Does anyone have an Ibanez S570?

gtrgrl

New member
Because I'm going to get one. I want to hear all of the awesome things you have to say about them!
 
Re: Does anyone have an Ibanez S570?

Are you talking about the original early aughts MIJ S570 with the Edge? Get it for sure. Hopefully in stained oil.

If you're talking about the more recent 24 fret MII S570, I'd put that money towards a MIJ S or RG. For what MIK S470s and MII/MIK S620/570/etc are going you can find a pre-Prestige RG570 or sometimes even some MIJ S models. For even cheaper, MIJ RG470s are a bargain and you can swap the lower quality Lo TRS for something else down the line.
 
Re: Does anyone have an Ibanez S570?

I've got an S4720 which is the 7 string version (same specs: Indonesian, 24 frets, ZR trem) & it's awesome. Very well made..nice fit & finsih, plays & sounds like a dream. I even like the stock PU's.

I've also got an older ('94 MIJ) S-540Ltd & the & 7 string is right up there with it quality-wise...I would'nt really worry about the Indonesian-made S's..
 
Re: Does anyone have an Ibanez S570?

The S series are so boring, all of them. The original design didn't make much sense back in 1987. Then they made it "better" with laminated, 24-fret necks and zr trems and moved the production from Fujigen to Cort. It wasn't a huge leap but still backwards. What I'm trying to say is that it's a case where the individual elements of the guitar work against each other, rather than with each other in synergy. In short, the blueprint sucks. Jackson and Washburn made guitars very similar in the basic concept but so much better (livelier, and present in a dense mix), outplaying Ibanez at their own game.
 
Re: Does anyone have an Ibanez S570?

The S series are so boring, all of them. The original design didn't make much sense back in 1987. Then they made it "better" with laminated, 24-fret necks and zr trems and moved the production from Fujigen to Cort. It wasn't a huge leap but still backwards. What I'm trying to say is that it's a case where the individual elements of the guitar work against each other, rather than with each other in synergy. In short, the blueprint sucks. Jackson and Washburn made guitars very similar in the basic concept but so much better (livelier, and present in a dense mix), outplaying Ibanez at their own game.

LOL That may be the dumbest thing i have read on the forum since Jerry claimed all basswood guitars suck.

What individual elements work against each other? Please go on i need a good laugh.
 
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Re: Does anyone have an Ibanez S570?

The S series are so boring, all of them. The original design didn't make much sense back in 1987. Then they made it "better" with laminated, 24-fret necks and zr trems and moved the production from Fujigen to Cort. It wasn't a huge leap but still backwards. What I'm trying to say is that it's a case where the individual elements of the guitar work against each other, rather than with each other in synergy. In short, the blueprint sucks. Jackson and Washburn made guitars very similar in the basic concept but so much better (livelier, and present in a dense mix), outplaying Ibanez at their own game.

How did it not make sense in 1987 man? Joe Satriani has played his JS (which is essentially an S with his name on it) since the late 80s. Which elements work against each other? I mean, the body is thin (lighter), the bridge is a locking one (perfect for shred, which is from the 80s), etc., etc. Please explain.
 
Re: Does anyone have an Ibanez S570?

How did it not make sense in 1987 man? Joe Satriani has played his JS (which is essentially an S with his name on it) since the late 80s. Which elements work against each other? I mean, the body is thin (lighter), the bridge is a locking one (perfect for shred, which is from the 80s), etc., etc. Please explain.

The js came from the ibanez radius not the sabre.
 
Re: Does anyone have an Ibanez S570?

The S series are so boring, all of them. The original design didn't make much sense back in 1987. Then they made it "better" with laminated, 24-fret necks and zr trems and moved the production from Fujigen to Cort. It wasn't a huge leap but still backwards. What I'm trying to say is that it's a case where the individual elements of the guitar work against each other, rather than with each other in synergy. In short, the blueprint sucks. Jackson and Washburn made guitars very similar in the basic concept but so much better (livelier, and present in a dense mix), outplaying Ibanez at their own game.

WOW Boring!!! The thing that got me interested in Ibanez is the S series. Ok that is my personnel view. But everything else makes no sense ZR trems, laminated necks 24 frets and region/ factory of production come'apply to both the RG and S series, if not other series as well.
 
Re: Does anyone have an Ibanez S570?

Interesting vid that talks about how the S came into being.
 
