Two VERY different Ibanez guitars with the SAME pickups | In-depth tone test | GRG121SP vs AS73FM
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ค. 2024
- Today, we’re having a little fun checking out two affordable Ibanez guitars that couldn’t be more different… and yet share identical pickups! This is something I thought was interesting enough to make a full tonal comparison.
The two guitars in question are the Ibanez GIO GRG121SP and my much-loved Artcore AS73FM hollow body!
Get the GRG121SP here: thmn.to/thoprod/541748?offid=...
Get the AS73FM here: thmn.to/thoprod/481460?offid=...
On the face of it, these two guitars couldn’t be more different. The sleek GRG121SP BKN (in Black Night here, but there’s an amazing Blue Metal Chameleon finish out there too!) is clearly aimed more towards rockers and shredders with its deep double cutaway design, its slim roasted maple/jatoba neck and its 24 frets. The only slight nod towards anything different is the hardtail bridge.
The AS73FM, meanwhile (resplendent in its Azure Blue Gradation finish), is a classic hollow body in looks and specs. With its chunky linden body with maple top, nyatoh neck and laurel fingerboard, it looks like a guitar that was born to play the blues, rock and roll, and more classic types of music.
But the pickups mark this unlikely pair as brothers. Both guitars feature Ibanez Classic Elite humbuckers - which shocked me when I first found it out! Why would two vastly different guitars have the same pickups in? Surely the pickups are one of the most important factors in a guitar’s tone? And… might this mean that these two guitars sound the same? Well, probably not - no two guitars sound 100% identical - but it might indeed mean that, despite the radically different looks and specs, the GRG121SP and AS73FM are tonal twins.
And that’s exactly what we’re going to look at today! In the video, I play a bunch of riffs on both guitars in as many different styles as I can, from clean pop, folk and indie strumming to classic and hard rock, some alt rock and some punk, and even a bit of metal in Drop D. Let me know how you think the guitars compare!
Here are some links to the various playing samples and info bits:
00:00 Hello and what we’re doing today
01:38 Specs and info on the guitars
02:17 Today’s rig and plan
03:07 Other things to know before we start
Clean Sounds
03:57 Clean tone reference chords on all pickup settings
04:34 Country ballad arpeggios
04:47 Poppy barre chords
05:17 Ringing open indie pop chords
05:44 Country lead sound
05:57 Blues progression
06:20 Atmospheric indie riff
06:39 Ascending droning indie chords
Overdriven Sounds
06:53 Indie rock rhythm sound
07:22 Southern rock picked arpeggios
07:33 Upbeat indie rock barre chords
07:57 Garage rock riff
08:13 Droning indie chords
08:34 Kings Of Leon inspired riff
08:50 Driving classic rock riff
09:05 Airbourne inspired rock riff
09:27 AC/DC inspired classic rock riff
09:45 Classic rock riff
10:02 Hendrix inspired classic rock riff
Higher gain drive sounds
10:18 Classic hard rock riff
10:36 Hard rock riff
10:52 Hard rock melodic lead
11:14 Foo Fighters inspired modern rock riff
11:32 Alternative rock riff
11:56 Green Day inspired punk rock riff
12:22 Pop punk melodic lead riff
12:37 Punk rock power chords
12:51 Less Than Jake inspired punk riff
13:02 Progressive rock riff (Drop D tuning)
13:18 Modern rock palm-muted chords (Drop D)
13:42 Rage Against The Machine inspired groovy riff
Heavy Distortion sounds (all in Drop D)
13:58 Metal chugging riff
14:32 Mastodon inspired metal riff with country twang
14:44 Heavy metal lead sound
15:00 Rammstein inspired industrial metal riff
15:14 Hardcore punk riff
15:29 More hardcore punk
15:53 Classic heavy metal/sludge riff
16:28 My thoughts
17:27 Sounds and versatility discussion
18:51 The pickups are in fact slightly different in output
20:20 What else could affect the tones?
