Ibanez AZES31AOC Electric Guitar Arctic Ocean Metallic

I bought the AZES31 sight-unseen and without even playing one based on all the glowing reviews I had seen online (video and written). I was confident and comfortable spending the money as it was not a huge investment.Now keeping in mind this instrument is intended as a beginner’s guitar, I had very realistic expectations, and being a guitar tech, believed I could make it into much more if/as needed. I bought it understanding it would likely require some TLC to get it to a playing standard I’m accustomed to, and also as a modding platform because I liked some of the main features. Overall, I will say the AZES31 is decent instrument but fell short of the hype I’ve seen on YouTube and other places.It’s my opinion though that there are other budget or entry level ... MoreI bought the AZES31 sight-unseen and without even playing one based on all the glowing reviews I had seen online (video and written). I was confident and comfortable spending the money as it was not a huge investment.Now keeping in mind this instrument is intended as a beginner’s guitar, I had very realistic expectations, and being a guitar tech, believed I could make it into much more if/as needed. I bought it understanding it would likely require some TLC to get it to a playing standard I’m accustomed to, and also as a modding platform because I liked some of the main features. Overall, I will say the AZES31 is decent instrument but fell short of the hype I’ve seen on YouTube and other places.It’s my opinion though that there are other budget or entry level guitars available that are better quality and value (think Squier Affinity series in the $400-450 range). However some of these other brands are more standard in their designs (pickup switching and neck join for example).My biggest issue is with the AZES31 is the placement of the bridge and saddle design.In order to properly intonate, the treble E and B & G saddles need to be so far forward that the saddle is on the adjustment screw by only one or two threads. Coupled with the design of the saddle, the string tension and break angle, cause the saddle to lift at the screw end.If pushed back down, it pivots at the height adjustment screws causing the head of the adjustment screw to pop backward away from the vertical portion of the bridge as well as raise the pitch of the string. Eventually the saddle will pop back up again. With this much movement, it is impossible to have a stable intonation/tuning. It would appear there has been a miscalculation in position of the bridge, and not enough thought into the saddle design.The ceramic pickups are a bit bright and harsh, and not as good as some of the budget Fender ceramics IMO. It’s also worth noting that a pickup swap cannot be done without alteration of the pickguard to fit standard single coils. The stock Ibanez pickups are about 2mm shorter in length. Not a deal-breaker, but for someone unexperienced, may pose a bit of a challenge.Two other points to make regarding the electronics: The shielding paint in the cavities was applied very poorly and hit or miss (significant bare patches); Second, when I removed the output jack, the positive wire literally fell off as a result of poor soldering.I have already done a considerable amount of work to my AZES (fret level; installed solid block saddles; copper shielding; replaced pickups and electronics; adjust nut etc) and I'm happy with it now. But if I was buying this for a beginner to play out-of-the-box, I’d be disappointed.IBANEZ AZES31 Review Points:Con:Saddle design/intonation screw length/bridge placementShielding paint applied very sloppily and patchyPickup design (non-standard size makes fitting standard size p/ups more work)Pickup tone is a bit on the bright/harsh side (Ibanez used 500k pots, maybe 250k pots would take the edge off a bit)Soldering on output jack – positive lead literally fell off when I moved itNeck finish needed smoothing – had bumps/debris in finishAlso poly is very thinPro:Fretwork is reasonable – Levelling still required for maximum performanceSwitching – unique, as not bog standard 5-way – Middle “Alt” position is the most useful of the Alt positions IMO.Jotoba fretboard feels goodNeck size and profile are comfortableNeck join shape with ferrules and no plate is a strong plusPoly finish on body reasonableMushroom-style trap buttons are an improvement over the standard “funnel” shape.Tuners feel good – split post vintage style also a plus

