Ibanez AZES40 and AZES31 AZ Essentials Guitars | Versatile SSS/HSS tones on a budget with Leigh Fug

These are the Ibanez AZES40 and the Ibanez AZES31, two new affordable guitars in the Ibanez AZES (AZ Essentials) family. At the 42 Gear Street Three event, I was joined by special guest Leigh Fuge to put these guitars through their paces and really show you what they can do! Both clearly influenced by the legendary Fender Stratocaster, the catchily-named AZES31 (which is the three single-coil SSS version) and AZES40 (which is the HSS version with a bridge humbucker) are aimed squarely at guitar students and learners. And they’re priced accordingly: the SSS AZES31 is €299 in Europe and $299 in the USA, while the HSS AZES40 is €329 in Europe and $349 in the USA. The two guitars have lightweight poplar bodies with maple necks and jatoba fingerboards, while medium frets, a 25” scale length and a 250mm (9.84”) fingerboard radius have been included to make everything as comfortable for beginners and students as possible. One other aspect I found pretty cool is the hardtail bridge on the AZES31 – it’s unusual to see Strat-type guitars without a whammy system, so this is a breath of fresh air, and should improve the guitar’s tuning stability. (The rest of the guitar’s hardware is all generic stuff, by the way.) So, let’s hear them in action! Here are some links to the various playing samples and info bits in the video: 00:00 Hello! 00:13 Introduction and what we’re doing today 01:05 The Ibanez AZES Series and prices 02:20 Specs and info 03:56 Hardtail bridge on the AZES31...