Help choosing my first Ibanez?

[UpbeatFungus]

First off hi, I'm Alex and i new to Jemsite,

I'm also new to the guitar market, i started out buying any old guitar off an auction site to get a feel for the instrument, obviously its turned out rubbish, buzzing strings, unwanted noise, rusty strings pretty much everything that could possibly go wrong in a guitar went wrong.

Time has come to get properly started out, i have decided on an Ibanez, i am good at riff, power chords and struggle a little on fast paced melody etc.

Been playing around 3 months, not long but i want to get the right guitar that i wont have to replace, at least for a long time, i have a budget of approximately £350.

I have had my eye on the RGR321 and RG350 and am on the fence

i originally wanted a RG350 however i do not use a whammy bar and hear bad things about the Edge III, so was hoping to find a decent guitar within my budget with a fixed bridge, which is when i found the RGR321, at a cheaper price, only to hear bad things about its INF1/INF2 pickups.

I am new to this trade and apologize if anything i have said is inaccurate. I have come here because it seems alot of people know what they are talking about and could give me some useful advice.

Cheers!

EDIT: also any views on RGA42?

[bancika]

I'd get a RG321. You can replace pickups later if you don't like them.

[spam3d]

The Rg321 shoud be a great starter for you. I recently bought an RG350MYE and i love the thing...the edge III isnt that bad to be honest its more to do with guys who play decent quality trems going back to lower spec...i would side with the 321 because the trem is a mare to setup and you will just find it alot easier to just play that a floating trem ibanez
Your going to love having a nice new working guitar, your motivation to play will be much stronger..good luck!

[AlaskaBat]

All of the things you mention that "went wrong" with your guitar are fixable. And, wait for it.....wait for it....strings can be changed.

[UpbeatFungus]

Originally Posted by AlaskaBat

All of the things you mention that "went wrong" with your guitar are fixable. And, wait for it.....wait for it....strings can be changed.

those were 3 of many, but seeing as u brought it up,

guitar strap 'pin' at bottom of guitar damaged beyond repair (didnt drop it or anything, the thing just came off one day.

(it is a strat lookalike) two tone controls on guitar initially worked but now completely non-functional.

Fails at keeping the tune, once u tune last string go back to string 1 and its out again

when whammy bar is used, guitar goes out of tune majorly, bridge fail

need i go on?

i believe there is a reason people spend hundreds or even thousands of pounds on good guitars, this one costed £60 with an amp, which has already been replaced.

i am aware strings can be replaced but tbh i hardly think it's worth it looking at the above^^

Glad we cleared this up!

kind regards.

[rob777vdy]

i have a rg350 and the edge 111 is total garbidge.the rest of the guitar is ok but that edge 111 is even worse than lo-trs.if you like tuning up rather than playing well the rg350 is deffo for you

[AlaskaBat]

Originally Posted by UpbeatFungus

those were 3 of many, but seeing as u brought it up,

guitar strap 'pin' at bottom of guitar damaged beyond repair (didnt drop it or anything, the thing just came off one day.

(it is a strat lookalike) two tone controls on guitar initially worked but now completely non-functional.

Fails at keeping the tune, once u tune last string go back to string 1 and its out again

when whammy bar is used, guitar goes out of tune majorly, bridge fail

need i go on?

i believe there is a reason people spend hundreds or even thousands of pounds on good guitars, this one costed £60 with an amp, which has already been replaced.

i am aware strings can be replaced but tbh i hardly think it's worth it looking at the above^^

Glad we cleared this up!

kind regards.

Seeing as how your original post mentioned nothing of the brand/model you have plus the fact that you're a "brand new" guitar playing, it appeared that you might not have known how easy it is to properly intonate a guitar, restring, and do minor repairs. There are many kick-a$$ guitars that can be found cheap, but they may have some minor, easy-to-fix issues.
Now that we've cleared that up, I second the suggestion of an RG321. They sound decent, have a playable neck, don't have a trem, and won't break the bacnk.

[UpbeatFungus]

Originally Posted by AlaskaBat

Seeing as how your original post mentioned nothing of the brand/model you have plus the fact that you're a "brand new" guitar playing, it appeared that you might not have known how easy it is to properly intonate a guitar, restring, and do minor repairs. There are many kick-a$$ guitars that can be found cheap, but they may have some minor, easy-to-fix issues.
Now that we've cleared that up, I second the suggestion of an RG321. They sound decent, have a playable neck, don't have a trem, and won't break the bacnk.

thnks for the advice

guitar brand is 'Lindo'?..... i know right :P

[RGTFanatic]

Hi fungus, First off I'd like to welcome you to the forums........I think you'll find them quite useful and interactive in the future. Second, I'm excited for you getting your first real quality guitar. Kinda takes us old timers back to when we made our first purchases. Mine was a '91 RG770.

Both guitars that you've chosen will be EXCELLENT, and with some TLC they'll last you a lifetime. Before making a final decision, I would spend some time playing each guitar as much as you can.........hopefully you have a store nearby. I can say that after 20 years of playing Ibanez (26 different guitars) that I have NEVER had a bad one. some have needed more work than others to get up to par, but all were great. That brings me to the EDGE III, I fully disagree with many others that it is unusable. I have had four of them from various years. Each of them required some time to set up/intonate. but the work was worth it. My current edge III (RG350DXWH) is EVERY BIT as stable as my original edges (RG570 DX, '90 USA custom). It will take some setting up if you choose to go this route, but I've found that its a great way to really get to know your guitar. Don't be scared off by the EDGE III. I would suggest making your decision based on your current and future needs.........Either way your in for a helluva good ride!!!!!!!

[griever88]

if i were to start guitar again on a 350 quid budget i would buy the ibanez RG350ex. my friend has had one most of his time playing 8-9 years and it holds up to my rg1570 in my opinion. you might just want to change the pickups in time though. try them out first though cos you'll want something that feels nice and comfortable

[ebh]

I only tried the edge 3 once... on a jem 555. I actually couldn't bellieve that on a guitar in that price range the trem can be that bad.

With that in mind, I also suggest the RGR321.

Appart from staying in tune better than the 350, you also get the advantage of being able to change tuning on the spot. I own 2 edge zero ibanez guitars and, although they stay in tune better than any other guitar that I've touched (with a fixed bridge), going to alternate/droped tunings was really not feasable.

Now, the 350 looks better (in my oppinion), you can change the floyd to a edge pro without routing and I guess you can lock it down thus solving the tuning issues.

Cheers!

[AlaskaBat]

Originally Posted by griever88

if i were to start guitar again on a 350 quid budget i would buy the ibanez RG350ex. my friend has had one most of his time playing 8-9 years and it holds up to my rg1570 in my opinion. you might just want to change the pickups in time though. try them out first though cos you'll want something that feels nice and comfortable

He doesn't want a trem model.

[surfthealien]

Are used ibbys hard to come by? If its anything like here you could get a prestige for like 500 on the bay. Hell maybe even a 550 if you're lucky I have played some of the older korean ibanez and compared to the japanese ones its night and day. Bottom line any Japanese ibanez is going to be awesome. If I couldnt buy used Jap stuff then I would go for the rg without a floating tremolo simply for tuning issues.