Short term review Ibanez AZ42P1

[Stone]

This is not a paid advertisement, nor am i in any way affiliated with Ibanez

So after quite a few hours of playing my new Ibanez AZ42P1 here is what i can say about it

Out of the box it came set up nearly perfect the action didn't require anything from me and just had a very slight intonation on the G string to adjust.
The fretwork is awesome rivals my Godin and is better than my Revstar and LTD EC-1000 not by a lot buy slightly better, not one of the frets were scratchy and after i polished them they were even better Shiny and oh so smooth.
The hardware is top notch especially the Gotoh T1502 bridge and the Gotoh staggered locking tuners, also really like the feel of the tone and volume pots.The axe is super comfortable and balanced although slightly on the heavy side.
Playability is excellent as I mentioned the action is perfect for me not to low and not too high , no string buzz anywhere and no fretting out anywhere
I can pretty much torcher the wammy and it still comes back to tune only Vai type whammy abuse will make it go out of tune, so that pretty awesome.
Those Hyperion Pickups and the 10 way switching: I actually really like them more so than the Duncan Full shred in the bridge, its smoother and more articulate has less of top end shrill, Did not test the Neck much other than it seems nice, but I'm really a bridge Pup kind of guy

Conclusion: is it perfect ? for me almost, one thing i didn't get is the nut yes it is super well cut its a Tusq Xl but it protrudes slightly from the neck, like really why?
while this is only aesthetic it bugs me nonetheless, the other thing is not really a quality issue but the rosewood board was drier than aunt Connie's Turkey
which is now a dark beautiful rosewood board after a treatment
I give it a 9 on 10 so far as Initial quality and short term

Cheers

Mike

 

[DrewJD82]

This is not a paid advertisement, nor am i in any way affiliated with Ibanez

So after quite a few hours of playing my new Ibanez AZ42P1 here is what i can say about it

Out of the box it cam set up nearly perfect the action didn't require anything from me and just had a very slight intonation on the G string to adjust.
The fretwork is awesome rivals my Godin and is better than my Revstar and LTD EC-1000 not by a lot buy slightly better, not one of the frets was scratch and after i polished them they were even better Shinny and oh so smooth.
The hardware is top notch especially the Gotoh T1502 bridge and the Gotoh staggered locking tuners, also really like the feel of the tone and volume pots.The axe is super comfortable and balanced although slightly on the heavy side.
Playability is excellent as I mentioned the action is perfect for me not to low and not too high , no string buzz anywhere and no fretting out anywhere
I can pretty much torcher the wammy and it still comes back to tune only Vai type wahammy abuse will make it go out of tune, so that pretty awesome.
Those Hyperion Pickups and the 10 way switching: I actually really like them more so than the Duncan Full shred in the bridge, its smoother and more articulate has less of top end shrill, Did not test the Neck much other than it seems nice, but I'm really a bridge Pup kind of guy

Conclusion: is it perfect ? for me almost, one thing i didn't get is the nut yes it is super well cut its a Tusq Xl but it protrudes slightly from the neck, like really why?
while this is only aesthetic it bugs me nonetheless, the other thing is not really a quality issue but the rosewood board was drier than aunt Connie's Turkey
which is now a dark beautiful rosewood bard after a treatment
I give it a 9 on 10 so far as Initial quality and short term

Cheers

Mike

They probably get those Tusq nuts in bulk and have to cut them down to fit the width of the neck, someone just got a little sloppy.

Get some Music Nomad Tune-It, when you change strings cut off a piece of old string and lube it up with the Tune-It and work it into those nut slots and on the underside of the string tree where the strings touch the metal. When you put the new strings on, push the whammy all the way down and work the strings back and forth in the nut slots so they get a good coating of the Tune-It on them.

Even if you don't WANT to do Vai-style whammy shit, the safety of knowing you CAN without going out of tune. There's some mental play at work there, because if you're just noodling away, you'll most certainly find you're less likely to grab the bar and do something spontaneous with it if the possibility of the guitar going out of tune is there. Eliminate the tuning hang up and SET YOUR MIND FREE, MAN!

 

[Alex Kenivel]

Any palm muted ringing on the D or A strings like I experience with my AZ Prestige?

 

[Stone]

Get some Music Nomad Tune-It, when you change strings cut off a piece of old string and lube it up with the Tune-It and work it into those nut slots and on the underside of the string tree where the strings touch the metal. When you put the new strings on, push the whammy all the way down and work the strings back and forth in the nut slots so they get a good coating of the Tune-It on them.

Yes I do that and always do that on every string change on all my guitars
I also use the music nomad as well and i lube the fulcrum pivots the string tree's and the saddles

 

[Stone]

Any palm muted ringing on the D or A strings like I experience with my AZ Prestige?

No I have not noticed and I'm using quite a bit of palm muting's for Jamie's crying
mostly on the G,B and A Lot for that song

 

[Los-D]

How’s the tuning stability compared to the DK? Asking for a friend.

 

[Stone]

How’s the tuning stability compared to the DK? Asking for a friend.

NO comparison much more stable Mind you When I got my DK-22 Setup it was ok after that
thats the thing MiM QC is shit compared to made in the far east
This Ibby does not need to go to a tech whatsoever.
Not to mention they are close in price, but you get better hardware all around
Staggered Locking tuners
Stainless steel frets
a Very nice gig bag

so for me No contest

 

[Jarick]

Awesome! I really like that guitar.

My AZ2204 is fantastic. It feels like a $3k+ guitar. Flawless frets, fit and finish. Way better than the MIM DK24 I had before.

 

[Stone]

Awesome! I really like that guitar.

My AZ2204 is fantastic. It feels like a $3k+ guitar. Flawless frets, fit and finish. Way better than the MIM DK24 I had before.

Yes, I will not buy any other guitar MiM...ever

 

[Jarick]

Yes, I will not buy any other guitar MiM...ever

I would but it would need to be better quality than FMIC. Especially since they have doubled in price over the last decade. Paying $1000 for a guitar with sharp fret edges and poor tuning stability is stupid considering the Japanese instrument quality.