Two of Ibanez's best affordable rock guitars! AZES31 vs GRG121SP: which is best? With Leigh Fuge

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Today I’m joined by my good friend Leigh Fuge to compare and shoot out two of Ibanez’s best budget rock guitars: the Ibanez AZES Essentials AZES31, and the Ibanez GIO GRG121SP!

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Get these guitars at Thomann (EU):
At Sweetwater (USA):
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Both double cutaway electric guitars, the AZES31 is definitely a more traditional guitar – it’s closest to being a hardtail Squier Stratocaster on first look, and looks amazing in its Lake Placid Blue-esque Arctic Ocean Metallic finish.

The GRG121SP, meanwhile, is part of the more rocking GIO lineup and has the DNA of the legendary Ibanez RG, so it has two humbuckers, 24 frets, a flatter fingerboard, and a stunning Green Yellow Chameleon finish that seems to change color as it moves in the light!

They both cost under $300/€300, though, and so both are going to be great options for players after their first electric guitar – or anyone who simply wants to dip into this territory!

The question Leigh and I try to answer in this video is: which guitar is going to be best for which kind of player? Well, as both guitars play beautifully, you can pick by looks, or the specs that are best going to suit you.

The AZES31, for example, has those three Ibanez Essentials single coil pickups (with Ibanez’s Alter Switch tech to give you way more tonal options than you would normally get on a Strat-type), an Ibanez F106 hardtail bridge, and a poplar body with a maple neck and a jatoba fingerboard. You get 22 medium frets, a 25” scale length, and a 250 mm (which is just under 10”) fingerboard radius.

The GRG121SP gives you two Ibanez Classic Elite humbuckers (with a 5-way switch for some split coil tones too) and the same F106 bridge. The body is poplar, and the neck – roasted maple this time – also has a jatoba board, but you get 24 medium frets, a 25.5” scale length, and a 400 mm (that’s 15.75”) fingerboard radius.

All this makes the GRG121SP a much slicker and more modern feeling beast to play, which should make it ideal for shred and fast lead playing. In contrast, the AZES31’s more vintage yet comfy specs make it the perfect guitar for all-round performance, and a wonderful instrument for beginners too.

But, is this really the case? That’s what Leigh and I find out here as we put both guitars to the test. Enjoy the comparison, and let me know which guitar you prefer in the comments!

Here are some links to the various playing samples and info bits:

00:00 Hello and what we’re doing today
00:30 These are the two guitars we’re looking at
00:49 Two beautiful finishes
03:18 AZES31 clean tones and discussion
06:25 Competition for the AZES31
09:08 GRG121SP clean tones and discussion
11:44 GRG121SP overdrive tones and discussion
14:49 AZES31 overdrive tones and discussion
18:11 Which of these guitars would Leigh choose for gigging?
19:59 Final thoughts, thank you and goodbye

Be sure to check out Leigh’s channel here:

And g here to learn more about Ibanez’s amazing Alter Switch tech:

Enjoy!

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Backing music from the YouTube Audio Library: Duck In The Alley – TrackTribe.

#Ibanez #IbanezGuitars #IbanezGIO #42GSSix #42GearStreet #42GearStreetSix

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