Ibanez AZES40 - Overview and Best Prices

Ibanez AZES40 Review
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  • 1 Prices - New from $342.99 >
  • From Ibanez's 2021 AZES series
  • Made in Indonesia
  • 6 strings
  • 25"'' scale
  • 9.843" Fretboard Radius
  • Poplar body
  • Maple neck
  • Jatoba fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: Accord (Humbucker/Passive)
  • Middle pickup: Essentials (Single Coil/Passive)
  • Neck pickup: Essentials (Single Coil/Passive)
  • 1 volume and 1 tone Bell knobs
  • 5-way Switch
  • T106 w/ Comfort round Steel saddles bridge
  • AZES Bolt-On neck
  • 22 Medium frets
  • Ibanez machine heads w/ Split shaft tuners
  • Side-By-Side Comparison
Show Specs
Ibanez AZES40 Specifications
Ibanez AZES40
General
Brand: Ibanez
Year: 2021
Configuration: HSS
Strings: 6
Made in: Indonesia
Series: AZES
Colors: Black, Blue, Green
Left-Handed Version: No
Body
Type: Solid Body
Body Material: Poplar
Bridge: T106 w/ Comfort round Steel saddles
Neck
Neck Joint: Bolt-On
Tuners: Ibanez machine heads w/ Split shaft
Fretboard: Jatoba
Neck Material: Maple
Decoration: White Dot
Scale Size: 25"
Shape: AZES
Thickness: 1st Fret: 0.807'' (20.5mm) - 12th Fret: 0.886'' (22.5mm)
Frets: 22 Medium
Fretboard Radius: 9.843"
Nut: Plastic
Nut Width: 42mm (1.654'')
Electronics
Bridge Pickups: Accord (Humbucker / Passive)
Middle Pickup: Essentials (Single Coil / Passive)
Neck Pickup: Essentials (Single Coil / Passive)
Switch: 5
Knobs: Bell
Pickup Mods: Series Split
Volume Controls: 1
Tone Controls: 1
Hardware
Strap Lock: No
Hardware Color: Chrome
Show Diagram
Ibanez AZES40 pickups switch selector and push knobs diagram
Ibanez AZES40's switch options

Our Scores and Tone Evaluation

Playability 70
Sound 66
Build quality 57
Value for money 74
Overall Score 64
Tone Evaluation
  • Heavy Metal
  • Hard Rock
  • Jazz
  • Blues
  • Funk
  • Country
Strengths & Weaknesses
Ibanez AZES40
  • Series Split Pickups
  • Tremolo
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • Made in Indonesia
  • No Expensive Woods
  • No High-Quality Nut
  • No Top Brand Pickups
  • No Neck-Through Build
  • No Weight Relief
  • No Luminescent Inlay
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock

Price Overview

Its average competitor's price is $700, which means that the Ibanez AZES40 is around 51% cheaper than the competition. This takes into account all instruments of the same category in our database with 6 strings and Tremolo bridge that are made in Indonesia.

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User Reviews & Feedback

Not all instruments are created equally. That's why it's important to have different opinions. Here's what our users who have played this instrument say. If you've played it before, help others by voting below!

Weight

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Tuning stability

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Neck speed (thickness)

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Neck access to high frets

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Neck profile shape

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Fret edges

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Pickups noise

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Pickups power

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2 user reviews:
Guitarist profile picture
Guitarist
16/10/24 23:05:10

I have a Mint Green Ibanez AZES40 and when I was looking to find a lesser-expensive electric, this was introduced to me by a noted guitar technician in the Tidewater area of VA… he said, “Check out the Mint Green one… it’s really well-made for the money…”

It ended up being a guitar that had been returned by a customer who a - replaced the pickups with Seymour Duncans; b - had a $289 Gotoh tremolo installed; c - buyer’s son wanted locking tuners; buyer said “No way, son..” and… ‘son’ returned guitar to the two-letter music store. I promptly bought the guitar at $400 with a case. The guitar is wonderful; I’m an older guy who’s been playing in excess of 50 years, and the price point is what got me… and a guitar tech who is a friend… but I will need to upgrade the neck to a slightly larger radius for my ultimate comfort. I love this guitar!

wjb09a profile picture
wjb09a
04/09/24 01:39:22

Bought for wife, but I play more now

Often Compared With

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Hand Size Comfortability

After taking into account the neck profile, scale size, fretboard radius, and nut width, we can conclude that the Ibanez AZES40's construction favors people with relatively small hands.

