Overall User Ratings (based on 162 ratings)
Submitted March 31, 2004 by a customer from matrixis.net
"Dare to compare. I did and the SA160 is the one."
An awesome looking guitar with solid tone, and wonderful sustain. Great build quality, and just a pleasure to play. Compare this to the Squier, Yamaha, etc., and I think the choice is clear.
In fact you can hear the tone difference 'unplugged'. You can always upgrade the pickups, but your stuck with the tone and sustain, so you gotta make sure whatever you buy "has it", and IMHO the SA160 "has it".
Sound
Simply put, a warm, full tone, amazing for such a light, slim guitar. The sing-sing-hum pickups, allow for a wide range of tone, from bright 'strat-ish', to warm, full 'gibson-ish'. I found the single coils a bit noisey, little weak, but not enough to be distracting. IMHO great blues / jazz tone using the bridge and mid pickups (4th setting). Sustainnnnnnnnnn is stunning on this guitar, despite its size and weight.
Features
The tone, and volume controls are responsive, and well placed. Unlike some guitars, where the tone control is either dull or bright, this control provides a complete range of tone, and is very sensitive. Don't miss the 'extra' tone control at all, not required for this guitar. The pickup selector allows for all the reasonble pickup combinations (5 in all), although in my opinion the selector looks a bit tacky.
I don't use the tremelo with the whammy bar, just 'palm trem', so won't comment on trem. One thing I did notice is the way the whammy bar is attached, may easily fall out if you lean forward and are using a strap.
Quality
I have the 'flamed maple' edition which looks way too cool for the price. No pick guard, but the finish is so tough, don't need it. The hardware on mine is brushed steel, which looks awesome.
Everything about the guitar is solid, don't even mind the bridge. The bridge holds tune, easy to adjust and seems solid enough.
Value
I really doubt you can get an equivalent axe for this price all things considered. Forget about the fast neck, quality build, awsome looks, it is the tone and sustain that really provide the value. Combine that with the sing-sing-hum pickups and you get a very, very versatile guitar, for a reasonable price.
Manufacturer Support
Don't know, have not dealt directly with Ibanez. IMO the support comes from where it is purchased, and hopefully you won't have to deal with the manufacturer.
The Wow Factor
Did I mention this guitar simply looks awesome, regardless of price.
Musical Style:
Blues, Rock, Alternative
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Submitted September 26, 2006 by a customer from hotmail.com
"Love it more than my first born."
This guitar has had me satisfied for 5 years now and should keep me satisfied for a long time. I am thinking about getting another Ibanez though. Probably with a floyd rose. Great guitar for a beginner or experienced player.
Sound
Great sound for the price. I play it through a Fender Princeton 65 and a Line 6 Spider 2 212. You can get a balls to the wall metal sound with the pickup selector by using the bridge humbucker or you can get a nice clean sound with with the neck single coil pickups. It suits my playing very well.
Features
It has a five way pickup selector that is great for getting all types of different sounds. From heavy metal to classic rock. This is a great feature.
One volume knob and one tone knob. I can't really say good or bad for that. They do what they're supposed to. Although, the volume knob did get kind of loose after the first year I had it but it just took a couple of minutes to fix.
The whammy bar is ok if you don't mind tuning your guitar after every time you use it. I just have it set down on the body of my guitar. I never use it.
Ease of Use
It plays like a guitar so that's good. All the knobs and the selector are easy to reach.
Quality
I've had it for about 5 years I believe and I haven't had any real problems with it. The volume knob came loose but was easy to fix with a screw driver. A problem that just came up recently is the pickup selector crackles when I switch over to the neck pickups. It's probably not a big problem though. I've had this guitar for 5 years and these are the only problems I've had with it. Pretty good record if you ask me.
Value
A great guitar for the price. Recently I got a Dean 79 V (a graduation present) and it cost about twice as much and doesn't sound anywhere near as good to me. Very good price for a good guitar.
Manufacturer Support
I've never had to talk to them.
The Wow Factor
It's a beautiful guitar with everything that it needs. Great sound, great look.
Musical Background:
Active musician
Musical Style:
Death metal, blues, rock, pretty much anything that attracts me guitar wise.
