Seven String Ibanez Guitar For Sale (2024 Update)

This is an absolutely stunning instrument! A real workhorse guitar with a versatile set of tones thanks to the pickup switching and coil tap options. As a baritone scale length guitar, it is designed for lower tunings whilst maintaining string tension and it does this very well. The Fusion Edge pickups combined with the Ash body give it a brighter sound than you might expect, but excellent clarity even when driven. Having played the early Iron Label guitars, this model is several steps ahead in terms of quality and playability. LOVE it!Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

I wish I had purchased this a long time ago. It was a champ right out of the box. This is one of the very few times in 50 years of buying guitars that I actually purchased an instrument and not a project. I’m amazed at how well it was set up to rock from the get-go. AMS must take great care of their stock because this was perfection in a box when i got it. Crisp and clean, aesthetically astounding. The sound encompasses everything I look for but i got it in this one guitar. Rough and rugged tones for grinding out ripping leads, sweet mellow tones for ambient music, unmatchable warm and hot tones for clean country and soothing jazz. You just cannot beat this guitar in quality and sound in this price range! You gotta get one of these!DC Collins

I’ve read almost every single review on this model and the overall take was hit or miss. Well I musta lucked out because this thing plays great! I had no paint blemishes, was smooth around the monkey grip, frets level, neck relatively straight and after a home set up, twice oiling the fretboard, with a fresh set of Super Slinky’s dropped down half a step she was solid. Tremolo unit not as bad as I had read or expected. The bar will get loose after use but I’ve got it holding tune very well. You can’t pull the bar up like the big brother Jems without an almost immediate fret out and the obvious answer is raise the bridge but then the action is too high to enjoy playing. Pickups are really decent. They clean up well. Was probably the main factor over the White or Black. The White Jr just looked and felt plain in comparison. After owning a JEM7v and playing a thousand gigs on it this is a nice little reminder of what fun that was!Ryan

Purchased in Westminster, CA Sam Ash store. Had a hard time locating these in SoCal stores. Their online store said it was in their inventory, but it was not on display. Bryan, my sales rep, located the guitar and setup and tuned as quickly as possible. He located an amp to suit my style and plugged me in. He was very attentative, well spoken and enthusiastic – asking questions that were very helpful. Big shout out to Bryan for all his heolp and personability. This Jem Jr in Pink acheived all the tones I was looking for in one guitar from clean to shred. Pretty sturdy and stayed in tune quite well even after thrashing the trem bar to see if I could get a string to break. No fret edges, though the fretboard was dry (oiled then neck at home). No scratchy pots or finish issues. The weight was pleasant and easy to carry around. Got a great deal from Sam Ash and their service was good and meaningful and I left with a sense of a solid purchase. Will visit this store again and I recommend the Jem Jr if you can't afford the upper end Jem guitars.BaconFire

Overall: This is a nice guitar, very well made as you would expect from any Ibanez guitar. The neck is thin and very comfortable. I cant review the pups that it came with because I installed set of seymour duncan nazgul/sentient pups right out of the box before I even plugged it in. At first I wasn't real happy with the sound. It was very heavy and dark. I went back into the electronics and noticed it had a very large capacitor on it. After disconnecting the capacitor I gained back the highs and achieved the tone I was expecting from the nazgul pup. I will be installing a 1 meg ohm pot and small capacitor in a few days, this will give the the "wide open" sound from the pup that I want wile still letting me roll off some of the highs if I should so choose. Other than that, love the guitar!! Plays really well and looks good too.Vernon

Honestly this guitar has become one of my favorites that I have ever played. The neck has a very fine finish so there's no need to worry about any kind of lacquer slowing down your fretting hand, the wood they used is very good quality and built to last, the fishman pickups are a wonderful choice for the chunky low metal riffs and for the resonating cleans. The angled frets are something that took me a bit to get used to but after about a day it felt like normal and is a great edition, and of course the locking tuners and pull out pot are just a great bonus. Honestly I'd say for $1,200 this guitar gives you great bang for your buck, sounds amazing, is absolutely fun to play and I would highly recommend this guitar for anyone wanting a guitar that looks cool, plays metal amazingly and gives you a wonderful dimension of sound. All my friends I have let play this guitar all feel the same way and have been thinking about getting a guitar like this one cause it definitely kicks some ass!Jøhnny Därkness

This is an absolute killer in every aspect. It looks incredible. You wouldn't believe the different colors that come out of this thing in different light and different angles, and since it's more of a shiny satin finish than a gloss, it doesn't show any dirt or fingerprints, so it pretty much always looks pristine and beautiful. It sounds incredible. Bright, melodic cleans, creamy leads, and when you start to crank your distortion and overdrive, it can deliver uncomprimising brutality while sacrificing nothing in clarity or definition. Fishmans are the real deal, folks. It feels incredible. Nice, fast attack on your low strings and light, easy tension on your high strings. Neck is comfortable, fanned frets feel good, and two-hand tapping is easier than I've ever experienced. Finally, the features. The luminescent logo and side dots definitely look cool, but they only glow super bright when you hold them under a bright light for a bit, and then they fade pretty quickly. I honestly can't see them being all that helpful when you're playing in the dark. The two-way voicing switch is basically a substitute for the traditional tone knob. Honestly I don't miss the knob, on my other guitars I pretty much only had them in two positions anyway, all the way up or all the way down, anything inbetween and you couldn't really hear a difference, so this is a good way to keep things simple. The pickup switch is a bit odd for me, the forward position puts you on the bridge pickup and the back position puts you on neck pickup, which is the opposite of every other guitar I've ever owned or held, but it's not a problem. It also does not get in the way of your strumming as it might look like. The real stars of the show are the locking tuners. They're great, they make restringing and tuning this thing a breeze, and the strings virtually never go out of tune despite me brutalizing them with my exaggerated string bending. It's one dope axe, my friends.Mark

