Ibanez AZ's, Modern superstrats, and some philosophy

the rossness

the rossness

Well-known member
I've wanted a Ferrari for forever. I recently bought a Honda and with every Ferrari I test drive, It leaves me thinking I was right in buying my Honda. I just keep coming back to it. and, its kind of a buzzkill THB ;/ I want something better than my Honda and with every car I test drive, I just keep liking my honda more and more.

Back in November, I bought a new guitar on a whim, an Ibanez AZ47P1QM. (video below). And it's everything I need a guitar to be. I love the pickups and the neck shape. I love the JUMBO silky smooth frets, the trem that stays in tune without a FR system, the basswood body. My #1 guitar is an EBMM Axis. The Ibanez feels like it's younger brother in a way. Tones are similar, feel is similar and really, Ibanez made a killer guitar for a killer price. (I did add a Tremol-no to mine, so I can change tunings, w/o the floating trem going out of tune). The Axis has a D-tuna for that.

Yes, it's not as high end as the EBMM. Yes, I can see where some cost-cutting savings were used. So, I've been looking for something better, higher-end, but with the same general spec: Basswood or Mahogany body, trem (preferably floating), big frets on a neck that's shreddy, but isn't super thin (I HATE thin necks like Wizards and JP's and even some of the DK24 charvels). I've played AZ Prestiges, Suhr's, Charvel MJ's, USA Schecter, EBMM, PRS, and every time, I keep going back to my Made in Indo Premium AZ.

Is there some sub $3k guitar I'm missing? Or is finding what I was looking for at an affordable price a buzzkill? What happens when you find "That tone" and it's not a huge rack or some expensive dream amp, but something relatively affordable? Where does the road go?


here's the guitar-
C38362D9-8FE0-4FE7-B9A8-E9156CD3D162.jpeg
 
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Play the guitar that speaks to you. Doesn't matter if it's $250 or $2500.
One of my favorite guitars cost $400 (Ibby DN600).
One of the worst guitars I've owned cost $4000 (Gibson LP 68RI).
Guess which one I kept?
 
What model Ferraris are you test driving that you like your Honda better ??? Maybe you just don’t like Ferraris.
 
If you like the Axis, maybe try the EBMM AL HH? Same pickups as the Axis, 5- way switching, vintage style trem.
 
If you're happy stay where you're at and keep the money in the bank! Stay away from the rabbit hole it's very dangerous and very expensive! This forum does not help at all! It is fun to buy and sell different guitars just to experience them but it's an easy way to lose money.
 
For me while amps can take a few trips back to the store trying it with different settings , etc guitars are the opposite
I can tell unplugged in the first 2 mins if I am going to bond with them or not , I don’t look at the specs or price at first , I go on feel
How easy is it to play the things I do , does it feel natural or do I have to fight
A couple are surprises the Charvel San Dimas 2 Tele style , felt like home and it was 1100 made in mex
Same with a Wolfgang special I recently played , the neck was incredible and it was effortless to play
The Az series I really like , the necks are great on them , they remind me of a suhr modern a lot but with a much better price tag
I prefer the 2 humbcker models
That middle pickup gets in the way for my picking style
 
gtr31 said:
For me while amps can take a few trips back to the store trying it with different settings , etc guitars are the opposite
I can tell unplugged in the first 2 mins if I am going to bond with them or not , I don’t look at the specs or price at first , I go on feel
How easy is it to play the things I do , does it feel natural or do I have to fight
A couple are surprises the Charvel San Dimas 2 Tele style , felt like home and it was 1100 made in mex
Same with a Wolfgang special I recently played , the neck was incredible and it was effortless to play
The Az series I really like , the necks are great on them , they remind me of a suhr modern a lot but with a much better price tag
I prefer the 2 humbcker models
That middle pickup gets in the way for my picking style
Click to expand...
Agreed. When I’m in a store checking out guitars I never plug into an amp. I can tell right away if I bond with it or not. Just the feel and how loud it is playing unplugged. I know I can get it to sound however I want with my amps, pedals and axefx3 as long as it feels good.
 
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