There's actually nothing wrong with basswood, rosewood and tremolos IMO. Also, some of the greatest sounding/playing guitars have it and not only Ibanez guitars, but also Music Mans, Suhrs and Parkers. The EMG81/SA/SA is a very great sounding and versatile combination, and the lack of good SSH guitars in Ibanez's roster is also painful. It does look boring, but I can live with that if the specs are great.