Ibanez S1070PBZ-CLB Premium

Ibanez S1070PBZ-CLB Premium review

The Ibanez S1070PBZ-CLB Premium pairs a carved-looking, layered top with an African mahogany body, an 11-piece neck, three DiMarzio pickups, and an Edge Zero II tremolo. It has a 648 mm scale, 24 jumbo stainless steel frets, and a 43 mm nut width. The listed price is $1,555, and a gig bag is included.

Owner feedback paints a striking but mixed picture. Several players praise the guitar's appearance, comfortable neck, fretwork, tuning stability, and strong performance with high-gain sounds. Other reports point to a darker clean tone, uneven usefulness across pickup positions, setup work, and isolated quality-control problems. It is a guitar worth evaluating for its specific strengths, rather than assuming it will suit every style equally well.

Construction and hardware

The blue Cerulean Blue Burst finish shows off a grained poplar, maple, and panga panga top above the African mahogany body. Players particularly like the visual contrast between the front and back. The hardware has a Cosmo Black finish, and one owner who compared it with an older Prestige model considered its finish an improvement.

The Wizard neck combines panga panga, maple, walnut, and purpleheart in an 11-piece construction. It has a rosewood fingerboard with mother-of-pearl inlays, luminescent fret markings, and a KTS titanium truss rod. Owners describe the neck as comfortable, with well-finished fingerboard edges and fret ends. The matte finish was also praised for its feel.

Its 24 stainless steel frets are a practical draw for players who value durable fret material and smooth bends. The guitar comes with a gig bag, not a hard case. The available product information lists it as available since February 2018.

Playing feel and setup

Reports often describe the S1070PBZ as easy to handle, with convenient access to the upper frets. One player found it more comfortable than both a regular-series Ibanez and a Prestige model, while another praised its balance and reported no neck dive. A separate owner found the instrument surprisingly heavy compared with another S-series guitar, so weight may be a consideration if you prefer a particularly light instrument.

Setup experiences vary. Some owners say the guitar plays exceptionally well, while others needed to adjust the action to their preference. One report describes high action on arrival and an untreated fingerboard. These are individual experiences, not proof of a consistent factory issue, but they make a thorough setup check worthwhile when buying.

One player also found the volume knob easy to hit while playing energetically because of its forward position. Try the control placement with your usual picking hand before deciding whether it is a concern.

Pickups and sound

The HSH configuration uses a DiMarzio Air Norton at the neck, True Velvet in the middle, and Tone Zone at the bridge. For heavy music, some owners report tight, aggressive notes with good definition and separation when playing across multiple strings. One reviewer especially liked the bridge pickup's response for fast, high-gain parts and found pinch harmonics easy to produce.

Clean-tone impressions are less consistent. Some players describe the overall voice as dark or muted, and one reviewer found hammer-on legato passages quiet with limited sustain. That same player rated the guitar highly for heavy playing, but felt it was less versatile than other instruments they had tried. Another owner praised the sound from all three pickups and their combinations, including the similar perceived output between the humbuckers and middle single-coil. The difference in these accounts suggests that amplifier settings, setup, and playing style matter.

The Tone Zone's pronounced low end and restrained treble suit one owner's taste, while another player wanted a brighter sound and changed the bridge pickup. Pickup replacement may require physical adjustments, so check fit and compatibility before planning a swap.

Edge Zero II tremolo

The Edge Zero II is paired with the ZPS3 system. Owners report good tuning stability during tremolo use, and one reviewer praised dive-bomb effects. The feel is not universally preferred: another found the bridge stiff for subtle vibrato and less expressive when moving the bar up and down. One owner suggested removing the ZPS system to get a more conventional floating feel. The tremolo bar's position can also bring it close to the pickup selector in certain situations, according to one report.

Verdict

The Ibanez S1070PBZ-CLB Premium has a distinctive finish, a detailed multi-piece neck, stainless steel frets, and a pickup and tremolo setup that many owners enjoy for high-gain playing. Its strengths are less clear for players seeking bright, open cleans or especially flexible sounds from every switch position. Reported setup and hardware issues are not universal, but support checking the instrument carefully on arrival. At $1,555, it is a compelling option for players drawn to its feel and heavier musical strengths, provided they are comfortable assessing the setup and tremolo in person.