Hatsubai « Evolution of the Piezo guitars »
Published on 09/12/11 at 18:17This is the evolution of the previous 2020X that was released before it. This one has a few more features such as the extra tone shaping tools, but it's really just about the same thing as the last one. The guitar has a mahogany body with a maple neck, rosewood fretboard with 24 frets, dot inlays, an Ibanez Double Edge tremolo, HH configuration, all access neck joint, one volume, one tone, one mag volume, one tone shape control, piezo/mag switches and a five way switch.
UTILIZATION
The first thing I noticed was that the guitar was the perfect weight. It had just enough weight to feel right, but it wasn't overly heavy like some other ones I've tried. The guitar boasts some more features than the previous models did. It now has a special tone shaping knob that can help adjust the overall tone, but I'll get to that later. The fretwork was top notch, just like every other Ibanez out there. The ends were rounded off nicely, and it felt great in my hands. Everything else was about what you'd expect from Ibanez.
SOUNDS
The guitar had a Tone Zone installed in the bridge and an Air Norton installed in the neck. The Tone Zone is great for these guitars, but I found that it had a bit too much bass overall. They generally work best with alder and basswood guitars rather than these mahogany bodied guitars. The Air Norton in the neck is pure heaven no matter what guitar it's installed in, and I highly recommend it for any humbucker equipped guitar. The piezo in this is more versatile than the other models thanks to the extra tone shaping knob installed in this.
OVERALL OPINION
This is one of the most versatile Ibanez guitars that has ever hit the market. The reason isn't just because of the piezo bridge but also because of the extra tone controls that are installed in this model. You could really play nearly anything with this guitar. The stock pickups in these suck, so you'll want to replace them with some higher quality ones like this model had.
UTILIZATION
The first thing I noticed was that the guitar was the perfect weight. It had just enough weight to feel right, but it wasn't overly heavy like some other ones I've tried. The guitar boasts some more features than the previous models did. It now has a special tone shaping knob that can help adjust the overall tone, but I'll get to that later. The fretwork was top notch, just like every other Ibanez out there. The ends were rounded off nicely, and it felt great in my hands. Everything else was about what you'd expect from Ibanez.
SOUNDS
The guitar had a Tone Zone installed in the bridge and an Air Norton installed in the neck. The Tone Zone is great for these guitars, but I found that it had a bit too much bass overall. They generally work best with alder and basswood guitars rather than these mahogany bodied guitars. The Air Norton in the neck is pure heaven no matter what guitar it's installed in, and I highly recommend it for any humbucker equipped guitar. The piezo in this is more versatile than the other models thanks to the extra tone shaping knob installed in this.
OVERALL OPINION
This is one of the most versatile Ibanez guitars that has ever hit the market. The reason isn't just because of the piezo bridge but also because of the extra tone controls that are installed in this model. You could really play nearly anything with this guitar. The stock pickups in these suck, so you'll want to replace them with some higher quality ones like this model had.