Great piece of kit. Love the clear visibility on the neck fret position markers compared to other guitars, easy to find where you're at. Quality of finish is very good, tuners feel good, intonated well. Plays well, single coils in series sound great, plus with the switch off you get all the usual strat tones.Loses a star due to poor setup from the factory, bridge saddles aligned at an angle, G string was bent when first (incorrectly) installed, then repositioned correctly with a kink in it. Tone control doesn't have a huge range compared to other pricier guitars I own.Otherwise I can't fault it, for the money it's brilliant. Give it a proper setup, chuck in a $12 CTS pot to improve the tone control and I'll have a guitar that plays as well or better than something ... MoreGreat piece of kit. Love the clear visibility on the neck fret position markers compared to other guitars, easy to find where you're at. Quality of finish is very good, tuners feel good, intonated well. Plays well, single coils in series sound great, plus with the switch off you get all the usual strat tones.Loses a star due to poor setup from the factory, bridge saddles aligned at an angle, G string was bent when first (incorrectly) installed, then repositioned correctly with a kink in it. Tone control doesn't have a huge range compared to other pricier guitars I own.Otherwise I can't fault it, for the money it's brilliant. Give it a proper setup, chuck in a $12 CTS pot to improve the tone control and I'll have a guitar that plays as well or better than something 3 times the price. Highly recommended.

$299 is the new $1299

Overall:This guitar is absolutely incredible. The craftsmanship is excellent. The playability is excellent. The tones? Pretty unreal on a $300 guitar. The pickups are incredible and I’ll definitely keep them. I’m usually just a bridge or neck pickup guy. Never really cared about other positions. Until I got this guitar. Position 2 and 4 are absolutely incredible. The glassiest , chiming tones imaginable. I went from 35 years of not caring about all the middle positions to, all I use are the middle positions on this guitar. So clean, crisp and just perfect. The toggle is useful but seems to just add a mid boost. The guitar came in great shape. I did a quick setup to my liking , put on my favorite strings and that was it. And I didn’t need to do either tbh. Im ... MoreOverall:This guitar is absolutely incredible. The craftsmanship is excellent. The playability is excellent. The tones? Pretty unreal on a $300 guitar. The pickups are incredible and I’ll definitely keep them. I’m usually just a bridge or neck pickup guy. Never really cared about other positions. Until I got this guitar. Position 2 and 4 are absolutely incredible. The glassiest , chiming tones imaginable. I went from 35 years of not caring about all the middle positions to, all I use are the middle positions on this guitar. So clean, crisp and just perfect. The toggle is useful but seems to just add a mid boost. The guitar came in great shape. I did a quick setup to my liking , put on my favorite strings and that was it. And I didn’t need to do either tbh. Im literally about to order the other version with humbucker and tremolo right now. Cannot believe this guitar is only $300. Definitely not a beginner guitar. But if this is your 1st guitar and you’re a beginner, you seriously lucked out. They didn’t have guitars this good for this price until recently. Us old folks never had it easy like you young bucks.

I'm Elderly, and Not Prone to Hyperbole

I'm also a "bottom-feeder." Have purchased many entry-level Squiers, Epiphones, etc. over the last couple decades. This one is clearly the best in class--no modifications, improvements, or upgrades necessary. It costs a little more than the competition, but so worth it. Tuners, nut, neck, frets are fine. Pickups very good, and the toggle provides additional sonic options, four of which are genuinely hum-cancelling. Ibanez solicited ideas from a music-professor expert and the results are outstanding.

