Today we’re reviewing the Ibanez Prestige Talman 1730AHM! The Talman has been a fan favorite for years, and gained a large following in the early ‘90s. Ibanez saw fit to bring it back, with a lot of new features!

The offset body definitely turns heads, and these new models are simply oozing vibe. But how do they hold up to Ibanez’s RGs and Sabers? Or even other modern takes on “vintage” instruments?

Let’s find out!

Features:

The Ibanez Prestige Talman 1730AHM features:

Ash Body
Maple Fretboard w/ Black Dots
Classic-Plus Profile Maple Neck
Fast Access Neck Joint
12″ Radius
25.5” Inch Scale
22 Medium Frets with Prestige Fret End Treatment
ITL-Pro Tremolo Bridge
Gotoh Locking Tuners
Chrome Hardware
Seymour Duncan Five-Two Pickups
1xVolume, 1xTone Controls
5-Way Blade Switch
Antique White Blonde Finish

As you can see, this is different from standard RG and Sabre fare in many ways.

I’d say the most important difference is the neck joint. The Fast Access Neck Joint is like a traditional strat joint, but rounded off at an angle to allow more access. I think this is really good for this type of guitar because it’s a good combination between “barely there” Ibanez style, and a nice vintage feel. Plus, less wood removed is always a good thing for tone!

The non-locking trem on this is interesting too. The ITL-PRO is their take on a vintage Stratocaster tremolo. It definitely operates well, but I would’ve loved to see something like the SynchroniZR trem on this, personally. The SynchroniZR is basically a non-locking Edge Zero, and maintains the ZPS technology that keeps it so stable and makes setups a breeze.

I understand why they went with the ITL-PRO, though. It does function just like a good old fashioned Strat bridge, and I am in a pretty small minority that actually loves the Zero-style bridges.

This also has medium frets, very different from the extra jumbo normally seen on Ibanezes. I personally like them, and think it was a good call for this style of instrument, but if you’re used to not even being able to feel the fretboard, this will take a bit of an adjustment.

The finish is very thin, and just like a nice blonde Telecaster, you can see a little bit of wood grain through it! Absolutely beautiful!

To keep it brief, the neck is extremely comfortable. Some Ibanez necks are too thin for some people, and obviously most players don’t want a huge baseball bat, and this is a really nice, well-rounded medium. Equally good for chording and shredding. The 12” radius is also rounder than most other Ibanez models, but is still far from vintage territory.

The neck profile may be my favorite thing about this guitar!

Tone:

Although to be fair, the neck profile isn’t quite my favorite thing about this guitar, because it just sounds so good.

This guitar is a great example of how Ibanez has been branching out the last few years and using Seymour Duncan pickups in their guitars, and boy has it paid off.

The Five-Two pickups in this guitar are the perfect combination of Stratocaster chime and character with more modern attack and output. Named as such for their combination of Alnico II and Alnico V magnets, these pickups offer both the attack and tight bass response of A5 with the warmth and smoothness of A2, for a very balanced sound perfectly suited for all styles.

Pair this with ash (both the preferred tonewood of modern metal players and one found on many players’ favorite vintage Strats) and the maple neck and you have spank and clarity for days!

It basically excels at everything, within the realms of what you consider a Strat capable of. It’s obviously great at notch and crunch tones, but open minded players will find that it can definitely hold its own with full-blown distortion as well.

I really like it for percussive crunch tones and chimey cleans, the likes of which are so popular in progressive metal right now. I felt equally at home playing all sorts of rock, blues, pop punk, post hardcore, and even black metal, though.

Build Quality:

This section is going to be definitively short because, if you’ve noticed a trend, Japanese Ibanez are an industry standard for quality and value.

You’re not finding any amateur mistakes on these guitars, and they’re built at a level that far surpasses many American instruments. No alignment issues, no finish flaws, no poor cuts of wood.

The fretwork is great out of the box, and the instrument has great tuning stability.

Final Verdict:

A lot of brands have been releasing their own creative takes on Strats lately, and this is definitely a hit. This guitar is a great mix of modern and vintage features, and delivers tone in spades.

There are certain things that could’ve been done differently, and the SSS layout won’t appeal to all players, but I’m not sure any spec changes would actually result in a cleaner, more well rounded finished product than this.

Bringing back a niche fan favorite like the Talman is really awesome of Ibanez, and I’m glad the new models are worthy of the name.

Thanks for reading our Ibanez Prestige Talman 1370AHM review. If you enjoyed it, read more reviews here… We are authorized Ibanez dealers, and can set you up with the Ibanez you’re looking for at the best price possible. Check out our current stock here.

9-8-8

This article was written by Kyle Karich, our editor located in Florida.

 

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