Ibanez SA160

Pretty good For a beginner/intermediate guitar. S-S-H pickups sound really good. Locking bridge allow MY guitar to rarely go out of tune. I don't use the whammy bar so thats probably why. 2 control knobs: one volume one tone. Mahogany body, really light guitar. 22 frets. REALLY THIN NECK. Could have a few more knobs though. I am judging this guitar by the price.

It suits my style perfectly. I play some punk rock and the humbucker sounds priceless believe it or not. Nice kick to the humbucker, simmer and calm are the single coils.

Beautiful guitar. Mine is candy apple red. Slim neck allows you to fly on that guitar. I got mine in perfect condition.

It withstands live playing to the max. I don't have strap locks and i find my self jumping around occasionally. Yes it has hit the floor a few times and has only left surface scratches that you actually have to look for to find. If i was a pro, I would pick this guitar to be my back-up if i had say.......an American Start or something. But at my age, I would say this is a loner.

Been playing almost 5 months now. Couldn't think of anything else for this guitar except maybe another knob or two for control. Stolen, Lost, thats a tear moment right there. If i could buy some strap locks, that guitar would be unstoppable.

This guitar was built in 2001 in Korea I believe. 22 frets, 5 way pickup switch, chrome knobs against a shinny black body. Looks nice. Ibanez Humbucker in the bridge, Ibanez single coils in the middle and neck positions. The guitar is Mahogany...I think. Whatever it is it's strong and light. It's shape is pretty much a strat-ish sort of shape. It has a double pivot bridge and non-locking tuners. It's not too bad a trem system for it's price. It stays relatively in tune for the most part, but too much whammy abuse will cause sharp notes and unfocused powerchords over time. Different string sizes, bridge spring tension (adjustable), and other stuff will change the severity of the aforementioned tuning problems. But overall it's not a bad trem system. Personally I fuss over perfect tune, so I'll probably lock the bridge somehow. Came with the standard tools, allen keys and the like, trem bar.

I like a classic hardrock/metal sound. I only really use the humbucker because I need the high output level. The other two single coils are pretty much a 'typical' single coil sound...so I won't say anymore about them. I must mention that I have raised my 'bucker to get higher output so tones and the like are subsequently affected. I find this pickup to be pretty crazy, tones of harmonic content and there is a real harsh-edge to the bright side of it. It's probably just that I'm use to my old axe which I had a DiMarzio PAF pro in. I'm thinking of putting one in this guitar actually. But to choose a reference the Ibanez humbucker is suited to that shrill Dimebag Darrell distortion, so drop to D and enjoy a new level of cowboy madness. Tone is a very personal thing, so you will have to hear for yourself really.

When I got this guitar it was setup very well indeed. Action and relative string heights were...just how I like them. Intonation was perfect according to my chromatic tuner. I found no setup flaws in this guitar.

I think this guitar would be great for live playing. It's very durable and can take a real beating. I've smacked it into a few things accidentally and no mark or scratch is evident. Strap buttons are quite solid...much better than my last guitar.
I would use it without a backup. Not being able to afford two guitars is a good motivation for this.

I've never had to deal with the company, but I havn't had it all that long.

I've been playing for approximately 4.5 years.
If I lost it I would need psych treatment I think.

May favorite thing about this guitar is the ease of play. For some reason your fingers just glide over the frets.

A follow up after two monthes to my review below. This is a 2001, and is Korean Made. They must have some new QC Procedures out of Korea because this Guitar looks great, and The fit and finish is a good as any Japanese Ibanez I've seen.

The bridge sound is a little bright for my taiste, but this can be worked out with an EQ. The neck and middle Single coils have great tone.

The fit and finish were great, I had the it set up by a pro, and it plays great.

It has been solid.

n/a

I've been playing for over 25 years, influenced by Page, Scott Henderson, Frank Gambale ETC. I wish they would have used better Humbuckers in the bridge position.