Ibanez AZ ES 31

Overall:Well I hoped I would get a guitar ready to play when it arrived, but unfortunately the low E string buzzes way too bad to ignore on 5 frets, I am not going to touch it myself, but now I have to spend more money to take it to a professional, I do not blame zZounds, I blame Ibanez for not having a pro set up on it, I guess if it was an AZ premium model they would have cared more, so happy birthday to me, sitting here waiting on my next paycheck to get it set up right, I know I only spent 300 something on it, but come on Ibanez, I love the guitar, but if the fret buzz is not resolved, I will never order a guitar again online, my first experience may be my last, in the past I always bought used at a guitar shop so I could try it out completely, so I will know ... MoreOverall:Well I hoped I would get a guitar ready to play when it arrived, but unfortunately the low E string buzzes way too bad to ignore on 5 frets, I am not going to touch it myself, but now I have to spend more money to take it to a professional, I do not blame zZounds, I blame Ibanez for not having a pro set up on it, I guess if it was an AZ premium model they would have cared more, so happy birthday to me, sitting here waiting on my next paycheck to get it set up right, I know I only spent 300 something on it, but come on Ibanez, I love the guitar, but if the fret buzz is not resolved, I will never order a guitar again online, my first experience may be my last, in the past I always bought used at a guitar shop so I could try it out completely, so I will know soon if the neck is the issue and if so I will be sending it back! I really hope I do not have to, cuz I like the sounds very much, and I have never said that about any guitar without a humbuckers, thank you zZounds for doing your part in packaging, and price matching, and delivery, but shame on Ibanez for the crappy set up! A true disappointment! But I am gonna rate it as if the 5 frets we're smooth like all the rest of them! Because I pray they soon will be!!

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 Wins Again!

Sound:I’m using this guitar for Stones and Clapton mostly, and it does the job with excellence. Perfect strat tones!Features:It has the toggle switch to allow for different configurations of the pickups, but I honestly don’t hear much difference.Ease of Use:This guitar has excellent playability with a thin, fast neck. No fret sprout, either.Quality:Fit and finish is excellent! I believe this guitar will be around for a long time.Value:This guitar is worth every penny and then some. If you’re disappointed with this guitar, you’re probably a brand snob who needs a fancy name.Manufacturer Support:I’ve never had to use the Ibanez support line.The Wow Factor:I love the Ibanez line. Quality guitars at great prices.Overall:I have a few Ibanez guitars, ... MoreSound:I’m using this guitar for Stones and Clapton mostly, and it does the job with excellence. Perfect strat tones!Features:It has the toggle switch to allow for different configurations of the pickups, but I honestly don’t hear much difference.Ease of Use:This guitar has excellent playability with a thin, fast neck. No fret sprout, either.Quality:Fit and finish is excellent! I believe this guitar will be around for a long time.Value:This guitar is worth every penny and then some. If you’re disappointed with this guitar, you’re probably a brand snob who needs a fancy name.Manufacturer Support:I’ve never had to use the Ibanez support line.The Wow Factor:I love the Ibanez line. Quality guitars at great prices.Overall:I have a few Ibanez guitars, and I decided I needed a straight up 3 single coil strat copy, so I went straight for Ibanez. You just can’t beat these “budget” guitars from Ibanez! I put the word budget in quotation marks because this guitar really does play like a $1500 Fender. There’s nothing cheap or budget about it except it’s low price. I’ll lower the action but that’s it. No need to change pickups or tuners. I hate how these are branded as budget starter guitars. There’s no reason why you can’t take these and gig with them! I think some people just get caught up in brand names. I’ve played many expensive guitars over the years, but it’s simply not necessary to pay over $800 when Ibanez is making quality instruments like this. This guitar reminds me of my first “real” guitar which was a 1980’s Ibanez Blazer. I highly recommend zZounds and Ibanez!!

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.

Needed attention

Nice guitar but out the box the frets were rough and unfinished and needed sanding with grit papers. Fingerboard was dirty and needed cleaning with lemon oil. Strings were different gauge to those on spec and needed changing. High E wasn't attached properly and kept slipping. Nut wasn't cut properly and needed filing down.Having attended to all that the guitar is now actually really good and has a great tone, but for a beginner or someone who doesn't know what to look for it would have been a bad purchase.Maybe this was a one off lemon though because I bought another one with a tremolo and it was much better from the box with only a few minor set up issues and plays fantastically.

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.