Very surprised how high the quality and tone is on the Ibanez AGV10A

[golem]

When I say surprised, I mean it's better than the Heritage H575 I used to own in fit, feel, finish, and tone. That's right, someone will think I'm trolling you, but I swear this cheap made in China artcore is a shockingly good guitar and legitimately better than the USA made in Kalamazoo Heritage 575 I used to own. Here's Josh Smith playing the bigger brother AF version of one of these. Same pickups, neck, etc. but physically a bit larger.

I know that's probably cheating because Josh Smith could make any guitar sound good. But I figured you didn't have to take my word for it if Josh Smith is playing one.

[mr. beaumont]

Everything is subjective I guess, but if you're telling me the FINISH is better than your previous 575, you gotta be trolling!


Joking aside, the one in the video sounds great, and Ibanez really does make some great guitars. Enjoy!

[golem]

Heritage guitars didn't use CNC at that point and were fully made by hand. It had some finish and binding issues that Heritage fans excuse as being acceptable because of the guitar being hand made. I believe my 575 was a carved top rather than laminate for what it's worth. These are the pictures I have of my 575. I will say I actually think the Ibanez looks better. But, that's a bit subjective. I generally like Seth Lovers better than stock Ibanez pickups. In this case, the 575 was very resonant but also very prone to to feedback. The Ibanez genuinely sounds, looks, and plays better. But I also admit freely that the sample size for each is one.

[garybaldy]

When I say surprised, I mean it's better than the Heritage H575 I used to own in fit, feel, finish, and tone. That's right, someone will think I'm trolling you, but I swear this cheap made in China artcore is a shockingly good guitar and legitimately better than the USA made in Kalamazoo Heritage 575 I used to own. Here's Josh Smith playing the bigger brother AF version of one of these. Same pickups, neck, etc. but physically a bit larger.

I know that's probably cheating because Josh Smith could make any guitar sound good. But I figured you didn't have to take my word for it if Josh Smith is playing one.

And supposed to be ceramic pups. Not necessarily a bad thing?
The pups on my AF55 are also ceramic. There's still hope then!

[golem]

And supposed to be ceramic pups. Not necessarily a bad thing?
The pups on my AF55 are also ceramic. There's still hope then!

Bill Lawrence convinced me a long ago that ceramic is not always a bad thing. And he was definitely a Jazz guy.

I think the trouble is that ceramic is the cheapest magnet and not everyone designs well around the magnet. While PAFs are typically one of my favorite pickups, I've found there are absolutely some high output ceramic pickups I love. Dimarzio Transitions (Steve Lukather's signature pickup) is a great example. Granted they're using that air gap trick that Dimarzio trademarked.

Lawrence's own pickups can be super high fidelty but respond so well to tone controls. Coming from PAFs, Jazz guys might not love them but I've never tried another pickup that sounds as good throughout the full length of a tone control.

[st.bede]

I have some Lawrence PU. They sound great to me. I think a good ceramic PU has a slight emphasis on attack, and that (in part) leads to good note separation. I always appreciate note separation because it allows for more complex chords. This is just based on my experience.

[Gladders]

I keep getting out my 2007 Ibby AF105-F to sell then deciding that I can't because it's just too nice. It helps that I've replaced the ugly cowboy pickguard with a rosewood one and put a Zoller floater on it, but it's the next and frets that keep me coming back.

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[garybaldy]

I keep getting out my 2007 Ibby AF105-F to sell then deciding that I can't because it's just too nice. It helps that I've replaced the ugly cowboy pickguard with a rosewood one and put a Zoller floater on it, but it's the next and frets that keep me coming back.

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How do you find the Zoller? I had a stock one in a EER style guitar. It didn't seem to pick up the high E string and the overall sound was boxy and nasal. I replaced it with a floating mini HB which I believe came from the short lived AF84e. It was a vast improvement but I intend to do a further upgrade.

[golem]

I have some Lawrence PU. They sound great to me. I think a good ceramic PU has a slight emphasis on attack, and that (in part) leads to good note separation. I always appreciate note separation because it allows for more complex chords. This is just based on my experience.

The guy I know who winds pickups as a side gig/hobby tells me that ceramic doesn't respond the same way to pick attack. He says it doesn't compress like Alnico. Whether that's technically accurate I can't say. We just all know that ceramic usually sounds different.

I find that there are some ceramic pickups that I don't like and a few I love. It's just one of those things where I won't disregard a pickup just because it's inexpensive to build (ceramic is cheaper) or a stock pick on a foreign made guitar. This pickup works great for a Jazz box. Seth Lovers I've used are no doubt better pickups, but as Josh Smith clearly demonstrates it the right hands it's a great pickup for a jazz guitar.

More Evidence. Again, slightly bigger guitar with a different style of cutaway. The AG I have is more ergonomic and has a slightly different cutaway. I don't expect it would sound what I consider different based on experience with a PRS Hollowbody (much smaller) and a larger jazz boxes like the 575.

<a href="https://youtu.be/OXELtF_mfCA" target="_blank">

I will still say that having the skill of Josh Smith is the biggest part of what makes Josh Smith sound this good. There's footage of him playing a national, a strat, what might be a Novo all in the same studio over what appears to be a few sessions. So it shouldn't be surprising that he can make a budget Ibanez jazz box sound incredible.

[Cunamara]

Well, to each their own. I don't think that Josh's guitar tone in those two videos is particularly good (to my particular preferences, let me hasten to add, which leans strongly to classic Jim Hall and Ed Bickert). His playing is stellar, on the other hand. And ultimately, that's what counts. Could be that coming through the YouTube audio mangulator system hasn't helped matters, complicated by the fact that I'm listening to this on my iPad. So it may not be a fair chance to hear the instrument.

I've had an Ibanez GB10 for 37 years now and I've always been very pleased with the sound of that instrument as well as its superb playability. All of the Ibanez instruments I have ever played have been very good in the hands, whether or not I liked the sound. Their quality control, fit and finish is typically excellent, even down to their most inexpensive instruments.

[golem]

Jim Hall was around long enough that his tone certainly has periods. I've always found really early Jazz recordings to be too dark. When I see the same musicians, the ones who lived on and recorded decades later there tone always changed a great deal and what I'll argue is far more high fidelity. I've always assumed the darkness in early recordings was a technological limitation and not a stylistic choice.

My ideal Jazz tones are probably more like Julian Lage, Tim Lerch, or even Josh Smith.

[Gladders]

How do you find the Zoller? I had a stock one in a EER style guitar. It didn't seem to pick up the high E string and the overall sound was boxy and nasal. I replaced it with a floating mini HB which I believe came from the short lived AF84e. It was a vast improvement but I intend to do a further upgrade.

The Zoller is a bid step up from the stock pup. Note separation is way better. The response is good across all strings and it's sounds nice a spacious. Not all all nasal. In fact, it responds well to having a bit of treble. Tends to boominess when strummed hard with a plectrum, but then so did the last pup.

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