I own this and its sister 6 string (light blue burst w/ dark edges). They are both incredible guitars, but this one feels just a little better. The feel is out of this world smooth. The neck, fretboard, frets, etc. are butter – it's perfect. The action is low and was perfect out of the box. I've messed around with different strings and tunings and the intonation remains perfect and it stays in tune better than any guitar I've owned. The fishman pups are HOT they're a little hard to tame but sound noticeably better than active emgs when DI recording; it's hard to describe but they're so rich in harmonics and add excitement to recordings. The flat finish is smooth and perfect; I've taken a little guff from band mates about a 'purple' guitar but it's beautiful – there's a thin border of paint on it that changes color depending on the angle you look at it. 5 stars for this guitar, and 4.5 for its sister 6 string.Gary

This guitar is simply superb. These are the best sounding split/tapped pickups I've ever heard. The pickups are very crisp and precise.Richard

The guitar is simply superb. These are the best sounding split/tapped pickups I've ever heard. The pickups are very crisp.Richard

This is a nice looking guitar, very playable, the sloped frets are a definite plus at the body end of the neck. Surprisingly light and comfortable to play. It has a great range of tones via the 5-way selector and switch. The tail-end tuners are really smooth.Rob C.

Ok, I give it 5 stars for the money, but disregarding the cost I'd give it close to 4 stars anyway. I found I needed a 7 string to complete some demos…. And this cheapy did the job admirably. Setup was fine right out of the box, action and intonation were spot on, I changed nothing. Fretwork is tidy and well executed, and the jumbo frets are nice. The neck is really playable, nice profile and satin finish, there's even a bit of a flame in the maple. Fretboard is a little streaky, clearly a stained, lighter wood due to the CITES regulations, but it feels fine and looks ok. Hardware is basic but functional. It stays in tune perfectly, and I bend a lot, particularly lower down, which I find often pulls instruments out of tune. The body is really resonant when played unplugged. I debated between the longer scale of the Jackson Dinky, and the better upper fret access of the Ibanez, and I'm happy with the choice I made, although I'll go slightly heavier on the strings when I change them. If I was a proper metaller I'd probably throw in some (insert uneccesary, expensive, trendy pickup here), but I bought it for demos, and I've had no problem making it sound how I want, so it's staying as it is. The only surprise, not that I'm bothered, is that the centre of the burst is much darker than I've seen on any of the official pictures, it's practically black, much more subtle than shown. It'll probably come alive under stage lighting though.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

First guitar I ever bought was a Fender Strat Squire for $95 and yes it was fun to play and great to learn on it, I was tired of down tuning and going back to standard so much bc of the different songs I like, my high e kept breaking and the pickups didn't like a whole lot of gain. I had looked at a ton of the cheaper side 7-strings like the Jackson Dinky or a used Schecter Omen-7, or something like that. For me though, the feel and the sound of the Ibanez Gio GRG is amazing and a lot easier to play than my Squire. I'm glad I picked it up for $220 and I'm for sure going to be playing it a lot. I do wish the body was a little thinner, and that it had some sort of tremolo system, but that's okay, I can live with it. Amazing build and great finish.boomythecrow

Sounds terrific, rich bassie, solid sound. Heavyweight player that is light on the purse. Great for seeing what more than the conventional 6, can do for you, without spending the family silver.Timbo

Ibanez Prestige. You get what you paid for when it comes down to the precision of this instrument line. The fret work and overall construction of the instrument prove to be at the finest quality. The locking tuners and the nut working in tandem with the thick RG body calls for rich sustain and amazing playability. The one issue one might find with this instrument would be the Dimarzio Fusion Edge pickups. They're great pickups with medium output, great for any sort of sound and can really go in any direction with the right settings. They just dont have any apparent sound qualities compaired to some other after market pickups. If youre looking for a solid guitar with a simply stunning look, this instrument will take you to the place you want to be.George

What can I say, after looking endlessly for an axe to tick all the boxes for me, the Ibanez S6570SK-STB Prestige does just that, beautifully crafted and balanced with an excellent tonal pallette from the trio of Dimarzio pick-ups, a stunning guitar to look at and most importantly feels and plays great.Kevin R.

Stunning guitar. After a tweak of the setup it plays great and sounds amazing! Incredibly versatile guitar and basically plays itself. Highly recommend the AZ Ibanez series to anyone who likes the feel of a more substantial neck than the average Ibanez, with a more classic s type aesthetic.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

Overall: I read some of these negative reviews and can't understand what they're talking about. This guitar is probably the best guitar for $200 I ever played , right out of the box it was setup perfectly. All I did was tune it , I've even got the same strings it came with. Which I normally change whenever I get a new guitar. The tuners are unbelievably tight , this guitar barely goes out of tune even if it has been sitting for weeks. Also I never attached the whammy bar , so I can't speak on that throwing it out of tune. Since I have over a dozen guitars I don't usually play it daily , but when I do it always makes me glad I purchased it. This is a very versatile guitar , I play mostly metal and this thing shreds. But I also play blues and it sounds just as good as my custom strat. I bought an Epiphone SG special in the same price range and let's just say the setup is night and day , the tuners absolutely sucked , "already replaced them" and the intonation was off. It was a mess , I've already put it on Craig's list and bought a G400 Pro instead , 10x better quality and setup , but I digress. I've got many high priced guitars but always go back to the GRX , the playability and neck feels so comfortable to play. The only thing I'm going to do eventually is throw in a Seymour Duncan humbucker and I'm definitely keeping this guitar. I don't know how Ibanez can sell this for $200 and keep the quality , but I'm certainly not going to complain. Whether you're a beginner or experienced this guitar delivers. Definitely will be purchasing another Ibanez down the road.Mike

