when strat players discover Ibanez

Summary

In this video, the host explores the Ibanez Prestige AZ2204 N guitar, which initially seemed unappealing due to its association with shredders. However, the unique features, including the Alder body, roasted Maple neck, and Seymour Duncan Fortuna pickups, piqued his interest. The guitar's 'Altered Switch' offers nine pickup configurations, providing versatility in sound. After testing the guitar in a state-of-the-art studio with various amps, the host reflects on its modern take on the Strat-style guitar, comparing it to Fender and Music Man, and discusses the challenge and excitement of mastering its unique tonal options.

Takeaways

• 🎸 The speaker initially had a bias against Ibanez guitars, believing they were only for 'shredders' and not relatable to their style.
• 🔍 The speaker's perspective changed upon discovering the Ibanez Prestige AZ2204, which piqued their interest due to its unique features.
• 🗓 The Prestige model has been around since 1996, but the specific AZ2204 model has a modern design with an alder body and roasted maple neck.
• 🧲 The guitar is equipped with Seymour Duncan Fortuna pickups, which the speaker is a fan of, adding to their excitement to try the guitar.
• 🔑 A notable feature of the AZ2204 is the 'altered switch', offering nine different pickup configurations, expanding beyond the typical five.
• 🎵 The speaker experimented with the guitar's tonal capabilities, comparing it to Fender and considering how it modernizes the Stratocaster style.
• 🏠 The speaker took the guitar to a friend's studio, which is equipped with a variety of amps, to test its sound through different setups.
• 🔍 After spending time with the guitar, the speaker is no longer intimidated by its knobs and switches but is still learning the best settings for their preferred sound.
• 🛠 The speaker acknowledges the need to relearn and adapt to the guitar's unique features, such as the altered switch, to fully utilize its capabilities.
• 🎶 The experience with the Ibanez Prestige AZ2204 has reinforced the speaker's appreciation for Strat alternatives and the exploration of modern guitar design.
• 📺 The video concludes with the speaker encouraging viewers to share their thoughts on modern S-style guitars and Ibanez in general, emphasizing personal preference over their own opinion.

Q & A

What was the speaker's initial perception of Ibanez guitars?

The speaker initially thought that Ibanez guitars were for shredders and seven-string players, and they didn't relate to them personally.

What changed the speaker's mind about Ibanez guitars?

The speaker's perception changed after discovering the Ibanez Prestige AZ2204 N guitar, which had features that intrigued him, such as the Seymour Duncan Fortuna pickups and the altered switch.

What is the Ibanez Prestige AZ2204 N guitar known for?

The Ibanez Prestige AZ2204 N is known for its alder body, roasted maple neck, Seymour Duncan Fortuna pickups, and an altered switch that provides nine different pickup configurations.

What is the purpose of the altered switch on the Ibanez Prestige AZ2204 N?

The altered switch on the Ibanez Prestige AZ2204 N provides nine different pickup configurations, offering more tonal options than the usual five configurations found on most S-style guitars.

How does the speaker describe the tonal capabilities of the Ibanez Prestige AZ2204 N?

The speaker describes the tonal capabilities as being able to provide both Strat-like and humbucker-like sounds, with the pickups being in series for a unique tonal blend.

What did the speaker do to test the Ibanez Prestige AZ2204 N guitar?

The speaker took the guitar to his friend Andrew's studio, which is equipped with various amps, to test its sound and capabilities in a professional setting.

How does the speaker compare the Ibanez Prestige AZ2204 N to Fender guitars?

The speaker compares the Ibanez Prestige AZ2204 N to Fender guitars by noting that while Fender is embracing a vintage aesthetic, the Ibanez is pushing towards a more modern S-style guitar design.

What is the speaker's opinion on the modernization of the Strat-style guitar by Ibanez?

The speaker appreciates Ibanez's approach to modernizing the Strat-style guitar, noting that it offers a different experience and challenges traditional biases behind Strat alternatives.

How does the speaker describe the learning curve for using the altered switch on the Ibanez Prestige AZ2204 N?

The speaker describes the learning curve as initially challenging but fun, requiring practice to understand which pickup configurations they prefer and how to achieve specific tones.

What is the speaker's final verdict on the Ibanez Prestige AZ2204 N after spending time with it?

The speaker concludes that the Ibanez Prestige AZ2204 N is a modern take on the S-style guitar that offers a unique and enjoyable playing experience, with the altered switch being a standout feature.

Where can viewers find more information or purchase the Ibanez Prestige AZ2204 N?

Viewers can find more information or purchase the Ibanez Prestige AZ2204 N through the links provided in the video description, which directs them to Sweetwater, a music retailer.

