Ibanez AZ 2402 - An honest review

Here's my review of the AZ 2402! This is my personal opinion on these models, they are fun, but come with problems!
FOLLOW WHAT I DO!

[SpartanMatt]

Has 20 of the same guitar, tries something different, and then doesn’t like it. What a surprise.

[jamespadgett]

Bought it and love it, it covers a lot more than metal, I barely even use distortion, it’s got super clean cleans for a humbucker. Tremolo is perfect, color is perfect, neck is perfect. It’s Ibanez, they don’t mess around with quality control.

[keesketsers]

I'm seeing these issues mostly with players coming from RG models....maybe these players prefer a setup that is simply not compatible with the more vintage style of this guitar. A 12 inch radius does not allow very low action when bending above 17th. That's pretty much on every guitar. Also you cannot compare a floyd with a vintage trem, same thing. I guess the wrong people are buying the AZ, these guitars are for strat players and not for RG players in my opinion. Think blues and rock, not metal and shred.

[karlsalocks]

Well, clearly biased in favor of double locking RG style guitars. I would argue that the prestige AZ is one of the best products Ibanez has developed in a LONG time.

[Vestu]

People, search a video on youtube called "Does the Ibanez AZ 's Tremolo stay in tune? (Video Test)"
You can see that there are zero tuning problems after heavy abuse of the tremolo.
I own a new AZ and I don't have tuning problems.

[pavlito]

Honest review my ass....if the review was honest it would be with the stock pickups. Pickups are the major element of sound in electric guitars. Who cares if you are a Dimarzio player? We care for a review of the guitar that we can buy...

[aavavertu]

Some additional ways to test and find causes for tuning instability:

Block the vibrato on both sides inside the cavity, do big bends. Also bend/push the strings above the nut. If this causes the guitar to go out of tune, the nut needs to be modified or replaced by a skilled luthier. Optimally the nut is cut for specific string gauges.

Of course if the bridge does not return to the same exact spot each time, this will cause the tuning to drift, but is rarely a problem seen on relatively new instruments.

Wilkinson locking saddles should help with other bridge related factors that may cause issues.

Non locking, floating vibrato setups can be tuned to achieve great tuning stability, but usually require a lot more effort.

[GabrielSkolderblad]

AZs are not intended to have a low action as on the other models like RG or S series. The Radius of the neck is 305 instead of 400 mm so when you bend a string with a low action the string will buzz or choke because of the radius.

[nethbt]

I've been having the same tuning issues until I angled the bridge just ever so slightly on a "pulling" position...miraculously it worked...for some reason the trem doesn't like dead level angles

[pepeowen]

Thank you for the honest review. I have an AZ2204 and I have to say I have not encountered the same issues. The tuning stability is quite good. Bearing in mind it will go out of tune with some wild dive bombs (not always). Otherwise, I haven’t had tuning issues. If you wish to mod the bridge, try the vega-trem. Great tuning stability and allowance for up and down manoeuvres.

All in all, this has to be one of the best mass-produced guitars in the market. I think one of my high frets may need a bit of a file-down but there is no choke, just a tiny feel that something is off when I bend above the 20th fret. I agree you shouldn’t expect this from a high-end guitar. Sadly, mass-produced means QC’s are not what they should be.

Regarding the neck, I have to say this is very personal. I can imagine if you come from an RG background (super-flat radii and modern neck profiles) this is going to feel chunky. It is chunky but super comfy. The radius is quite flat in general. I would have loved a compound radius after the 12th fret for more shredding shenanigans but that is just a personal feel and not off-putting.

Ibanez have designed a guitar for non-Ibanez players here.

No need to swap the pick-ups for now. They are so crisp and hit the right note with me.

A guitar for a lifetime. Mods to come in the future if I ever get bored.

[naguiat]

I had the same tuning issues-Ibanez promotes their oil "impregnated" bone nut, thinking that this nut will never bind. I was really irritated by the tuning instability, I almost returned the guitar, but someone told me about Big Bends nut Sauce-puting a dab in each slot really fixed the binding in the nut. I have no problems now with extreme trem use. It's my favorite trem system now, I never liked Floyds and locking nuts

[willarsiam]

Honest review? With not the stock pickups? How strange 🤔

[bmann]

You’re in a drop d tuning with 9s on a non locking trem.

[bmann]

Put 10s on it and it will stay in tune. This guitar needs 10s.

[shredgd]

It is a nut friction problem 99%. No lubricant can address it, it needs filing because a narrow or irregular surface slot cannot be addressed by graphite or other lubricant. However, after you'll get the filing work done, dive bombs or more than 1 whole tone bends probably still won't allow you to play complex chord voicings, at least right after them (if you play some more after the "heavy pitch stress" to the string, things might slowly get back to a decent balance so your guitar might get back in decent tune). Your style probably needs a floyd rose anyway.
Meanwhile try the following:
- always tune your wound string from up to down in pitch (if you get lower past the correct pitch, go above it again and tune down slowly). We all rarely bend those strings, at the same time those are the most catchy on the nut because of the windings.
- always tune your plain strings from down to up (as above, if you miss the pitch and go above, go down again and slowly raise to the target pitch). Those are the "bending strings" so you must be sure the tension behind the nut is equal or at worst higher than the tension from nut to bridge, never viceversa.

[EggleMacon]

I have the AZ Charcoal burst and find it is a great workhorse and ticks all the boxes for me. Obviously if you have spent most of your life using guitars with floyds and locking nuts then this may not be the guitar for you. Greeny on the wall is sweet btw.

[Sandarpan]

Surprised to know that the Prestige has bone nuts whereas the Premium comes with Graphtech PTFE impregnated nuts. You could try using a Graphtech TUSQ XL to see if your troubles disappear

[ForViewingOnly]

This is an honest review from somebody who is obviously an Ibanez fan.

I haven’t owned an Ibanez AZ, but I have played Ibanez guitars since 1992 and have owned lots of them, with their 12” radius guitars being my favourites (Roadstar, AR2000), but also enjoying the RG series. I love the Ibanez quality and playability, and you could say I’m a huge Ibanez fan.

Just before the AZ series was released, I bought an Ibanez Talman Prestige from Germany. The setup of this guitar was shockingly bad for a Prestige model. The nut wasn’t cut deep enough... all 6 nut slots were too shallow. I also suspect that the angle of the bolt-on neck needs adjusting with a shim... either that or all of the upper frets need filing down! I just cannot get a decent low action on this guitar. I’ve owned many Prestige Ibanez guitars over the years, and this Talman is sub-standard for Ibanez. What I’m saying is that maybe their standards have dropped. I really hope this isn’t the case though, because Ibanez and I have a long beautiful history.

[joshuaH]

Tuning instability on any guitar is absolutely frustrating! I bought an AZ for myself about two years ago and sent it back for the exact same tuning instability issues. Totally frustrating. I’ll take my double locking RG Prestige and Premium guitars any day over the AZ’s. Nice to see a completely honest review about the AZ models. The real time playing/tuning issues was a very good segment to this video. 👍👍

[rodolfoamaralguitar]

Hello. Great to see honest reviews! As a guitar tech I would suggest to:
1-Check the string gauges and see if they match the nut grooves (maybe you have to enlarge them with nut files)
2-File the nut above the strings (the excess material sometimes grabs the strings).