20:45 Tone woods and spec differences
22:27 You have to play the guitars differently
23:06 My conclusions
My setup was as follows: I ran the two guitars into my Hughes & Kettner Black Spirit 200 head, using my Revv G3 for heavy distortion sounds. The amp went from the Red Box DI straight into my Focusrite Scarlett 2i4, which went into Logic Pro X. No post-processing on the sounds was done.
Here’s some links to those bits of gear:
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H&K Black Spirit 200 head: thmn.to/thoprod/447827?offid=...
Revv G3: thmn.to/thoprod/437353?offid=...
Focusrite 4i4 (the new 2i4): thmn.to/thoprod/467952?offid=...
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Enjoy!
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Backing music from the TH-cam Audio Library: Duck In The Alley - TrackTribe.
#Ibanez #IbanezGuitars #IbanezGIO #IbanezArtcore
Note: certain links in the description are affiliate links. If you click said links and purchase anything as a result, I will receive a small commission. This doesn’t cost you anything extra, but it does help to support the channel. So, if you do that, thank you very much!
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Timestamps time:
00:00 Hello and what we’re doing today
01:38 Specs and info on the guitars
02:17 Today’s rig and plan
03:07 Other things to know before we start
Clean Sounds
03:57 Clean tone reference chords on all pickup settings
04:34 Country ballad arpeggios
04:47 Poppy barre chords
05:17 Ringing open indie pop chords
05:44 Country lead sound
05:57 Blues progression
06:20 Atmospheric indie riff
06:39 Ascending droning indie chords
Overdriven Sounds
06:53 Indie rock rhythm sound
07:22 Southern rock picked arpeggios
07:33 Upbeat indie rock barre chords
07:57 Garage rock riff
08:13 Droning indie chords
08:34 Kings Of Leon inspired riff
08:50 Driving classic rock riff
09:05 Airbourne inspired rock riff
09:27 AC/DC inspired classic rock riff
09:45 Classic rock riff
10:02 Hendrix inspired classic rock riff
Higher gain drive sounds
10:18 Classic hard rock riff
10:36 Hard rock riff
10:52 Hard rock melodic lead
11:14 Foo Fighters inspired modern rock riff
11:32 Alternative rock riff
11:56 Green Day inspired punk rock riff
12:22 Pop punk melodic lead riff
12:37 Punk rock power chords
12:51 Less Than Jake inspired punk riff
13:02 Progressive rock riff (Drop D tuning)
13:18 Modern rock palm-muted chords (Drop D)
13:42 Rage Against The Machine inspired groovy riff
Heavy Distortion sounds (all in Drop D)
13:58 Metal chugging riff
14:32 Mastodon inspired metal riff with country twang
14:44 Heavy metal lead sound
15:00 Rammstein inspired industrial metal riff
15:14 Hardcore punk riff
15:29 More hardcore punk
15:53 Classic heavy metal/sludge riff
16:28 My thoughts
17:27 Sounds and versatility discussion
18:51 The pickups are in fact slightly different in output
20:20 What else could affect the tones?
20:45 Tone woods and spec differences
22:27 You have to play the guitars differently
23:06 My conclusions
Enjoy 😊
I really enjoy watching your videos. Keep up the good work!
Thanks a lot, I'm very happy to hear that! Plenty more to come as well :)
When you take into account the fact that no two pickups sound exactly the same, no two pots and tone caps have the exact same value, the slight differences (in some of the clips) become essentially irrevelant and within the "margin of error".
Yes, exactly... and I find that if I listen to this without looking, sometimes it's basically impossible to tell when the guitars are being swapped. Makes you think, doesn't it...
Love your videos man! Keep em up!👍
Thanks Bob, really happy to hear that! Plenty more to come this year, so no worries there :) Cheers and rock on!