I read a lot of reviews on this guitar before purchasing. Most common complaints revolved around tuning stability. I was expecting mine to go out of tune every 2 minutes. Not my experience at all. It seems to be strung with 10's, and holds tuning very well. Pick ups sound warm and tight. When I eventually upgrade I'll probably do the nut and tuners, but those are by no means urgent. There are so minor finish flaws, but i bought this guitar to play, not to stare at it. For less than £200, you really can't go wrong. Delivery was on time and without hassle.Ben A.

Sound: Does not have the cleanest sound due to the picks. Putting the right pedals and effects in line and cranking up the distortion makes it an awesome beginner / intermediate metal guitar. Features: For the price the materials feel great. Ease of Use: It sounds great on my Fender Champion 20 or Positive Grid Spark amp. Not the cleanest tone but a great metal sound and extremely easy to play. Quality: It feels made well, especially in the $200 range. I feel like this is one I'll have for years and once I get better definitely see this is a good platform for future mods. Value: This guitar is excellent value and at this price an amazing guitar. Manufacturer Support: I have not dealt with Ibanez. The Wow Factor: I must admit the aesthetic. It's extremely hard to find good looking purple color-based guitars. If I could dream up what I want a guitar to look like this is it. It helps that its quality is awesome. Overall: I love this guitar. Purple is my favorite color and a hard one to find good guitars in. It looks great. It feels great and I have yet to find any significant issues with it. No problems with the frets or fret buzz. Action is easy and low. It sounds great with my Positive Grid Spark amp. The pickups sound great. The HSH setup is very versatile. Not the greatest with clean tones like my Stratocaster, but amazing with the right effects.Josh

I wish I had purchased this a long time ago. It was a champ right out of the box. This is one of the very few times in 50 years of buying guitars that I actually purchased an instrument and not a project. I’m amazed at how well it was set up to rock from the get-go. AMS must take great care of their stock because this was perfection in a box when i got it. Crisp and clean, aesthetically astounding. The sound encompasses everything I look for but i got it in this one guitar. Rough and rugged tones for grinding out ripping leads, sweet mellow tones for ambient music, unmatchable warm and hot tones for clean country and soothing jazz. You just cannot beat this guitar in quality and sound in this price range! You gotta get one of these!DC Collins

I’ve read almost every single review on this model and the overall take was hit or miss. Well I musta lucked out because this thing plays great! I had no paint blemishes, was smooth around the monkey grip, frets level, neck relatively straight and after a home set up, twice oiling the fretboard, with a fresh set of Super Slinky’s dropped down half a step she was solid. Tremolo unit not as bad as I had read or expected. The bar will get loose after use but I’ve got it holding tune very well. You can’t pull the bar up like the big brother Jems without an almost immediate fret out and the obvious answer is raise the bridge but then the action is too high to enjoy playing. Pickups are really decent. They clean up well. Was probably the main factor over the White or Black. The White Jr just looked and felt plain in comparison. After owning a JEM7v and playing a thousand gigs on it this is a nice little reminder of what fun that was!Ryan

Purchased in Westminster, CA Sam Ash store. Had a hard time locating these in SoCal stores. Their online store said it was in their inventory, but it was not on display. Bryan, my sales rep, located the guitar and setup and tuned as quickly as possible. He located an amp to suit my style and plugged me in. He was very attentative, well spoken and enthusiastic – asking questions that were very helpful. Big shout out to Bryan for all his heolp and personability. This Jem Jr in Pink acheived all the tones I was looking for in one guitar from clean to shred. Pretty sturdy and stayed in tune quite well even after thrashing the trem bar to see if I could get a string to break. No fret edges, though the fretboard was dry (oiled then neck at home). No scratchy pots or finish issues. The weight was pleasant and easy to carry around. Got a great deal from Sam Ash and their service was good and meaningful and I left with a sense of a solid purchase. Will visit this store again and I recommend the Jem Jr if you can't afford the upper end Jem guitars.BaconFire

I wish I had purchased this a long time ago. It was a champ right out of the box. This is one of the very few times in 50 years of buying guitars that I actually purchased an instrument and not a project. I’m amazed at how well it was set up to rock from the get-go. AMS must take great care of their stock because this was perfection in a box when i got it. Crisp and clean, aesthetically astounding. The sound encompasses everything I look for but i got it in this one guitar. Rough and rugged tones for grinding out ripping leads, sweet mellow tones for ambient music, unmatchable warm and hot tones for clean country and soothing jazz. You just cannot beat this guitar in quality and sound in this price range! You gotta get one of these!DC Collins

I’ve read almost every single review on this model and the overall take was hit or miss. Well I musta lucked out because this thing plays great! I had no paint blemishes, was smooth around the monkey grip, frets level, neck relatively straight and after a home set up, twice oiling the fretboard, with a fresh set of Super Slinky’s dropped down half a step she was solid. Tremolo unit not as bad as I had read or expected. The bar will get loose after use but I’ve got it holding tune very well. You can’t pull the bar up like the big brother Jems without an almost immediate fret out and the obvious answer is raise the bridge but then the action is too high to enjoy playing. Pickups are really decent. They clean up well. Was probably the main factor over the White or Black. The White Jr just looked and felt plain in comparison. After owning a JEM7v and playing a thousand gigs on it this is a nice little reminder of what fun that was!Ryan

