Ibanez Sa Series Guitars

Z

zook250

New member
i am a bass player but i would like to get a little bit more into guitar. i have played guitar on and off for a long time but i never became that good at the ol 6 stringer. i am looking at a lower priced ibanez just to pluck around on, the models are the sa260fm-tg and the sa160QMR.

does anyone have any experience,pros and cons with these guitars? they are priced pretty low.how are the pickups, the hardware etc.

thanks for the advice in advance
 
The only real problem I can see for a guitar newbie is that it has a floating tremolo system. Unless you are mechanically inclined enough to set up the bridge properly, you would have problems changing tunings or string gauges.

If not set up properly, you will think the guitar is shit.

For someone who is either new to guitar or isn't inclined enough to understand and tweak the trem system, I would advise getting a guitar with no trem. It will make life much easier.

Another potential problem is that Ibanez guitars have fairly thin necks and would probably need more truss rod adjustments over the year to keep them playable.

I've owned two Ibanez guitars in my day (thin necks with floyd rose trems) and they were the most tempermental guitars I've ever owned. They're not bad, you just had to be on top of them more than the ESPs and Parkers I've owned.
 
I have sworn off floating trems... for someone who is not a gtr player by trade, please save yourself some agony.

You can buy a GX (?) series Ibanex at GC for $99-$179. Put on some Sperzels and get an inexpensive trem- you'll be in about $250 but have something that sounds good and can do dive bombs
 
thanks guys. the two models i am looking at do not have the floating tremolo.(flloyd style) i know what a pain in the ass they are as almost every guitarist i have played with for the last 15 years has had one. and they all say the same thing, never again. i have also have an ibanez SB900Le , it is the bass version of the slim guitar body, thin neck. i love the feel. it does require a little more truss rod adjustments as well but the thing plays beautifully. but in the end i will stay with my SPECTORS.
 
I own an Ibanez SA series guitar...I have no issues with it. I traded my tech an old 7 string I never used for it, and I'm very happy. It has a Wilkinson trem, which I love (also have one on my Carvin), 22 frets, and a gorgeous transparent quilted red finish with an abalone outlay on the body, and some serious weight to it which adds for some nice sustain...its a rare find for this particular model. The neck plays nice and the pickups are a decent sound...I think its a good axe for a beginner, or a real player, as long as you know how to keep it in tune with the trem...


-Steve
 
I have a SA160QMM which I've had for around 4 years or so. I've had no problems with it. The only thing I would like to do someday is switch the pickups out, but they are decent enough. The only change I've made is I changed the tuning keys to Planet Waves Auto-trims. I had a set up not long after I bought it and switch the string gauge. Since then I haven't had any issues with it requiring me to adjust the neck or take it to a tech. I think for the price it's a great guitar (I bought mine used.)
 
i picked up the sa260fm-tg and i really like it. it has the sat bridge , single coil neck and body pickups with a humbucker bridge pick up. so far i think i have to change out the strings, maybe to 10's. ( remember i am a bass player). when i got home i ran it through my MXR M-80, qsc1450 and then into my galien krueger 4-10 and it sounded pretty descent.( i hope to buy a lower priced combo amp sometime, any suggestions?) but so far i really like this guitar.
 
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