The classic elites are wo underrated. No one talks about them, but i got them on my ax120 that i paid like 180 for and theyre deep, and warm, but also very bright. If you find a cheap ibanez equipped with them and are debating whether or not to get it or one equipped with their infinity pup, always 10 times out of 10 pick the one with classic elites. The infinity pickups are very dark and hollow sounding in comparison. The only good thing i have to say about the infinities is that the extremely dark neck can create some interesting muddy distortion, but the minute you flip to clean youre screwed. Whereas with the classic elites you can do both. You want bright cleans? Just crank your tone knobs to 10 (and make sure your pickup height is adjusted to a distance you like), and boom. You want that muddy distorted neck tone? Roll the tone knob down and youve got it. Ill never understand anyone defending a pup because it sounds good with distortion. Basically every pickup does. Whats important is that your cleans are good and clear and then using your tone knob to dial in distorted tone.
Very enjoyable video Rich, the hollowbody would have been far more in my wheelhouse normally, seeing the Chameleon finish and lower weight though on the super strat - well the finish and size sold me, why not try something completely different. Thus far I’m enjoying getting along with it. Price point as well, these seem perfect bases for experimentation and potential modding.
Rich - Nice review on these guitars. I really liked these pickups - great for Jazz stuff. Do you know or have you ever compared how the Ibanez Classic Elite pickups compare to the older Ibanez ACH1/2s used in older Ibanez guitars (a precursor to the classic elite) - thanks - mike
Even if I didn't have a vested interest this was a fascinating comparison! Really well put together too. Also time Stamps is an extra effort that's always awesome to have
Been looking for my first semi hollow and was considering the ibanez artcore am53 but it has the same infinity r pickups as my grg131ex. Wasn't sure if there was going to be any tonal difference or if the only real difference would be the playability (different scale lengths etc) and maybe a slight loss of sustain. And I don't really want to mess around with trying to change pickups on a semi hollow.
But yeah it's interesting, in some parts of the video, especially the clean tones I thought some of the differences were pretty noticeable, seemed to be more bass and some added warmth with the semi hollow. In the crunch and lighter gains even I still heard some added bass and idk, just a little less harsh made me think of hearing alnico vs ceremic.
Other places tho, hell, even for some of the clean and light crunch tones I had my eyes closed waiting for the second guitar to play and it already had aha.
But yh cheers, aswell as being interesting I think this has helped me decide on getting the am53, I have enough guitars for metal etc I feel like I'll be playing it mostly clean through my orange and from this I'm pretty sure it'll still provide enough of a difference sound wise,
Although actually that added low end could be good for some doom..... Okay maybe some metal on it.
But even if there isn't that much of a difference tone wise, last few guitars I've bought have been ones that have suited me spec wise perfectly but I haven't been in love with the look of them, sometimes it's just nice to get a guitar you want to look at too aha, but yh cheers for the vid, nice to know there'll most likely be some change in tone too even if it's not consistent.
A very well put together and useful video Rich, especially for me at the moment as I'm just about to get the GRG! I always do the eyes closed thing on back to back comparisons and watching on a phone, I only think I detected a slightly better bass on the AS on deliberately picked cleans. That is a beautiful guitar by the way, and that's where the pickups work in both cases. Mid to high distortion is seemingly identical in both guitars as you'd expect but check out Dylan Talks Tone's video where he amazingly clearly shows a lack of individual note definition on chords played with slight distortion. I'm still going to get the GR though as the rest of the guitar is superb.
Great comparison! Although very similar, I think you are right regarding the top end. I’m mostly into high gain and in the classic heavy metal/slugde riff the black gio has slightly more top end IMO. Keep up the good work!
Thanks Jens, glad you liked it! I am still a bit weirded out by how similar these two sound with the amp/pedals on the same settings, but the GIO does cut and bite a bit more for sure. And of course you can tweak everything to make it even more suited to any style. Rock on!
damn maybe i should just buy this AS73FM and an azes31....or do i get an Ibanez RG421HPFM-BRG? Which would you choose?! Actually really curious if you ever played a Ibanez RG421HPFM-BRG? Would love your thoughts on it if you did. Idk if you seen my comment in your other video I made today, but i'm torn between an Ibanez RG421HPFM-BRG and an azes31, which is a bit wild since these guitars are 500 euros appart in price.
