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Alive2000
Published on 01/26/09 at 19:18
I have owned this guitar for over a year, and it became my primary go-to guitar quickly after it's purchase. I've been a big fan of Ibanez's guitars, but have always liked the Les Paul body type, with its shorter scale length of 24.75". The problem being that Ibanez is most widely known for the shredders that endorse their signature guiars (the Vais, Satrianis and Gilberts of the world) makes it less than easy to find a proper substitute for a Gibson.
Made by Ibanez's Korean factory this comes really close to being a Les Paul for those on too much of a budget to get the faded finish series guitars. It's 22 fret, set neck is perfect for those Kiss style riffs, and the block inlays really look great.
The bridge is a Wilkinson III that has fine tuning knobs, and allows for incredibly fast string changes. The three knobs are (from top to bottom) volume, neck tone and bridge tone, with the pickup selector right there for easy access.
UTILIZATION
The neck plays very smoothly, and provides easy access to the last frets.
The design of the guitar is very light, being made of mahogany. It's much easier on the shoulder than a Standard LEs Paul, and most certainly more so than a Les Paul Custom. The edges also allow for a bit more comfortability on the wrist, with a nice contour for the arm to rest while doing whatever kind of strumming you find yourself doing.
I've never had any amount of trouble getting a good sound from this guitar, and that's even with stock pickups. The pickups allow for plenty of variation and modification in tone, and have always left me satisfied.
SOUNDS
The hotter bridge pickup is good for harsher distorted sounds suitable for punk rock or any sort of hard and heavy rock, which is good. However, for a softer, more mellow tone, the neck pickup is fantastic. It's a dream for bluesy rock sounds and jazz stylings.
I run this guitar through a Line 6 Spider 2x10 combo amp, and couldn't be happier, even with the older amp. I use a Bad Horsie Wah pedal for most extended solos if I find they need a bit of variation to them, and the result is usually positive.
I usually like getting a dirtier clean tone with the twang setting of my Line 6 with the bridge pickup, which is perfect for Minutemen style songs, where as the neck pickup is good with just about any setting. No lie.
Favorite sounds of mine are the neck pickup with the wah pedal and the twang tone setting on the Line 6.
OVERALL OPINION
I've had this guitar since December of 2007, and I've loved it since I first laid eyes on it. It's been my main guitar ever since, usurping my Ibanez IC-300, and my solid body acoustic Fernandes. The thing I like most about the guitar is it's versatility. It is amazing, and I've never had a complaint about the playability.
My least favorite, however would be the color of the guitar itself. i bought this used, and did not have much of a choice, but I wouldn't have been in the market for another black guitar anyway. I may do a repaint on this once I have the money to do so.
I have a habit of trying any guitar in my price range (or lack thereof), so I tried a lot of guitars before settling for this one. I have to say it's a great guitar and has fantastic value to it, and I would undoubtedly make the same choice down the road if anything hapened to it. i may go for a higher end model, even.
Made by Ibanez's Korean factory this comes really close to being a Les Paul for those on too much of a budget to get the faded finish series guitars. It's 22 fret, set neck is perfect for those Kiss style riffs, and the block inlays really look great.
The bridge is a Wilkinson III that has fine tuning knobs, and allows for incredibly fast string changes. The three knobs are (from top to bottom) volume, neck tone and bridge tone, with the pickup selector right there for easy access.
UTILIZATION
The neck plays very smoothly, and provides easy access to the last frets.
The design of the guitar is very light, being made of mahogany. It's much easier on the shoulder than a Standard LEs Paul, and most certainly more so than a Les Paul Custom. The edges also allow for a bit more comfortability on the wrist, with a nice contour for the arm to rest while doing whatever kind of strumming you find yourself doing.
I've never had any amount of trouble getting a good sound from this guitar, and that's even with stock pickups. The pickups allow for plenty of variation and modification in tone, and have always left me satisfied.
SOUNDS
The hotter bridge pickup is good for harsher distorted sounds suitable for punk rock or any sort of hard and heavy rock, which is good. However, for a softer, more mellow tone, the neck pickup is fantastic. It's a dream for bluesy rock sounds and jazz stylings.
I run this guitar through a Line 6 Spider 2x10 combo amp, and couldn't be happier, even with the older amp. I use a Bad Horsie Wah pedal for most extended solos if I find they need a bit of variation to them, and the result is usually positive.
I usually like getting a dirtier clean tone with the twang setting of my Line 6 with the bridge pickup, which is perfect for Minutemen style songs, where as the neck pickup is good with just about any setting. No lie.
Favorite sounds of mine are the neck pickup with the wah pedal and the twang tone setting on the Line 6.
OVERALL OPINION
I've had this guitar since December of 2007, and I've loved it since I first laid eyes on it. It's been my main guitar ever since, usurping my Ibanez IC-300, and my solid body acoustic Fernandes. The thing I like most about the guitar is it's versatility. It is amazing, and I've never had a complaint about the playability.
My least favorite, however would be the color of the guitar itself. i bought this used, and did not have much of a choice, but I wouldn't have been in the market for another black guitar anyway. I may do a repaint on this once I have the money to do so.
I have a habit of trying any guitar in my price range (or lack thereof), so I tried a lot of guitars before settling for this one. I have to say it's a great guitar and has fantastic value to it, and I would undoubtedly make the same choice down the road if anything hapened to it. i may go for a higher end model, even.