Going out on a limb here, but.......

[WAR IN D]

I was at one of the local music stores today that stocks Ibanez..... and I have to say that I was pretty impressed by the new line of guitars they have coming out..... Fit and finish was excellent, the figured tops were awesome and I got to see in person one of the new "Zero Point" trems.... Very interesting. Played an S470 with one and it looks like the best features of both the Kahler and the Floyd combined together. It doesn't have the individual string height adjustment like a Kahler but I can live with that and it's supposed to stay in tune if you break a G, B, or high E sting while playing.. It was VERY smooth.....

Also played a nice neck-thru archtop PRS kind of copy (can't remember the model), dual hum.. one volume, one tone and a three way toggle (that was built like a tank!!)... Had Ibanez's new Stop tailpiece brigde and I have to say it's an improvment over the old style TOM... nice and smooth with no sharp edges. Sweet "Flame" inlay at the 12th fret that was very clean!! No slop in the inlay... neck/body binding.... Very nice.

I don't know guys, I've had Ibanez's in the past and they were O.K. guitars (as long as they were made in Japan!!) but I'm looking at them pretty close again. **Ducks, while putting on flame suit** [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[chazz]

Re: Going out on a limb here, but.......

Yeah, the one you're talking about is the SZ series, I just brought one home today for my son...It's a sweet little guitar. I'm not a big fan of the Ibanez but he wanted an ESP ltd H-302 but after he played the SZ saturday he wanted it. So I went ahead and bought it before he changed his mind, it could have been worse...He could have been running with scissers lol. Seriously though, it's a nice guitar for the cash.

[markb]

Re: Going out on a limb here, but.......

Ibanez guitars aren't Jacksons by any means, and they aren't made in the US and blah blah. But they have always been a good value esp. for guitarists on a budget, I always thought. It's not like they can't make a nice guitar. The Artist series has always been classy and beautifully made. Japanese build standards are high. I also noodled on a es-335 shaped hollowbody the other day, (AS120?) and for $700 canadian you couldn't have asked for more. Flawless build, nice top, easy neck. I don't even know how they do it for that price. I don't want an Ibanez, but they have their place.

[SARJ]

Re: Going out on a limb here, but.......

The new RG370DX I got a few weeks ago kicks major a$$! All it needs are hotter pickups (just my preference) and it would be just about everything you could ask for in a budget axe. I plan on using it along with my DK2 and Model 2 and hopefuly soon my 79 ML Floyded model with my brother and his drums. The new Low TRS is 10 times better than the old one. I'm glad I have it. The only problem is that it's been a little humid here in New Mexico lately and the neck is a little unstable, but easily fixed. It's the thicker Wizard neck. My Jackson and Charvel? Unharmed at all. J/C's rule.

[Black Mariah]

Re: Going out on a limb here, but.......

If Ibanez is gonna go back to doing what they were doing about 8-10 years ago, then I don't see a problem with liking them. I have a (supposedly) custom S style from the early 90's and for the $400 I paid, I've been happy with it. Nice looking flame top (veneer, of course), purple burst finish... even the gold hardware has held up relatively well in the 6 years or so I've had it. Some of the Ibanez I've played in the past couple of years have been total s**t. It's good to hear they might be pulling their heads out of their @$$.