Purchased in Westminster, CA Sam Ash store. Had a hard time locating these in SoCal stores. Their online store said it was in their inventory, but it was not on display. Bryan, my sales rep, located the guitar and setup and tuned as quickly as possible. He located an amp to suit my style and plugged me in. He was very attentative, well spoken and enthusiastic – asking questions that were very helpful. Big shout out to Bryan for all his heolp and personability. This Jem Jr in Pink acheived all the tones I was looking for in one guitar from clean to shred. Pretty sturdy and stayed in tune quite well even after thrashing the trem bar to see if I could get a string to break. No fret edges, though the fretboard was dry (oiled then neck at home). No scratchy pots or finish issues. The weight was pleasant and easy to carry around. Got a great deal from Sam Ash and their service was good and meaningful and I left with a sense of a solid purchase. Will visit this store again and I recommend the Jem Jr if you can't afford the upper end Jem guitars.BaconFire

Its not super flashy and wont really capture any attention on stage but it does its job. Its a solid guitar, way better built than other guitars in its price range. Solid construction, great overall build quality, amazing tone and awesome pickups for the price range. Great 7 string to get your foot in the door if you are usually a 6 string player and if it doesnt work out for you you are not out alot of money and has decent resale value. I am going to get more comfortable with this guitar before buying a more expensive 7 string and use this as my backup 7 string while gigging. No regrets here or complaints. As always AMS shipped this thing instantly and it came well packaged and no damage! Thank you AMS!Mike Yakouba

Overall: Man, I can’t believe this guitar was less than 400 bucks. This is my First 7 string. I got it as an experiment just to see if a 7 string had any appeal. Well it did. It does.I did have to do a little work on the nut. The neck had a hard D profile that was irritating, so I shaved the shoulders and reshaped the neck. Fits like a glove now. I don’t know what people expect in this price range, but this guitar was bang for the buck rich.I found the stock humbuckers to be adequate. Tone and volume controls worked. No static in the five way switch. The pickups sound tight enough on the bottom.You won’t get any more 7 string bang for the buck until you spend twice as much.Scott

Sound: The sound quality is pretty good believe it or not with the stock pickups, definitely have enough distortion to get pinch harmonics anywhere that I can on my Seymour Duncan JB equipped Schecter C-1. Although, the 7th string (B) or in my case G# can be a little muddy but this is why I also picked up a Dimarzio Crunch Lab and Liquifire to replace the stock pickups. But for now, it does fit my musical style pretty well which is mostly groove/progressive metal (or the cliche Djent term). It sounds great with other low gain music as well too, the 5 way selector which offers single coil mode is pretty useful. Clean sounds are pretty good . Keep in mind I'm only running through a Line 6 Spider II. Tips for making it sound better, would be include some dimarzios, or duncans as stock pickups which I know would increase the price but most of us are going to replace them anyways. Features: The most useful feature I would say is the 5 way switch, giving a variety of sounds. This is a pretty basic set up, so I wouldn't say there is anything useless at all. It has 7 inline tuners which I feel are more stable than the grovers on my schecter, they are nice and tight. It has a 25.5" bolt on (vs. my set through Schecter) maple neck with rosewood fingerboard with a more D shape to the neck, but also pretty thin compared to my schecter (a beefier U/C shape neck). The transition is actually quite comfortable coming from my 6 string. A flattop basswood body with 2 humbuckers, a 5 way switch, and volume (which I find gets in the way when trying to sweep pick, but I'll just have to adjust my playing style) and tone knobs. It also has a gotoh hardtail bridge. Ease of Use: It's very easy to get clean sounds out of this guitar, the distortion is pretty good as well, again a little bit of mud on the 7th string when tuned lower. It's easy to use with my amp, it's plug and play. Learning curve, is actually little to none it was an easy transition. It's very playable, the neck is fast and the bridge is comfortable. The body also has a nice belly cut and relief for your forearm. Quality: This product is assembled in Indonesia, my Schecter was in Korea. With that being said, I do think the Schecter's fit and finish is better but not too far ahead of the Ibanez. But, you get what you pay for with a $400.00 guitar. I bought this knowing it was not going to be a premium or prestige model. I haven't had it long, so I can't relaly comment on it's reliability. But from what I have seen so far, it feels very ruggedly made and everything feels nice and solid. Value: I think this product is 100% worth it's asking price. It's a solid guitar, the stock tone is great under clean/slightly overdrive tones, and acceptable under high gain. Again, to have it come stock with better pickups would increase the cost further. So for this price, it is very much worth it. Playability is great, loving the Ibanez Wizard neck. Manufacturer Support: I have not dealt with Ibanez before, but I have dealt with zZounds before. They are easy to get ahold of and very friendly. I have not yet had any problems with zZounds and very much enjoy the play as you pay plan. The Wow Factor: I find this guitar very appealing, especially with the white finish. What makes it even more appealing is the price and the stock features it comes with. I could have bought a baritone 6, but I've wanted a 7 for awhile. It just offers more tonal and range opportunities. Overall: In short, great guitar for the $. Stock pickups leave a little to be desired when down tuning. Playability is excellent. Quality is definitely acceptable, but not above and beyond.Kory