Korean 2001.
22 fret, really dark wood fingerboard.
Volume, tone, 5-way.
S/S/H Ibanez pickups - Many people think they suck but I like them.
Passive electronics, I think.
Mahogany body, maple neck, maple top - Great, looks and sounds nice.
Double pivot tremolo - Stringing system has much thought put into it.
Non-locking stock tuners - They don't lock but they sure hold well.
Thin, flat, medium fret neck - Great neck! Not sticky, very fast.
I think it came with things but my store didn't give them to me.

The sound of this guitar, even with the excellent features above, is a real clincher. It suits any musical style, it's more diverse than a Les Paul if you ask me. I use it with a Peavey Blazer 15 watt amp. The guitar really works with the amp well, the tone of the amp is dark and mellows the guitar's brightness, but I'm gonna upgrade to a Peavey Envoy 40 watt just for the power and the second EQ. The guitar has a bright sound, but the maple top makes it sound great. I have no problems with the guitar's sound.

Excellent action. Medium height by my judging, but the strings are so light that they are no problem to get down. It plays incredibly fast, even with sliding. The pickups were good, but the humbucker was high so my guitar shop angled the humbucker lower and then raised it higher on the bass end. The only flaws are temporary, a little bit of white clearcoat residue in the neck's joint and a little in the input jack cavity. This stuff goes away if you brush it with your finger, so no problem, I just took it off the neck while I was changing strings. I don't know what bridge routing is, so I can't comment.

It's invincible. A few coins fell on it from my garage roof (long story) and the clearcoat on the top wasn't even scratched. The thing is a f***ing tank. I've heard a lot about Ibanez durability, and I bet I couldn't break the thing if I wanted to.

Never talked to them.

This guitar is one I'd recommend to anyone. If it were stolen, I'd find the person who took it and beat them to death with my amplifier. I love the tone, the clarity of the sound, and I hate how it's so easy to play. It practically plays for you. I just wish the tremolo was better and/or that it had locking tuners. For the price, this thing's amazing. Hell, price excluded it's amazing.

Korean, 22 Frets, volume+tone dials, 5-way selector, Ibanez S/S/H, mahogany body, stunning quilted maple top and clearcoat, SAT30 tremolo that's better than any I've used, cheap tuners, maple neck.

Great spec level for the price, best features are the genuinely high-quality pickups, great wood, nice tremolo, easy top fret access, and above all the beautiful top and finish. Whenever I walk into a room where this thing is, I brighten up.

Has an extremely bright sound. I don't ever mess with tone dials on guitars unless they're numbered, but turning your amp's high and mid down a notch or two fixes it. It's got good output on the single coil settings, and the split S/HB and HB settings are great for a switch to some slammin' lead. This guitar is very versatile.

Do yourself a favor:

Set this up with a good solid state amp. Clean channel, low 5, mid 4, high 5. Crank both guitar dials all the way. Switch to the middle pickup. Now play an open chord and use your wrist on the tremolo to vibrate it, really fast. Like a violin. With practise, you can attract hot girls that you don't know.

The setup was perfect. I think I'll get some 11's slapped onto this thing... I hate 9's... Pickups were not staggered, but every piece of hardware and every square inch of hardwood on the whole guitar was perfect. I don't think I'll ever buy something that isn't an Ibanez. I rate it 9 for those damn 9's and the unstaggered pickups.

I think this guitar is Superman. Some idiot swung my cable at me once and the connector hit the front. After removing him from the area, I looked at the part where it hit... No scratch. I don't know how Ibanez makes the clearcoats on their guitars so tough... They should make airplane canopies out of them. I would depend on this thing without a backup any day.

Not applicable. Never dealt with them. I don't expect too either...

If someone stole it, they wouldn't live long enough to get to the pawnshop. If I lost it I'd kill myself. The guitar is basically perfect, except for the bright tone. I compared it to an Ibanez AX220QM, Ibanez RG320, and some Mexi-Strat in the price range, using my Peavey Blazer 158 amp with all of them, and it beat the latter two down. It identical in quality and niceness to the AX though. I bought this one because of the single coils... The AX is not worse, just different. It lacks those beautiful singles but has a great neck HB. I'm gonna buy tha AX220QM next, they'll look so nice together. I rate this 10 for the price, but 9 overall because I wish the pickups were a bit nicer. But just like the guy says below... This thing is pimpin'. Final Note: It's REALLY easy to play. My twelve year old little sister sounds good with it.