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Submitted May 13, 2004 by a customer from att.net
"Great sound at an affordable price."
This guitar was exactly what I was looking for.I have a semi-hollow body and was looking for a solid body guitar.A definite keeper.
Sound
The thin neck and mahogany body lend itself to comfortable playing and wonderful sustain. The S/S/H pickup arrangement and 5 position switch gives you access to a wide variety of sounds.You can get bluesy tones from the single coils and,with distortion added,a nice crunch from the humbucker.The pickups are actually quite loud.Combining the middle pickup and humbucker gives you a nice strat sound.
Features
A locking tremolo arm would have been a nice feature.
Quality
All in all a very well crafted instument.The amber quilted top is beautiful and the rosewood fingerboard is smooth and fast.I have a minor finish flaw on the bottom edge and very small gaps on the sides of the neck where it sits on top of the body.Hardly noticeable.
Value
Dollar for dollar it's the best value around.
Manufacturer Support
n/a
The Wow Factor
The way it plays,looks and sounds are all the reasons to get one.
Musical Style:
classic rock, hard rock and blues
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Submitted April 9, 2004 by a customer from yahoo.com
"Cloud 9 - This is a sweet guitar"
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zZounds has verified that this reviewer purchased this specific product from us.
A couple of decades ago I owned an Ibanez Musician MC-500 guitar. Year ago, I sold it and recently began to regret it. So, I started looking for a replacement. I looked all over the Internet and did a lot of research. In the end, the Ibanez sa160 seemed to be the best. I took a chance and bought it online without playing it based on these reviews. I am very happy with this guitar and thank all those who posted their opinions.
Sound
Of course, the sound does somewhat depend on the amplifier. Running this guitar through a Peavey Basic 50, each of the 5 pickup selections presents distintive tone. I'm not a fanatic when it comes to sound quality. If it sounds good to me, I like it. And, I like the sound of this quitar a lot.
Features
Have found the tremolo system to be very good. Strings stay in tune even after extensive use. Would have liked to see the tremolo bar have threads so that when placed on the bridge it would not have any possibility of loosening or falling out. Like the 5 way pickup switch. Like the feel and look of the guitar.
Quality
I find this guitar to be very solid and well made. I have owned many Ibanez guitars in the past and have never had any trouble with them and have always found them to be top notch guitars.
Value
This guitar is probably one of the best values for the price.
Manufacturer Support
No need to use but suspect support would be available if needed.
The Wow Factor
This guitar is very appealing; sleek lines, contoured back, simple but elegant design. I have the royal blue model and stay up late at night caressing its neck and tickling its strings.
Musical Style:
rock, reggae
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Submitted March 20, 2006 by a customer from yahoo.com
"damn"
Verified Customer
zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
we need an 11
Sound
amazing sound, its perfect forevery kind of music from hardcore to blues. amazing
Features
nothing too special...tremolo is amazing though, but other than that, nothing you really need and im not complaining
Ease of Use
plug and play. stays in tune very well
Quality
beauty
Value
GET THIS
in my eyes, ibanez is the best metal guitars on the market...and it definitley keeps up with the strats and epiphones....as i said, it plays any kind of music with ease
Manufacturer Support
havent had to use it
The Wow Factor
hot, FINALLY something that has the basic body of a strat, but does not look like all the impersonators of it!
Musical Background:
active musician
Musical Style:
hard rock/ hardcore/ punk/ blues/ 80's metal/ emo/ indie/ classic...............
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Submitted June 30, 2003 by a customer from cox.net
"Good once the bridge is replaced"
Great guitar for intermediate players, good price, but bridge needs replacement. This gee-tar could last you a long time because has no limits once the bridge is replaced.
Sound
Very good sound quality for the price.
Features
only one tone knob, no whammy (where I got it anyways).
The bridge is very very bad...extremely low quality...breaks too many strings and many times bends notes when the player doesn't mean to. replace it for some better sustain.
Quality
The quilted maple body is excellent. I've had mine for over half a year and there are no dents in it whatsoever. The output jack is positioned a strange way, but it's easy to get used to.
Value
Extremely good for the price. Exactly what an intermediate guitar player is looking for.
Manufacturer Support
No support at the store or from the company, no whammy bar, etc.