It came from the swamp! (Swamp Ash Body) This swamp creature is a tonal monster that screams like a Yeti and growls like a Lion. This Typhon is the father of all monster guitars. It came flawless and perfectly set up and intonated which is rare but it can and did happen to me. It outshines my Fender Strat and Fender Acoustasonic. As I struck a chord ON it, IT struck a chord IN me, and the bond was instantaneous. Guitar is about having fun and enjoying music not about snobbery. I'm preparing to entertain with my mastery of the musical arts and I'm going into battle fighting against fears, insecurities, and self-doubts but I can now face these foes fearlessly because I'm equipped with my new weapon of choice – this purebred sexy swamp beast axe. I was standing in a swamp, with my head hung low, not enough tickets, for my sold out show. Hear the roar of the crowd? Can you picture the scene? Put you ear to the swamp, hear my guitar scream. Can you hear it now? Are you blown away? You'll see stars for a couple of days! This S570 AH SWK is beautiful and thanks to MF my dream became my reality. MF jumped through hoops and went all out in helping me get this guitar. Call them up and they will assist you in overcoming any hurdles standing in your way of purchasing this guitar. They excel over Sweetwater IMHO. My EVERY experience with these MF'ers has been a 2 thumbs up, 10 star rating. What are you waiting for? Get your own S570 AH SWK Today! You'll be glad you did! As for me, I'm as happy as a slime covered swamp creature in a black lagoon playing guitar. The black on this thing is gorgeous and the silver waves ring out like silver bells at Christmas. When you hear it Roar, you'll be imprisoned in it's melodiosity (I coined that phrase) Metal, Alternative, Rock, Country, Blues, Pop, Reggae, Jazz it does it all. Just do it my friend! Pull the trigger and blow the brains out of your savings account and you too can start playing "FOR REAL" today. Costs less than a Prestige or a Joe Satriani Signature JS2GD-Gold Boy but I must dispel the MYTH… it's just as good and no one in your audience will be able to hear any difference.James

Sound: The guitar came with Quantum pickups. I have Quantum pickups on another guitar, and they sound alright on my Jem Jr. However, they sound spectacular on this guitar. This may have something to do with the ash body on this guitar, vs. the Mahogany body on the Jem Jr.It is amazing that Ibanez can offer ash on a guitar in this price range, when Fender has stopped using ash on more expensive guitars. Features: The most useful feature on this guitar is the Edge Zero trem. As a matter of course, as I’ve done with my other trem equipped Ibanez guitars, I replaced the springs. The springs that come on these guitars are awful and won’t let the trem return to pitch. I replaced them with Floyd Rose extra strength, silent springs. Now the trem returns to pitch as good as my Floyd’s and original Edge trems.There is no string retainer on this guitar. If you put a few extra winds of strings around the post, it will increase the break angle from the back of the nut, where the strings exit. If you get the break angle right, you can lock down the nut without having to retune. Ease of Use: The guitar is quite playable out of the box, with the exception of the trem springs. There were a couple of high frets, but they weren’t high enough to cause buzzing with a normal action. I always do a level and crown as part of the set up anyway. Quality: The fit and finish on this guitar is excellent. I love the grey and black top on this. Definitely a looker. Also, the description of the guitar on the website, when I ordered it, said that the fretboard was Jatoba. Well, as it turned out, my guitar came with a rosewood board, which according to Ibanez’s website is what the guitar comes with for 2021.Also, the jack placement on the top, is really nice. The end to the cord doesn’t stick out. Just be careful plugging in. Value: This guitar is worth every penny I paid. I am quite pleased that the guitar is less than 600 dollars. Great bang for the buck. And zZounds makes it a no brainer with their payment plans. Manufacturer Support: I haven’t had to call Ibanez personally, but I have gone through the dealer before, and they have got fast service from Ibanez for me. The Wow Factor: This guitar not only looks good, but plays great as well. If you aren’t able to do work on a guitar yourself, spend the money for a pro set up. It’s so worth it. Overall: Well, I wasn’t sure what to expect, as I took a chance and bought one that was listed as minor blemish on zZounds site.It took awhile to get to me, but that isn’t zZounds fault. The FedEx hub in my state doesn’t have enough truck drivers, and delays at the Troutdale hub are just a reality at this time.It arrived well packed and it turns out that the minor defect was just a small crack at the neck pocket. This would have probably happened anyway, and it is really small.I did have to call customer service, due to a saddle adjustment screw rounding out when I set the intonation. Sounds got me a new set of these screws through Ibanez, and it only took a few days. So good on zZounds and good on Ibanez.Scott

After months of searching for my next guitar I finally settled on the Ibanez Prestige AZ series. As a lifelong strat player, my goal was to find a guitar that married modern features with classic American Strat-like qualities. The obvious choice might be the modern Suhr series, but the pricing on those was too high for me to even entertain exploring. The Ibanez Prestige AZ2402 is the perfect rendition of the featuree I was looking for and after 3 weeks of playing, I could not be happier with this purchase. I was able to secure the guitar for a few hundred less than new, as it was labelled as "minor blemish" on the AMS site. I immediately jumped on it and am ecstatic that I did so. To this day 3 weeks later, I cannot tell what the "blemish" could be. This thing looks, feels, plays and sounds like a brand new guitar. Out of the box the guitar was set up and only just slightly flat of tune. To meet my preference, some minor adjustments were made to the neck and bridge, but the 20 minutes or so that it took to slap some fresh strings on and make the measurements was well worth it. I have even had to do this on product that was brand new before, so I could not even attribute this to the "minor blemish" label. Th pickups are amazing. The coil switch mechanisms are great for added versatility, but the standard humbuckers are excellent and the guitar should still be considered even if you do not plan to use the switching system. The neck is super creamy and clear as a bell, while the bridge is just hot enough for metal and crystal clear enough to jangle some clean chords. The bridge is very solid with comfortable saddles and screams top quality. Tuning stability has not been any sort of issue, even with the use of the bar. I am not an extreme whammy bar user, but I did do some tests on deep dives and the guitar tuning needed no adjustment afterwards. In fact, since I changed the strings and did the setup on the second day, the guitar has not gone out of tune at all. I will highlight that the neck is way thicker than what I was anticipating, but in a few hours I was right at home with the feel. I have played many wizard necks and it simply was not what I was looking for, being accustomed to chunkier modern strat necks. The AZ neck is big, chunkier than the strat but I am now in love with it and this guitar has become my go to #1. Definitely recommend even at the full new price. This same guitar made in the US with all the exact same appointments would cost in excess of 4K. Great Guitar!Ryan