2001 Korean Paid $389.
22 Frets
I got the quilted maple top which looks great!
1 Vol. 1 Tone 5 Way switch
Just like the others
Good Mohogany Body
I love the feel of the S Body
The Sat 30 Bridge is adequate, I have it locked.
Tuners are O.K..
Over all for a quilted maple top S body, this guitar look jewell, and the sound is an 8 out of 10. I'd pay 389. all day for this quitar

This guitar looks pretty cool.(black) powersound pickups(low end is sorta heavy top end isnt really fat but fat enough). The tuning and bridge really suck. Its not a terribly bad guitar but there is no point in putting a tremolo brige on a guitar that doesnt have locking tuners or a locking nut. Basically its the tuning problems that really bring this guitar down.

The bridge pickup isnt too bad.The bottom end is pretty decent. It can sound heavy if u wanted it to. The top end is not really fat but fat enough. THe single coils have a decent clean sound. They are not the best tho.

This one was well put together. No fret buzz or anything. Its only these really shitty tuners and bridge. It goes out of tune a lil easy for a 350 dollar guitar.

I think the reliability is pretty poor. I jam with the drummer of my band every now and then and the tuners suck ass. The bridge is a pain in the ass too. If u were gigging u should definatly have a backup, or have this as a backup.

I've been playing about a year and i havent really had experience with other guitars, but I kno a good guitar when i see one. I play this through a Marshall Valvestate30R. Doesnt sound that bad, EXEPT WHEN IT GOES OUT OF TUNE! I wish it had some locking tuners and maybe a standard bridge or even a locking nut too.
Bottom line its an ok guitar. Sounds decent, looks cool. If u have any extra money tho i'd replace the tuners and maybe put in a locking nut. Or if u dont like the pickups put different ones in.

Korean Made 2000 Model Ibanez SA160. "Vampire Kiss Red," standard fulfrum tremolo bridge, generic tuners, one "Powersound" humbucking pickup, two single coils, 5 way switch, one volume, one tone. Medium sized frets, rosewood fingerboard, maple neck, lightweight mahongany body.

Has that trademark Ibanez sound: bright as hell. I've played this guitar through a 50's model (Unsure of exact year and model #, the amp does not belong to me) Fender tube amp. Clean the guitar sounds thick, but lacks midrange. But for the money it isnt terrible :)

I purchased the guitar from my local music shop, right off the rack. The action (in my opinion, everyone is different) is set way too high, adjustment seems to worsen this situation. The guitar buzzed at the first 3 frets, but at the time of purchase, one of the employees fixed that problem. The finish is excellent, I've dinged and knicked this sucker a lot, yet no scratches or dents. The mahogany body is lightweight and comfortable.

The fulcrum tremolo is terrible. Along with the cheap tuners, this guitar can't hold a tune worth sh*t. Occasionally the bridge will raise up too high or drop completely down, touching the surface of the guitar. Frequent trips to the music shop for alignment is getting to be a pain in the arse. I honestly never screw around with the bridge, as a matter of fact I rarely pick the thing up anymore, I lost confidence with this guitar.

Never contacted them.

If it were lost, I'd wouldnt care, this guitar has given me too much aggrevation. I've been playing for about 7 months and this is my third guitar. I loved the price i got on it, i hate the damn bridge & tuners, it's not worth the money to me, a guitar should be played, to be enjoyed, not sit in a case and collect dust. Very dissappointing! Please do not buy this junk heap.

