the last time they played budget gear they sucked too. Don’t get depressed about your budget beginner gear or you’ll learn this very expensive lesson the hard way. If it stays in tune, has good action and the electronics work properly… it’s fine. A squier Strat or this Ibanez Strat with a few boss pedals into a clean channel of a good amp will take you where you want to go.

[@GCanada-cn9mn]

@@misterknightowlandco I the point that the OP was making was that you need a good amp that is dialed in properly to get the tones that he got in this video. After your big ramble you actually ended up saying the same thing he said.

[@bobwindy903]

Or the talent! The player makes a lot of difference to the tone, there's a lot of excellent budget equipment on the market now

[@robraaiii]

Hi Shane, your playing sounds great lately. I think you were stuck playing the same riffs for demo’s last year. (Still good) but the change ups recently have sounded killer. Thanks for the content bud🤘🏻

[@rubenlopez3271]

The prestige model just came out 2204 nw left handed can’t wait to get it

[@warrenkrivoniak7374]

I'm impressed. 😊

[@jimmyparris9892]

I've had my eye on the Japanese model since they came out. I'd never thought about trying one of the "Budget" models but now I'm thinking about it. It's a good way to see if i'll like it.

[@2Plus2isChicken2013]

Ibanez guitars are great! They don’t have enough left-handed models though. That one sounds really good for sure.

[@hoodedbugler]

The hardtail SSS version is the most interesting to me. There are not many hardtail strat options around....Those pickups although ceramic, seem to sound fine

[@joehynes2964]

Great to see this review. I'm a lefty, and I've been looking at this axe (off and on) for the last year. Might be ordering one soon. Oh, one question: how is the neck (shape/feel)?

[@aalejuan]

Ibanez guitars usually have a thin neck, very confortable for me

[@Jonw8222]

Is the neck profile a medium c, similar to a Fender modern C, or is it more of a D shape? Also, how was the fretwork and upper fret access? The upper fret access looks really good, due to the non traditional wood cutout. Great review, the sounds were great.

[@ronhoffman7941]

Tuners are cool so is the color and the pick guard color

[@BOSSenjoyer]

I like the hardtail SSS "31" version better. If they let you check out a Ibanez S561, it's only a little more than the AZES40 and is so sick.

[@laurencehastings7473]

It looks and sounds amazing.

[@tdlvsabs]

i really like this . i think the ibanez set is much better than the fender set. i think if they get rid of the extra wiring it truly would be a beginners guitar and would blow squier away at the lower price point.

[@wetali91]

Best? What about Sire?

[@anmolsingh9025]

If you want a Profesional guitar at roughly same price which does same things, look at cort 280 select

[@aminahmed2220]

What a fantastic video have a wonderful day Shane ❤😅

[@akwamarsunzal]

I hate the use of "beginner guitar" on budget guitars! Its either a good guitar or it isnt! I have been playing and gigging for over 45 years and my most expensive guitar is a MIM Fender that cost 300 Euros 2nd hand. My current guitar is a Cort LP that I paid 140 euro for 2nd hand!

[@jonnykanesantos]

Next time you get gas just let it out for the content! Im a sucker for most lefty blue s types. Looks aren't everything, not even 10 percent, but whatever percent it is helps me wanna pick em up hahaha

[@jamalabdul2009]

Could this be the Pacifica killer???? It’s got the looks and the tones!!!!!🎸🎸🎸🎸😎😎😎😎

[@PedalBattle]

It's a hell of a lot of guitar for that price

[@eddieholmes3236]

Great demo Shane. You can’t go wrong with Ibanez. Have you tried the Prestige series?

[@strancess]

Ibanez AZES40 or Fender player II : what's the best choice ? Do you think the Fender is worth the price or not ?

[@ryanmccabe7821]

Neck pickup tone is all time.

[@thatpeterboy]

The only problem with these..and its being picky, under the pickguard the wiring is very messy (unless the later models have been tidied up). However it did sounded fantastic!

[@stephenkennedy7347]

Great guitar and innovative - too many choices for me as about 4 of them I wouldn't use!

[@DMSProduktions]

GOOD axe!

[@DougMen1]

The pickups all sound harsh and shrill to me. I'll keep my Fenders with vintage voiced alnico pickups.

[@RufusTurner-g7i]

They are harsh. I had this when they came out but considered trying it out again. Those single coils sound too monotone picking up buzz on the fretboard.

[@mjhastings4534]

Ive got the prestige and i dont need any other guitar

[@tbone2451]

Sounds great, some sweet playing as well. What amp was being used ??

[@intheblues]

I profiled my Fender Blues Deluxe and Eminence Swamp Thang for the cleans and the Marshall DSL40CR for the drive tones. I am using the Kemper, it basically copies my signal chain so I don't go deaf. :)

[@bwabbel]

So apparently the 40 is hss and tremolo while the 31 is sss and fixed. I've been told that hss fixed would be best for a beginner like me. Any thoughts/recommendations on that?

[@ibanezleftyclub]

I’m going to post this in my group :)

[@intheblues]

Thanks for that mate! Cheers. 🎸

[@ibanezleftyclub]

@@inthebluesno prob, love to see more Ibanez! Also posted it in my IG group :)

[@strumminronin]

​@@ibanezleftyclub Thanks for dropping by here. I am rightly but absolutely love Ibanezes, so you got a new subscriber 🎉

[@jorgemiro1613]

Inflation has increased food and fuel prices and that doesn't leave a lot for musical instruments. Today's their are really good quality copies of Stratocaster, Telecaster and Les Paul guitars at a very affordable price. Many have made their way onto stages. No longer held hostage by the original companies

[@robertcomerford375]

Must be popular as it is already on backorder :>)

[@BenjaminRoethig]

The way that Ibanez have treated the AZ and AZES lines are so freaking weird. There needs to be standard series AZs and higher end AZESES. They made a couple great lines of guitars and feels like they don't want to step on the toes of the RG.

[@muiravenue7182]

Some Fife and Drum Blues for you

[@mikecorey8370]

So, did you end up buying it?

[@FrankyTempels]

A guitar like dis 30years ago you pay 350 a 400eu now you get it for 210eu a real good brand guitar,for this price cheap

[@OM-et4qj]

How could you send raygun to the olympics??

[@dw7704]

Hey it’s Ibanez

[@HENNY_22]

I hate the color otherwuse i would probably get it

[@vansongs]

I notice you didn't mention pro. Is that because like in Canada a pro probably couldn't even afford that. 8-P Sorry

[@thejoshbtv]

Maybe, just maybe, one day Ibanez will start using actual words for their guitars.

[@CeresKLee]

How exciting!You discovered the anti-Glarry!But I’m so disappointed in you. The so-called telemelo on a Stratocaster is maybe the key to the Stratocaster sound and you don’t even bother to get a whammy bar to check it out? YOU HAVE FAILED IS!