# Ibanez S standard vs Prestige



## mguilherme87 (Jul 14, 2015)

So, I've been fretting away on my Ibanez S470dxqm upgraded with Dimarzio Evo pickups for a while and i love the freakin' thing! However I've noticed that something about this guitar feels, i dont know..."cheap" to me? A good friend of mine who was the previous guitar player for my band and is a phenominal guitarist also uses the Ibanez S 570 model which is practically the same thing and he agrees. It feels like the S has the skeleton of an amazing guitar. Its light weight, sleek, elegant, has that super thin neck, its realy comfortable to play, and it really screams. But it feels like its missing something where it counts. Im not sure if its just that the guitar is super light compared to my USA strat or my Ibby Destroyer, the fact that the bridge radius doesnt match the fretboard radius (which im correcting this week with some shims), or the fact that its a standard model and that maybe a Prestige would serve me better. Does anybody have experience with the Prestige model Ibby S' that could weigh in on the matter?


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## tylerpond05 (Jul 15, 2015)

I've got an older Prestige S. I bought it used at GC, so I have no knowledge of how it's previous owner treated it. I absolutely love everything about it! I swapped the QM pups for DiMarzio Super D/PAF Pro combo. It plays like buttah and sounds like no one's business. S's are super light, mostly due to the shape. Honestly, there won't be a huge difference in tone, IMHO, between a prestige and a standard model. The prestige is more about fit and finish. So if you're looking for nicer feeling guitar, check out a Prestige. If your looking for an improvement in tone, look at your rig and check out other things. Sorry if that isn't what your looking for.


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## VBCheeseGrater (Jul 15, 2015)

Agree with tyler. The fretwork will be better, better finish, wiring, and whatnot, usually better stock tuners. That does not guarantee you'll mesh with it or it will sound "better". I've been through 3 Prestiges in the last 2 years (no S series though), and have held onto my premium RG instead as my favorite axe - it just feels the best to me, in spite of quality differences in the finish for instance. I had the frets professionally leveled and crowned on the premium to get them in top shape - any guitar cheap or pricey will usually benefit from that and feel like a step up in quality.

I did however, have an S series SIR70FD that played like butter - not a prestige and was certainly lower quality but like yours I really dug it - not sure to this day why i got rid of it.

all that said, those S5521's look amazing - i want one!


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## HoneyNut (Jul 15, 2015)

I used to own a S520ex (black one with covered INF pickups). Replaced the pickups with black and white Dimarzios. That was an incredible instrument for me to play on. The body shape and weight was just perfect. In terms of quality it was paid attention to very well it seems. I guess it was one of the rare ones out of the regular series that turned out mint. It had the ZR trem, which kept tune very well on mine. So with every thing factored in, I found the guitar awesome. Neck was straight with reasonably low action and almost zero buzz. 

The covered INF pickups seemed cheap, because the layer of paint started corrode/wear off substantially.

The only complaint I had was that I wanted flatter fretboards to practice on, so my hands don't need to readjust when playing my Rgs. And that is the reason why I sold it. It didn't feel cheap in terms of playability or finish. 

I guess an S series with 430 mm radius fretboard would make it worth a Prestige S for me. However, whenever I practiced on the S, I just couldn't accept the weight of the RGs. The S just feels way too comfy. So I'm sticking with RGs for now so that I can adapt to other guitars if I need to...especially as my gas levels aren't going to improve considering the mental ruts I get into once in a while.


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## dmlinger (Jul 15, 2015)

I own an S1620FB and it was my go-to guitar for clost to 8 years. I acquired an RGA121 about a year ago. Quality wise, the S is finished nicer than the RGA but both guitars PLAY equally well. The S has more snap and attack where the RGA has more balls. 

As it compares to other non-prestige S guitars - my recommendation is to pay a little extra for the Prestige for the fretwork alone...especially if you're only considering newer non-prestige models. 

Don't forget about the S540LTD...best S ever made IMO.


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## mguilherme87 (Jul 15, 2015)

So it would appear the main difference between the standard and prestige would be the fretwork and finish etc.?


