Introduced in the late 80s, the Ibanez Sabre was a sleeker option for guitarists that were looking for a light weight, ergonomically built instrument. Recent “S-Series” models have been given some really cool modern appointments, such as the addition of BKP Aftermaths in the S6UC Prestige. Today, we’ll be looking at the S5527QFX, a 7-string metal machine, based on the classic S-Series.

Let’s check out the specs!

Features :

– Mahogany Body

– Quilted Maple Top

– Bound Rosewood Fretboard

– Wizard 7 5-Piece Maple/Wenge Neck

– Bolt-on Construction

– 17″ Radius

– 25.5″ Scale Length

– 24 Jumbo Frets w/ Prestige Fret End Treatment

– Gibraltar Standard II-7 Bridge

– Gold Hardware

– V77/V87 Pickups

– 1xVolume/1xTone Controls

– 5-Way Pickup Switch

– Dark Purple Doom Burst Finish

– Gotoh Magnum Locking Tuners

The S5527QFX, like all the of the “S-Series”, Features a super thin body. On top of being a thinner cut of wood, the body also contours on the front and back, making for a super curvy, thin guitar that hugs your body comfortably.

The Gibraltar Standard bridge looks fairly large on this guitar. It may be due to the choice of gold hardware, so it really stands out on the body. Despite it’s large appearance, it’s quite comfortable and easy to rest your hand on. The Gibraltar is so comfortable, that it actually made it on our “Top 4 Hardtail Bridges” list.

Overall the guitar is really comfortable to play, as expected. My only complaint regarding comfort, and this is just my preference, but I’d rather the guitar have been a 27” scale. I just like to have the extra clarity that it offers when tuning low. However, the 25.5” scale 7-strings are a bit easier to play, so I suppose that makes sense on a guitar built to be played with ease.

Let’s take a gander at tone!

Tone:

 The Mahogany body does wonders for this guitar. Despite it being super thin, the solid mahogany body makes sure that the guitar’s resonance doesn’t suffer. It’s still acoustically loud, and it offers a bunch of sustain for being a bolt-on with such a thin body.

The Maple/Wenge bolt-on makes for a ton of attack and snap. It makes the guitar super fun for playing fast lead parts.

The V77/V87 pickup choices aren’t my favorite to be honest, but they do have their moments…

The first thing I noticed when plugging the guitar in was the immense clarity that it offered. I had it tuned down to drop A and boy was I happy with the clarity. Playing big chords meant that I would hear every note, and even fast rhythm riffing didn’t get oversaturated by mud.

With that being said, the pickups lack a bit in tone department. I had a hard time getting any thick sounds out of it. Clean parts were crisp, but a bit lifeless. Distorted parts were thin and sometimes a bit shrill when palm muting.

I’d say that the pickups actually performed best for rock applications. I would recommend throwing in some after market pickups for a solid metal tone. Maybe check out the Seymour Duncan Pegasus, which we reviewed last month.

Build Quality :

 Guys, we’re looking at a Prestige Ibanez here. You already know…

This guitar is another example of the super clean fretwork that Japanese Ibanez guitars boast.

The fret ends are smooth as heck and the neck plays like butter. The tuning machines/bridge performs exceptionally and the guitar stays in tune as it should

There was a small issue that I did notice on the particular model that I played. The tone pot was a bit scratchy, which would bother the heck out of me. Nothing a little soldering couldn’t fix though!

If you ever have this problem and don’t know how to use a soldering iron, check out our Beginner’s Guide to Soldering.

Final Verdict :

 The Ibanez SS527QFX is a super comfortable, super fun, and gorgeous 7-string guitar that would make a great studio workhorse. With a pickup swap, it would easily be at home with most genres, and the playability of it makes it hard not to want to pick one up.

One minor issue was found, but lucky for you guys, if you want one of these guitars, we would make sure it was pristine before sending it of to you. Check out our Free Guitar Enhancement Package!

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This article was written by Zac Buras, our editor located in Louisiana.

 

 

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