Sound: The Hyperion pickups do a great job overall and offer up a nice array of different sounds for just about every style of music. When in HH mode it goes from blues to rock and beyond with no problem. When the DynaMix switch is engaged the guitar takes on a completely different characteristic from jangly to warm and has some great tonal options for clean and crunch. I like the versatility of this guitar. It takes a bit of time to get used to all the options and you’ll have to tweak your EQ here and there to avoid them sounding thin or shrill, but I think you'll be able to find quite a few useful tones with this guitar. Features: The Gotoh tuners are sturdy and stable. The ratio is great and they really smooth with no issues at all holding tune. I had never used them before and I had to YouTube how to unlock them lol, but they work great. I prefer locking tuners with the knob on the back, but that's just personal preference. The Gotoh bridge feels spectacular. The titanium saddles are so smooth, no more rubbing your palm raw over rough saddles or screws. I don't use a trem much these days but it does a good job staying in tune even with some dive bombs and flutters. The roasted maple neck is beautiful and has a great smooth feel on the back. The cutaway and contours are very comfortable and the recessed input jack is a thoughtful highlight. And yes, most wireless transmitters will fit. I could not get my Line 6 G10 transmitter to fit in the AZ Premium I had. The Prestige is not as deeply recessed and the transmitter fits just fine. This is my first go around with stainless steel frets but I do like the feel of them and they look good too. Ease of Use: It’s a fairly straightforward guitar to use and maintain. Nothing overly complicated here. Changing strings on a 2 point trem is a breeze compared to Floyd Rose or Edge terms and with the locking tuners you can get through the task in just a few minutes. All the back panels open easily for access to trem springs, input jack, and electronics. The exposed truss rod socket makes adjusting the neck a snap. The included multi-tool is really all you will ever need for quick changes. Quality: This is where everyone will say they have high end made in America PRS, or Custom Shop whatevers and this is just as good or better. They will say that for a good reason because it’s the truth. Fit and finish are spectacular. No gaps or wiggles to be found. Fret work and fingerboard are simply top notch. It feels like it’s been your guitar for years. Electronics are smooth and there is an overall premium feel to this instrument. The hype is real…. FujiGen makes great guitars. Value: Value is a subjective measure. This is an expensive guitar for sure but when compared to similar “modern player” guitars out there the 2402 sits right in the middle price-wise. I feel it’s well within reason for what you get and it’s a good value for your money. I’d rather get a painted body with stainless steel frets than a bookmatched top and standard frets. Manufacturer Support: Haven't needed it The Wow Factor: In my humble opinion the wow factor is somewhat unseen. The story behind the AZ series is quite novel in that Ibanez reached out and met with some of the best and brightest guitarists around today. Over a period of 2 or 3 years and through several prototypes they compiled all of those suggestions into this amazing series of instruments. If all the artists involved really feel that this is their ultimate guitar then that’s pretty wow in my book. Overall: OK first let’s talk about the 800 pound gorilla in the room. That neck!!!! If you have done any research on the AZ series you already know it’s not a Wizard neck, but you may be surprised at how big it is. When I first grabbed it I was thinking I was going to return it, but after playing on it for a few days it felt like home. Like a lot of things about this guitar, the neck is a paradox. It shouldn’t feel this comfortable to someone who prefers Charvel and Jacksons, but it does. It doesn’t feel like a shred neck, but you can play that way remarkably well on it. It has its own unique shape like nothing I’ve played before. If I had to compare it to something I’d say somewhat resembles a Fender American Elite neck but more of a U shape with bigger shoulders. I can say that I don’t notice a huge change when going back and forth with my other guitars. It’s easy to transition between them without a lot of readjustment time to ‘get the feel’. I’ve seen a lot of forum posts asking about how the AZ Prestige stacks up to other instruments. Here’s my opinion. I own a Charvel Pro Mod DK24 HSS with the roasted neck and I really like that guitar a lot. The 2402 is a little lighter and sleeker and has a higher quality feel. I think the Hyperions as humbuckers are more versatile than the Full Shred. The 2402 neck is thicker and feels a little wider vs the DK which is more like a very thin Strat neck. I also briefly owned the Premium version of this guiAllan

So many professional guitar players choose this Ibanez Prestige AZ2402 and when you get your hands on one you know exactly why. Where to start?!? First off the Japanese craftsmanship on these guitars a second to none! Perfect execution in every way! Neck, body, frets, tremolo everything just fits together in joyful harmony to make for an awesome axe that practically plays itself. Stainless steel frets will last a life-time and pickups offer a wide array of tone arsenal. If you need just one axe in your collection i would recommend this for sure. Its worthy of calling it your #1 if you are a shredder, prog, or jazz player. This guitar is for everyone!usbzoso

I absolutely love this guitar! The neck feels really solid, and the fretwork is flawless. I prefer a fixed bridge, but maybe in time they will make it an option for this guitar. Then, I guess I'll have to buy another one 🙂Omikron

