New Guitar Review: Ibanez SZ2020 Prestige
Ibanez SZ2020:
Specs: 25.1" scale length, 5-piece maple/walnut neck, rosewood fingerboard, graphite nut, 1/2" thick solid flame maple top, mahogany body, Gibralter III bridge with recessed sustain block and tailpiece, Gotoh tuners with adjustable post heigth, custom-made Duncan humbuckers. Weight: 8.75lbs. Finish: transparent black
Setup: The trussrod was loose when the guitar arrived, and the action was higher than I like, so the setup on my SZ720 was used as a model for the 2020. The only difference is the 720 has a little less relief due to it having a slinkier feel to the action.
I turned the trussrod around a 1/2 turn until the relief measured .005"; over next the day the relief settled down to .007", which is ideal for the 2020.
The action is set at 1/16" at the 14th fret on the 1st string, 5/64" on the 6th string.
Pickup height is 5/64th" on both sides with the 1st and 6th strings depressed at the last fret.
Overall the SZ2020 is unique in design and appointments. The finish is satin, extremely thin, appearing as little more than transparent black stain on the top, and black paint on the back of the body and neck. The feel of the body and neck is slick-smooth, like a nice large chunk of carved wood as opposed to the traditional furniture finish. There is no binding on the body, but the edges of the finely-sanded top serve as faux-binding. The carved maple top is smooth and flawless.
The only demerits have to do with the body. The finish is so thin on the back that the wood grain soaked up some of it and there are a few spots of grain visible. I think they could have added another coat of finish on the back, but the overall design is one of stripped down efficiency, so the thin finish is understandable.
The only real flaw appears as a slightly rough hole cut for the input jack, which is inserted entirely inside a large hole in the side of the body. There are a couple visible woodchips, and the sanding on the inside and edges of the hole could have been more thorough.
A peek inside the control cavity on the body was surprising. Instead of seeing the shielding paint and standard-sized pots found in the SZ720, I found the cavity shielded with aluminum foil, and the presence of the smallest pots I've ever seen, smaller in diameter than a dime.
The neck and headstock have creme binding around the edges, with a walnut veneer on the face, and a walnut trussrod cover with 'Prestige' written on it--very nice.
The Gotoh tuners have an allen screw adjustment on the underside that enables the shaft height of each tuner to be tweaked individually.
The bridge assembly is impressive, consisting of a large rectangular piece that houses the saddles, which is attached by bolts to a thick steel sustain block that rests inside a cavity in the body. The action is adjusted using four allen screws, one on each corner of the bridge. A chrome tailpiece rounds out the bridge hardware.
The fingerboard is dark rosewood, finely-sanded to reduce the grain marks. The fretwork is superb. Not only are the frets properly rounded and polished, but 100% level. Checking with straightedges, I failed to find a single high spot anywhere on the frets.
The neck is very fast, with the feel being similar to that of a Les Paul. With the tailpiece lowered all the way there is just enough slink in the strings to accommodate fast picking styles, while offering a much stiffer response than the other SZ models. In comparison, the SZ720 requires a somewhat relaxed touch when bending notes or else one can overbend them easily; the 2020 offers enough resistance that a player can dig in without being concerned about getting carried away. The neck of the 2020 reminds me a lot of my old 1979 Ibanez CN250 neck.
As with all guitars with maple necks and hot pickups, pinch harmonics are abundant, jumping off the neck of the 2020 effortlessly. While most guitars have certain strings and sweet spots that are conducive to harmonics, the fingerboard and fretwork of the 2020 are so excellent that harmonics can be evoked on the majority of strings in most positions.
The stiff 5-piece neck works in combination with the massive bridge assembly to produce a very powerful and well-defined tone that exhibits a nice balance between warmth and attack. The notes are clear on virtually ever string at every fret, and sustain for what seems like forever. The massive tone of the 2020 causes the strings to respond and sound like a larger gauge than they actually are. Chords are crisp and clean, lead notes are consistent and always there when you need them–no searching required, they just jump right out. The SZ2020 is a lead guitarist’s dream.
The custom-wound Duncan pickups sound similar to the PAF Pro and Superdistortion installed in my SZ720, which pleases me greatly. The neck pickup is dark and a tad bit nasally. The bridge pickup is bright, but not harsh, with tons of crunch. As with the 720, I don’t care for the middle selector position that splits the coils. I’ll end up changing it so both humbuckers are active in the middle position. Mixed together, the pickups should produce the full gamut of tones found in the aforementioned Dimarzio pickups.
The 2020 comes with D’Addario strings. I skipped any effort at stretching them as I’ll change them for my trusted Super Slinkies in the near future. Without stretching the strings, the guitar stayed in tune pretty good the first few hours it was played. The nut looks professionally cut with shallow slots, and appears to offer no obstacles to good tuning.
I’m convinced the SZ2020 is the best Korean electric guitar currently produced. While it’s true there are Korean guitars that have more glitter and gloss, the SZ2020 will do what most Korean-made guitars cannot do, and that’s go toe to toe with a USA-made PRS, Gibson, or any other American-built electric.
To provide an accurate analogy, the SZ720 is like a nice imported sports car with racing stripes, a nice paint job, and a four-cylinder engine, whereas the SZ2020 is like a muscle car with fat tires, a V-8 engine, headers and race cam, no muffler, stripped down to bare essentials for speed and performance. The SZ2020 may not be the prettiest guitar, but you’ll sure hear her coming and know she’s been there from the smell of burning rubber left in her wake.
