What Ibanez Say:
As of now, we are seeing a range of youthful contemporary guitarists driving their playing methods into inspiring new places. We are seeing this pattern as the start of a third period of guitar playing. All at Ibanez have provoked themselves as guitar creators to venture up and answer the necessities of this third stage.
In launching the Ibanez AZ instruments, the objective was not to only make a totally new guitar model, but also to shape an incredible guitar that can accentuate the capability of the advanced 'third stage' while keeping up customary components. Despite the fact that Ibanez is thought of as an advanced guitar brand, it has many years of gathered learning and a background marked by pushing the limits. The AZ series holds within it the sum of these tried and tested Ibanez characteristics. The harmonic balance between bridge and pickups, nut and machine heads, neck and fret material all work together so as to enable the player to form their ideal sound. From beginning to end, there is no part of guitar making that we ever neglect. This legacy has been passed down meticulously to the AZ arrangement.
AZ Modern Oval C S-TECH WOOD® roasted maple 1pc neck
S-TECH treated Maple is used for the AZ's neck construction. This is the first time it has ever been used in a guitar neck construction. Its nitrogen-heating-treatment increases the wood's stability, durability, water resistance and tolerance of temperature changes. After extensive prototyping and trials, we concluded that 20.5mm thickness at the 1st fret and 22.5mm at the 12th fret is the optimal neck thickness for this process. The neck is sealed with an oil finish (sealer coat) which helps make it feel similar to a well-played guitar neck.
Neck Grip
In order to achieve supreme neck grip comfort, the fretboard edge is finished with a smooth curve that extends from the border between the fretboard and the neck, and then to the surface of the fretboard. The detailed neck shape is precisely carved using a ball mill for ultimate consistency. The width measurements of the fretboard are at 42mm at the nut and 56.4mm at the last fret. These dimensions allow for an easy grip in the lower register, and a more modern feel in the higher register.
Body Design
A shallow body back contour and a big forearm contour make the guitar body fit the player naturally, thus increasing playing comfort. The AZ body has a deep waist and different radii on each body edge curve (3 mmR on body top/8 mmR on body back), making it easier to play in both standing or sitting positions.
Seymour Duncan® Hyperion™ Pickups
The custom pickup for the AZ was developed in collaboration with Seymour Duncan. The pickups feature a moderate output through Alnico-5 magnets to keep the clarity of the fundamental tone when using a distortion sound, and to deliver a clear pick attack. From treble to bass, and from high-E string to low-E string, the overall tonal balance is evenly adjusted, and works well with various effect pedals.
dyna-MIX 9 w/Alter switch
It offers nine sound variations, and can easily switch between humbucker and single coil modes with just the mini switch. One mode is even able to simulate a humbucker sound from the combination of the 2 single coil pickups.
Ibanez T1802 Tremolo Bridge (made by GOTOH® )
The new T1802 Bridge after a collaboration between GOTOH® and Ibanez. It features machined titanium saddles and a machined steel tremolo block for a quick response, thick lows and rich highs. The 10.5mm string spacing allows for easy picking across strings, including techniques such as string skipping and hybrid picking. The snap and hold tremolo arm socket can makes it easy to load a tremolo arm, and the arm torque adjuster enables fine torque adjustment without any tools. The 2-point floating tremolo system allows for a super smooth tremolo motion when either raising or lowering the pitch.
GOTOH H.A.P®-M machine heads
The AZ comes with GOTOH® MAGNUM LOCK® machine heads, which have an established reputation for tuning stability. Its H. A. P® (Height Adjustable Post). system allows for the adjustment of string posts for the appropriate tension of each string.
