SHOGUN SHOWDOWN | Ibanez AS200 vs Yamaha SA2200
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- čas přidán 15. 07. 2024
- We look at 2 great Japanese thinline classics (ES-335 like), Felix's vintage 1981 Ibanez AS200 (as played by John Scofield) and Rowan's newer Yamaha SA2200.
Rowan's main axe since 2013 has been the Yamaha SA2200, partially because he couldn't get his hands on an Ibanez AS200. Felix happened to have one built in the Fujijen factory in 1981 hiding in his cupboard.... because where else would GAS sufferers store their valuable and forgotten guitars?
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Excellent comparison, I've always wondered how the two compared. Great job guys!
Thanks boys, really enjoyed this video!
Great video guys.
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Thanks for making this comparison video.
I think my poor old crappy PC speaker isn't allowing me to hear all that much difference between the 2 guitars or the pups. I enjoy the sitting around chat style and hearing what a good guitarist sounds like. Frankly, I suspect there's not much between the two guitars. Have to say that I love the quality of Japanese made anything, and that goes for musical instruments too.
Thanks! And greetings from hobart.
2 beautiful guitars. I think they both about equal but I've always liked Yamahas, I have 2; but also 3 Ibanez semi hollow body guitars. Not an AS200 however. I would love to get a Yamaha like yours and the Ibanez too. Thanks for posting.
The Yamaha SA2200 is to my mind the best of the 335-style you can find. I've owned a couple of Gibson 335s, a higher end Tokai, and a Sheraton.
For a time I had a Custom Gibson ES335 and a used SA2200 at the same time and I just played the Yammy so much more - the neck was slightly more modern and ergonomic, the pickups were perhaps not so biting for rock but much more sweet for blues and jazz. As I wasn't playing as much for a while I sold it but, when I bought another recently, it felt completely identical in every way. With Gibson 335s you need to try one first as they vary so much. Yammys are just so consistent as long as it's in good condition you don't really need to.
I'd love to try an AS200 if I ever find one going for a decent price.
You are a monster player! Btw, I have the SA2200 equipped with Kloppmann pick-ups from Germany.
Interesting I've never heard of those pickups!
Rowan Pattison They're boutique pups and very expensive. That said, the stock yammie pickups are awesome.
Great comparison! What the heck is the groovy background jazzy music? Love it
Thanks! The background music is just us playing "Night and Day" by Cole Porter on the guitars at around 21.45. Here's us playing Blue Monk if you like that sort of thing czcams.com/video/KKfhra1WPcs/video.html
@@GASTV Why haven't you guys posted in years??
Bravo!!! guys
I own a Sa2200 but like the stock pickups, I discovered that the set up of the bridge made huge differences in sound and playing feel.The stop tail and the bridge are adjustable and radically change string tension and tonal ballance. I think Yamaha pickups are alnico 5 so they are more than adequate combined with top quality woods produce amazing sustain and richness. Your amp choice is therefore thrown into question, I use a 65 Princeton reissue and the combination really works well.
I`ve played and owned both Ibanez AS 200 & Yamaha SA 2000. Both quality guitars and very well built. I preferred the Ibanez due to a few things including the tone. The Yamaha was a little to bright for my preference. Neck profile on the Ibanez was better suited for my liking and the Series / parallel on the Ibanez was better balanced than the Yamaha that has the series / Single config. Ibanez wins for me
Hello! I am considering purchasing a new AS200. Do you know how close in size it is to an ES-335?
Detailed specifications on body size is surprisingly difficult to find on the internet aren't they? We had trouble finding detailed specifications for either of the current AS200 and ES335 ourselves. Scale length wise, they are all 24.75" and the AS200 and SA2200 are modelled off the ES 335 so they should be essentially identical in size in all other respects. We certainly did not feel any difference switching between the AS200 and SA2200 and no difference in my recollections of playing ES335s in the past. There are slight aesthetic differences in the horns between the AS200 and the ES335 (the SA2200 is probably closer in horn shape to the ES335, rounder). On body dimensions specifically, this website www.guitar.com.au/guitars/electric/gibson/ES-335.html (not sure how accurate it is) states the lower bout of the 335 is 16.5" with a thickness of 1.75". Measuring my 1981 AS200, the lower bout is 16.5" and the thickness is 1-6/8". I'd call that essentially identical allowing for the fact that we don't know how accurate that website is. You might allow for variations in manufacturing from my 1981 to current models, but I'd say that the size between all 3 are essentially identical for all intents and purposes.