Re: Does anyone have an Ibanez S570?

Baiting the troll.. :D






...& Wow, these guys apparently overcame the boredom & did'nt seem to mind all the design flaws either.. :lmao:














aka...NOTHING rips like a Sabre in the right hands.. ;)
 
Re: Does anyone have an Ibanez S570?

What else can I say when the neck, the body, the construction, and the bridge are not cheap or short on quality, yet the combination sounds bland. What else can I say when designs descending from the Saber yield more tone for less $ - yes, I am talking about the SA series and even more so about the SC.
What else can I say when I've cut my teeth on a 1990 Japanese S540 and every time I picked up another S it had that same kind of thin tone but also not enough cut. I know mine wasn't just a singled out dud, cause how many times in a row can you pick a dud with exactly the same issue? 3 times is improbable, 5 almost makes a rule.

You'd be tempted to guess that mahogany in general doesn't work for me but I didn't mind it in SGs, nor in Les Pauls, nor in a Dean V, nor in a couple of Schecters, nor in a BC Rich superstrat, nor another one by Ran and not even in some other Ibanez guitars.
What else can I say when a flatsawn maple neck that was almost a clone of my 540 in its dimensions and feel gave decent results paired with a 2-piece full-size flat top superstrat body and a 1000-series Floyd. That particular Rich wasn't really anything that much out of ordinary but tuned down it purred like a mahogany body should, while the S stays tight no matter what. Too tight is uptight; my ear says: give my tone some color!

So is it the body carve? Well, my first encounters with a KC series Washburn and a Jackson Stealth have left me impressed. These two haven't been cherry picked, just more or less random. Both have been turned into a state of disrepair by their half-witted previous owners (destructive dexterity conversion and a "fantastic" paint job are the names of their sins). Yet both guitars rang clear as a bell and a lot like each other. Their manufacturers decided on using alder for the body and the carve is not too deep.
On the other hand, the Saber's plastic riser necessary to fit the blade switch screams "overdone". It's just one more reason to convince me that the Saber's body is too thin around the edges.

I can't blame the tremolo alone when I've been blown away by what basically is an Edge-loaded strat, its incredible harmonics and touch sensitivity. That guitar sounds bright but not brittle, thin or plinky, and even despite its pronounced bite, it doesn't lack low end, and sustains just fine. But it doesn't work like that in the Saber, whose wooden parts are not very sensitive to staying excited at those particular frequencies. I haven't tried a LoPro Edge in years but I doubt it sounds significantly different to its taller brother when their parts are very similar or exactly the same. Having tried practically every decent floyd in existence and swapped them around a fair bit, I guess that a Graphtech LB63 or a Gotoh 1996T would be a better match for the S. Isn't that what you've armed yours with, kramersteen?

Then, there's nothing I like about the "wonderful" ZR. It can't be evaluated like a floyd because it is not interchangeable with other units. But for being a trem dedicated exclusively for the S-series, perhaps they could do a better job designing it with tone in mind.

Well, I think I'm done explaining why I feel the Saber is blunt. I guess I could have STFU and keep my honest opinion to myself but that's what chickens do. I've fallen out of love with the S a long time ago. I've found plenty of reasons to dislike it and not one to change my mind again. You're free to lol in disagreement as much as you want, you die-hard fans.
:beerchug:
 
Re: Does anyone have an Ibanez S570?

Well I'm a die-hard fan....no doubt about it. It's my fave guitar of all time.

I play doom & death metal (more often than not with my Sabre's) & I can honestly say I have never shared your experience of the way you say they sound.. on the contrary both of mine are meaty, fat, warm & kind of dark sounding...while still being very clear, punchy & articulate (they cut like a knife). The MIJ S-540 has the Lo-pro which is my favourite trem ever ...20+ years of hard use and abuse & it still stays impeccably in tune no matter what I do to it.

To each their own I guess...but thanks to my own experience there's no way I even remotely get/agree with what you're saying up there..
 
Re: Does anyone have an Ibanez S570?

What else can I say when the neck, the body, the construction, and the bridge are not cheap or short on quality, yet the combination sounds bland. What else can I say when designs descending from the Saber yield more tone for less $ - yes, I am talking about the SA series and even more so about the SC.
What else can I say when I've cut my teeth on a 1990 Japanese S540 and every time I picked up another S it had that same kind of thin tone but also not enough cut. I know mine wasn't just a singled out dud, cause how many times in a row can you pick a dud with exactly the same issue? 3 times is improbable, 5 almost makes a rule.

