Ibanez PGM300 Paul Gilbert Signature

Paul Gilbert is one of the most famous Ibanez players. He has been playing them for years. This is one of his earliest signature models. This model was introduced in the early 90s. Other than the finish and the controls this model is a pretty basic RG. This guitar has a basswood body with an original wizard neck which is still the thinnest. The neck is 1 piece of maple with a maple fretboard. The neck has 24 jumbo frets. The pickup configuration is an HSH configuration. The pickups are Dimarzios in every position. The neck and bridge pickups are PAF Pros while the middle pickup is a JEM single coil. The controls are simple. There is a single volume knob hidden within the painted on F-holes and there is a 5 way blade switch to switch between the pickups.

UTILIZATION

If these guitars didnt play great Paul Gilbert wouldnt play them. This model with the tremolo is more for the public than for Gilbert himself. Gilbert like me prefers hardtails and most of the model she actually plays are the hardtail version. Ibanez knowing their consumer base also made this in tremolo form for them. The tremolo is decent and holds tune once setup. The neck is super thin and playable. The flat radius fretboard lets you slam the action pretty low. You dont get many maple fretboard shred guitars so this was the only one you could get for a long time. The reverse headstock may annoy some people. Ibanez tuning keys are placed really close together you it is kind of annoying to change strings when you are always banging your fingers against the tuners.

SOUNDS

The Dimarzio pickups give this guitar a great tone. Also having such a simple signal path helps the tone as well. The more knobs and circuits you have in the guitar the more tone you lose. With just the volume knob you get a more direct single from the strings to the amp. The PAF pro is a classic Dimarzio pickup. Like its name says it is directly based on the Gibson PAF. The pickup has a super over the top tone that really cuts through the mix. The low notes have a boxey vocal quality that makes it sound like an old school pickup. It works well great in each position. In the neck it has a clear sharp sound that can really sing with your solos. In the bridge it has a very open sound that is not super compressed.

OVERALL OPINION

Everyone will know who you are trying to imitate when you play a guitar like this. You can see the F-holes from the back row on this guitar and every guitar player will know what you are playing. Some people like that and others will dislike it. A lot of people do no like using gear with other peoples names or logos on it and some people do not mind. This is for the guy who needs a tremolo on their guitar. Coming with Dimarzio pickups this guitar sounds great out of the box which cannot be said for a lot of Ibanez guitars. If you are a big Gilbert fan and can do this guitar justice you might as well get one.