My new Ibanez

[gemini8026]

Hello all.

Been a while since I've posted much, but I've recently moved and been busy working and such. Anyhow, got a new guitar today in the mail.

I recently sold off my Variax so that I had something to do what I wanted, play and look great with no hassles!

I think I found a keeper!

Anyhow, it's a Ibanez RG1620x. This model has a Double Edge tremolo, which is basically a double locking trem WITH a Piezo built into it.

The piezo sounds fine, like pretty much EVERY other Piezo out there. Comparing the Variax acoustics to the regular Piezo isnt too much different. They both sound like acoustics, and truth be told, I may miss the 12 string models a little, but for basic needs, this sounds fine, on par with the variax acoustics.

Fit and finish wise, the guitar is easily the best Ibanez I have owned so far (this is #4) The fretwork on the Prestige lines are great, Im impressd by the low action.

The tremolo, well, lets just say I REALLY PREFER these over orig Floyd Roses. The profile is so low that its basically like just a regular vintage trem. It's great, AMAZING! [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img] It takes all my peeves of the OFR, and fixes them, and the trem holds tuning great!

The neck is the thinnest neck ive ever played, and I have owned prior Wizard necks (both wizard II's and the orig wizard)

VERY THING, a lot different then a USA Jackson. Im not sure how I feel about it yet, its easy to play, but we'll see what I think after extended playing sessions!

Pups sound good, no complaints with the regular stock units. They are more then hot enough for my needs and great for artificial harmonics!

Overall, a great guitar. The Jap Ibanez's are quality guitars and feature filled.

I wish Jackson would offer a tremolo like this unit with a Piezo!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dinkyjacksonman]

Re: My new Ibanez

Nice!
I was thinking of buying a used one and remove the bridge and put it on one of my guitars with 22fret neck.

Congrats!

[quiksilver]

Re: My new Ibanez

Useful review! Thanks. I've been wanting an Ibanez lately myself. I'd like a Jem 7VWH but will probably settle for a used 555.

[pro-fusion]

Re: My new Ibanez

Cool! I have the predecessor model to your guitar, the RG620x. It doesn't have the Prestige neck, but in every other respect, it's the same. Mine must have been made from a particularly nice piece of basswood, because it's the nicest-sounding Ibanez I've ever played. I will say, however, that the fretwork on mine leaves something to be desired. The 14th and 15th frets were too high, causing very severe fret-out at the 13th fret, even when the action wasn't set very low. My local tech did a somewhat half-assed fix, and it's better now, but there is some fret-out. Fortunately, it's good enough now not to be a huge problem--and I do like low action.

The neck has a great feel--not quite as thin as the original Wizard necks, but still very small and playable--definitely thinner than the Prestige necks.

[gemini8026]

Re: My new Ibanez

pro-fusion, have u had any tunin g issues? I seem to be going slightly out of tune on dive bombs, and the only way to get it back to zero is the yank back on the bar.

Not sure why this is :s

[pro-fusion]

Re: My new Ibanez

Mine has that a little bit. Actually, that brings up the other main difference between our guitars. Yours has the Double EdgePro bridge, while mine (a year 2002 guitar) has the older Double Edge bridge. When I first brought mine home a couple of months ago, it didn't return to the zero position particularly well, but putting the trem (and the springs) through a bit of a workout over the last few weeks seems to have stabilized the tuning--I think that trem springs have a 'break-in' period.

Typically, however, if the guitar has major problems with returning to zero pitch, it means that the knife-edges are dull. According to Rich at ibanezrules.com that has been less of a problem with the new EdgePro bridges, since the knife edges have been coming out of the factory sharper than they were on the last batch of Edge and LoPro bridges. A tech experienced in dealing with trems could probably fix it with little problem, since it usually just involves sharpening the knife edges with files. With the piezo bridges, however, you have to be careful, since doing that wrong could apparently damage the functioning of the piezo elements--though I'm not sure how.

[gemini8026]

Re: My new Ibanez

yah, ive been talking to Rich. He knows his Ibanez stuff thats for sure.

Im not TOO concerned, because I will be blocking this sucker. Im not much for pull-ups, and I liek to mess aroudn with alternate tunings, so blocking is pretty much a need.

After reading his site though, I was rather upset to see Ibanez cut back on the stud quality to save a few pennies! That and them raising there prices too!!!

[pro-fusion]

Re: My new Ibanez

Yeah that thing with Ibanez eliminating the locking studs pissed me off, too. Might not be a problem on alder or mahogany bodies, but the locks are very important on the softer basswood bodies to prevent the studs from moving and eventually screwing up the routs in the body. Also, the EdgePro bridges are made of an alloy, rather than the hardened steel of the old Edge and LoPro bridges. They are only saving a few cents per guitar by doing this, but making them less usable for trem users. Go figure.

