Similar neck shapes to original Ibanez Wizard Prestige?

[guitaardvark]

Hey all,

My absolute favorite guitar on this earth is my 2001 Ibanez S1520FB, and no matter how hard I try, I can't find another neck profile that feels this comfy.

Does anyone have any recommendations for:

1) Ibanez guitars that use the same Wizard Prestige
2) Other Ibanez neck profiles that feel very close
3) Guitars from other brands that have a very similar neck profile?

My S1520 is already really beat up and too sentimental to me to take on a lot of gigs, so I'm looking for an alternative. Thank you!

 

[Thesius]

Have you considered another S1520

 

[guitaardvark]

Have you considered another S1520

I have! In a perfect world, the second guitar wouldn't have a Floyd though. If one pops up for the right price, I'd do it.

 

[Crungy]

Have you looked at other Prestige S or RG models? The closest thing I could think of is an RG1521 since it has a hard tail. There are some Satriani models with a hard tail though I'm not familiar with that neck profile. Might be expensive too.

Your best bet might continuing to scour Reverb/GC/etc, though it's pretty unlikely you'd score another around $400.

 

[guitaardvark]

Have you looked at other Prestige S or RG models? The closest thing I could think of is an RG1521 since it has a hard tail. There are some Satriani models with a hard tail though I'm not familiar with that neck profile. Might be expensive too.

Your best bet might continuing to scour Reverb/GC/etc, though it's pretty unlikely you'd score another around $400.

I had an S5521Q for a bit, but the neck was very different. That bummed me out, because an S with HH and a fixed bridge should have checked all of the boxes. I've noticed that a lot of recent Prestige models have a very flat neck profile with pronounced shoulders, which I don't love. I'm not a fan of the RG shape, but I wouldn't mind stealing a neck from one to put onto an S body. I've actually never tried a Satch, so I'll give that a shot.

 

[NoodleFace]

Maybe it's sacrilege but I really enjoy the neck of my C-7 SLS Elite.

I looked into the C-1 SLS Elite just for shits and giggles and this is the neck thickness:
@ 1st Fret- .748" (19mm)/ @ 12th Fret- .787" (20mm)

Your 2001 wizard prestige neck has:
1st fret- 19mm, 12th fret 21mm

Difference would be the Schecter is a compound radius whereas the wizard is not.

In my hands the schecter feels slightly rounder on the shoulders, but extremely comfortable. Not sure if you like Schecters, but they have a nice neck profile on newer models.

 

[guitaardvark]

Maybe it's sacrilege but I really enjoy the neck of my C-7 SLS Elite.

I looked into the C-1 SLS Elite just for shits and giggles and this is the neck thickness:
@ 1st Fret- .748" (19mm)/ @ 12th Fret- .787" (20mm)

Your 2001 wizard prestige neck has:
1st fret- 19mm, 12th fret 21mm

Difference would be the Schecter is a compound radius whereas the wizard is not.

In my hands the schecter feels slightly rounder on the shoulders, but extremely comfortable. Not sure if you like Schecters, but they have a nice neck profile on newer models.

I've really liked every newer Schecter I've picked up. It's surprising to see that it's actually slightly thinner than my neck, since it felt a little more C shaped. I'll see if I can play a few!

 

[NoodleFace]

I've really liked every newer Schecter I've picked up. It's surprising to see that it's actually slightly thinner than my neck, since it felt a little more C shaped. I'll see if I can play a few!

They're really underrated guitars, I was very surprised when I played it.

I just looked up my S6570Q to check those measurements because it felt way thinner... 17mm@1st, no wonder.

 

[HoneyNut]

I've really liked every newer Schecter I've picked up. It's surprising to see that it's actually slightly thinner than my neck, since it felt a little more C shaped. I'll see if I can play a few!

Yep. Ive played the Schecter Reaper series, and it did remind me of the Wizard 19-21 thickness of the Ibanezs I had. But I think the Reaper has a 14" radius, but the ibanez had a 16.0" radius. The Ibanez's was slightl little rounder than the Reaper considering the same thickness, while the Reaper was flatter at the back.

Btw, you should try the Charvel dk24 neck. Just try it. Might change your life.

 

[soldierkahn]

I have! In a perfect world, the second guitar wouldn't have a Floyd though. If one pops up for the right price, I'd do it.

there are many ways one can convert a trem to a hardtail. If you want tips let me know lol The first thing i do to my LoPro gutiars is make it a hardtail

 

[soldierkahn]

I had an S5521Q for a bit, but the neck was very different. That bummed me out, because an S with HH and a fixed bridge should have checked all of the boxes. I've noticed that a lot of recent Prestige models have a very flat neck profile with pronounced shoulders, which I don't love. I'm not a fan of the RG shape, but I wouldn't mind stealing a neck from one to put onto an S body. I've actually never tried a Satch, so I'll give that a shot.

I cant believe i never thought to ask this before but do the RGs and Ss use compatible necks? If they were hot swappable, why was there such a stink back in the 90s where everyone wanted 24 fret Sabre necks? If you could just swap out for an RG neck with 24 frets, why didnt more folks do that? definitely curious

 

[guitaardvark]

there are many ways one can convert a trem to a hardtail. If you want tips let me know lol The first thing i do to my LoPro gutiars is make it a hardtail

It's blocked off, so tuning isn't an issue. It's more just the hassle of restringing and intonating.

I cant believe i never thought to ask this before but do the RGs and Ss use compatible necks? If they were hot swappable, why was there such a stink back in the 90s where everyone wanted 24 fret Sabre necks? If you could just swap out for an RG neck with 24 frets, why didnt more folks do that? definitely curious

They should use the same neck pocket and bolt pattern. My guess is that you can't swap a 22 fret neck onto a 24 neck and vice versa because the neck pocket on a 22 fret is slightly further away from the bridge. The only way they could get around that is to have the fretboard hang over the body for the 23rd and 24th frets. It wouldn't ever intonate correctly because you changed the scale length without changing the frets.

As far as I know, if I could find a 24 fret Wizard neck that's the cat's meow, I could swap it onto an S body like a 5521 that's designed for 24 frets.

 

[jl-austin]

Supposedly the Mick Thomson Jackson soloist has an Ibanez Wizard thin neck. I haven't played one, maybe someone here can confirm this.

It's also a fixed floyd (not a trmeolo).

 

[Zhysick]

Supposedly the Mick Thomson Jackson soloist has an Ibanez Wizard thin neck. I haven't played one, maybe someone here can confirm this.

It's also a fixed floyd (not a trmeolo).

Yes,stupid thin, flat in the back and very notoceable shoulders... But somehow I liked it despite hating Wizard necks...

 

[BaliGod]

Here is my RG620QM. Pretty rare if you can find one, but an awesome guitar. Built in only 2 years. The 1997 has the Wizard neck and the 2002 has the Ultra neck.