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## mguilherme87 (Jul 15, 2015)

tylerpond05 said:


> I've got an older Prestige S. I bought it used at GC, so I have no knowledge of how it's previous owner treated it. I absolutely love everything about it! I swapped the QM pups for DiMarzio Super D/PAF Pro combo. It plays like buttah and sounds like no one's business. S's are super light, mostly due to the shape. Honestly, there won't be a huge difference in tone, IMHO, between a prestige and a standard model. The prestige is more about fit and finish. So if you're looking for nicer feeling guitar, check out a Prestige. If your looking for an improvement in tone, look at your rig and check out other things. Sorry if that isn't what your looking for.



In terms of sound, it is absolutely killer. No complaints in that department. Once i shim the bridge saddles to match the neck radius and fine tune the action and intonation i will revisit it. Its quite the beast for a standard model guitar.


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## tylerpond05 (Jul 15, 2015)

mguilherme87 said:


> In terms of sound, it is absolutely killer. No complaints in that department. Once i shim the bridge saddles to match the neck radius and fine tune the action and intonation i will revisit it. Its quite the beast for a standard model guitar.



SO the issue is just that the actual feel of it is "off"? Then I'd search with caution, because if you find a guitar that feels good, but sounds like crap, why would you buy it? That's my 2 cents.


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## Michael_Ten (Jul 15, 2015)

I have an S470DXQM from 2007. Korean made, so it's still pretty decent, but I know what you're talking about when you say it feels "cheep". I've had to perform numerous alterations and repairs to get mine into solid playing condition, only to find the neck was routed too low, meaning I've had to lower the bridge to an almost unusable state; it barely goes up and down a whole step and does not stay in tune super well. The finish has also faded from a beautiful baby-blue burst to a strange magenta color. Although it does play pretty well (after a full fret dressing) and sounds killer (dropped a DiMarzio Breed in the bridge, and Area 67 in the middle and an Air Norton in the neck). But for the price I paid, I'm not sure what else I expected. Unless it renders the guitar 100% unplayable, you really just have to accept whatever flaw comes along when you're paying less than $1500 for a guitar. Not to mention they machined the neck WAY too fat, so now that I'm reflecting on it, I'm not sure how it passed QC... Ignorance is bliss, my friends. 

I've never owned one, but I've had my hands on a Prestige S and it's SIGNIFICANTLY better than my standard. Then again, any guitar you drop more than 2 grand on better play that well, otherwise someone's got some serious 'splaining to do.


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## Ferro (Jul 16, 2015)

I owned/tried some S, S prestiges, no premiums but this is what can I say:
Korean/Chinese/somecheapfactories:
-Cheap instrument, you get what you paid
-They NEED a pups swap, because ibanez ones are well known to be ....ty (especially infs)
-they usually need some accurate set ups to play well, finish is not so nice, they usually need come upgrades. Fretwork is not costant.. Some models are well refined, others not.
I don't think they're a good bang for the buck.. Imho
Made in Japan 540S (87-92) / S540 (92-94)
-high quality instruments: Edge/Lo-pro Edge bridges, Ibz/Usa pups (nice ones, and pretty rare!)
-fretwork is nice and well made
-they should go cheap as korean models
-nice bang for the bucks imho
And last i suggest you the S5470f/q:
-Mij quality
-flame top and fancy appeal
-beast of a bridge: the ZR on prestiges is wonderful!
-stock pickups quite nice, they don't need a pups swap immediately
-KTS titanim reinforced neck, super fast finish
-prestige frets
-good used value, although they're a bit more expensive.

In my opinion i'd choose the prestige
Talking about wiring.. Well ibanez is not known for their wiring.. They just work, but they're pretty the same in all models, cheap and expensive ones.
Hope it helps!


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## DarthV (Jul 16, 2015)

I own a MiK s470 and a MiJ S5470, the fit and finish on the prestige is definitely better. The largest difference is the neck, the prestige neck is just more playable.


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## mguilherme87 (Jul 16, 2015)

Alright cool, well if anybody has an ibanez S prestige they'd be willing to trade let me know.


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