Ibanez S6570SK Review WiredGuitarist April 10, 2017 Articles, Ibanez Guitar Reviews, Uncategorized The Ibanez Sabre series of guitars were an anomaly of the 80’s that was created for guitarists who craved a sleeker design than what most other manufacturers were putting out. They were unique, lightweight, and played exceptionally well. You can read all about the Sabre models in our RG vs Sabre article! The more modern ‘S’ series is a re-introduced and more evolved rendition of these guitars. Today, we’ll be playing with the Ibanez S6570SK to see what this beauty can do! Features: Silky Oak Top w/ Cream Binding Mahogany Body Bound Marbled Rosewood fretboard w/ Offset dot inlays Super Wizard HP 5pc Maple/Walnut Neck w/ Titanium Truss Rods 24 Jumbo Frets Lo-Pro Edge Tremolo Bridge Dimarzio Air Norton/True Velvet/Tone Zone Pickups Cosmo Black Hardware Gotoh MG-T Locking Machine Heads 1x Vol/1x Tone/5-Way Pickup Selector 17” Fretboard Radius 25.5” Scale Length The S6570SK isn’t the first ‘S’ series model we reviewed this year! A few months back, we played with an S6521Q, which was probably one of the most attractive green guitars I’ve ever played with! Although these guitars are in the same lineup, they have quite a few differences in specs, particularly hardware. This model features one of my favorite floating tremolos ever, the Lo-Pro Edge. I know these aren’t unanimously loved by everyone, but it’s a really solid bridge that offers plenty of flexibility and tuning stability as well. As always, this entry in the ‘S’ series has an extremely thin body, which makes for a lightweight guitar that is very comfortable to play standing up. The lightweight body and smooth curves on the top make for a very ergonomic guitar, especially when paired with Super Wizard HP neck. Although it’s very comfortable when standing, I find the ‘S’ series shape to be a bit too thin and curvy for sitting. I always find that the guitars slide around too much for my taste, but maybe that’s just me. On to tone!!!! Tone: I decided to play this guitar to compare it to the RG657MSK that we reviewed recently because the specs are almost identical and I wanted to see how they compared to each other! We’ve been seeing the HSH configuration a lot with Ibanez in this past year and I’m loving it! The Tone Zone bridge is known if it’s heavy low end, especially when paired with a Mahogany body. It, sometimes, can sound a bit muddy if your tone doesn’t have enough presence, but this is easily combatted amp-side. This pickup sounds wonderful for power-chord playing styles and metal styles as well. Similarly to the Tone Zone, the Air Norton is quite a punchy pickup with a big bottom end, although this neck pickup is brighter than the Tone Zone and lends itself well to Jazzy styles. A really nice pickup configuration is the mixture of the Tone Zone and the True Velvet middle pickup. It introduces a complex, wide sound for chord strumming when you want to clean it up a bit. To compare this guitar to the RG, I’d sound that I found it to play a bit tighter and crisper, but not quite the same thickness that the RG had. Build Quality: I’m usually quite satisfied with Japanese Ibanez guitars as they are fairly consistent. This guitar played very well, I’d say the neck is my favorite part for sure. Smooth fretwork, and a really nice overall feel always leave me happy. The biggest complaint I have is that for such an attractive guitar, there were a few appearance issues that rubbed me the wrong way. I found a number of scratches on the body and headstock of the guitar, as well as some peeling on the neck binding. Luckily, the guitar would play wonderfully either way, but if we had this guitar in stock, it would have most certainly been marked down as a B-stock. Final Verdict: As with all of the ‘S’ series models, the S6570SK isn’t for everyone and doesn’t replace the classic RG, but for a guitarist who is looking for something more lightweight and sleek, this guitar brings a solid instrument that offers just that! The comfortable neck, nice sounding pickups, and attractive top make this a guitar I wouldn’t mind having in my collection! We are authorized Ibanez dealers, and can set you up with the Ibanez you’re looking for at the best price possible. Besides reviews, we write a lot of technical articles, theory pieces, and more! Click here to find those! This article was written by Zac Buras, our editor located in Louisiana.