Nevertheless, this comes down in the end to personal preference. Make sure you test this guitar—or another one with similar characteristics—before buying.

Big Hands
Small Hands

Beginner Friendliness

The Ibanez AZES40 meets 6 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, which means that it's a good guitar to start with as a complete beginner. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players to get used to.

New Player Friendliness

Ibanez AZES40
  • Comfortable shape
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Tall frets
  • Narrow nut
  • Comfortable neck
  • Short scale
  • Locking tuners

Videos

Ibanez AZES 40 - The Most Versatile Budget Guitar - In-depth Demo
Ibanez AZES40 - Sound Demo (no talking)
Ibanez AZES40 | Ryunosuke Yamagishi
Ibanez AZES31 and AZES40: The New King of Entry Level Electrics?
NEW Ibanez AZES - Tone, Versatility, & Playability, Without Busting the Bank!

Playability

Scale Length

Scale length is the distance the strings will span between the bridge and the nut. It can tell you a lot about the overall playability and tone of the instrument. A longer scale length means longer distance between frets, brighter tone and more string tension—which means lower action, but more difficult bending of the strings.

Here's the Ibanez AZES40's 25" scale length compared to other common sizes:

Ibanez AZES40 Scale Length Comparison
Ibanez AZES40's scale length (at the top) compared to other popular sizes

This is the scale found in most PRS guitars, and it's right between the length of most Stratocasters and Les Pauls.

The scale length will affect the separation of the frets, the string tension, and even the tone of the guitar. The longer the scale, the more separated the frets are, which makes it a bit harder to move fast on the fretboard. Also, the higher tension of the strings will make them feel stiffer, so bending will require more strength. However, a longer scale also allows you to lower the action of the strings and make them closer to the fretboard, which makes them easier to press. Finally, the tone will also sound brighter with a longer scale.

A 25'' scale makes all of this feel right between a Stratocaster (longer scale) and a Les Paul (shorter scale).

Don't forget that you can also affect the tension of the strings by changing your string gauge.

More with the same scale length:

Neck Profile

Ibanez AZES40 Neck Profile
Ibanez AZES40's neck profile

The neck profile tells you the thickness (neck depth) and shape in cross section. Every difference will completely change the feeling and comfortability of the neck. This is a highly subjective thing, but most players indeed prefer certain types of necks (like Cs and Ds) because they feel nice in most hands.

The Ibanez AZES40's neck thickness is approximately 0.807'' (20.5mm) at the first fret, and 0.886'' (22.5mm) at the twelfth.

These measurements were taken either from the official Ibanez website, or, in case this information wasn't provided, by researching multiple online marketplaces and forums where owners of this model have posted their measurements.

It has a C type neck. C-shaped necks like this have been the most popular for the last years. The reason is that they feel good in most hands. It's generally a thin neck that doesn't get in your way when playing fast, but that also has enough mass to give your hands a comfortable grip for chords if they aren't too big.

Thin necks like this make it easier to move your hand across the neck and it helps when playing fast solos, especially if you like to leave your thumb free while playing high on the fretboard. However, thinner necks are also weaker and will need adjustment more often than a thicker neck.

More for different hand sizes

Fretboard Radius

When it comes to fingerboard radius, personal preference will dictate which one is better for you. However, most people seem to agree that a more curved (lower) radius will make it easier to play chords while a less curved (higher) radius is better for soloing and bending.

The Ibanez AZES40 has a 9.843" fingerboard radius.

