Ibanez AZES31 VM Electric Guitar

The guitar is really good the range of tones with the alter switch is really good only issue was the tuning was unstable for the first half hour but no trouble since then maybe the strings had not been stretched

Amazing guitar

This guitar plays fantastic and required no setup. Came with great strings and just tuned up and it played like a dream. Totally recommend

Great

Never mind great for the money, its just great fullstop.

Ibanez AZES31…Yes I bought a second one…Vermillion

Overall:Well let me just say that the first one I reviewed was so awesome that I decided to buy another one. The Vermillion color is brighter than what the pics on the website show. In actuality, it’s really like Fiesta Red on a Fender. There were no defects in the paint. And the figment of the parts and the finish were really high quality.Once again, playable right out of the box. I only needed to adjust the truss rod. The intonation was pretty good out of the box, and the nut slots were all properly cut, and the notes at the first fret were dead accurate, indicating that the nut slots weren’t too high. No buzz on the open strings, that would indicate that the slots were too deep.None of the frets buzzed at all. They could have been a little more polished, but ... MoreOverall:Well let me just say that the first one I reviewed was so awesome that I decided to buy another one. The Vermillion color is brighter than what the pics on the website show. In actuality, it’s really like Fiesta Red on a Fender. There were no defects in the paint. And the figment of the parts and the finish were really high quality.Once again, playable right out of the box. I only needed to adjust the truss rod. The intonation was pretty good out of the box, and the nut slots were all properly cut, and the notes at the first fret were dead accurate, indicating that the nut slots weren’t too high. No buzz on the open strings, that would indicate that the slots were too deep.None of the frets buzzed at all. They could have been a little more polished, but that is something that I will take care of when I put the new strings on. There were no pokey frets along the sides of the fretboard.All the electronics work as they should. No static or gritty feel to them. The switching system works well and has two redundant positions, where the mini toggle doesn’t affect the sound, positions 2 and 4. And that is normal for this guitar.Thes are good, gigable guitars right out of the box. Even the factory strings are decent. You could arrive in town for a gig, without a guitar, pick up one of these and play a show with this guitar and not have to set it up.The only flaw I found was that a couple of tuning machines were mounted a little crooked. For $299.00, I’m not going to complain too much about it.

Ibanez knocks it out of the park

Sound:Believe it or not, the stock pickups sound great, even when using high gain, and especially good clean. I got the SSS model. There are a lot of different tones to be had out of the five way selector, and the mini toggle switch. My favorite sound with high gain is with the toggle set pointing to the neck, using the first position on the 5 way switch. It gives you the middle and bridge pickups together in series, in effect giving you the sound of a humbucker. Also, positions 2 and 4 on the switch give you a very Fender like quack, especially with playing through a clean amp.Features:The mini toggle is the most useful feature of this guitar, but also quite useful is the split shaft tuning machines, which are common to a lot of Fender guitars. Makes changing ... MoreSound:Believe it or not, the stock pickups sound great, even when using high gain, and especially good clean. I got the SSS model. There are a lot of different tones to be had out of the five way selector, and the mini toggle switch. My favorite sound with high gain is with the toggle set pointing to the neck, using the first position on the 5 way switch. It gives you the middle and bridge pickups together in series, in effect giving you the sound of a humbucker. Also, positions 2 and 4 on the switch give you a very Fender like quack, especially with playing through a clean amp.Features:The mini toggle is the most useful feature of this guitar, but also quite useful is the split shaft tuning machines, which are common to a lot of Fender guitars. Makes changing strings easy, and the tuners are solid and smooth to turn. Also, the jack assembly is one piece, so you will never have to worry about the jack come loose.The fretboard is a little bit rounder than a typical Gibson, but not as rounded as a vintage Fender. You can make big bends on it without fretting out, but due to the smaller radius (approximately 10 inch radius) it is more comfortable to play chords on, especially barre chords.Ease of Use:There isn’t too much of a learning curve on the AZES31, especially for those that are familiar with Strat style guitars.Quality:The fit and finish are really top notch on this one. The saddles appear to be bent steel, like many S style guitars, but the saddle height adjustment screws don stick out of the tops of the saddles and dig into your hand when resting it on the bridge. The bridge is a Hardtail on this one.Value:Definitely a bargain, this guitar has features that aren’t available on most other guitars until you spend 2nor 3 times the price.Manufacturer Support:You will probably not have to deal with Ibanez customer service. Everything you need to know is in the owners manual. Be sure to read it.The Wow Factor:The Hardtail model comes in two nice colors, but I found the HSS tremolo equipped models colors to be rather bland.Overall:I have 7 Ibanez guitars. 6 of them made in Indonesia, and 1 made in Japan. And I have to say that Ibanez is kicking booty with this model. At under 300 dollars, the AZ Essentials is the best bang for the buck out of the 7 models I have.Now I didn’t expect it as good as it is, but this guitar in Ivory finish arrived ready to play out of the box. The action was good out of the box, and the intonation was good as well. The frets had no sprout and the frets were relatively smooth. A beginner would be able to buy one of these guitars and take it to a lesson, and not have to pay for a setup prior to using it. Seriously, a pro set up would be 1/4 to 1/3 the price of the guitar. I went through my new guitar with a fine tooth comb. What I discovered is that some of the fasteners weren’t adequately tightened, and some of the frets were slightly uneven, which I have found to be true on every new guitar I’ve ever bought, from 300 dollars all the way to my Gibson Les Paul at 2200 dollars. The difference being that this AZ required very little effort to take the guitar from good to spectacular.

Unexpected Gem

Overall:I have been playing guitar for over 50 years. In that time I have had many guitars from Gibsons to Fenders and Prs. Now I'm not going to say that this Ibanez is better than those top end guitars but what I will say is that for the money you are not going to find this kind of value.I bought this as a backup to my Music Man Axis sub guitar. That guitar is another great value for the money. You don't have to spend a lot of money these days to get a quality guitar. Well now the AZ 31 has become my main axe. The sounds are so good and the frets being level and smooth. This makes the action and playability as good as any guitar that I have ever owned. The neck and bridge positions do sound like humbuckers and no noise or hum. I was totally blown away. Positions 2 ... MoreOverall:I have been playing guitar for over 50 years. In that time I have had many guitars from Gibsons to Fenders and Prs. Now I'm not going to say that this Ibanez is better than those top end guitars but what I will say is that for the money you are not going to find this kind of value.I bought this as a backup to my Music Man Axis sub guitar. That guitar is another great value for the money. You don't have to spend a lot of money these days to get a quality guitar. Well now the AZ 31 has become my main axe. The sounds are so good and the frets being level and smooth. This makes the action and playability as good as any guitar that I have ever owned. The neck and bridge positions do sound like humbuckers and no noise or hum. I was totally blown away. Positions 2 and 4 sound just like a high quality Fender Strat. The middle position with the switch on sounds like a Tele. The vermillion red is just stunnin too. You have to try this one before they sell out again.