Tried the blind just listening, then watched and listened. The difference clean seemed to favor the semihollow, I would agree they sound fuller. Then with dirt they were really close. With the clean+pedal heavier riffs the gio sounds a little more articulate. Watching it, looked like the way you were able to play the gio could be as likely the cause for the difference as any in the pickups themselves.
Great points, and yes, the ears don't lie! I think for an all-round guitar I'd still go with the semi-hollow for this sense of "bigness", but you're right... the physical design of the guitar does make it easier to do the downtuned chuggy stuff on the Super Strat type. And that probably does make a bigger difference than anything else here. Thanks for watching and rock on!
@@RichWordsMusic yeah, anymore when I’ve got a buddy tone chasing (not like many of us ever stop 😂) I try to remind them that what has the most impact on your tone is your hands.
I play an AS73 and was very interested in your comparison. My thoughts are similar to your own. Both guitars sound similar but with very slight tonal differences. These tonal differences could be mitigated with either the guitar tone pots or on an amplifier so as you say both guitars can perform the same rolls, but at the end of the day you are quite right it’s down to personal choice with the look and feel that the player wants.
Mostly the pickup hight. The AS73's are very low in comperision (and general). I brought the bridge pickup closer to the strings for more output. Made it more fitting for heavier stuff.
If I owned both of these and a Boss Katana, I'd be pretty comfortable jumping right into a gig. I would keep the hollowbody standard, and drop the RG down a step.
Yep, totally! Those three and you've got all your tonal bases covered, plus the reliability to get through gigs unscathed. It's a great time to be a guitar player, that's for sure! So much great affordable gear out there.
DiMarzios are put in after you want to replace the OEM pups DiMarzios for Ibanez, Yamahas. Duncan's for Jacksons, Gibsons, Fenders, BC Rich, Kramer.
The semi-acoustic sound sounded slightly lower, I believe because of the size of the scale.
Similar but different. The semi has more low end with a relaxed attack! BOTH good!
Agreed - they're both really nice guitars. I'm still surprised at how well the AS73FM does the heavier stuff!
@Rich. Words. Music. Honestly I think the solid body sounded better in almost every example. Clean and distorted. It was just brighter than the other one.
@@xDTHx That laminated construction WILL deaden its resonance a bit!
Which pickups is better for budget
IBZ 6
Classic elite
Infinity
It depends what kind of music you're making I guess... for me (and the kind of music I play), I love these Classic Elite ones :)
I purchased the gio 121 three days ago. I am still pleasantly surprised that I can play anything I like, it all sounds good. And now I understand why. It's in the pick-ups!
On the clean channel, the blues/jazz guitar sounds more "natural". On the other channels the guitars sound the same, to me. The prices may be very different.
Thank you so much for showing us the similarity in sound, of the two guitars!
Is the frets much of different from jumbo? And would you recommend?
@@Moon-dw5ky Honestly, I've been playing nylon strings all my life, (which is quite long), and I don't know. That said; I should have a lot of trouble playing an electric guitar!
But I don't. The strings are a little sharper, and they are also closer to each other, and that's it. Within three weeks I got used to it, and now, ofcourse, I am practicing
every day. I have no trouble with the frets, and I wouldn't worry about it.
On the other hand; when I bought the guitar, the strings were almost flat on the fingerboard, or so it felt to me. So, it may take some patience, (and a very small
Allen key), to adjust the action of the strings on the bridge, until it sounds and plays well. Don't do to much at once, turn the strings up a little, retune, try for a while, andso-on.
As Rich says, adjust on hearing. If you don't feel comfortable with that, let the shop technicien help you out.
That's all I did, and it''s ordinary adjustment. Apart from that, the guitar is pretty perfect, and I would indeed recommend it!
A hippy happy new year to You, to Rich, to Ibanez, and to everyone!
