Tomo Fujita Guitar Wisdom

Hi. First post in the forum. After seeing Tomo play the Ibanez AZES 31 & 40 I was inspired to give them a try. I bought the 31 first and ordered the 40 (arriving today). Just wondering if anyone else is playing them? IMHO, they're not just for beginners as they play VERY WELL. Besides, it all starts with the head, hands & heart. Also, interested to see if anyone is making any mod upgrades.

Hi, I've bought an AZES40 online some months ago, the quality control is not that great but for the price I didn't expect too much, I love it anyway, and definitely don't regret buying it as my first electric guitar.

Things I did:

- cleaned/oiled the fingerboard, there were some marks on it that went away after cleaning.

- polished the frets (they really needed it)

- replaced the string trees (one was weirdly bent, not sure if normal) with the black TUSQ ones (but used the original screws).

- unscrewed the pickguard and removed some wood debris behind it, in some parts the edge of the pickguard was slightly deformed

- installed Schaller S-Locks for convenience

- the nut is very slightly offset but I left it as is for now

I'm a beginner myself but I wouldn't suggest a complete beginner buying this guitar blindly online, if he doesn't have anyone to check/setup it for him.

Again I don't regret it at all, the neck feels great and it is very enjoyable to play

Here is Tomo's comment:

"Thanks so much for subscribing to my Guitar Wisdom. The Ibanez AZES31 and AZES40 are really well made guitars. I am happy to learn that they are working well for you!"

I’ve been eyeing these guitars since learning of Tomo’s involvement with their development. I finally decided to go with the ivory but then saw that beautiful blue in one of the recent videos. Curious if the new prototype includes other changes besides just color….any input here or will we just have to wait and see?!?! Thanks again for all you do Tomo & George!

I bought an AZES 31 a few month back. I bought it mainly as a travel guitar that I could take along with my Spark Amp when I went on trips. I really enjoy playing it, and I play it quite often now. Great little guitar.

Greetings Tomo team. Thank you all for all organizing work you do..my Wife is in Tokyo Japan, mom in hospital..question, is there “one Japanese made guitar best to buy, , need online store, that ships, Pray you guys know trusted salesman..or manager
.my wife used to work company that booked handled All American, English bands, that booked in Tokyo, back stage on stage.all aspects, she really injoyed getting to interact with them all. .When she was your age..Couple recommendations great, Vintage…if you know decent trusted.. I have I i baneze, . But some ibaniaze stuff, looking gooood but 2 expensive—Have old Fernandez elephant , cool.. if you have store , manager , salesman trusted be the best..Thanks for any help.

The Fernandez elephant perfect for when on planes. Great instrument when I got mine, now an appearance of bells and whistles..I would play before I bought.

I received my new AZES 31 guitars! They are even better than I had hoped.
Tomo was really thoughtful when he worked on this design.
I only needed to raise the string height so that two 1.0 picks can slide on thru!
Here is a clip of me with each guitar after I first plugged them in.
Having fun playing guitar on a rainy Saturday in Seattle. Just how I like it.

Thank you so much Tomo for inspiring me to get these guitars. I'm so happy!
Kurt

AZES31IV Ivory

AZES31AOC Arctic Ocean Metallic

Looks like you had a very fun weekend, Kurt! So happy for you. They look great and you sound great!! Each one brought out a little personality. Enjoy your practice!!!

WOooo , Kurt ! This is amazing both of two , They sound really great , Like the review say : really cool car . Spirit with 86 !
And great playing ! Thank you for sharing , The arctic ocean metallic color , really make me surprise , so beautiful !

Thank you guys!
I love Ibanez AZES31 very much.

Tomo

Great sounds on those guitars Kurt, getting Funky!! I love. It, - johno

Mine is on the way to Portugal! So happy! 1x Ibanez AZES31-IV ❤️