Outlines

00:00

🎸 Discovering the IANZ Prestige AZ2204 Guitar

The speaker recounts their initial disinterest in IANZ guitars, which they associated with shredders and seven-string players. They had explored various brands but never interacted with IANZ until they encountered the Prestige AZ2204 model. Introduced in 1996, the Prestige series has evolved, and the AZ2204 features an alder body, roasted maple neck, and Seymour Duncan Fortuna pickups. The speaker was excited to try these pickups and discovered an 'altered switch' that provides nine pickup configurations, offering a versatile sound between Strat and humbucker options. The experience at Andrew's studio with various amps highlighted the guitar's modern Strat-like qualities and the potential for unique tonal applications.

05:02

🛠 Exploring the Modern Strat Alternatives and IANZ's Innovations

The speaker delves into their experience learning the IANZ Prestige AZ2204's nine pickup configurations, facilitated by an 'altered switch.' They compare the process to learning the controls of aPRS guitar and reflect on how such guitars challenge traditional Stratocaster designs. The speaker discusses the modernization of the Strat style, contrasting Fender's vintage approach with IANZ's innovative direction. They also draw parallels with Music Man guitars and the mid-boost feature, emphasizing IANZ's willingness to offer unique aesthetic and playability options. The speaker concludes by inviting viewers to share their thoughts on modern Strat alternatives and IANZ guitars, highlighting the importance of personal preference in musical instrument selection.

10:03

🏠 Reflecting on the Experience with IANZ Prestige at an Advanced Studio

In the final paragraph, the speaker expresses their enthusiasm for the IANZ Prestige AZ2204 after spending time with it in Andrew's state-of-the-art studio. They reflect on the fun and challenge of mastering the guitar's unique features and the personal journey of discovering new tones. The speaker also invites viewers to check out the gear used in the video and supports the channel through Sweetwater links and Patreon. They end on a personal note, asking for feedback on the IANZ Prestige and wishing viewers the best day.

Keywords

💡IanZ Guitar

IanZ Guitar refers to a brand of guitars that the speaker initially had a preconceived notion about, associating them with 'shredders' and 'seven-string guys'. The term is central to the video's theme as it represents the subject of the review. The speaker's journey of discovery with the IanZ Prestige AZ2204 N model is a key part of the narrative.

💡Prestige Models

Prestige Models are a specific line of IanZ guitars introduced in 1996. They have evolved over time and are characterized by their unique features, such as the one in the video with an alder body and roasted maple neck. The term is significant as it sets the stage for the detailed exploration of the AZ2204 N model's features.

💡Seymour Duncan Fortuna Pickups

Seymour Duncan Fortuna Pickups are a type of guitar pickup known for their sound quality. The speaker mentions being a fan of most Seymour Duncan pickups, which adds to the excitement of trying out the AZ2204 N. These pickups are integral to the guitar's sound, which is a central focus of the video.

💡Altered Switch

The Altered Switch is a feature of the IanZ Prestige AZ2204 N that provides nine different pickup configurations, as opposed to the usual five on most S-style guitars. This switch is a key aspect of the video, as it allows for a wide range of tonal options and is a significant selling point of the guitar.

💡Strat

Strat, short for Stratocaster, is a model of electric guitar made by Fender. The term is used in the script to draw comparisons with the IanZ Prestige AZ2204 N, highlighting the speaker's exploration of how the IanZ model modernizes and differentiates itself from the classic Strat design.

💡Pickup Configurations

Pickup Configurations refer to the different ways pickups can be combined or used in a guitar to produce various tones. The video discusses the unique configurations offered by the IanZ Prestige AZ2204 N, which is a central aspect of the guitar's versatility and appeal.

💡Modern S-Style

Modern S-Style refers to a contemporary take on the classic S-style guitar design. The video contrasts this with the vintage aesthetic that Fender is embracing. The IanZ Prestige AZ2204 N is presented as an example of a modern S-style guitar, pushing the boundaries of traditional design.

💡Vintage Aesthetic

Vintage Aesthetic pertains to the design and feel of older, classic models. The speaker notes that Fender is trying to recapture this vintage feel, particularly with their American Vintage Strats. This term is used to contrast the modern approach of the IanZ Prestige AZ2204 N.

💡Yamaha Pacificas

Yamaha Pacificas are a line of guitars that the speaker mentions as a comparison to the IanZ Prestige AZ2204 N. They are brought up to illustrate the speaker's point about the modernization of the S-style guitar and to highlight the unique features of the IanZ model.

💡Music Man

Music Man is a brand of guitars known for their innovative designs. The term is used in the script to draw parallels with the IanZ Prestige AZ2204 N, particularly in terms of the mid-boost feature and the brand's willingness to push the envelope in guitar design.

💡Studio

In the context of the video, 'studio' refers to a space equipped with various musical instruments and recording equipment. The speaker's friend Andrew has converted a house into a studio, which serves as the setting for testing the IanZ Prestige AZ2204 N and exploring its sound capabilities.

