Opinions, spec's on the SZ series?

[djrjems]

Howdy gang. I stopped in to the local Sam Ash a few days ago and checked out the SZ720 and SZ520. I was actually pretty impressed with the quality and craftsmanship given that they're made in Korea. I've played the Schecter C-1 Elite and in my opinion it doesn't even compare to the Ibanez SZ guitars.

I've been considering getting a fixed brige guitar, but I'm having second thoughts about spending the kind of coin it would take to get a PRS or Gibson considering the fixed bridge will likely always be second fiddle to my Jems, JPM, UV, etc. Given the reasonable pricing on these I'm planning to get an SZ and replace the pups with DiMarzios. In browsing ibanez.com I've noticed they seem to have less detail these days regarding the spec's (e.g. pickup switching, neck radius, nut width, etc.). I used to visit the Japanese site for such spec's, but they've changed it as well.

Has anyone else tried these guitars? Any opinions? Does anyone know how I can get my mits on detailed spec's? Thanks!

[matt_cater]

do you mean you can't get detailed specs of neck dimensions? coz the UK part of ibanez.com has them pretty detailed
Width at Nut 43mm
Width at Last Fret 57mm
Thickness at 1st 21mm
Thickness at 12th 23mm
Radius 305

i probably misunderstood your post though

[djrjems]

You got it... that's what I was lookin' for... along with the pickup switching details. Thanks! I hadn't tried the UK area of the site, only the US and Japan areas. Good to know such details are available... if you know where to look

Anyone tried the SZ720 or SZ520? Opinions?

[germX]

bro, the switching's like this:
neck-split combined-bridge. it's the John Petrucci type split: the bridge-facing neck + the neck-facing bridge. if the SZ 1220 is available, it should be on your list- this one's japanese & has an impressive flame top.

i own the 320 (the cellulose-less version) & it's easily one of my best guitar...

[Man1ac]

I'm a proud owner of an SZ520QM. I switched from RG550LTD to SZ520QM because I didn't need the trem that much. Plays like a dream, the tone with the stock pickups is much better than RG550 and it's stock pups (more low-end, less treble). Amazing value for the money i paid (500 euros).

[Tezifon]

had you seen the new cortbanez???

it the same but a thinner 24 neck

http://www.cort.com/guitars/katana/index.html

Fretboard width

1F : 43mm / 24F : 56mm

Fretboard radius

12"

Neck depth

1F : 19.5mm / 12F : 21.5mm

24 frets

ooopsĄ

[Dr_Guitar]

I work on these a lot & I'm really impressed. The set neck construction is flawless.Typical Ibanez fretwork (spotless). Between these & the Artcore's, Ibanez has the "other" types of guitars well covered. 2003 was a huge year for Ibanez.

[dot-dot-dot]

I tried an SZ520 a while back, and really liked it. Nicely put together (though this one had some shop-wear), decent range of sounds (though turning either humbucker to 0 turns off the middle position too, which is a shame) and it felt darned good.

[darren wilson]

Originally Posted by dot-dot-dot

(though turning either humbucker to 0 turns off the middle position too, which is a shame)

That's odd.

I think if i got an SZ, the first thing i'd do is rewire its switch for conventional three-way operation, and i'd put in a couple of push/pull pots for splitting or some other pickup manipulation.

[dot-dot-dot]

Originally Posted by darren wilson

That's odd.

I think if i got an SZ, the first thing i'd do is rewire its switch for conventional three-way operation, and i'd put in a couple of push/pull pots for splitting or some other pickup manipulation.

It's the same as the standard LP wiring, if I'm not mistaken. You can swap two wires to get rid of the effect.

It's a shame in a way that they didn't use a 3-way blade switch like the MMM1; then you could put in a 5-way Superswitch and have all sorts of combinations...

[darren wilson]

Originally Posted by dot-dot-dot

It's the same as the standard LP wiring, if I'm not mistaken. You can swap two wires to get rid of the effect.

I thought somebody said it split the humbuckers in the middle position, like the JPM.

With dual humbuckers, i prefer a three-way toggle and series/parallel push-pull pots. That way i get eight tonal options, all hum-cancelling. Better than a 5-way, in my opinion.

[djrjems]

Well, I decided to go for it. I've been rockin' on my SZ720 through my Mesa DC-3 for close to an hour. Overall very impressive given the cost.

If your particular (as many of us are) and have a taste for the high-end MIJ Ibanez guitars (as a lot of us do) then you'd probably agree that many parts on the guitar which could be replaced, should be (e.g. pickups, tuners and pots).

Indeed the guitar does come stock with JPM style 3-way switching (actually looks like the JPM switch), but the volume knobs aren't wired in parallel in the middle position so dropping either volume control kills the total signal.

I'm replacing the stock tuners with Grovers and the pup's with DiMarzios. Unfortunately I guessed wrong... the pickups are F-spaced so I'm gonna have to exchange those before I can swap 'em out.

I'm personally a fan of the JPM style 3-way so I'm going to leave the remaining electronics as-is for a while, although I like Darren's idea and may try that if I decide to upgrade or change any of the remaining electronics.

I'm lookin' forward to seeing how this baby sounds with the DiMarzios Thanks to all who offered opinions!

[djrjems]

Well, I've finished the customizations. Per DiMarzio's reco I went with an F-spaced bridge pickup and a standard spaced pup in the neck... a set of Breeds. This thing sounds incredible. I rocked out on this baby for a couple hours at rehearsal yesterday. The tuning stability was excellent... never touched the tuners at all. I did switch the stock tuners out with Grovers (personal preference) which may have helped, but either way excellent tuning stability says a lot about the quality of construction on these.

I'm really pleased with this axe. If you're thinkin' about givin' one of the SZ's a try I highly recommend it

A pic of the finished product (the poor lighting doesn't do her justice... these are meant to be viewed in person):

[Man1ac]

[quote="djrjems"]Well, I've finished the customizations. Per DiMarzio's reco I went with an F-spaced bridge pickup and a standard spaced pup in the neck... a set of Breeds. This thing sounds incredible. I rocked out on this baby for a couple hours at rehearsal yesterday. The tuning stability was excellent... never touched the tuners at all. I did switch the stock tuners out with Grovers (personal preference) which may have helped, but either way excellent tuning stability says a lot about the quality of construction on these.

Breeds on SZ? Can you describe how they differ soundwise from the stock pups? Could you post some sound clips to the Jemsite's Multimedia section? I'd really like to hear how they perform on an SZ.

That's a cool axe you got there, BTW.

[Rotti]

Wowee! That is a sweet looking guitar. I'm waiting on an SZ320MH. It's not going to look anything like that but hopefully it plays and sounds good.