Bloody_Inferno
Silence is Violence
This thread just reminds me that I'm glad I'm able to walk both paths of life in harmony.
How did the Ibanez AZ series become so popular in recent times?
- Thread starter BeyondAntares
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crushingpetal
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Idunno, dude from Ithaca has a sick-ass pink AZ, and that made me want a sick-ass pink AZ:
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DarthV
Well-Known Member
Isn't the MIA Nick Johnston like $3300US? And does Fender do stainless frets?
Been looking for a hss/sss strat style for a few months, have played Sire S7, Yamaha Pacificas, Silver Sky SE, Fender Player and American Pro II... none of them had the specs you get from an AZ prestige. None of them felt like my AD's AZ. Did like the Pro II and the Sire!
I didnt mean MIA schecter
my bad.
AwakenTheSkies
Life is like a box of chocolates
I don't care about these guitars. But I miss the ART and ARZ series, Les Paul shaped metal oriented guitars. They were cheap too. I thought they were beautiful.
DarthV
Well-Known Member
I didnt mean MIA schecter
Even the SEA made one doesn't have the specs of the MiJ Ibby. Still love to try one out, but I don't think I've ever seen the local L&M or mom & pop shop ever carry Schecter in store. I should probably just roll the dice on one of the Harley Benton Fusion IIIs and save over $2000CAD!
aesthyrian
Well-Known Member
Much more affordable than Suhr, and CHON and Polyphia play them. Good marketing.
I see schecters steadily on gear hunter, they have em. And it would depend on what the local mom n pop is.
Even the SEA made one doesn't have the specs of the MiJ Ibby. Still love to try one out, but I don't think I've ever seen the local L&M or mom & pop shop ever carry Schecter in store. I should probably just roll the dice on one of the Harley Benton Fusion IIIs and save over $2000CAD!
A former coworker opened a store in owen sound, they deal schecter for example.
Yikes. Is it too late for him to apologize?
DarthV
Well-Known Member
Abstract_Logic
Well-Known Member
What's funny is the Ibanez RT and andy timmons model existed for ages. Ibanez already had a foot in the Suhr style strat, they just really wanted to capitalize on the popularity of that in the 2010s
Like it or not Ibanez follows trends in the industry better than anyone else making guitars. During the grunge era they made Talmans and later the SZ's. They kept the RG around, in very limited numbers. We are seeing a shift towards Suhr type guitars right now, no big deal.
The RG is as much a "legacy guitar" as they have.
Me personally though, I think the biggest problem I have seen is, I haven't seen a Babymetal guitarist using an RG..... and we all though how huge Babymetal are!
The RG is as much a "legacy guitar" as they have.
Me personally though, I think the biggest problem I have seen is, I haven't seen a Babymetal guitarist using an RG..... and we all though how huge Babymetal are!
gunch
digidun digidun wakka wakka skree
I'll come right out and say it, AZ's are cool and if you're a young, new guitar player and want to buy something that will last your whole learning period and beyond the AZ is as good as any. I'm in this spot and while I'm old as dirt (34) and not into instagramcore or neo soul I would not mind an AZ at all.
HeHasTheJazzHands
Well-Known Member
"Hey we got a new guitar come out y'all want a free guitar and//or a sig model to help us market it?"
It's just a marketing move where the artists get asked what mods they'd like on a new model to play it on stage and do some shootings. AZ was new - Ibanez pulled in the Polys, Lari Basilio, Tom Quayle and so on. Now they release this new AZS Tele-thing and all of a sudden, THIS is the favourite guitar of Lari Basilio, Tom Quayle and others. Coincidence, my ass.
Prior to Ibanez Tom had both a signature Strat and Tele Fibenare models:
Lari also used both Strat and Tele style guitars when she was a Suhr artist, prior to Ibanez endorsement.
Tim Henson and Scott LePage of Polyphia both used EBMM JP models with similar configurations prior to using Ibanez.
I know, we all know, but what's your point? They both played AZs when those needed to be promoted and switched to the new Tele style when this model needed to be promoted. That's all I said.
The insinuation that using a specific model was foisted upon them, when they've used similar guitars throughout their careers.
Had the AZ been available when Tim and Scott joined Ibanez, they likely would have used them first, instead of RGs, as those were more similar to the JP models they had been using. The AZ didn't exist when they began their Ibanez contracts.
In the case of Tom and Lari, they would likely have used AZS models regardless of release timeline, as again, they've both used those styles for years prior to Ibanez. Had the AZS been available they would have likely used both from the beginning.
Bloody_Inferno
Silence is Violence
This is also the same marketing ploy that Ibanez and Vai used to launch the Jem and in turn the RG. So, the AZ campaign is nothing new, and so far, it's more successful than some of the smaller attempts Ibanez have made (Talman, Xiphos, Darkstone, etc).