Highlights

The speaker's initial reluctance to try Ibanez guitars due to a preconceived notion of them being for 'shredders' and not relatable.

Discovery of the Ibanez Prestige AZ2204 N, which sparked interest due to its unique features.

Introduction of the Prestige model's history, which has been around since 1996 with significant design changes over time.

Description of the AZ2204 N's construction with an alder body, roasted maple neck, and Seymour Duncan Fortuna pickups.

Excitement about the guitar's nine different pickup configurations provided by the altered switch.

Explanation of the altered switch's function, offering more versatility than traditional five configurations.

Testing the guitar at Andrew's state-of-the-art studio with a variety of dream amps.

Observation of the guitar's modern take on the Stratocaster, with a unique input jack placement and tonal characteristics.

Comparison of the Ibanez Prestige to Fender and Yamaha Pacificas, highlighting differences in approach to guitar design.

Personal journey of learning the guitar's multiple configurations and finding preferred settings.

The challenge of relearning the altered switch and its impact on the learning curve.

Reflection on the modernization of the Stratocaster and how the Ibanez Prestige pushes the envelope.

Mention of Fender's focus on vintage aesthetics and the contrast with Ibanez's modern approach.

The speaker's bias towards Strat alternatives and how the Ibanez Prestige reinforces this preference.

Invitation for viewers to share their thoughts on modern S-style guitars and Ibanez in general.

Acknowledgment of the Ibanez Prestige as a fun and challenging guitar to learn and master.

Encouragement for viewers to check out the Ibanez Prestige and other gear featured in the video.

Transcripts

okay so real quick I got to ask cuz I

got to know do you remember the first

time you saw an ianz guitar and what

actually was it specifically about that

guitar that really Drew you in you see

for years I would walk around different

guitar stores looking at playing and

admiring different guitars from all over

the brand Spectrum trying every strap

from the classic Vibes all the way up to

the American Standards playing every 335

from the dots all the way up to the real

deal Gibsons but for some reason when it

came to the ivanz guitars I never really

touched them in my head I had it that

these ivanz guitars they were for the

shredders the seven string guys

basically all the people that I couldn't

really relate to and it's not

necessarily that I thought they were

like the ugliest things around but my

thought process was that outside of

Guitar Hero 3 me and Herman Lee were

probably never going to have anything

really in common gear lies okay well

that was until I discovered one specific

guitaro I'm going to be completely

honest I think we're in for something

good

[Music]

now for those of you like myself who

might not historically be well versed in

the ianz Cinematic Universe this guitar

right here is the ianz prestige

az2204 n long name I know but they do

that sometimes now the prestige models

have actually been around for quite a

while since they were introduced in 1996

however those models looked a lot

different than what what we have today

the specific model happens to have an

alder body roasted Maple neck and

Seymour Dunkin Fortuna pickups now I've

generally been a fan of most of the

Seymour Duncan that I've had in guitars

before so I was more than just excited

to try these and I knew that I had to

plug it in to see if lightning would

strike Twice But as soon as I did I

noticed something that I hadn't actually

seen before so it's not a push pull it's

actually a switch now it's not uncommon

nowadays for guitars to have a lot of

switches I mean basically every PRS that

I've played in the last year touch has a

coil split I think I know what I'm doing

but just to be sure let me just double

check real quick ianz AZ

what it was at this moment Michael knew

he messed up now this ladies and

gentlemen happens to be the altered

switch which apparently gives this

guitar nine different pickup

configurations instead of the usual five

that you would see on most s style

guitars now the sounds that are in there

are pretty dependa based on the way that

they blade out the pickups but what I

feel like is that they're trying to give

you the Strat

thing and then almost give you a

humbucker option because the pickups are

in series

[Music]

it's almost like the anti-oil split I

feel like there could be potentially a

lot of real world application for that

outside of this space yo bro so I got

this new guitar and I want to like

really see what it can do and I know you

got the amp so you want to take this

thing for a test drive you see this is

my friend Andrew and he recently decided

to convert an entire house into

basically the craziest Studio you've

ever seen and featuring essentially

every amp I've ever dreamed of so I

thought what better place to really test

this guitar to see what it could do well

it looks really nice it's got a cool

body shape you want to plug this thing

in

[Music]

yeah see this is like Nashville tone

right

[Music]

here Hots feel so good what I'm finding

out is it's the most modern version of a

strat

[Music]

the new thing that I've seen everyone do

they take the input jack from the top of

the body to the side but they took it to

like I'm getting some gas right now

you're getting some gas yeah I'm like

there's there's a there's a role for the

guitar in my

studio originally comparing it over and

over again to like what is Fender doing

what is Fender doing like how does this

compare to what Fender is doing but I

think it's a lot closer to like have you

seen like the Yamaha pacificas cuz

everything about what Fender doing a lot

of the time I feel like is trying to

capture the Vintage thing this is like

the modern s style so it's almost

completely different you don't see this

the tone I turned the tone down dude

yeah that's like that quacky thing

[Music]

