Ibanez screws it’s S buyers over again.. - Page 7

Ke^in · #91 01-01-2007, 07:59 PM

I wouldn't CARE where they were made as long as they were made the right way.

Rich · #92 01-01-2007, 08:23 PM

Ibanez has never had it's own factory and I doubt they ever will. If they were so inclined now would be the time, but they've done everything possible to avoid it. That is the Japanese manufacturing philosophy where an outside company does the work on contract. That frees up the contractor from employees, employeee disputes, benefits, comp, and everything else. The same thing US companies get away from by exporting their manufacturing.

I'm not going into but I'l cite 2 examples and from those 2 you can draw very BROAD strokes on what is actually being done where.

The $5300 JS2 - bodies cut in Korea, shipped to Japan for finishing, finished bodies and necks [made in Japan] sent back to Cort for assembly.

The $5300 Giger S - assembled in Korea using Japanese parts [but I also read into that those bodies are MIK shipped to Japan for the blasted finishing and then sent back for assembly].

Drow Swordsman · #93 01-01-2007, 08:54 PM

ouch...and those are high end models...

How long have they been doing this? I'm hoping my '99 UV can be considered all Japanese if they started doing this later on.

As long as it's made well and plays well it doesn't matter where it's made imo...but as we all know Korean guitars aren't known for their consistency,but in fact for a severe lack of it...

Makes me wonder once again how wise it would be for me to ever buy a new Ibanez if it's not from Rich...

Thanks for your answers Rich. And you're right with all of their actions they clearly don't want their own factory...I wish they had one so I wouldn't have to worry about things like this...

But it does keep costs down. Ibanez Prestige's are some of the least expensive best playing guitars out there, period (for the most part).

Ke^in · #94 01-02-2007, 12:27 AM

Yeah Rich, get ahold of me if you run into any "good" era Prestige Ss.

Rich · #95 01-02-2007, 12:50 AM

http://www.ibanezrules.com/used.htm#Prestige

Ke^in · #96 01-02-2007, 12:57 AM

That one you have is SWEET.. but it has a middle single coil.

This is the guitar I bought recently

2000 S Prestige S152O

They don't make them like this anymore.

If Ibanez offered a neck-through version of THAT guitar, it would have had itself a winner.

Rich · #97 01-02-2007, 01:02 AM

There were a few JC HH neck thru's

http://www.ibanezrules.com/used.htm#JCustoms

toshiro · #98 01-02-2007, 02:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vmx23

However, I believe the problem with these multipiece necks is the multipiece glue not sticking as well as it should in some cases. Played some Prestige Wizards with the thin strip of walnut sticking out slightly not due to uneven sanding but due to the strip shifting (very likely due to the hot but wet weather here). In most cases, they stay that way but I am only afraid of it spreading along the strip over time.

Good glue will always be stronger than wood. Any "spreading" you see is the result of the different woods swelling at different rates over time. 2 pieces of the same type of wood can do this as well, causing the finish lines you see in some older guitars.

I'd see nothing in person that gives me the idea that the super wizard was inherently more stable than an original wizard. The bubinga made it look that way, that's for sure, but any neck can warp, no matter how thin or thick it is. I saw far more warped Korean necks(lots of them W-IIs from S470s) than warped Wizard 1s from the 80's in my years as a tech. The quality of the wood used is still going to be a factor..

The biggest complaint about the Wizard profile was not warping, it was tendonitis from it being too thin. This is why it's thicker now, IMO, as 1mm is not going to effect stability in some magical way.

Rich · #99 01-02-2007, 03:14 AM

Whatever your personal experience that came from JD a few years ago, that there would be a change due to the high failure rate. And of course an extra mm and laminated construction makes for a more stable neck.

Dee · #**100** 01-02-2007, 03:16 AM

Kevin, have you thought about getting a neck shaved down to original Wizard spec?

toshiro · #**101** 01-02-2007, 03:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich

Whatever your personal experience that came from JD a few years ago, that there would be a change due to the high failure rate. And of course an extra mm and laminated construction makes for a more stable neck.

Be that as it may, I've seen enough warped necks to know there are factors outside thickness involved.

Is a multi-piece neck going to be less prone? Of course, glue is stronger than wood. Are both capable of warping? Yes. Is that one mm going to stop the neck from warping where a 17mm would? Not IMO from seeing 20+mm necks warped to hell.

Rich · #**102** 01-02-2007, 03:34 AM

The reversed center lam construction in combination of extra thickness makes for a more stable neck, it has nothing to do with glue. ANYbody should be able to see that. Infallible, NO, "more" stable and less prone, of course.

crevis · #**103** 01-02-2007, 04:01 AM

Lam necks are stronger against physical force but it doesnt neccesarily stop it from warping, the maple in the super wizards was very low quality, the bubinga may have stoped the maple from warping but I dont the maple could stop the bubinga warping if it wants to. I think a 1 pc quarter is more stable than a non quarter sawn 3 pc, a 5pc QS or not would be the strongest tho.

toshiro · #**104** 01-02-2007, 04:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich

The reversed center lam construction in combination of extra thickness makes for a more stable neck, it has nothing to do with glue. ANYbody should be able to see that. Infallible, NO, "more" stable and less prone, of course.

You know, I bought into the reverse center thing as well, but with the 5 piece necks they're doing now it seems somewhat moot. We can't begin to tell the success rate of these changes, there are 20 yr old Wizards out there, and the new necks haven't been around more than a quarter of that. The bubinga necks are just clearing the 10 yr mark now.

They all but killed the W1 in 1995 as well, and it came back. Though, that's not really fair, because the 94-95 Korean Wizard 2's were some of the worst I've seen for humps, warps, and twists. It could just be that we never gave the W2 a fair shake because of this, and Ibanez needed to bring back the W1 to get it's market. I don't know.

Back to the main thing, either someone has destroyed most of the warped wizards out there, or it's a smaller percentage than what's being alluded to here. More Gibsons with warped necks have been in my hands than Wizard 1s, and I live in a humid climate. I have 3 unwarped W1's in my possession right now. I could be lucky, or maybe the market here is so small as to twist the numbers, but I'm inclined to think that the Wizard 1 is not as bad as some would argue.

Rich · #**105** 01-02-2007, 04:11 AM

The necks are replaced at the distributor, they don't make it out for you to see. Not that some won't go bad over time, but the 3-6 months it takes from build to warehouse to distributor is ample time for a bad neck to present itself and get flagged.