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NGD S1XXV Nuke Greeeeen!

13K views 59 replies 23 participants last post by  TheSixthWheel 
#1 ·
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#4 ·
I had not thought about pink???
I don't like the stock pickups, they don't kick hard in the cab like my EVO2, PAF Pro or Tone Zone.
They are lower output than I would have though, about 300ish on the Dimarzio scale as far as my ears can tell.
The bridge needs more bass and treble.
It's a little muddy, just a little.
The neck pickup is low in output still, I'd bet about 260ish and muddy.
The neck has okay attack, not good.
I don't care for the clean or dirty tones.
I've got another guitar coming that has a set of black EVO2 and EVO Neck, I should put those in the S1XXV.
 
#10 ·
I'd get the S1XXV over the RG1XXV any day.
The finish is perfect on this S1XXV, no black dots like the RG1XXVs I saw at GC.
The neck is 3pc maple, not 5pc with the walnut sticking up, like the RG1XXVs I saw at GC.
Only some of the RG1XXVs will have that neck problem, I bet.
If you can play an RG1XXV before buying it, then you would know what quality the neck is or not.
The RG1XXVs seem to be hit and miss from what I've seen and read online.
The access to the 24th fret is much better on the S1XXV vs the RG1XXV.
I don't even have to change my grip on the neck at all to hit the 24trh fret on the S1XXV.
The S guitars with an AANJ and 24 frets have the best access ever to that 24th fret out of all the Ibanez guitars I've played.
The hardware is cooler, in my opinion. The S1XXV is cosmo and what I would call, aged silver on some of the parts. The neck bolt holes look good, paint wise.
I'm really happy with this guitar. I got it for $595 shipped at MF from their Leap Year Sale.
 
#13 ·
I'd get the S1XXV over the RG1XXV any day..
Straight Indo over Premium? I sure wouldn't, not unless I just had to have an S.

The finish is perfect on this S1XXV, no black dots like the RG1XXVs I saw at GC..
10 RG1's, 've seen 1 tine 1/2mm black dot on the back of one. If there's a batch out there that 2 of you have claimed to see, it's not the norm.

The neck is 3pc maple, not 5pc with the walnut sticking up, like the RG1XXVs I saw at GC.
Only some of the RG1XXVs will have that neck problem, I bet.
If you can play an RG1XXV before buying it, then you would know what quality the neck is or not...
We already went through this, it was walnut grain. There are no "protruding" walnut strips and if you can prove to me there was I'll eat my hat [chocolate preferred]

The RG1XXVs seem to be hit and miss from what I've seen and read online...
Rejection rate on the S's, 16%, rejection rate on the RG's, 10%. And how much neck shim did yours need to get even playable action? The only one I did so far needed a MONSTER shim to get the action right with free trem range.

The access to the 24th fret is much better on the S1XXV vs the RG1XXV.
I don't even have to change my grip on the neck at all to hit the 24trh fret on the S1XXV.
The S guitars with an AANJ and 24 frets have the best access ever to that 24th fret out of all the Ibanez guitars I've played...
I'll give you the easier access but ask if anybody really has trouble hitting 24 on any AANJ RG?

The hardware is cooler, in my opinion. The S1XXV is cosmo and what I would call, aged silver on some of the parts. The neck bolt holes look good, paint wise.
I'm really happy with this guitar. ..
The ZR is completely different than the EZ2 or any other knife edge trem, other than that the hardware on both is exactly the same.

I got it for $595 shipped at MF from their Leap Year Sale.
[Rant On] I'm amazed how the majority will suckle the corporate teat of these warehouses where nobody gives a rats back side about what is actually in the boxes they just shuffle around, AND think they got such a great deal, when what they got was much less.

If everybody keeps sucking these corporate schlongs THERE WILL BE NO INDEPENDENT LOCAL STORES LEFT. Then where will you go to try out the gear you just end up ordering from the monopoly instead of supporting that store, that you probably could have gotten JUST AS GOOD A DEAL AT!

$580 + shipping, Every Day price, no sale, no hoops. Inspected, maintained, debugged, adjusted, tested, and packed right with bubble wrap and double boxes. And I'll bet you most dealers would do the same, but no, everybody thinks they're getting such a great deal at these warehouse sales they don't even ask. Well you got, less.

And please don't think I'm trying to say "buy from me", 'I'm buried in work, I have 1 of each S left, I really couldn't care. What I care about is the mentality that feeds the corporate asshats at the cost of every independent dealer in your area that would actually love the opportunity to serve you much better than some box shuffling label slappers who couldn't even tell you the difference between an S or an RG, and the suit wearing execs with their fat salaries you're all supporting.

Find and develop a relationship with your local dealer, and screw the warehouses. [Rant Off]
 
#14 ·
Rich.
I have no clue as to who my local dealer is. Honestly, your prices and service being what they are I'm not surprised you're busy. Personally, I don't see guitars moving through the local SA as fast as you might think. At least not Ibanez's anyway.
All the same, Sebastian is entitled to his opinion.
My personal opinion is that, aside from awesome fretwork, Premiums are little better than my RG7321 which is why I harp on price. That's my opinion. I understand Ibanez's NEED for Premiums to do well but real players, and I suspect Sebastian is one, can see the Premiums for what they are.
That said I still think the 25th is a value.

BTW, killer guitar Sebastian!
 