Sir would you recommend the (grg220pa1) over (grg121sp). It would be really helpful if you could help me out.❤
Hey there! Hmm, it depends on your personal taste... the main differences for me are the bridges and the fret size. The GRG220PA1 has jumbo frets (the GRG121SP has medium) and the GRG220PA1 also has the vibrato bridge. If you want this, that's the one for you! The pickups are the same in both guitars, so the sounds are going to be very similar, and build quality is also going to be very similar. For me, I prefer a hardtail bridge, so I'd go for the GRG121SP :) (I also prefer its looks!) Hope that helps!
@@RichWordsMusic thank you very much sir, if you got your hands on that guitar , would love to see the review.♥️
@@Moon-dw5ky No worries, and hopefully one day I will!
i've been trying the GIO 121 SP on all my (three) amps. It sounds really nice on the neck pick-up, with a Boss blues-driver. Thank you again for this very usefull video.
Thanks for the kind words! I bet it sounds great with the Blues Driver... this is a pedal I need to buy soon as well! Cheers and rock on :)
Another super review.. even if you have taken leave of your senses
Cheers Trevor! At least the videos are still working even though my senses are long gone at this point ;)
The AS73FM has less bite and attack but more sweetness and low end IMO. However, It is surprisingly good in heavy music. Maybe the differences will be more difficult to identify with EQ.
For me, Is there clear differences between these?- Yes
Can the guitar in this video do the same things as another one can? - Also yes
And I like both models 😂. Thanks for the video.
I think the AS had a little bit more bass response than the GRG. Just a touch more fatness. Even before I heard your conclusions part.
PS Excellent video, per usual. You really go the whole nine yards in your videos, very comprehensive, for sure. The time stamps and sub-sections are great and I know you must put a lot of work into all those and your tone tests. You have a lot of energy!
Note - If you are looking to chose between these guitars - NOTE - with a hollow body when you play notes you will hear sound from both your guitar and the amp (which to me i did not like). A solid body "transfers" the sound more directly to the amp. I did not like the sound coming form both the guitar and amp. i owned a Ibanez as73 - loved the sound and feel but id not like the semi hollow body. try one out before you buy
👍🏻👍🏻
Thank you my friend!
Why do the Ibanez humbuckers sound so much “cleaner” than say those on a Gibson Les Paul. What am I missing.
I think it's because they have a more modern, hi-fi and pristine sound. It's just the way they're voiced. There are more classically voiced Ibanez guitars to be found, but usually Gibsons are desired for their vintage that break up in a classic rock way when you push an amp into overdrive with them.
@@RichWordsMusic Yeah I guess the whole Ibanez thing (having arrived much later) was to be an alternative to the classic electric guitars - maybe this stems from there. But they do sound cleaner right? I'm not imagining this? :)
Spec sheets are flawed. If you take out the PU's they are usually clearly labeled correctly but often do not match the Spec sheet. Gibson have screwed this up for decades. If possible check out what PU's Ibanez put in there Metal guitars and see if they match your meter but are named differently :-)
I’f ya can’t dazzle em with dynamics baffle them with Bull_hit. Spec sheet accuracy 😂
Well, I can't take out the GRG121SP ones as I am no longer custodian of it, but I could try with the AS73! Although sadly that's a load of work because of the hollow body lack of access. The Hoshino Gakki site lists these as being the same pickup, just the one in the GIO has an S in its name (for the Split option, presumably). And yes, spec sheets are a minefield. Those are actually one of the things I've always put my utmost into getting right at the companies where I've worked!
@@PooNinja Could you direct us to your TH-cam site so we can see how it should be done? Or are you just a big mouth that actually knows squat. You need the T-Shirt that reads 'Nothing Left To Learn'. You should get back to Tic Tok with the other children.
@@Paul_Lenard_Ewing I’m a electrical engineer / guitar player and I find it hilarious how far off spec sheets typically are , like Tab for guitar. My channel is publicly available and full of random noodles and bad jokes or skits. Enjoy it or don’t it’s up to you.
