Which Ibanez For Me?

DisinfectedDuck · #1 11-03-2002, 04:49 PM

I'm thinking of maybe getting an Ibanez soon. But I don't know much about them.

I currently have only one guitar - Fender Am. Deluxe Strat.

I want a guitar that's good for rock & blues (no metal) and the two most important things for me are tone (obviousley) & playabilty (comfort etc.) looks come after that.

So what do you guys suggest? Also if you think I should change pickups or anything please tell me.

Two hands31 · #2 11-03-2002, 04:56 PM

First of all, nice name. I love it.

Second of all, I've heard of people using almost any Ibanez guitar for the styles you mentioned, but in general, people seem to like the RG and S series guitars best here. But it's all personal preference. Any more details you could give, such as prefered hardware, etc, would help a bit.

littlegreenman · #3 11-03-2002, 06:40 PM

preferred hardware has no real bearing if you want an Ibanez, go with anything with the Edge or Lo-Pro edge trem, which is any Ibanez that would be equivalently priced to an american strat. Basically, pickups, well, eventually, you'll probably wanna swap them anyway, so, assuming you want a trem in a guitar, go with anything edge equipped. Stay away from the TRS's, But, other than that, you really need to play them, feel the necks, they are virtually all a 25.5" scale, so they will be the same as your strat, though the fretboard radius will be much flatter, most Ibanez's are between 15" and 17" rad's while a strat usually sits between 6.25 and 12" rad.
The fretwire is substantially bigger on an Ibanez as well. My personal choice would be an RG over the S series or Radius's specifically for the 24 fret factor. I also prefer the body shape. I really think they are all very versatile guitars for what you want though, especially with the variety of Pickups you can put in them afterwards.

If you don't want a trem, your options become much more limited, there is the RG421, but as I understand it, it has just become dis-continued, so you'd have to find one used or in a store.

There is a world of Ibanez guitars out there, and they are all good, the honest to god truth is, going from a strat, to even a TRS equipped Ibanez is a huge differece (for the better IMO) but for what you can pick up used RG5XX's for, it's a waste to start with a TRS equipped guitar.

The Jem of course is a hugely versatile guitar, but quite a bit of money, the JS series, again, versatile, but maybe more than you want to spend. However, if you like the strat neck, you may prefer the Radius or JS necks as they have a much tighter radius than the RG's and Jems.

So, basically, go to a music store that carries Ibanez, and play a bunch, then choose, you won't go wrong with an Ibanez anyway, so don't be afraid to try them all!

WELCOME TO THE FORUM!!!!!!!

Jeremy

BeastofLove · #4 11-03-2002, 06:52 PM

Personally, I think that the RG520QS is a great sounding guitar at a great price. The stock pickups sounded good to me, but if I had some extra $, I'd replace them with a PAF Pro (or Air Norton) / Tone Zone combo. Very versatile guitar with the warmth of mahogany.

Yes, discontinued. But you can regularly find them on eBay (there are 2 there now- search rg520* ). The neck feels very similar to my DBK's.

My $.02,

-Ben

Reaper · #5 11-04-2002, 04:28 PM

I believe there are even a few RG520's up in the forum here... if not, you can just put a "want to buy (WTB)" ad up.

to the original poster, but you've got an American strat, and you want rock & blues. What isn't your axe delivering that you want it to?

DisinfectedDuck · #6 11-04-2002, 04:32 PM

It's not that it's not delievering, it's just that I want something a little different. Any suggestions?

BrianH · #7 11-04-2002, 05:04 PM

I highly suggest getting an

S2020X - used
S2120X - newest model of the S2020X
or the S with the babinga top! I forget the number. I'd suggest this one if you don't want the peizo accoustic of the S2020X or S2120X.

I loved mine, and wish I had the babinga model, but the a js body style.. yummy, but the S body style would be fine.

Please note the S body style is super thin!!! But has TONE out the butthole! Some think its too thin, but its easy to play on!, very comfortable, and not weighty at all.

darren wilson · #8 11-04-2002, 05:21 PM

How big of a change are you looking for, and what's your budget? (Also... what continent are you on? Ibanez offerings differ from region to region.)

Most of Ibanez's bolt-on line are only going to be a step or two removed from what you've got with your Strat. Finding something really different for the rock/blues genre is a bit trickier.

My initial suggestion would be maybe an SC420 or an SA420X, both of which have mahogany bodies. The SC has a fixed stop-tail type bridge, whereas the SA420X has a two-point fulcrum (non-locking) trem with piezo elements in the saddles. They're both different from your Strat (H-H pickup config, mahogany bodies) but they're similar enough that they won't feel totally foreign to you.

There's always the AR250 if you're after more of a beefy Les Paul-type tone.

There are tons of options... Go to the Ibanez site and see if anything grabs your attention, or at least narrow down the options a bit... we could go on for days.

Texter · #9 11-05-2002, 05:39 PM

And try a Jem if you can spare the time...you can get a lot of tones out of those...and they sound a little warmer than RGs because of the thicker necks. Well I'm not going to try to promote it any further...except for that Jem7VWH "plays like Buddha"

Reaper · #10 11-05-2002, 06:51 PM

Quote:

"plays like Buddha"

Yngwie?

Globbits · #11 11-06-2002, 08:06 AM

I would have thought as soon as anyone said TONE and COMFORT for a STRAT player coming to ibanez looking for ROCK and BLUES, there would have been a chorus of JS1000!!! JS1000!!! JS1000!!!

Maybe I'm just dumb...

Texter · #12 11-06-2002, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reaper

Quote:

"plays like Buddha"

Yngwie?

It's a Vai-quote...that recent interview...

And indeed. A JS is very bluesy indeed. But I'd get a JS90HAM which really sounds like Joe's guitars. The tone of those HAMs is amazing...very good wood...

Two hands31 · #13 11-06-2002, 05:23 PM

My hardware question was to see if he had any pickup choice (H-H vs H-S-H vs H-S-S etc), bridge (trem or hard), etc in mind.

7 Dying Trees · #14 11-07-2002, 06:11 AM

If you really want something different, get one of the ibanez's with piezo elements in them, like the RG or S series ones (2120X 2020X and the like), and if you can get the prestige version. They are very nice guitar, very versataille and will open up a whole new world of sounds with the piezo's. You may well want to replace the pickups, but no worries really... All should be cool

The prestige RG necks are damn nice as well

BeastofLove · #15 11-07-2002, 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Globbits

I would have thought as soon as anyone said TONE and COMFORT for a STRAT player coming to ibanez looking for ROCK and BLUES, there would have been a chorus of JS1000!!! JS1000!!! JS1000!!!

RGT3120!!! RGT3120!!! RGT3120!!!