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tjon901 « Arch top Ibanez RG321 with active pickups »
Published on 08/08/11 at 11:36The RG321 is my favorite RG from Ibanez or it was before this model came out. This is part of the RG arch top line. These guitars do not have the flat body like most Ibanez guitars they have an arch top design which is more comfortable. This guitar also has a natural mahogany finish so it looks very nice as well. The RGA32 has a mahogany body which is rare for Ibanez which has an arch top contruction. It has a wizard neck with a bound rosewood fretboard. There ar 24 jumbo frets on the neck. It has the great Gibraltar bridge Ibanez is using on their hardtail guitars now. It is a lot comfier than the old Fender style hardtail bridges they were using before. This guitar also comes with active pickups, something I always recommend with extended range guitars or if you plan on playing metal and tuning low. These are Ibanez active pickups but they look a lot like EMG's they dont sound as good but they sound better than most Ibanez pickups. The controls are simple it has a 3 way switch with a master volume and master tone control.
UTILIZATION
Ibanez prides themselves on the playability of their guitars. Their wizard necks are known to be the thinnest and fastest playing necks on the market. This guitar is extra nice feeling due to the arch top body. It does not dig into your body like most flat top Ibanez guitars do. The active pickups are nice and they installed a battery compartment for them so you can easily change out your batterys. The Wizard necks are super easy to play. They have a super thin profile with large frets and a flat radius fretboard. This means you can really slam down your action and make it easy to play. The flat top Ibanez guitars the cutaways can sometimes have a sharp uncomfortable feel to them. The hardtail bridge means you have ultimate tuning stability and can tune to whatever crazy tuning you want without having to worry about string and spring tension. When it first arrived I noticed the rosewood on the fretboard was quite dry. You can tell if a rosewood fretboard is dry by if it was a pale light color to it. I like my rosewood to be dark like ebony. A little fretboard oil can help this and it will make your fretboard last longer.
SOUNDS
The active pickups are a great step up from what Ibanez usually puts in their guitars. They are not as good as EMG's but they are light and day better than the passive they put in most of their guitars. The active Ibanez are pretty decent. They are pretty much EMG copies. You can get nice high gain tones from both of them. You can get a good high gain lead tone from the neck position but it will get muddy if you pour it on too much. The bridge position has the nice high end sizzle you expect from active pickups. This keeps it from getting muddy in the lower frequencies. They are decent pickups and dont deserve to be instantly thrown out like most Ibanez pickups. You can swap these out with a set of EMG's but it is not as needed as with most other Ibanez guitars.
OVERALL OPINION
These guitars might be discontinued. I dont see them on Ibanez's website. If it is it would be a shame because they are lovely guitars. I was a huge fan of the old RG321 and they just kept on making it better. First by improving the bridge and then making an archtop version, now it has active pickups. Ibanez should make more guitars like this and especially in lefty. If you can find one of these its a great guitar. Great mahogany tone mixed with Ibanez playability.
UTILIZATION
Ibanez prides themselves on the playability of their guitars. Their wizard necks are known to be the thinnest and fastest playing necks on the market. This guitar is extra nice feeling due to the arch top body. It does not dig into your body like most flat top Ibanez guitars do. The active pickups are nice and they installed a battery compartment for them so you can easily change out your batterys. The Wizard necks are super easy to play. They have a super thin profile with large frets and a flat radius fretboard. This means you can really slam down your action and make it easy to play. The flat top Ibanez guitars the cutaways can sometimes have a sharp uncomfortable feel to them. The hardtail bridge means you have ultimate tuning stability and can tune to whatever crazy tuning you want without having to worry about string and spring tension. When it first arrived I noticed the rosewood on the fretboard was quite dry. You can tell if a rosewood fretboard is dry by if it was a pale light color to it. I like my rosewood to be dark like ebony. A little fretboard oil can help this and it will make your fretboard last longer.
SOUNDS
The active pickups are a great step up from what Ibanez usually puts in their guitars. They are not as good as EMG's but they are light and day better than the passive they put in most of their guitars. The active Ibanez are pretty decent. They are pretty much EMG copies. You can get nice high gain tones from both of them. You can get a good high gain lead tone from the neck position but it will get muddy if you pour it on too much. The bridge position has the nice high end sizzle you expect from active pickups. This keeps it from getting muddy in the lower frequencies. They are decent pickups and dont deserve to be instantly thrown out like most Ibanez pickups. You can swap these out with a set of EMG's but it is not as needed as with most other Ibanez guitars.
OVERALL OPINION
These guitars might be discontinued. I dont see them on Ibanez's website. If it is it would be a shame because they are lovely guitars. I was a huge fan of the old RG321 and they just kept on making it better. First by improving the bridge and then making an archtop version, now it has active pickups. Ibanez should make more guitars like this and especially in lefty. If you can find one of these its a great guitar. Great mahogany tone mixed with Ibanez playability.