#15 ·
Everybody has a right to their opinion, just as I have a right to rant on the warehouses.
You have a local store, but SA has probably beaten them down so far they're a shell now. But even SA and [as much as I hate to say it] GC, are far better than the warehouses.

I see premiums for what they are. I'm not sure what you're not seeing in them though, especially since you admit they have awesome fretwork which should alone make them far better than any standard Indo.
 
#16 ·
To me some Premiums are better values than others. I've played the RG920 and, seriously, it's nice but NOT worth $950! Nor the $1k it's creeping towards. I know our dollar sucks but, comparatively speaking, other guitar makers offer similar or better for less.
The new seafoam Jem (again in my opinion) is a homerun hit out of the park.
 
#21 ·
except the OE and choice of Dimarzio
OE alone makes it better than the 920; hands down! The near-Jem neck profile helps too, though the radius is off. That and it's beautiful. I can't say for sure if it's a good value as i haven't played one yet.
And I should qualify, the new Jem is a deal at YOUR prices. I wouldn't pay retail for it. At that point I'd hunt down a used RG3550 or such.
But this is all semantics as I have a new kid and can't buy a guitar for a while. :D
 
#18 ·
Rich, when I asked you about the S1XXV you said you would have one in a month, so I looked elsewhere. The big box had them in stock and none of my local store had any.
I like to buy from small guys if I can.
Most times they don't sell what I want.
I have only bought three NEW guitars in the last 25 years, including this S1XXV.

"Straight Indo over Premium?"

I don't care where a guitar is made, it can suck, it just depends on how much the person cared that was working on it and how much experience they have.

"10 RG1's, 've seen 1 tine 1/2mm black dot on the back of one. If there's a batch out there that 2 of you have claimed to see, it's not the norm."

The RG1XXVs I saw had 20 - 30 little black dots all over the bodies.

"We already went through this, it was walnut grain. There are no "protruding" walnut strips and if you can prove to me there was I'll eat my hat"

Rich, I've done a lot of woodworking in my life and I know how this happened. The two woods dried more after the neck was built. The maple shrunk a little more than the Walnut. I have other Ibanez guitars with 5 piece necks that don't have this problem.

"Rejection rate on the S's, 16%, rejection rate on the RG's, 10%. And how much neck shim did yours need to get even playable action? The only one I did so far needed a MONSTER shim to get the action right with free trem range."

I added no shim. I adjusted the truss rod, bridge height, and the tension wheel in the back. The intonation was off only on the Low E string.

"The ZR is completely different than the EZ2 or any other knife edge trem, other than that the hardware on both is exactly the same."

I can tell a ZR from a EZ2, I own both and many other Ibanez trems. I was not saying the EZ2 was on this guitar, I was just talking about the color of the EZ.



I was hoping to buy from you, but you didn't have the guitar when I ask you.
With behavior like this, I don't know if I want to buy from you.
I'm just here on the Jemsite trying to have fun with other people that want to have fun with music too. You post really put a damper on my fun.
 
#19 ·
Evidently I don't have a right to my opinion, but you do.

I've had about 35 premiums so far, like I said, it was walnut grain. Prove it different and I'll eat a [chocolate] hat.

They're all Indo, but the Premiums actually have well trained craftsmen building them and to much higher specs that "straight Indo", so that was the reference.

The S's need huge neck shims.
 
#22 ·
BTW Sebastian, that rant was directed at the "board" and all the "got it on sale at MF" posts that have become so common lately. It wasn't fair to "aim" it at you, I just needed to do my warehouse rant and this was just a good spot to do it.
 
#29 ·
I'm a bit confused about the color. Is that nuke-green in the picture what it looks like to the naked eye in a well-lit room, or is it because of the camera/yellow light/fluorescence? The color on Ibanez's official pics is way more "mint green" than nuke green.


vs.


Quite different..

I'm surprised there isn't more impressions posted on the net about these beauties.

Sebastian, you mentioned you were unhappy with the pickups, are they worse than other guitars in the same price range, or is that just compared to high-end pickups?

I'm on the fence about getting one myself, they look great, but I've also looked at a used Prestige S5470 which has HGD1/2 pickups, a bit pricier than the S1XXV though.
 
#30 ·
The color has no yellow tint to it at all, just nuke green to me.
The pickups are no worse than V7 / V8, INF, Quantum or any other Ibanez pickups.
I'm just use to real Dimarzios like EVOs and PAF Pros etc.
For $595, I got more value than I paid for by a long shot.
 
#33 ·
One thing I'll say about Ibanez these days-
Any guitar can be great or suck, especially under $1000.
My S1XXV plays great, I got a good one.
The frets don't stick out of the fretboard.
The frets on one of my JEMs stick out a little.
I need to go over all my Ibanez guitars and adjust a fret or two here and there.
I can live with a buzz on a fret or two, as long as I don't hear it through the amp.
I'm fighting with my JEM77FP 15th a t the moment. I think I need to shim the entire neck up a little bit to keep the trem from sinking too far in to the body. When the trem gets too far in you can't pull up at all. I had the same problem on my JEM7VBK and my RG770DX. This can be a problem for 10s on some Ibanez guitars with square heals.
 
#39 ·
I am not Seb, but I have both and honestly, they really do not compare. The RG is much better, better wood, better construction, better pickups, but most important a much, much, much, much (I could go on) better fretboard. The extra $200 is easily justified. And I prefer the S body style.

All that being said, the S1XXV is a nice guitar for the money and will get the job done.
 
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