GAS TV thank you very much for the very detailed response! I decided to reach out to Gibson and they stated they will email me the measurements. Ibanez already responded. Once I have them, I will report back. That said, I’m willing to bet you are right 🎸🙂
@@PDXguitarfreak Excellent. We guitar geeks love data!!! Looking forward to seeing some numbers from you!
The Yamaha sa2200 has a slightly smaller body compared to an es335. It actually has the same body size as the es345.
they seem to be rather expensive for guitars with laminated wood but they both sound great
This Yam is sounding beautiful in singlecoil mode.
What amp were you using for this comparison?
I didn't here any reference to signal chain.
Interesting just bought an ibanez jsm10, the chinese version of the as200. Well laminated of course, but got pretty good reviews for a thousand bucks us. Another step up for the jsm100, Scofield's personal model, made in Japan, another 2000 bucks for marginal difference. Have an l5-ces so didn't need another super expensive guitar that just lives at home. Can gig with the jsm10. Not a total catastrophe if I get mugged. These days an as200 is pretty much unobtanium. Pretty rare even 20 years ago. Nice to see the as200 gets some nice jazz tones. So not only Scofield and blues. Assume the js10 will be the same. Need some woodshedding though after 25 year hiatus from guitar. The pain starting again!
do you guys have any idea where can i also find that AS200 model of ibanez?
Sweetwater carries them.
thanks a lot, now i have got gas!
Rowan--did you get a long leg or custom short leg Seth Lover humbucker? I am replacing my bridge pickup on my SA2200 as well. Thanks.
Rowan is on tour with a musical in China right now (living the dream), this is Felix here. He has since sold the SA2200 (check out our 2018 year in review video for the story on that) so he can’t confirm with certainty. But he says that he doesn’t recall going through the trouble of finding the short legged version and he thinks the long legs fit, just like with most Gibsons. You should probably write to Yamaha customer support to confirm this though (or try to unscrew yours and gently pull it out to look?). There’s always the chance that Yamaha might have changed the design over the years, there’s no guarantee. Do keep us posted on what you find out.
@@GASTV I can now confirm that it is necessary to special order the short legged version (e.g from Seymour Duncan), as the Gibson style legs are too long. Which leads me to believe that Rowan had a guitar tech handle his mods. My 2200 is about a 2009 -- I am unaware that Yamaha has changed their design.
@@dap777754 hey na i did it all myself, both should work fine but i guess if they recommend that then definitely go with that!
Ok! So how are these guitars for playing sitting down? When gigging we usually don’t sit in big couches that supports the back of the guitar.
The Ibanez was a copy of the ES-347, a BBKING with f-holes. The metal nut was employed on the ES-347 from 1978 to 1988. The combination metal and bone nut on the AS-200 indicates how close they were. The choice of the Series 7 pickup for the Gibson ES-347 is absurd because it is a Dirty Fingers pickup with a gold cover. The Super 58 pickups are a dream to play and stand up well to a PAF-style comparison. The ES-347 had a coil-tap, which toned down those high output (14kHz) Dirty Fingers pickups. The AS-200 sounds magnificent using the coil tap, and indicates solid wood construction vs the laminates on the ES-347. The parallel switch is an additive sound of both pickups and will sound deeper and fuller, a sound that will mimic a big jazzbox. The new Yamaha pickup, although AlnicoV, doesn't compare. I have an old 1986 SBG-2200, which has the older Spinex pickup, with magnets made of surgical steel, which compared well with PAF's, and hence the name LP killer was spawned. I believe the early Yamaha SA2200's had the same Spinex pickups with coil-taps on both humbuckers. IME, the Spinex pickups were better.
