Welcome to the Wired Guitarist review of the S6UC! The Saber model has been getting great treatment from Ibanez lately, and the S addition to the Uppercut line is no exception!

The Uppercut series quickly gained popularity for including awesome hand-wound Bare Knuckle Pickups, ebony fretboards, and more! These are definitely modern metal machines, but the S6UC in particular has some tricks up its sleeve.

See what the big deal is about the S6UC below!

Features:

S6UC Specifications:

Mahogany Body
Imbuia Top
Ebony Fretboard
Super Wizard HP Profile 5-piece Maple/Walnut Neck w/ KTS Titanium Rod Reinforcement
All Access Neck Joint Bolt On Neck Construction
17″ Radius
25.5” Inch Scale
24 Jumbo Frets w/ Prestige Fret End Treatment
Lo-Pro Edge Tremolo
Gold Hardware
Bare Knuckle Pickups Alnico Nailbomb Pickups
1xVolume, 1xTone Controls
5-way Blade Switch
Dark Mocha Finish

As you can see, this model differs from the other Prestige Uppercuts. Both the rich color scheme and specs themselves are quite different from the rugged, stripped-down, all out metal assault of the other Uppercuts.

The Lo-Pro is my favorite Ibanez trem so I’m obviously happy whenever it shows up on a modern model. Extremely comfortable and stable. It looks great in gold with the black studs and arm!

It’s also worth noting that the neck has the Ibanez KTS system. These titanium rods are great for stability. For some reason, they seem to drop in and out of Ibanez’s lineups and make appearances in seemingly random models, but I am happy they’re in this guitar! It’s a great feature!

As usual, the S shape is very ergonomic, and the AANJ construction lends perfect high fret access.

Nailbombs are a fantastic choice (more on that later), and the camo finish actually manages to work, aesthetically! Speaking of aesthetics, the imbuia top is great. I’d never heard of this wood before and it’s probably the only guitar I’ve ever played that uses it, but its subtle grain just gives the look a nice texture.

This guitar looks equally at home in a fusion guitarist’s hands and at a Fleshgod Apocalypse concert… and strangely it’s well suited to both!

Tone:

The tone is definitely built on the Saber series’ archetype of sustain and rich tone. However, the tone of the S6UC is so much more, and it really comes down to the pickups.

Ibanez couldn’t have possibly picked a better pickup for this. Nailbombs are hot pickups well suited to almost any style. They’re overall just fat and organic, while retaining the quick bass response required for metal. Even better, Ibanez opted for the Alnico V bridge, which I prefer to the ceramic variant.

Not only is the harmonically saturated humbucker tone delivered in spades, these pickups really thrive in Ibanez’s wiring scheme as well. The split position is sufficiently twangy for cleans, and the parallel neck humbucker position has unparalleled clarity for soloing.

The really versatile tone of this guitar is in stark contrast with some of the other Uppercuts. Check out our review of the FR6UC to see what I mean.

Build Quality:

Like any other Prestige (Uppercuts are part of the Prestige line), this guitar is a great example of Japanese craftsmanship and attention to detail. There aren’t any real complaints about Japanese Ibanez because they’re the industry standard. The guitar is fantastic overall.

I’m sure the question of its price will come into question vs. its quality, given that it’s pushed into J-Custom territory. Much like the J-Custom vs. Prestige debate, this is a bit of a grey area, because they’re both built very well.

I’m not sure it can be argued that the quality is better on this than a normal prestige, but that’s not a bad thing. You’re paying for features.

Here’s a review of a Prestige to see how they compare.

At the risk of being redundant, as usual the fit and finish is fantastic. On this guitar, I found the fretwork particularly clean, and the pickup height was set very well from the factory for well balanced tone.

That doesn’t sound like a big deal, but especially with very hot and articulate pickups like Nailbombs, nailing height is important. It was awesome to see that included in the classic awesome Prestige factory setup.

 

Final Verdict:

This is probably my favorite S in production right now. It just nails the cool factor from every angle.

The pickups are rich and articulate, absolutely suited for all playing styles. No one should find the need to swap these. This is paired with classic S sustain and light weight.

All of this being executed so well with a cool finish, gold hardware, and ebony board is a real treat and makes the S6UC stand out.

This is obviously more expensive than a “normal” Ibanez, so you have to decide for yourself if it’s worth it. From a spec perspective, it’s clear that the value is there, but if you don’t need BKPs, Ebony, or just generally a super unique guitar, a $1400 RG will definitely do the job for you as well.

10-8-10

We write a lot of cool reviews and other articles, which you can check out here! We are also authorized Ibanez dealers, and we can order any Ibanez you’d like!

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

 

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