like it's it's it's completely different

in like how they modernize

[Music]

but as much as I love playing it through

my dream amps in this ideal Studio

scenario I knew I wasn't going to really

get to know the guitar until I spent the

long hours alone figuring everything out

for myself so I've had this guitar for a

couple weeks now I'm at the point where

none of the knobs necessarily scare me

or intimidate me anymore but I'm not yet

at that point of like instant knowing

how to get this exact sound without

experimenting and I want to get there I

want to get there really fast so I don't

know if we're going to be up all night

tonight but I'm willing to try if you

are I'm essentially just going back and

forth using the cheat sheet as like a

study guide pretending I have like a

drill instructor and being like hucker

neck okay now go to Fourth position Tom

Mish single

coil and just doing that over and over

again so once I really laid it out and

looked at it it took basically no time

at all to just figure out the positions

it was way easier than I thought the

harder thing I think is actually

figuring out which ones you like and

which ones you Vibe with cuz you can

have all of those options and that's

really cool but it doesn't really mean

anything unless you know which ones you

actually like are going to use on a

regular basis it's starting to remind me

a lot of like some of the prss that like

the Grateful Dead guys play and knowing

that they have to learn all of those

knobs

[Music]

I think I've realized that playing

guitars like this they definitively

always reinforce a lot of my biases

behind Strat Alternatives I mean they're

really cool things and we live in this

world and this is how I discovered

brands that I love like G&L we finding

something alternate to what you usually

play or something that's usually big

that's really exciting but specifically

when it comes to strats I feel like

there's a lot of this thought of how can

this guitar out Fender Fender how can we

get back to what Leo's real Vision was

how can we get into this thing of like

oh this is exactly what a strat is

supposed to be or this is why he went to

Music Man whereas that can be really

cool and really important and like I

said that's how I discovered a lot of

Brands like G&L but this is almost

trying to do a completely different

thing in being able to modernize the

Strat and see where it can push because

specifically nowadays when I start to

notice Fender doing all of this stuff

where they're trying to really Embrace

that vintage aesthetic and trying to

recapture that vintage feel especially

with having recently discovered the

American Vintage strats and I know

they're even doing it with some of their

Venta 2 really embracing that 60 thing

it's cool to see what feels like a

completely different guitar now that

does come with a couple different

caveats and knowing when you have a

completely different style of guitar

there's going to be a couple things like

with this guitar specifically with the

altered switch where I was like I'm

going to have to relearn that and that's

going to be a really interesting

challenging fun experience but once I

did it was like okay now I know exactly

which tones I want and like how to get

them

[Music]

and even outside of just a tone

threshold of trying to see how good I

can make this thing sound coming out of

this specific amp it actually reminds me

a lot of the different guitars from

Music Man with the mid boost where we're

going past just having the Push Pull and

being like oh this has a humbucker and a

single coil where they're like doing the

exact opposite of that where it's almost

very blatant in that this is an s- style

guitar it clearly looks like that in a

couple ways but with the altered switch

and being able to have all those

combinations it's like consistently

pushing it to the next level in terms of

how modern it is even with just the

aesthetic going back to where they put

the input jacket and I like that ivanz

just in general is very much willing to

go weird and to give people different

things that whether aesthetically or

simply playability wise are very

different from a lot of the guitars that

I see from a lot of other different

companies hence the Steve VI Guitar by

the way if you want a full video on my

opinion on that guitar please let me

know but at the end of the day I don't

think it matters at all what I think

what matters is what you think so please

let me know what do you think about a

lot of the more modern takes on the S

style guitar what do you think about

ivanz in general have you owned one

please let me know in the comments

anyway thank you so much for watching

this video I wanted to get my hands on

an ivanz actually since I saw the Scotty

La page signature but I still thought

that one was a little bit outside my

wheel bear so finding out about the

prestige models especially with it being

a little bit closer to a lot of Strat

style guitars I'm used to while having

the altered switch presenting that

challenge over the past couple weeks I

thought that was a lot of fun but if you

want to know anything more about the

ivanz prestige I got it from the homies

at Sweet Water the links are in the

description make sure to check it out

it's one of the best ways to support the

channel if that's something you want to

do or if you're just curious about any

of the other gear like quad cortex or

any of Andrews amps make sure to check

out those links also thank you so much

to all my patrons there's some extra

exclusive stuff on there if you want to

check it out if you want to join the

community like And subscribe if you had

a good time most importantly like most

important of all have the most fantastic

day of your life what do you think about

my studio is it cool dude your studio is

amazing what do you think it's not done

what do you think about my guitar