Guitar review: Ibanez S270

Ibanez S270

Purchased at Hagstrøm Musikk in Bergen in the Spring of 2000 for the majority of my teaching assistant salary. I was first fascinated by sheer look of the guitar - all-mahogany guitars are usually darker than this one. After discovering that it felt, played and sounded as great as it looked, I just had to have it, although I didn't admit it to myself at first. My wife - then girlfriend - had to convince me to buy the guitar, as she saw what I couldn't at the time - I really wanted that guitar. The asking price was 8500 NOK, but I ended up paying 6000 for it, because there is a small dent in the body somewhere. I wouldn't be able to tell you where that dent is today, so it's not exactly noticeable. Only days after I bought it, I discovered that Rhapsody guitarist Luca Turilli had a very similar one, and in recent years, Herman Li of Dragonforce uses one almost exclusively on record and onstage.

Features: 9
The Floyd Rose, string lock, H-S-H pickup combination and rosewood/mahogany combo pretty much makes this an extremely versatile guitar. With two more frets, this guitar would've had it all - both looks and features. Still; being able to reach that D and subsequently bending it a full note up to high E enables most songs, but still shuts the door on Michael Romeo-style tapping. Also; seeing as how it's nothing but a wooden body, a pickguard would've been very practical as far as preventing wear and tear (more on that later), but I suspect that'd screw up the looks. Fantastic guitar for both recording and live performance (although I've never used this guitar for gigging).

Sound: 10
There's almost nothing you can't do with this guitar sound-wise. Everything from a meaty scooped Mesa-Boogie style metal sound, via jazz and Knopfler to Yngwie and Satriani on the warm and violin-y side. The H-S-H and five-way selector gives you a tremenduous range of options, with the output responding extremely well to minor variations in guitar volume and tone settings. You don't have the extreme output of, say, a Dean Razorback, but I like to be able to play through an amp without needing a noise gate even for clean settings.

Action, Fit&Finish: 9
D-profile Wizard II neck and jumbo frets, set just right for legato and tapping without any string buzz - it's wonderful instrument. If you like to play fast, that is - I imagine it would suck for slide work, but then again: I don't care. The only inherent drawback is the fact that the body has a small indentation/groove from my pinky just below the single-coil. 'Cause that's where I anchor my hand, and I've played this one a LOT - it might even be visible in the pics.

Reliability/Durability: 9
Unlike the strat, my 'S has been tended to by professionals on several occasions. Transatlantic flights, simply having a Floyd Rose and whammy bar use puts a strain on a guitar that my strat hasn't experienced. Plus there's the aforementioned "pinky groove". Still - it's an absolutely beautiful instrument, and the body has kept it's hue for seven years.

Overall Rating: 9

EDIT: Some guitars just possess the ability to bring out artificial harmonics and squeals, and this is one of those. AH's are extremely simple to bring out with the 'S, even though it's not as well suited for Dime-style squeals.