@@RichWordsMusic Your description of the PU's in AS73 are a perfect fit for the Ibanez Super 58 PU's that are standard in most Artcore semi and Jazz models. They were a take on the PAF and have been made for decades.
I agree with your reading of the specs as it is the same at several places I checked. If you get a chance check out a few of the Artcore models in a shop and see if they sound familiar.
I had my eye on the Artcore a few years back but stumbled on a near mint MIJ 1975 Washburn semi for $260.00 USD. A small store in a small town. It was March 2020 and they relied on students to pay the rent and covid hit and they had to lock down. It was dumb luck as I thought it was a recent made in China and just a few years old. But the S/N says different it starts with S5 which means 75. Only made in 74 and 75. Washburn took it to NAMM in 74 and had a price of '$2400.00 USD So it tanked. The company did not have the image. It is totally hand made excessively ornate with a solid flamed maple top, not plied like a Gibson and the workmanship is killer. I got it flawlessly set up with very low action and the neck just does not move. It is not unusual to find even sitting several days the tuning is still dead in.
Are those lead or rhythm guitars?
Personal preference por favor, use what makes you happy.
Ibanez make me happy 🤗
Ha ha, with me, every guitar is a rhythm guitar ;) But yes, if it makes you happy, play it! As I am with both of these :)
@@RichWordsMusic I love that question, sometimes I think they mean guitar or bass but I always answer, it’s both and more. Have a great week Sir
@@PooNinja Indeed it is. Although perhaps investing in a double neck would allow you to have a neck to focus on each, making the question a little easier to answer (and the guitar/bass much harder to play!). Same to you!
@@RichWordsMusic hydra?
@@PooNinja Yes! Get one!
AS is much much better, but you should compare in mix too.
Hopefully in the future I can add in more sections with playing in a mix as well! This is definitely a useful feature to showcase here :)
It has already been proven. That tonewood does not exist. Period They did a lengthy study and they actually Made a guitar with no body. They stretch strings over an empty space. With the nut attached to a piece of wood and the bridge attached to another piece of wood. They use the same pickups and they sounded the same period. They even phase tested them. The only reason the body would make a difference is if the pickups are microphonic.
Yep, I think you might actually be referring to the Jim Lill video I link to in this video, right? That is such an eye-opener (his other videos are too!). But it's actually funny how the tone wood debate rages on in forums, etc. Thanks for watching!
@@RichWordsMusic yep! Sorry for the bad English. I was actually using voice to text.
@@matthewearl9824 Ha ha, no worries! The point came across just fine.
Yes indeed. I also saw the jim lill video... and though I think it can have a little effect on sustain.. I believe the tone will not be effected by it. But maybe 2 same pickups might differ a little as wel... it is no perfect science I guess... but in this case I was surprised I could hear I slight difference in the mid range even hearing it through my phone. Especialy in the more drive boosted parts. The blue guitar sounds a bit more creamy. I think that comes because of the softer character of the hollow body... maybe these pickups are microphonic? But I think that is something from the 50's and 60's, no? Maybe the other wiring that makes it possible to split the coils has effect on the humbuckers... the blue guitar has no split I thought?.... even the hand position towards the pickup when you strum can make a difference. I see it differs sometimes in the video between the 2 guitars...or the spacing of the pickups in each guitar might differ... you could measure if there is a difference in distance.
You're talking about the Jim Lill video as mentioned before.
However in my opinion there's a clear difference between both guitars, no?
So I guess the wood or even the position the pickups are placed (knowing that the black guitar apparently has a longer neck) makes a difference in tone.
I gave you thumbs up before you even started the tone testing...
Why thank you! I hope you didn't take it away again after you heard the sounds ;)
AS73FM a bit richer tone, a little bit and sometimes..
Agreed, sometimes it's just a little bit fatter. Overall though, I'm still surprised at how close these two often sound!
To my ears, the hollowbody sounds more open while the super strat sounds tighter. Besides that, they sound both really good.
Полуакустика поёт, а китаец плоский, скучный, бесхарактерный.