Here's an image comparing this fretboard radius to other popular choices:

Ibanez AZES40 Fretboard Radius Comparison with Fender Stratocaster and Gibson Les Paul
Ibanez AZES40's fretboard radius compared to others

This is a radius that makes it comfortable to play chords, but that's just slightly flatter than the typical Strat fingerboard. It's still not as flat as a Les Paul, so it might not be as comfortable for soloing. The feel sits right in between a Strat and a Les Paul, although it feels more like the former.

Compound radius fingerboards give the best of both worlds. Unfortunately, the Ibanez AZES40 has the same radius across the board.

Playability compared to main competitors

Ibanez AZES40
This model
25'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
1.654'' Nut Width
9.843'' Fretboard Radius
25.5'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
1.654'' Nut Width
Compound Fretboard Radius
25.5'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
1.654'' Nut Width
14'' Fretboard Radius
25.5'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
1.654'' Nut Width
14'' Fretboard Radius
25.5'' Scale Length
D Neck Profile
1.654'' Nut Width
Compound Fretboard Radius

Nut Width

Ibanez AZES40 Nut Width
Ibanez AZES40 Nut Width

The Ibanez AZES40 has a nut width of 42mm (1.654''). This is considered a narrow width for a 6-string guitar. This means that this guitar will have a narrower string separation at the nut, which will affect your fretting hand.

If you are a player with big hands, you might find it difficult to play chords without muting strings. However, this is good for players who have smaller hands, as it will allow them to reach each string more easily at the nut.

Frets

The Ibanez AZES40 has 22 frets. Even though 24 frets has become really popular, there's still a good reason to get fewer frets; the pickup at the neck position will be further away from the bridge. This makes the neck pickup achieve a warmer tone. You might want this if you're playing Jazz or similar genres.

However, if you don't care about the warmer neck pickup, more frets will always be better. It's always nice to have the option to play higher notes if you want to.

It comes with nickel silver frets, so they won't last as long as stainless steel frets. If you use your instrument a lot, you might need to replace the frets after a few years. But this is unlikely as most people change instruments before this happens.

More with the same amount of frets:

Fret Size

Ibanez AZES40 Fret Size Comparison
Ibanez AZES40's fret size (in orange) compared to other popular sizes

Finally, let's talk about fret size. Some people prefer tall frets because it's easier to press the strings and perform bends since there's less friction against the fretboard. On the other hand, some people like shorter frets because they like to touch the fretboard when playing, or because they got heavy hands and tend to press too much on the string and alter the of the note pitch accidently.

The Ibanez AZES40's frets are Medium size. With medium frets, you can feel the fretboard more than with jumbo frets, but it's still easier to press the strings cleanly than with small frets; notes might change their pitch just slightly if you press hard on the fret. Also, if you need to do some fret leveling after years of playing, you'll have some room to sand them down without having to replace them.

More with the same type of frets:

Playability Score

Bending & Vibrato Ease 65
Chord Playability 85
Solo Playability 60
Playability 70

Tone

Wood will have little influence in the final tone of an electric guitar or bass. Instead, the hardware, especially the pickups, will be the most important thing to look at. Bur first, let's see the quality of the wood.

Wood

Poplar wood pattern used for guitar building
Poplar Body
Maple wood pattern used for guitar building
Maple Neck
Jatoba wood pattern used for guitar building
Jatoba Fretboard

Poplar Body: It's similar to Alder in terms of tone as it has a fat low-end with strong mids, but it's a lot cheaper and softer. It's a bit heavier so it's mostly used for tops.

Maple Neck: This is one of the most popular types of wood used in all kinds of guitars. It's heavy, strong and compact, which makes it great for necks. However, it's also used for fretboards, bodies and tops due to its light color, resistance and beautiful patterns. When it comes to tone, it highlights the mid and high frequencies.

Jatoba Fretboard: It's an exceptionally hard and dense wood that emphasizes the mid-lows, giving a fuller, more round sound than, for example, Mahogany. However, it also has a lot of clarity in the top end.

