ProgressiveTom25 « Very good choice »
Published on 05/26/12 at 06:48Prestige Series guitars made in Japan by Team J. Craft.
General characteristics:
- Basswood body
- Round 5 pieces maple / walnut
- Maple fingerboard with jumbo frets
- Edge Zero tremolo with ZPS 3
- Pickups Dimarzio / IBZ HSH configuration
- 1 volume, 1 tone
The belt clips are large enough and avoid any accidental slip.
Model that is no longer in the catalog since 2010.
UTILIZATION
The guitar is very enjoyable to play. Beside a Strat or a Les Paul is the day and night ... after this is not the same philosophy ...
The cutting body (belly and back to the front for the arms) are very well thought out and not come off no interfere with the play standing or sitting.
The volume control is great in the hand, the tone is more distant, but personally I use it very little.
I have also been a little disappointed with the non-progressive volume seemed a strong element of Ibanez guitars ... Basically, the knob volume is rather inefficient on 2/3 of its travel and the sound drops dramatically in the last third. Moreover, it is hard enough ...
The guitar is not very heavy (basswood body) but still weighs its weight and it feels good to vibrate against itself. The guitar sounds acoustically without being already well connected. Be careful though the springs of Floyd that can create unwanted vibrations (2010 models are also equipped with small pieces of rubber to suppress the vibrations of springs).
The neck is rather thin, D-shaped, rather broad and very flat (perfect for those who like me, have big hands and big fingers ...). It is not as fine as that of RG550 (I could try a fairly old model and the handle is downright better!).
So it is actually perfect for solos but it is also very well balanced for the game and crossed agreements, the D-shape to play very flat with the thumb behind the neck without any fatigue.
Access to the latest boxes, although it is a bolt on neck, is no problem.
In summary, a round cut for solos but is also a delight for rhythm parts.
The couple EGDE ZERO / SPA 3 is in my opinion the main strength of this guitar. The Floyd is very low and no piece is hand injury during the game
The SPA 3 is a system against spring that keeps the Floyd to its original position and that cancels the voltage differences between the strings. Result: no problem to switch to drop or even agree ½ below. And even although it should change the spring tension, this is done very easily with a knurled hand turns (thus exit the screwdriver!).
For those like me who are afraid of Floyd for their complexity, this system is perfect!
There also can make the fully floating Floyd removing contraindications springs in order to have a more natural feeling (against the spring-hardens a bit drawn).
In short, a guitar very, very enjoyable to play and who can make significant progress in his game ...
SOUNDS
I was a little afraid of microphones stamped DiMarzio / IBZ ... (A sub-brand of Dimarzio? Of Dimarzio manufactured under license by Ibanez? ...) And finally I find them very good. Compared to other guitars of musician friends mounted EMG or Seymour Duncan, it was not to be ashamed ... It also emits very breath.
With the 5-way switch, one has available a range of sounds:
-Position 1: bridge pickup: ideal position to saturation. It comes out fairly easily harmonics. This mic is perfect for crunch sounds and appears rather late with little overdrive driven. Rather nice for rock and metal so!
-Position 2: bridge pickup split + middle pickup: This position provides its finest but also a little more serious. It allows to lower the gain level without touching the knob simply volume. This position is also suitable for clean sounds very crystalline and slightly tart.
3-position: middle pickup alone: I find this position quite unattractive. Indeed the middle pickup is sorely lacking ... and much potato coupled with double splitted it brings something much alone ...
4-Position: neck pickup split + middle pickup: the ideal position for clean sounds ... arpeggios, chords, funky pots, everything passes without torturing the clean channel of the amp. It also helps in having a saturated its finest and a lower volume than the neck pickup only (as between positions 1 and 2).
5-Position: The position for the ultimate in saturated solos ... Very interesting also for his clear phrasing powerful that look good. In the end, I still find it lacks fullness and bold.
Basically, I use positions 1 and 5 for the crunch sounds, saturated solos, and positions 2 and 4 for clean sounds and occasionally crunch.
In summary, this guitar allows a variation of sounds just by playing with the switch. With a more progressive knob volume we would have had the perfect weapon for versatility (attention, we still reached the summits already ...!).
For example, selecting a crunch sound with average earnings, we can go from crunch to clean sound just by playing on the selector and the volume knob, and through all the shades: his aggressive, soft, fine, fat , ... without changing the channel ... cool right?
Otherwise the output level is not excessive and does not need to review all amp settings and pedals.
Additional statement to the maple fingerboard that really brings an extra attack and brilliance in the sounds (especially with clean tones and crunch, it's a little less obvious on large disto ...).
Good sound so ... even if the personality is not very strong (probably due to wood and microphones)
OVERALL OPINION
In the end it was a guitar very well finished, comfortable, beautiful (I think) and very versatile. Plugged into different configuration (transistor combo, multi-effects, two body tube), it always manages to make it sound like we want.
Honors the box comes with the guitar is very well made and very solid.
Regarding the pickups, I find that Ibanez has a little stingy because there is competition in this price level of scratch marks equipped with microphones. It must also pay € 3/400 more for the same guitar with "real" Dimarzio (RG3000 series).
The problem for those who are interested in this model is that it no longer exists ... If you can afford, head to the RG3550MZ which also has a maple fingerboard but mostly real Dimarzio ... Otherwise the RG 2550Z is the same but with rosewood fingerboard.