As a result, I won't buy an Ibanez newer than 2002.

[1trussell]

Re: My new Ibanez

[ QUOTE ]
Useful review! Thanks. I've been wanting an Ibanez lately myself. I'd like a Jem 7VWH but will probably settle for a used 555.

[/ QUOTE ]

The 555's are junk. I can't stand that half vine half dot inlay. You'd be better off with an RG550 and swapping out the pickups. You'd still come out ahead on price, too.

[quiksilver]

Re: My new Ibanez

I have heard that. Do you know the specifics on why the 555 is so reviled? I'd much prefer a "real" Jem (7VWH), but they're way too expensive for me - always over $1000 for a used one, it seems, and I don't even want to think about a new one. 555s seem to sell for about $400 regularly on eBay, which is more like it. As I understand it, the main differences are the 555 has rosewood instead of ebony, a half-vine instead of a full-vine inlay, and a cheap bridge that can't be easily swapped for the better one. I don't know much about Ibanez in general (e.g., the many varieties of RG guitars), but I really like the outlandishness of the Jems, with the monkey grip, lion's claw, partially scalloped fretboard, etc. (not sure if the 555 has the scallops though). I really don't mind the half-vine inlay. The specific grips I've read about the bridge are a loose trem arm (which can allegedly be remedied with a coat of nail polish) and poor tuning stability. That's obviously a big deal, though perhaps it could be helped with a TremSetter or something. (It would be great if I could just swap in an OFR, but I s'pose that's not feasible).

Generally speaking, I sometimes like cheaper guitars. I don't feel like I have to worry about 'em so much, and I've had some really nice guitars that were made in Korea (e.g., Hamer "Slammer" Californian, Peavey V-Type Limited NTB). I also have no problem with using Jackson licensed Floyds, as opposed to real OFRs. Guess I'm a bottom feeder. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[quiksilver]

Re: My new Ibanez

. . . as a follow-up question, could you drop an OFR into a 555 without extensive modification (e.g., moving the studs, routing, etc.)? Seems like that would solve its main problem.

[1trussell]

Re: My new Ibanez

I'm not sure about dropping an OFR into the 555. It is basically a dressed up RG550 anyway. The pickups are at least Evolutions (which I never liked). The frets are not scalloped and it has the Lo TRS II (crap) bridge.

The RG550 has the good Edge bridge. Although it has Ibanez pickups (V7, V8 and S1?), the rest of the hardware is at least as good if not better than the JEM 555. Plus, they sell for less. The RG550 is the true "JEM Jr." There are very few differences, pickups, monkey grip, lion's claw, and fretboard appointments. I would actually rather have an RG550 than a true JEM. My brother had one years ago and it was a great guitar. The douche bag traded it for a Korean Ibanex EX.

[pro-fusion]

Re: My new Ibanez

The 555 is mainly bad because it is a rip-off--they charge a bunch of money for a Korean-made low end RG that has a few of the JEM features thrown in. Apart from the real DiMarzios, the 555 is no better or worse than the 3-series RGs--well below the quality and playability of the Japanese-made RG550. Get an RG550, throw in some DiMarzios, and you've got yourself a JEM in every functional way.

Since I prefer rear-loaded electronics, I like the RG570 better than the 550, which has a pickguard. But they are similar, apart from that. By the way, my RG620x has the Ibanez V7/V8 pickups, and I think they are decent. Probably not as good as DiMarzios, but they sound good in my guitar.

I would love to get a JEM, but they are just priced too high for me. And all the fru-fru on the JEM is a little silly, to me.

[jgcable]

Re: My new Ibanez

The Saber or the older Radius are the way to go if you want a thin body. The RG550 is a super strat in every sense of the word. It is a fantastic versatile affordable guitar.
The RG1620 is fantastic. Most of the Prestige models are.

[quiksilver]

Re: My new Ibanez

I know very little about Ibanez. I gather that the higher the number, the higher end the guitar (like most other products, e.g. BMW has 3 series, 5 series, 7 series, then models within them, such as 325, 330, 540, etc., and you move up to the higher end models as the model number increases).

Anticipating that to be the case, is it pretty much stay in the 5xx range (as opposed to 3xx range)? I see a couple of 320s, a 370 and a 520 on eBay right now, for around $300. I'd like to get one with the all-access neck joint. A maple fretboard would be cool, too. Is 550 the lowest number to look at (i.e., that and anything higher is good), or is that particular model the one to look for? Oh, and one more question. Understanding that the Lo TRS II (hope I got that right) trem that the 555 comes with is a POS, what about a newer 3xx series model that has the current trem (e.g., a 350DX, which sells for a bit over $200)?

Thanks for the help, and sorry for hijacking your thread for a bit here, Gemini! I'm learning a lot!