alright i dont feel like explainging too much u wanna know the features read the other kids. lol really kick ass though

man i had the worst guitar before this a daneletro cool at first sucked quickly. and then i baught this and it was a whole new world i didnt even know about Joe Satriani when i got this guitar and after a while i noticed it looked alot like his and pretty much sounded the same too me at least all u others can be annoying and say its not but i play alot of satch songs with this guitar and sounds so damn close especially with my effects box, only thing is none of that insane whammy bar action lol oh well when i get my js model it will all change. so i give it a 10 casue i love how it sounds and feels compared to some other shit i played its a great like first guitar or a guitar to just have

i got it from guitar center everthing was perfect and if it wasnt perfect they ACTUALLY HELPED ME GET IT RIGHT!!! AMAZING. anyways only thing is its got this stupid floating trem not a full trem with all the locking nuts and shit which is pretty much pointless unless you feel like tuning the secong u touch the whamy bar but im planning on putting a standard bridge in then it will be perfect. which brings me to another point of mine was going out of tune alot mostly casue of the ay the bridge is and if u drop d or anyhting goes out casue no locking anything but buy a standard bridge and its fine and its even fine without still stays in tune jsut gotta tune it a couple times to keep it right. i like the pickups i get the screamin harmonics and gorgeous AH harmonics and all that fun stuff. ncie action i can play like any satch song on it pretty much with the speed. only reason i gave it a 9 was the bridge which doesnt even matter unless u use the whammy bar basically so u wouldnt even need to change it but im gonna so i can drop d and tune differently with ease.

yeah never had a problem solid definately man i got a black one GORGEOUS i love the way this black looks its so damn shiny no paint gone anywhere perfectly smooth i got some scracthes from picking but it happens when u got no pick guard and u cant see em so its all good no problems with the nec or anything everthing perfect. and no i wouldnt gig with it as my only guitar for the reason of it would be stupid to gig with only one guitar cause some thing can happen on accident so thats a stupid question. though it is reliable and i will use it in the school talent show so it has to be durable to survive my high school E- HALL aHHHHH!!! ITS INSANE

um never really needed anything anything i needed i got right off the bat at the store and they helped me so since i dont know ill give em a 10 no ill jsut put no opinion

im 15 i have been playing like 3 years i was nervouse at first when i baught it wasnt sure if i would like it but i got home and it kicked ass lots of output nice sound excellent guitar i think. and its not like a beginner guitar or nothing ya know anyone could use it i guess i dont know maybe orr maybe not whatever its great guitar

email me guys and tell me what u think of yours cause i wanna know if u agree with me

This thing is awesome, mine is vampire kiss red, and it's curved body shape is different from the practice series. It also is made of mahogany, a wood that is more lightweight, and easier to carry around. This guitar looks flawless, and is definetly a performance guitar. No mexi-strat could ever be better, dont listen to the other guy. Really active electronics, the humbucker slamms and the high output singles are kicking. an amazing guitar, and i've played Gibsons I thought were worse, and i've been playing for a while.

One volume, and one tone controls, and that's it for the look.

This thing sounds great, but it depends alot what amp you have. The mahogany really brings out the deeper end of the pickups. If you throw on a flange, your picking patterns will sound beautiful, and i am very proud to perform with mine. It sounds flawless.

Mine came in mint condition. The pickups and body were very well taken care of, and looks like pretty carefully manufactured, for Korean. Mine had no visible flaws. The neck hangs back, to keep the stings in line, but I like it better, because it doesnt get in the way.

This is definetly a performance guitar, and you will feel like a pimp just holding it. It makes the most insecure players feel awesome, becasue it plays so well it plays itself... yeah, man, it's not you, its the guitar. It is very solid, and you can really move with it, just don't slam down on the nice finish too hard, or keep polishing it, if your into that, and when you're playing don't trip on your cord!

Never tested company support, never needed it... you have 1 year, and 2 year options, they cover almost everything except for stupid mistakes that you make.

I love this guitar. I love the way I look with it. There are four colors, so you've got some choices to make, but everybody's different. You will be proud to own this pimpin' guitar. I compare this guitar to a lot of other Ibanez stuff, and this is one of the best out there, becasue it's not too expensive, and it's almost a flawless s-series, so get this guitar, becasue you won't be dissapointed.