Not really a copy of the ES-347 and bb king used a 355 anyway. The bb king and 347 have maple necks, the ibanez has maple/mahogony/maple.
Does replacing the stock pickup on Yamaha with Seth Lover require drilling of additional holes or it just fits for regular replacement?
According to Rowan, on his guitar it just fit in without modification.
@@GASTV Thank you for the answer. Very useful video. I'm kinda in love with 2200 now.
The pickups will fit, but since the Yamaha sa2200 pickups has one extra screw on the bass side to balance them, you must have new ordinary pickup frames, with just one screw on each side.
Anyone here ever played an old Yamaha SA2000? One from '77 just popped up in my local listings and I'd love thoughts from anyone with experience playing them.
Me want!! I wish. How much are they asking?
@@turntablesrockmyworld9315 €750 with a repaired neck, claims it hasn’t moved since the repair in 1995.
I have ‘78 sa2000. Check the video here czcams.com/video/Z4CXt_gF19Y/video.html
Will you sell that AS200? If that's
still available...
Yamaha push pull is series/parallel. Always has been that way to avoid 60cycle hum.
I think as200 it not solid top and back maybe it will poly like es335 (I'm look from my as200 1988)
กหดฟหก ฟหฟหกดฟหกด Both are laminated tops as are all Gibson semi hollow bodies.
thanks guys, both of them are remarkable axes. BTW Yamaha is used by Bireli Lagréne - a real master of modern jazz - so my (wrong?) impression is that, possibly the AS200 is more versatile (Sco plays all the genres)
Rowan uses his Yamaha in pretty much every gig he plays from jazz, funk, r&b to rock... it comes down to the player at the end of the day. Arguably, having the single coil option on both the neck and bridge pickups gives a little more variety in sound than on the Ibanez AS200.Having said that, as per a more recent video, Rowan has sold his Yamaha and won;t tell us what he has ordered in yet... it's a mystery guitar.
For the guys that don’t hear much tone difference, the fret size on the Yamaha is the same as a Gibson 335. Frets too small for my liking. The Ibanez has wider frets. Personally, I prefer the Ibanez.
Yamha smokes the ibanez!! I have an original one as 2000 and it's very good
Way too much talking guys. Would have loved an AB to switch between the two guitars. I have the AS (Artstar) 80 and it’s my favourite guitar. They’re both laminated tops as are all Gibson 335’s and the SA2200 is a sycamore laminated top.
Ok, comparing a 2500€ vs a 1500€ guitar and yamaha stands perfectly its ground, kudos to yamaha!
Same price
Pedro RM : in my country the Yamaha is at least 600 euro cheaper than the Ibanez. It's an incredible deal.
Stupid talking. Guys doesn't know how parallel wiring works, (bobins,vagnet,hum cancelling etc.)
wack plays
Just buy a Gibson 335 for Christ sake !
@SeriusNtentions They you'll sound like one
Yamaha never invented anything in the guitar world they're just trying to copy what is already been done much better by Gibson and Fender
@SeriusNtentions Well I was like you for 20+ years I bought copies from good brands so good copies one could say and recently I bought an American Fender Telecaster and a Gibson ES-175 that I both got used for not so much more than those copies. They are just so much better in every way. The Gibson neck is incredible, played acoustic it just destroys any copies. There is an history behind those brands it's not just technical it's how they developed those instruments. Everything is so much more balanced and sounds like nothing else. Yamaha, Ibanez sound like they're trying to sound like a Gibson or a Fender and they just never nail it.
I own a Yamaha SA2100 and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Absolutely superb guitar I bought in 1984. Plays flawlessly and covers a spectrum from jazz tones to Van Halen.
Nah... I have an AS80. I’ve compared it with a late 70’s 335 and mine is every bit as good if not better with a saving of 6k. Just because it’s US doesn’t mean it’s better!
Video Music Yeah, Ask George Benson!