A Guitar That Punches Well Above Its Price Tag — Now in a Color You Can Only Get Here - Only 200 Commissioned
There are budget guitars, and then there are guitars that make you forget you're on a budget. The Ibanez AZES40 is firmly in the second camp. Designed in collaboration with Berklee College of Music professor and YouTube guitar educator Tomo Fujita, the AZES40 was built with a clear goal: give players real playability and versatile electronics at a price that doesn't require a second mortgage. And this particular one comes in Vermilion — an exclusive color Ibanez made just for C.A. House Music.
That's not a marketing spin. If you want this finish, this is the only place to get it. And beyond the color, everything that makes the AZES40 worth talking about is here: a poplar solid body, a maple neck with a comfortable C-shaped profile, and a pickup system that genuinely opens doors rather than slamming them shut.
Whether you're just getting started or you've been playing for years and want a reliable workhorse that doesn't demand a lot of fuss, the AZES40 earns its place on any guitar rack.
Tonewoods That Work Together
The AZES40 is built on a solid poplar body — a wood that shares tonal characteristics with alder, delivering a balanced response across the frequency range with solid sustain. It's a practical choice that doesn't sacrifice tone for cost. Paired with a bolt-on maple neck, you get that familiar snap and brightness that maple is known for, with good stability across seasons and humidity changes.
The fretboard is jatoba, a reddish-brown hardwood that brings a rich midrange character with a crisp high end. The neck profile is Ibanez's AZES C shape — a comfortable, medium-depth contour that feels natural whether you're playing open chords or running single-note lines up the neck. The 9.84" fretboard radius hits a sweet spot: slightly rounder than ultra-flat modern boards, which means chords feel natural and comfortable for extended sessions.
A 25" scale length gives the AZES40 a slightly shorter string length than most full-size electrics, which eases hand tension a bit and makes stretches on the lower frets a touch more forgiving. The nut width is 42mm (1.65"), consistent with most standard-width electrics.
Nine Sounds From Three Pickups
Most HSS guitars give you five pickup options via the 5-way blade switch. The AZES40 gives you nine, thanks to Ibanez's dyna-MIX9 switching system. Alongside the standard 5-way selector, a small Alter Switch rewires the pickup combinations — wiring single-coils in series for hum-canceling tones or splitting the Accord bridge humbucker to blend with the neck or middle pickups.
The two Essentials single-coil pickups in the neck and middle positions (both passive/ceramic) cover the bright, clear, and chimey end of the tonal spectrum. The Accord humbucker at the bridge (also passive/ceramic) handles heavier, higher-gain territory. Between the five selector positions and the Alter Switch, you can cover a genuine range of styles — clean Strat-adjacent tones, hum-free middle/neck combinations, full humbucker thickness — all from one guitar.
Hardware and Playability Details
The T106 tremolo bridge features Ibanez's comfort round steel saddles, which offer a smooth surface under your picking hand and a wider range of height adjustment than traditional saddle designs. The bridge works well for light tremolo use and stays reasonably stable for a non-locking system. Ibanez die-cast machine heads with split shafts handle tuning duties — the split-shaft design makes string changes easier by gripping the string without the need to thread it through a hole.
One additional touch worth mentioning: the All Access Neck Joint. The heel is contoured to allow your fretting hand to reach the upper frets without the body getting in the way — the kind of practical detail that makes a real difference when you're playing above the 17th fret. Hardware throughout is chrome, and the body wears a gloss finish. The nut is plastic.
Product Features:
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Body: Solid poplar, gloss finish — balanced tone with good sustain
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Neck: Bolt-on maple, AZES C profile — 20.5mm at 1st fret, 22.5mm at 12th fret
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Fretboard: Jatoba, 9.84" (250mm) radius, white dot inlays, 22 medium frets
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Scale length: 25" (635mm) with 42mm (1.65") nut width
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Pickups: HSS — Essentials single-coil (neck), Essentials single-coil (middle), Accord humbucker (bridge); all passive/ceramic
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Switching: dyna-MIX9 system with Alter Switch — 9 distinct pickup combinations from a 5-way blade + mini toggle
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Bridge: T106 tremolo with comfort round steel saddles
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Tuners: Ibanez die-cast machine heads with split shafts
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Hardware: Chrome throughout; mono-unit output jack
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Neck joint: Bolt-on with All Access heel contour for upper-fret reach
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Exclusive finish: Vermilion — a color made by Ibanez exclusively for C.A. House Music
Brand: Ibanez
Model: AZES40
SKU: AZES40VM
Condition: New
Since 1872, C.A. House Music has been helping musicians across the Ohio Valley find the right gear -- with real advice from a team that actually plays. We're your authorized dealer of all the big names in guitars, keyboards, band instruments, drums, pro audio, and more. With four family-owned and operated locations in Ohio and West Virginia (plus a full online store), you don't have to go far for instruments, lessons, rentals, and repairs. No matter your musical needs, our team of musicians wants to help you Play Music for Life.