I used to own a 1990 Ibanez Universe 77MC 7 string guitar and I loved the way that guitar played. It had a nice feeling neck and the Edge Low-Pro bridge worked great. Not to mention, it was a bad-ass looking guitar! Multi-colored swirl by Darren Johansen, 3-color disappearing pyramid inlay, Edge Low-Pro tremolo with cosmo black hardware (see photos for comparison). I mention all that because I regret to say I sold that guitar and was missing my Ibanez Universe. So, I decided to buy another one that wouldn't soak my finances and bought a new Ibanez Universe UV70PBK Green Dot 7 string guitar. There are significant differences in the feel and playability compared to the original's. The UV70P's have a finish on the neck's almost like a clear coat varnish which seems to be a standard on the Ibanez Premium line of guitars. The original's didn't. They were more like a light tung oil finish. I do have to say, that the necks on the Premium line are designed to be a lot more sturdy than the original's, which is a good thing. The UV70P's have the new Edge-Zero II-7 bridge which doesn't have the same feel and response as the Edge Low-Pro. Supposedly the same basswood body, but they seem much lighter in weight that the original's. The pick-up's are the same, but the tone is just not quite thesame as well. And of course, another obvious difference is the the original's were made in Japan and the reissues are made in Indonesia which determines the quality somewhat. Don't get me wrong, these reissue's are still a good quality guitar, but once having an original Universe you can tell the difference in craftsmanship. I will probably keep my UV70PBK just so I can have a 7 string guitar again and it is a bad-ass looking guitar, but I will always regret selling my 1990 Universe 77MC which was for me, the Ultimate Universe!!!designrol

I rarely write reviews, but felt compelled to with this purchase. First, I received the guitar the NEXT DAY after ordering! In these Covid-cursed times, that's damn impressive. It arrived in perfect condition. Second, as for the guitar – I've been playing a long time and wanted to try out a 7 string, and for the price I thought, why not? Mine was set up perfectly, and with great new strings. If AMS did this, they did a great job. Had 2 new packs of strings at the ready, didn't need them. This guitar is a beast. Really high output pickups, which is what I think most of us would want with this type guitar. Neck feels good and is straight as an arrow, and all hardware is solid. You can back off the volume on this thing and still get all the pinch harmonics you want. For $200, this is a no brainer for anyone interested in diving into the 7 string world for the first time. I had misgivings about buying a "GIO", but I'm very impressed.Ken

Hey guys. I have one of these that i had for about 3 years. Along with my GRG170DX, I'm very pleased. I haven't had really any negative experiences with these guitars, a side from needing setup out of the box. But come on, what guitar doesn't need one. Typically guitars aren't shipped set-up. If so it's very poorly done and seems like a beginner is the one who does it. So to respond to the people saying there is fret buzz, it needs a setup, won't stay in tune or/and that the strings are bad and need changed. Well they are just speaking the obvious, even guitars but of a showroom floor is going to need a good setup. So take the time to do so ( it's really not hard, there's all kinds of videos out there to watch), or if you really want have someone do it for you. Once a setup and a string change is done, than this guitar is simply an awesome guitar. I have no tuning issues, string changes are easy. The guitar is balanced nicely, I had a Ibanez AX series 7 string…. That guitar sound good and wasn't a bad guitar. But man was the balance terrible. The neck likes to nose dive on those and the guitar was pretty heavy. So goes to say, I didn't keep it long. I traded it. Got a 8 string. But up against my JP70. My GRG7221 is a decent guitar. Im probably going to drop some Bare Knuckle Juggernauts in the one i have now. But i fine that this guitar has good tone. Fast attack, clarity, and great sustain. As long as you do a setup, and make sure your pickups are not too close to the string( as you should on EVERY guitar, especially the ones you have shipped to you) this is a very nice guitar for the buck. ALOT of bang for your buck,and really underrated. And for some of you out there who is wondering….. Yes it does Djent.Matty C.

I've been playing rock and metal for near 53 years, and have owned EVERY manufacturers guitar at some point. And for the last 20 years I've been exclusively an Ibanez man; and this is THE best Ibanez model I've ever owned, period! It's solid, dependable and just plain fun to play, shredding machine; and the craftsmanship is outstanding! The basswood body is very light, resonant and the satin finish has a nice feel to the touch. The maple fluted neck is SOLID, and almost plays like a 6 string. The 26.5" scale does an excellent job of bringing out the bottom end string definition, and gives leads a nice warm character considering the solid maple fretboard! The nicely dressed fret ends and the Gotoh machines are a nice touch of quality as well. Now most new guitars usually need an upgrade when it comes to pups… NOT needed here. These DiMarzios are perfectly voiced for the basswood/ maple combination and offers tons of sustain and endless pinch harmonics all over the fretboard! NOTE: I installed a Seymour Duncan Pegasus, played it for a half hour and re-installed the DiMarzio. No need to change pups; you want "chugg", you've got it, you want "chunk", you've got it, you want "clean", you've got that too! The Ibanez Low Pro 7 works perfectly and is reliable; been playing tremelos myentire life and so I have no issues with tuning. The ONLY upgrade was a brass tremelo block, and trem-spring silencers. One more thing: The single volume control comes with an excellent treble bleed cap; between that and the high quality 3-position switch, I can get ANY tone, and play any genre I want out of this guitar. Thanks Ibanez and Team J Craft.alimik0