Musical Style:
Everything except hip-hop
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Submitted January 12, 2010
"Awesome guitar for twice the price!!!"
This review has been selected by our experts as particularly helpful.
Overall I'm giving this guitar a rating of 10. For the price I paid and for the amount of sheer pleasure this guitar has given me with absolutely no trouble, it's earned it. In spades.
I know it's not good form for a musician to blame his instrument, but I will swear that there are licks I can play on this guitar that I find incredibly difficult on other guitars. It just feels sooooo much better in my hands.
If this guitar was stolen I would most definitely want it back. I would hunt down the culprit and poke him in each eyeball with the end of a guitar string before hanging them from a tree by their gonads. I have GIVEN AWAY my other two guitars - does that make it clear?
This is the only guitar I have used for the past 10 years. Friends of mine that have played on it have envied me for it - it's not just me that thinks he can play better on this axe. They notice it too.
Sound
This is the best sounding guitar I've owned so far. The appearance of the guitar is what got me interested and the sound got me hooked. I use a Peavey Audition 110 Amp (I'm not a professional musician) and a Metal Zone MT-2 distortion pedal by Boss. Lately I've also fallen in love with the JamVOX, so I can produce almost any tone I want. The guitar sounds absolutely fabulous on all of those devices.
With that said, there's nothing that would stop me from putting even higher quality pickups into the guitar, although I haven't found that to be necessary yet.
Features
The 5 Position switch and the tone knob is basically all I've needed to produce a rich variety of sounds on this axe. From dreamy solos to ear-melting thrash metal, I've had this thing produce what I've wanted very consistently.
Ease of Use
I've owned two strat copies before picking up the Ibanez. I wanted a new guitar as a reward for some hard work in my business. My motivation was mostly because there were certain licks and riffs that I found very difficult to do on the strat copy (plus a few other annoying problems with it). My fingers just didn't have the reach.
When I picked up the Ibanez in the store, I played the licks and riffs I had difficulty with on the strat copy and they just flowed right out of the Ibanez. It's a much lighter guitar than most and the fretboard allowed my hands to do things they couldn't do on other guitars.
The minute I picked up this guitar I knew it was the one for me. I have owned this baby (Lucy) for 10 years and although I'm not a professional musician, I think it's the best guitar for the money, no question.
Quality
Unlike previous guitars I've owned, I have not had a single problem with my Ibanez in 10 years of ownership. Not one.
Excellent quality with a rock solid finish and a beautiful blue color.
Value
I consider this guitar to be absolutely awesome for its price. When I shopped around before I bought it, I found no other guitar that came even close. After I found this guitar, I just plain stopped looking around any further.
I am very, very, very satisfied with this purchase. They've done an excellent job on this axe.
Manufacturer Support
I've never had to deal with them, so I'm giving a 9 here just because . . . I've never had to deal with them.
The Wow Factor
It's light in weight, not bulky at all, attractive, and the color of my guitar is a beautiful cobalt blue. It's one of the things that made me pick it up in the first place.
Musical Background:
Hobbyist Musician
Musical Style:
Rock
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Submitted February 11, 2005
Ibanez SA160 Electric Customer Review
Verified Customer
zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
Super value!
Sound
This guitar sounds resonant when played acoustically. The powersound humbucker has a PAFish, mellow overdriven sound -- medium high output, but not JBish. The humbucker is responsive enough to picking and sounds surprisingly well for an Asian knock off pickup with non-adjustable pole pieces. The single coils are difficult to get a decent sound from, however. I find the single coils to be muddy when processed and dynamically lacking when played cleanly. they are not horrible, but to my picky ears, I will replace the single coils. The humbucker is staying, though.
Features
It has a very satble tremolo system that is reminicent of a WIlikinson. I keep it blocked with a WD tremsetter, so the tuning is virtually flawless. The five-way switch adds a plurality of pickup choices and timbres. The neck, however, is the high point of this guitar -- smooth and both flat and wide, vintage enough with a hint of Ibanez Wizard. The body material is mahogany, which adds to the present lows and low-mids. I was suprised by the pots and their smoothness of roll off. These World factory Korean Ibanezes have come a long way since the 90's.
The Wow Factor
It looks very rock, jazz, funk, blues -- versatile.
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