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Ibanez at Guitar Showcase 2021: the AZ Essentials range – tone, versatility and playability
Welcoming yet another expansion to the highly successful AZ series, Ibanez is proud to introduce the AZES (or AZ Essential line), as well as a new Nita Strauss signature guitar, the JIVAJR.
Meet the AZES
Introducing the AZ Essentials. The philosophy behind this series is to bring the tone, versatility, and playability of this celebrated line up to a wider range of beginner and intermediate players.
However, AZ Essentials are also equipped with series-specific features such as Mon-unit output jack, a 250mm fingerboard radius, and comfort round bridge saddles, all designed to make the beginner’s learning process a streamlined, enjoyable and fun experience.
Nita Strauss Signature JIVAJR
Alice Cooper’s axe slinger – Nita Strauss – is one of the most commercially successful artists in the Ibanez line up, with her signature Ibanez model, the JIVA10, being one of the biggest selling signatures produced by Ibanez in recent years.
With legions of Rock fans across the Globe, Nita has become an inspiration to many to pick up the guitar for the first time. It was simply a matter of time then, that a super affordable version of her Made-in-Japan signature was made available.
Enter the Jiva Junior! Following in the deep footprints of none other than Mr Steve Vai and his successful Jem Junior spin off, Nita’s high end signature model has been given the ‘Junior’ treatment too.
Primarily based on the Ibanez Sabre/S body shape, the JIVAJR features Nita’s ‘the beaten track’ fretboard inlay design, a quilted maple top with a stunning Deep Sea Blonde finish along with a pair of Ibanez Quantum pickups, which are diverse enough to handle both low and high gain settings.
The three-piece maple/purpleheart neck is super easy to play and the Edge-Zero II locking tremolo system will take as much abuse as you can throw at it without losing tuning stability. Perfect for those wild divebombs!
Check out the video from Ibanez’s main demonstrator, Lee Wrathe, to hear and see it in action.