I love this GUITAR, because it is the same color as my favorite car, I've ever owned. More importantly, is the sound that came along with this beauty. The feel of the Guitar action is stupendous. I say this, because my fingering of the notes, or chords changes are effortlessly completed. The tone of the Ibanez JEM77P is shocking even in the most less expensive amplifier. To be specific, quality sound in a cheap practice amp. Prior to getting my HEADRUSH Pedal Board and Cabinet, I was playing through a $25 10 Watts Practice Amplifier. The sound, I must say again gave me more faith in buying this and more of the JEM7 Guitars, mainly because of the quality sound from playing through a practice amp. Crisp, distinct sound. When playing through my new HEADRUSH Pedal Board and Cabinet from AMS I was floored by the superb sound. I have played JEM77P through my buddies amplifier that is 150 Watts. The sound was breath taking, compared to his guitars non-favorable sound with same settings. WOW!Lovin It

Needs lots of setup. All the tuners post nuts were loose and rattling and needed to be tightened, definitely a QC issue. Action was really no where near shredabilty. Also white dust under the pickguard which is a little unsightly due to the clear acrylic used. Probably not for a newby unless you “know a guy“ or want to pay to get a setup. All that said with proper set up and tweaks it’s a pretty good guitar that stays in tune, sounds good, looks great and plays really good. I’m gonna keep it.JoeyP

In the 90's, I owned the black floral Jem. Everything about it was amazing. The sound, the feel, the way my fingers would literally bounce from note to note. It was the best guitar I ever owned. Like most musicians, I had to sell it to pay bills at some point. I saw this guitar and thought it would be a reasonable replacement. It was not. The tension feels tight. The pickups sound very "stock." The jumbo frets don't feel very jumbo. I have an Ibanez that I bought for $199.99 back in February that plays way better. I feel like the cost of this thing is based purely on the finish, the grip, and the artist it represents.Grumpy Old Man

I used to own a 1990 Ibanez Universe 77MC 7 string guitar and I loved the way that guitar played. It had a nice feeling neck and the Edge Low-Pro bridge worked great. Not to mention, it was a bad-ass looking guitar! Multi-colored swirl by Darren Johansen, 3-color disappearing pyramid inlay, Edge Low-Pro tremolo with cosmo black hardware (see photos for comparison). I mention all that because I regret to say I sold that guitar and was missing my Ibanez Universe. So, I decided to buy another one that wouldn't soak my finances and bought a new Ibanez Universe UV70PBK Green Dot 7 string guitar. There are significant differences in the feel and playability compared to the original's. The UV70P's have a finish on the neck's almost like a clear coat varnish which seems to be a standard on the Ibanez Premium line of guitars. The original's didn't. They were more like a light tung oil finish. I do have to say, that the necks on the Premium line are designed to be a lot more sturdy than the original's, which is a good thing. The UV70P's have the new Edge-Zero II-7 bridge which doesn't have the same feel and response as the Edge Low-Pro. Supposedly the same basswood body, but they seem much lighter in weight that the original's. The pick-up's are the same, but the tone is just not quite thesame as well. And of course, another obvious difference is the the original's were made in Japan and the reissues are made in Indonesia which determines the quality somewhat. Don't get me wrong, these reissue's are still a good quality guitar, but once having an original Universe you can tell the difference in craftsmanship. I will probably keep my UV70PBK just so I can have a 7 string guitar again and it is a bad-ass looking guitar, but I will always regret selling my 1990 Universe 77MC which was for me, the Ultimate Universe!!!designrol

I ordered the Ibanez UV70P from the website which as stated took a few days to get stock and arrive (This was early December 2018). My only gripe was that on the website it stated a rosewood fretboard which is why I bought it as they were changing the fretboard wood due to rosewood being on the CITES endangered wood. The one they sent was a Panga Panga bound fretboard. Even to today (3rd Jan 2019) it still states rosewood on the website. After confirming with the online time I kept the guitar with just a few loyalty points added. I can live with the Panga Panga fretboard it does look good and feels okay. I did have an issue that there were no trem stud locks inserted into the bridge height adjustment screws. Spoke to distributor Headstock Distribution who sent 2 out. All fitted and happy.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

Review is 5 stars because the guitar itself is incredible, but the store it originated from had sent it in horrendous condition, which various issues and dusty enough that it may as well have been stored at a building site! Luckily I’ve fixed all the issues myself and the customer service has also recognised the issue and have provided brilliant support, so generally a great purchase after all, was a bit of a labour to get this back to working order, but all is fixed now.Tom C.

Overall: I got this guitar a hair over a month ago, and wanted to wait awhile before I wrote a review so I could get past the "honeymoon stage" and write a fair review. Well it turns out I might as well have fired this review off on the 1st day, because nothing has changed!!This beast arrived set up so well that even the stock strings sounded good for my initial riffage, but once I got my preferred strings on there, man, that Ibby lit up!! The chugs were thick and grindy, the chords chimed, the leads sang, and I was blown away!!The pickups in this guitar are maybe the tiniest hair lower-output than my personal preference, but nothing to ding points over, and the 5-way switching opens up the possibilities! Build quality, fit, and finish are outta this world for a guitar at this price point, and yes, this guitar does sport a slightly larger neck than the traditional Wizard 7 string profile, which for my giant hands, feels like home. In conclusion, if you are looking for a great new flavor of 7 to add to your collection, or need a first one that won't let you down, dive in!!Chris

Let me just start off by saying that I've been playing 6 string guitar since 1995, however this is my first 7 string guitar. This Ibanez gio has amazing craftsmanship and playability unparalleled at its price range. I have guitars that cost three times as much that aren't as well made. This was setup well no buzz on the frets. If you want to change it's tone later on just buy new pickups. Only downside is the fretboard is a little soft for heavy hands so don't go smacking the crap outta it. You can see me play it on Instagram for reference @blakesguitars.Blakesguitars