Pickups

Unfortunately, it doesn't come with pickups from one of the top brands. This doesn't mean you will get bad pickups, but you might want to consider a pickup upgrade after some time.

These are passive pickups, so you can expect a rounder sound and a moderade level of output.

The Ibanez AZES40's configuration is HSS. If you play a lot with humbuckers in the bridge position, but would also love to have pristine cleans, this is a great configuration to have. The bridge humbucker will give you tons of output for playing distorted rhythm parts, while the single coils will give you a lot of tone options.

More with the same pickups

Ibanez AZES40
This model
22 Frets
Tremolo Bridge
Accord Bridge Pickup
Essentials Middle Pickup
Essentials Neck Pickup
22 Frets
Fixed Bridge
Essentials Bridge Pickup
Essentials Middle Pickup
Essentials Neck Pickup

Versatility

It gives you a good amount of tone options with its 5-way switch. You can use it to choose at least 5 different pickup combinations.

It has a Series Split option. Some pickups will be wired in series (the ground wire of one is connected to the hot wire of the other). This is how Humbuckers are usually connected, so you can expect a fuller sound with more output than two single-coils connected in parallel.

What music genre is it good for?

As a 6 strings, Solid Body guitar with HSS configuration and Passive pickups, we'd recommend it for genres like Hard Rock or similar. However, you can use almost any guitar for any genre. This is just the typical type of music for this particular one.

Sound Score

Pickups 60
Sustain 65
Versatility 80
Tuning Stability 60
Sound 66

Build Quality

Country of Origin

Knowing where the instrument is produced is a good way to know how well it's built. Some manufacturing countries are known for having higher quality standards. For example, most expensive instruments are made in the US or Japan, but there are some exceptionally great countries—like South Korea—that are building a good reputation.

The Ibanez AZES40 is made in Indonesia. Many people prefer the quality of an Indonesian guitar over a Chinese. Respectable brands like Epiphone, Ibanez and Schecter are building in this country because of the great quality and lower price. Some people like to compare them to the ones built in Japan during the 80s, when Japanese guitar makers made a name for themselves.

Still, remember that we're taking about Ibanez here, which is a brand with good renown. They know how to use cheap labor in this country without sacrificing too much quality. So you shouldn't end up receiving a useless or ugly instrument.

Bridge

T106 w/ Comfort round Steel saddles: This type of bridge allows you to change the pitch of the notes by pulling the bridge with the attached bar, which gives you better versatility. Also, since the bridge is not fixed to the guitar body, the bridge will move as you bend the strings. So you'll have to increase the distance of your bends to reach the same tension (note) compared to a fixed bridge. This allows you to perform smoother bends but will also make you slower. Finally, remember that this type of bridge requires a bit more maintenance than fixed ones, especially when changing strings.

More with the same type of bridge:

Nut Material

Another important thing to analyze is the nut material, as it's one of the most important aspects that can affect the sound and playability of your guitar. A well-cut nut will make sure it stays in tune and will make it more comfortable to play.

In this case, the Ibanez AZES40 has a Plastic nut. This is a low-quality nut that you might want to consider upgrading soon. Bone and TUSQ nuts are the best for guitars with a fixed or simple tremolo bridge.

Neck Joint

The neck joint is the part where the neck of the guitar meets the body. There are three main techniques to attach both parts together: Set-In, Bolt-On and Neck-Through. The latter two provide different advantages, although neck-throughs are the most expensive.

This guitar has a Bolt-On neck joint. Even though this type of neck was looked down upon for a long time, nowadays bolt-on necks are well built and provide just as much sustain as any other join method. First of all, it's cheap to make because it consists of simply 4 bolts that attach the neck to the body. And you can travel with the guitar more easily, swap out the neck if you damage it, or upgrade to a more comfortable neck later on.

More with the same build:

Build Quality Score

Quality of materials 46
Features 60
Quality Control 65
Build Quality 57