General characteristics:
- Basswood body
- Round 5 pieces maple / walnut
- Maple fingerboard with jumbo frets
- Edge Zero tremolo with ZPS 3
- Pickups Dimarzio / IBZ HSH configuration
- 1 volume, 1 tone
The belt clips are large enough and avoid any accidental slip.
Model that is no longer in the catalog since 2010.
UTILIZATION
The guitar is very enjoyable to play. Beside a Strat or a Les Paul is the day and night ... after this is not the same philosophy ...
The cutting body (belly and back to the front for the arms) are very well thought out and not come off no interfere with the play standing or sitting.
The volume control is great in the hand, the tone is more distant, but personally I use it very little.
I have also been a little disappointed with the non-progressive volume seemed a strong element of Ibanez guitars ... Basically, the knob volume is rather inefficient on 2/3 of its travel and the sound drops dramatically in the last third. Moreover, it is hard enough ...
The guitar is not very heavy (basswood body) but still weighs its weight and it feels good to vibrate against itself. The guitar sounds acoustically without being already well connected. Be careful though the springs of Floyd that can create unwanted vibrations (2010 models are also equipped with small pieces of rubber to suppress the vibrations of springs).
The neck is rather thin, D-shaped, rather broad and very flat (perfect for those who like me, have big hands and big fingers ...). It is not as fine as that of RG550 (I could try a fairly old model and the handle is downright better!).
So it is actually perfect for solos but it is also very well balanced for the game and crossed agreements, the D-shape to play very flat with the thumb behind the neck without any fatigue.
Access to the latest boxes, although it is a bolt on neck, is no problem.
In summary, a round cut for solos but is also a delight for rhythm parts.
The couple EGDE ZERO / SPA 3 is in my opinion the main strength of this guitar. The Floyd is very low and no piece is hand injury during the game
The SPA 3 is a system against spring that keeps the Floyd to its original position and that cancels the voltage differences between the strings. Result: no problem to switch to drop or even agree ½ below. And even although it should change the spring tension, this is done very easily with a knurled hand turns (thus exit the screwdriver!).
For those like me who are afraid of Floyd for their complexity, this system is perfect!
There also can make the fully floating Floyd removing contraindications springs in order to have a more natural feeling (against the spring-hardens a bit drawn).
In short, a guitar very, very enjoyable to play and who can make significant progress in his game ...
SOUNDS
I was a little afraid of microphones stamped DiMarzio / IBZ ... (A sub-brand of Dimarzio? Of Dimarzio manufactured under license by Ibanez? ...) And finally I find them very good. Compared to other guitars of musician friends mounted EMG or Seymour Duncan, it was not to be ashamed ... It also emits very breath.
With the 5-way switch, one has available a range of sounds:
-Position 1: bridge pickup: ideal position to saturation. It comes out fairly easily harmonics. This mic is perfect for crunch sounds and appears rather late with little overdrive driven. Rather nice for rock and metal so!
-Position 2: bridge pickup split + middle pickup: This position provides its finest but also a little more serious. It allows to lower the gain level without touching the knob simply volume. This position is also suitable for clean sounds very crystalline and slightly tart.
3-position: middle pickup alone: I find this position quite unattractive. Indeed the middle pickup is sorely lacking ... and much potato coupled with double splitted it brings something much alone ...
4-Position: neck pickup split + middle pickup: the ideal position for clean sounds ... arpeggios, chords, funky pots, everything passes without torturing the clean channel of the amp. It also helps in having a saturated its finest and a lower volume than the neck pickup only (as between positions 1 and 2).
5-Position: The position for the ultimate in saturated solos ... Very interesting also for his clear phrasing powerful that look good. In the end, I still find it lacks fullness and bold.
Basically, I use positions 1 and 5 for the crunch sounds, saturated solos, and positions 2 and 4 for clean sounds and occasionally crunch.
In summary, this guitar allows a variation of sounds just by playing with the switch. With a more progressive knob volume we would have had the perfect weapon for versatility (attention, we still reached the summits already ...!).
For example, selecting a crunch sound with average earnings, we can go from crunch to clean sound just by playing on the selector and the volume knob, and through all the shades: his aggressive, soft, fine, fat , ... without changing the channel ... cool right?
Otherwise the output level is not excessive and does not need to review all amp settings and pedals.
Additional statement to the maple fingerboard that really brings an extra attack and brilliance in the sounds (especially with clean tones and crunch, it's a little less obvious on large disto ...).
Good sound so ... even if the personality is not very strong (probably due to wood and microphones)
OVERALL OPINION
In the end it was a guitar very well finished, comfortable, beautiful (I think) and very versatile. Plugged into different configuration (transistor combo, multi-effects, two body tube), it always manages to make it sound like we want.
Honors the box comes with the guitar is very well made and very solid.
Regarding the pickups, I find that Ibanez has a little stingy because there is competition in this price level of scratch marks equipped with microphones. It must also pay € 3/400 more for the same guitar with "real" Dimarzio (RG3000 series).
The problem for those who are interested in this model is that it no longer exists ... If you can afford, head to the RG3550MZ which also has a maple fingerboard but mostly real Dimarzio ... Otherwise the RG 2550Z is the same but with rosewood fingerboard.