You'd be tempted to guess that mahogany in general doesn't work for me but I didn't mind it in SGs, nor in Les Pauls, nor in a Dean V, nor in a couple of Schecters, nor in a BC Rich superstrat, nor another one by Ran and not even in some other Ibanez guitars.
What else can I say when a flatsawn maple neck that was almost a clone of my 540 in its dimensions and feel gave decent results paired with a 2-piece full-size flat top superstrat body and a 1000-series Floyd. That particular Rich wasn't really anything that much out of ordinary but tuned down it purred like a mahogany body should, while the S stays tight no matter what. Too tight is uptight; my ear says: give my tone some color!

So is it the body carve? Well, my first encounters with a KC series Washburn and a Jackson Stealth have left me impressed. These two haven't been cherry picked, just more or less random. Both have been turned into a state of disrepair by their half-witted previous owners (destructive dexterity conversion and a "fantastic" paint job are the names of their sins). Yet both guitars rang clear as a bell and a lot like each other. Their manufacturers decided on using alder for the body and the carve is not too deep.
On the other hand, the Saber's plastic riser necessary to fit the blade switch screams "overdone". It's just one more reason to convince me that the Saber's body is too thin around the edges.

I can't blame the tremolo alone when I've been blown away by what basically is an Edge-loaded strat, its incredible harmonics and touch sensitivity. That guitar sounds bright but not brittle, thin or plinky, and even despite its pronounced bite, it doesn't lack low end, and sustains just fine. But it doesn't work like that in the Saber, whose wooden parts are not very sensitive to staying excited at those particular frequencies. I haven't tried a LoPro Edge in years but I doubt it sounds significantly different to its taller brother when their parts are very similar or exactly the same. Having tried practically every decent floyd in existence and swapped them around a fair bit, I guess that a Graphtech LB63 or a Gotoh 1996T would be a better match for the S. Isn't that what you've armed yours with, kramersteen?

Then, there's nothing I like about the "wonderful" ZR. It can't be evaluated like a floyd because it is not interchangeable with other units. But for being a trem dedicated exclusively for the S-series, perhaps they could do a better job designing it with tone in mind.

Well, I think I'm done explaining why I feel the Saber is blunt. I guess I could have STFU and keep my honest opinion to myself but that's what chickens do. I've fallen out of love with the S a long time ago. I've found plenty of reasons to dislike it and not one to change my mind again. You're free to lol in disagreement as much as you want, you die-hard fans.
:beerchug:

OK, I think your objection is that its a mahogony body, but because its thin it looses the resonance of a heavyweight guitar.

I own a few s540 from early to mid 90s, and have played later ZR ones.

The majority of the resonance comes from the lo pro trem. It is heavier than an OFR. The guitars sound better than any RG unplugged, the wood resonates like mahogony, but it doesnt have the sustain of a Les Paul. The bolt on neck and trem give it a snappy attack, so it is a good lead instrument, but it doesnt have the same mids as basswood or alder, which I have found needs different pickup choices. With the right pickups the lead tone can be very wide and big, and it absolutely sounds better than a basswood RG in the lower registers. It doesnt sound like a neck through mahogony guitar, just has some mahogany character.

The ones with the flame or quilt top actually sound a bit softer like basswood. The LTD (all mahogany) seem to have a bit faster attack and sound "harder".

People like the ZR trem, but I didn't like it because it had less mass than the lo pro. It was a trebly/thinner tone to my ears, but that may work for some styles. I view the years 2000-2010 as the dark years for the sabre, but Ibanez has been putting some love to the line esp with the 24 frets - although that may make it less resonant. The new prestige models have gone back to the lo pro - I think that is the best trem for this body. The sabre has the same overall weight as a basswood RG.

Having played sabres for close to 20 years, I can tell you what I think are the shortcomings. I don't like the position of the lower bout. The guitar sits too far right on the leg when sitting down so it makes acdessing the upper frets a bit harder. Mine all have 22 frets, but the 24 fret ones still sit farther right. Also, it is a small guitar overall and gets lost on stage. But the good thing for live use is its comfort. Also, because it is thinner, the trem often doesnt have as much pull up as an RG. This is fixed with a neck shim.

It is a good guitar, but not for everyone.
 
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