Info on low-range Ibanez

[PeteyPablo]

Im ready to progress from my first Fender Squier Strat starter guitar, and Im interested in buying an Ibanez, purely from a superficial aesthetics point of view.

a) Is this an absurd view to be taking?

b) What would be a good, not too expensive, 'stage up' Ibanez from my very cheap first beginner Squier?

Thanks,

Petey

[Raskolnikov]

A). Yes.

But there are a lot of ways a guitar can work for you. Tone and playability should come first, but looks count too to most people.

B). I can't say. Generally, more money = better guitar (when you're talking about the same company), but not always.

[trendkillah]

If you're really set on getting an Ibanez, just check out the RG or S series.
They have those in a lot of price ranges, you can basically pick one according to your budget.

[PeteyPablo]

Ill do that, thanks. What's the difference?

[trendkillah]

Between the RG and S series? Or price ranges?

The S series have a thinner body compared to the RG, and the S has 22 frets where the RG has 24.(I'm not 100% sure about the fret thing though)

When it comes to price ranges, the more pricey you go, the better the neck and hardware(tremelo/pickups/tuners) will be.

[James8831]

The basic RG270 and S370 seem to check out well in reviews..as quite similar.I've never tried these guitars but i'd say play em both back to back (a good Ibinhad dealer should have a large range for you to try)

My first "proper" guitar was an Ibanez RS120 (twin powersound humbuckers with coil taps)This was a budget Ibanez, one of the lower end ones - if not the cheapest.

I have had this guitar for 15 yrs now and despite the abuse it's had over the years it still sounds fine and not a single thing has gone wrong with it!!, a little generic sounding - ie; definitly not a strat,tele or les paul type sound, but a good approximation. Fine solid guitars,generally.

I think that the RG series holds it's value better generally as they are well known guitars,not sure about the S.

Hope you fine a good un :)

[chrisbs]

The RG270 is a good guitar, of course, if you want a non trem model, the 170 is there as well


http://www.fretland.com

[fuhrysteve]

hey man, i have a ibanez rg 470, and it's really nice, excellent stock pickups. they just got discontinued, and they're a usually $500 guitar, so now you might be able to find one for cheaper (like i did :) ) i got mine new for $400, i don't really suggest personally going as low end as the other rg's like the 270, unless you don't really want that much of a step up. also, don't have your heart set on ibanez, keep in mind les pauls are verrrry nice sounding and playing, as well as many other brands, because the floyd rose can be high maintenance sometimes, and i'd probibly wouldn't want to gig with a backup, because if you break a string, it will take a while to replace, and forever to tune.

[PeteyPablo]

the floyd rose can be high maintenance sometimes...[/B]

Sorry, what is that? I gather its an (unusual?) component of Ibanez guitars?

[James8831]

..type tremelos aren't unusual on Ibanezes or most "metal" style guitars, just beware of very CHEAP floyds/guitars with floyds as,from my experience they are fuggging awful.

Note this does not usually apply to a well maintained Ibanez floyd - just make sure you tell them in the shop to set the whole thing how YOU like it (string height wise mainly), dont let the sales suit pressure you. If you want it lower (within reason!) just ask them nicely, read the instructions and don't adjust it yourself UNTIL you are 200% sure of what you are doing :) Some shops offer a first year service so you may want to find one that does that.

Floyds can be vexatious as they can lock at both ends (nut and tremelo) and you must make sure the new strings are stretched enough to hold their tune before you lock the nut..etc,etc.

i usually only deal with older style trems and don't have
much experience of these, but they are apparently good on Ibinbads, ESPs etc... with a few exceptions.

[James8831]

has some more info on Floyds

http://www.jacksonguitars.com/techtips/floyd_setup.htm

[fuhrysteve]

the best site i've found with info regarding floyd rose's is this, and i have the link all ready for the floyd roses section of it, it's dedicated to steve vai's jem guitar which is pretty much build around the floyd rose, or it seems as though...
http://www.jemsite.com/axes/htm_features/det_tr.htm
have fun:)

[James8831]

fuhrysteve.

I think that i understand a little bit more on them now. :)

[James8831]

.. i didn't think of it afore, d'oh!!

http://www.ibanez.com/support/manuals/guitars_basses.pdf

:)

[fuhrysteve]

any time james, the floyd rose is a very developed system, it has been around for a while, and is without question the best floating tremelo out there, providing you don't like going out of tune every time you dive bomb:), i can divebomb on my floydrose so the low E string can almost touch where the high e string is without too much pull, and i'll let it up and it'll be perfectly in tune. i have gone two weeks without tuning it several times, and i only got it in the beginning of jan. if you want a tremelo, the floyd rose won't let you down.