ibanez sabres....1987 and 2012 (NGD content)

[markD]

i have been finding myself coming full circle and spending a lot of time playing my ibanez guitars. i used to ONLY have and play ibanez between 1987 - 1993. i loved the thin necks, the edge tremolo, the looks...plus ALL my favorite players rocked ibanez. i wanted to be a shredder, but just never had the desire to practice that much, lol....

anyway, this is a tale of 2 sabers...my original, only owned by me, 1987 S540DSY and a brand new 2012 25th anniversary S-series. there is a story - and a good one at that, but let's get on to some pictures first!!!!

here is the original. it is in amazing condition, especially since it is 25 years old!! it has the original dimarzio/IBZUSA pickups, the bridge has the original back stop system - all intact, too.



the 3 on/off switches and the push/pull coil-tap allow for a lot of tones. i have used this guitar in the studio for everything from metal to country and the tones are very accurate.



the back stop system was pretty innovative for the time. say what you will about ibanez, they do a good job incorporating new ideas/technology into their instruments. the 25th S has the zero stop system, which is AWESOME. certainly an improvement over the back stop...



the '87 S has a wizard neck with a gloss finish, 22 frets and a square heel. the body is also thinner - it averages about 0.16" less than the 25th.

the original has a black headstock...



the 25th has a wizard 3 neck with a raw finish, 24 frets and an all-access neck joint.

anyway, here are pics of the 25th. it is pretty sweet. i will admit that it doesn't play as nice as the '87, but it isn't bad. the jury is still out on the pickups - it came with INF pickups. i am thinking of going with some dimarzios, but again, i am not sure...




i do like having the HSH pick up configuration. as i mentioned, the zero stop system works really well. the bridge can be set to return to pitch, or set for full floating. i don't have it floating.



the 25th did come with green strings. kinda goofy to me, but interesting. the color is very hard to photograph. this guitar is VERY bright. i am excited to get it on stage!!! the headstock is green, and the logo is the foil type...



now for some pics of both....

[Sephiroth]

I find it dusturbing that more guitar-makers do not paint their shit in nuclear green

[Trem]

Damn nice pair. Grats.
Can you explain the difference between the Wizard1 neck to the Wizard3?

[VitaminG]

I find it dusturbing that more guitar-makers do not paint their shit in nuclear green

it's because it may cause anal leakage. They don't wanna deal with the backlash from that shit

[markD]

Damn nice pair. Grats.
Can you explain the difference between the Wizard1 neck to the Wizard3?

thanks! i am not one to get out the measuring calipers...so the best i can tell is that the wizard 3 is just a bit thicker and a lot rounder. i am trying to think of a direct comparison, but nothing is popping to mind....

[Trem]

Ah, well that's cool, I had thought it might be thinner or something. I know i like the Wizard2 neck a lot, and i think the old 550's? were wizard1? and that neck was alright, maybe a bit thin .. As far as the Wizard2 some people don't like what they call the "shoulders", but i do, it fits my hand perfectly. At any rate, i've seen some Ibanez that are nice that have the Wizard 3 neck but haven't played them so was curious. Thicker is always better for me.

[jeff b]

Hell yeah!! Great score. I want the green one also. I played one last weekend & was impressed with the neck on it. I scored the hot pink Rg1xxv & love it!! How does it sound Mark? Didn't get a chance to plug it in. Congrats!

[DonP]

For those with a hankering to purchase, I visited the Columbus GC today and they had the green new one (can't remember the price) and an old Sabre in interferance violet for $799. My friend back in 1990 had that yellow one like Mark's - was that the Frank Gambale(sp?) model, or did it have different inlays?

[markD]

jeff b - it sounds pretty good. a little more "vintage-y" though...darker, thicker and has more "girth" to the sound than my old one. cool score on the hot pink. i m getting one of those next.

donP - the gambale had 24 frets, HSH, 5-way blade, and the inlays were yellow sharks teeth on a rosewood board.

[dvscool]

Awesome guitars. I love Ibby’s, especially the older ones. I have an 89 RG570 that’s pretty beat from the road but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. It just feels like it was made for me.

Enjoy em dude

[toejam]

donP - the gambale had 24 frets, HSH, 5-way blade, and the inlays were yellow sharks teeth on a rosewood board.

They actually had only 22 frets.
Not mine, but I always liked them and found this pic somewhere.
3FGM100s.jpg

[markD]

cool! i like that blue one!!

[toejam]

Yeah, I always thought the Sabre series were neat, especially the Gambales. Love your guitars, too... the yellow wins out over the green for me.

[markD]

joe, the yellow one is the shit. i got that guitar as a kid and it is the ONLY one i still have from the '80s. i don't gig it very often - i think only 2-3 times in 20 years of gigging. the green one is cool, but it was my wife that wanted me to get that since green is her favorite color. i plan on gigging it, especially if we get another opening slot for a hair band (i am sure we will...). i am sure it will elicit reactions from people. that is the most fun of having gaudy guitars!!

[toejam]

Nice. Green is also one of my favorite colors, but for some reason the brighter greens don't do it for me. Definitely good anywhere around a hair band, though!