Ibanez S540OL

[indysmith]

like the looks, but i hate so many aspects of that guitar, it's not even funny

care to elaborate?

i never understand why the RGs get so much more attention than the S-series... The sabres not only look better and feel better, but also sound better (imo); the mahogany of an S, despite being so thin, makes it a pretty thick sounding guitar. The other thing the S has on the RGs is the far superior tremolo. And it's not as if it's due to poor marketting either - i always see reviews of s-series guitars in magazines, and people like Herman Li and Frank Gambale endorsing them.

[Kilby]

I almost bought one of the low end ones just after christmas, but had some issues with the build quality.

Which was a real shame as the neck & body felt excellent, as did the trem. It even souded good enough with stock pickups !

I also dislike the black plastic around the switch, particularly on the poplar fronted one which lands in at 900 quid or so.

[indysmith]

I almost bought one of the low end ones just after christmas, but had some issues with the build quality.

Which was a real shame as the neck & body felt excellent, as did the trem. It even souded good enough with stock pickups !

I also dislike the black plastic around the switch, particularly on the poplar fronted one which lands in at 900 quid or so.

yeah i think all of the current S-series is built in korea :? I'm not sure about this - but the necks are now Wizard IIs as opposed to the Super-Wizard that's on my MIJ sabre. I hate that now not all of the prestige models are MIJ; it makes things so unnecessarily complicated.

[gingataff]

Speaking to Doug from Blackmachine he said that he had an S series guitar and that's what made him realise that you can get great tone with a thin body if you use the right kinds of wood.

[Kilby]

yeah i think all of the current S-series is built in korea :? I'm not sure about this - but the necks are now Wizard IIs as opposed to the Super-Wizard that's on my MIJ sabre. I hate that now not all of the prestige models are MIJ; it makes things so unnecessarily complicated.

As far as I know the beautiful 3K+ Geiger model was also a made in Korea model.

A MIJ with the ZR trem would be a nice option these days. I have to admit I would like a different headstock as it's a bit 'too metal' for somebody of my advanced years ;)

Hmmm an S with Rebel Yells would be so nice, as I find the other SZs etc too thick for my liking

[dave_mc]

Def not a current model, other than the fact that it's not in the current brochure they haven't put a knife edge bridge on an S series for a few years now.
That said it does look nice. I played a 1989 S540 a while back and it sounded huge, even with the thin body. I think the mahogany and maple make a nice balance as well.

good spot, i didn't notice that (the trem).

:drink:

yeah, i know! Black dots or even sharkfins would look cool... only thing letting the guitar down really visually but it's not that much to complain about.
I'd kill for this guitar.

...and no i meant exists as in exists - just about - they're very rare with the maple fretboard

:drink:

yeah i think all of the current S-series is built in korea :? I'm not sure about this - but the necks are now Wizard IIs as opposed to the Super-Wizard that's on my MIJ sabre. I hate that now not all of the prestige models are MIJ; it makes things so unnecessarily complicated.

i agree, prestige should = fujigen.

Oh, and i like rg's.

 :lol: