My New Baby! (The picture above is nice but not the gorgeous quilted maple)
Written: Feb 21 '02 (Updated Feb 21 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great Sound, Feels "alive" when you play it. Gorgeous. Classy. Smooth low action. Cheap!
Cons: Pickups too jangley for some types of music. Roll off treble or replace and go!
The Bottom Line: This thing Rocks! This is the most fun I've had playing since I got my '64 Gibson SG, (now retired to it's case since I got the SA160)
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| oyobass's Full Review: Ibanez Sa160 Electric Guitar |
I just bought my SA160QAM. What a guitar! It's all I can do to stay in my seat and try to concentrate on work with this beauty leaning against the office wall behind me.
This is a nice guitar for any price range
General: A Super-Strat variant, priced just above entry level. Made in Korea. H/S/S P/U arrangement: 2 as2 singles and an ah4 'bucker in the bridge slot. Has the new SAT30 non-locking trem (It's nice to be able to palm mute on a brand new bridge and feel not a single rough edge)...Sturdy- Would definately gig with it without a backup.
Looks: Extremely nice care taken with the dark rosewood fretboard- frets are finished well, the rosewood looks as shiny and smooth as an ebony board. Don't get me started drooling again over the amber burst (real) quilted maple (veneer) top. Wow! Easily the prettiest guitar I've had. (second was a gorgeous ES175D clone). The 2001 catalog pic doesn't do it justice. The body is polished flawlessly to a deep looking gloss, (the figuring and finish make the quilted maple _look_ deeper than the veneer actually _is_)!
Feel: The guitar feels right. It's light, curved in all the right places and has a thin, fast neck. Low, smooth action. I don't feel I have a boat anchor hung around my neck, like I do with my Washburn or did with my Roadstar II 1010SL. This guitar feels more like an extension of my body...
Sound: Pickups are crisp and bright. If this was my only guitar, I would put a darker or fuller sounding set in it to warm up the tone a little, (I still might try a Duncan JB at the bridge), but I like the contrast in tone between the SA160 and my '64 SG and other humbucker equipped guitars. I *love* the glassy Hendrix-y tones coming out of my amp when I play the 160. Ty Tabor of Kings X is a big contributor to my idea of the ideal tone also, and my new beauty delivers _that_ set of tones well.
Downside: Hopefully once the stings get stretched a bit, the tuning will be more consistent, but to be fair, with me carting the thing around in a gig bag so much, the tuners are going to be bumped in transport, and I haven't had it long enough or played it enough to tell if this is an ongoing problem (update: the G seems to be sticking a bit in the nut when the whammy is used-I'll polish the string slots and run some graphite over them) . There are a couple of tiny bumps on the back of the satin finish neck that are unnoticeable during normal playing. I think a little 000 steel wool used gently should tale care of it. There was also a little buffing compound next to the inset output jack, but a Q-tip and a little guitar polish should take care of that.
Conclusion: All in all, I'd say I was a very happy camper, exceptionally happy when you consider the $420 US price tag for a brand new axe!
-oyo
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
oyobass
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Location: Spanaway, WA, USA
Reviews written: 5
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
Dad of 6, husband of 1, duffer digital photographer, guitarist, bassist, gadget freak!
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