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MGR/Leo Chang « Yamaha RGX420S »
Published on 12/17/02 at 15:00I ordered the guitar from a local store for $450 CDN ($CDN520 with tax)
Double locking tremolo works great.
The pickups produce great tonal varieties. I seriously can produce anything from Jazz/Blues sounds to Death Metal crunch with this guitar.
24 Jumbo frets increased playability a lot. Vibratos and bendings are much easier and sound much more musical when done on a guitar with jumbo frets. Some have also said that jumbo frets produce more sustain, but I think they give you more control.
The extra "headroom" given by the 24 frets is also very nice.
Comes with a coil tap / lead boost function.
When the tap/boost switch is flipped on, the guitar switches to the coil that is closest to the bridge and max out the volume and the tone, REGARDLESS of your current knob settings.
For example, I could be playing a very soulful, slow, melodic solo with the neck pickup and tone knob at zero for the most mellow sound. At the mere flip of the boost switch (located at a very convenient, yet out-of-the-way location) I could tear into a pure Metal lead.
As I said, this guitar can produce a great variety of tones, all without changing the settings on your amp.
The five-way switch also gives you 2 out-of-phase options (one for the neck, and one for the bridge pickup) for alternate tonal possibilities. I personally find that clean sounds are best done with the neck pickup in the out-of-phase position.
The naked neck feels great, in contrast to the painted neck on some guitars (Gibson) that impede playability. Not too thin like the Ibanez Wizard necks, but not too thick either. A soft C shape that is very comfortable to play.
The only improvement I would ask for is for the guitar to come equipped with some brand name pickups.
But the stock pickups are actually very good, and can accomodate many styles of playing.
I own 2 Yamaha guitars, the other being an RGX121S.
Both are of the highest construction quality. I have tried many much more expensive guitars (Gibsons, Fenders, PRS..etc) But except for the top-of-the-line models, the build quality tend to be very inconsistent. Some of the guitars they put out now are just plain appalling, even in the #2000-3000 ranges. (I hope someone from Gibson is reading this)
I would highly recommend any Yamaha guitar to any guitar player. They have been some of the most well built guitars I have played and owned. I plan to purchase more Yamahas in the future. Their price-to-quality ratio is simply un-matched by any other company in the industry that I am aware of.
Bottom Line is:
If you want a well-built guitar that can be used to play a lot of different styles and sounds good in all of them, then this is a guitar to seriously consider.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
Double locking tremolo works great.
The pickups produce great tonal varieties. I seriously can produce anything from Jazz/Blues sounds to Death Metal crunch with this guitar.
24 Jumbo frets increased playability a lot. Vibratos and bendings are much easier and sound much more musical when done on a guitar with jumbo frets. Some have also said that jumbo frets produce more sustain, but I think they give you more control.
The extra "headroom" given by the 24 frets is also very nice.
Comes with a coil tap / lead boost function.
When the tap/boost switch is flipped on, the guitar switches to the coil that is closest to the bridge and max out the volume and the tone, REGARDLESS of your current knob settings.
For example, I could be playing a very soulful, slow, melodic solo with the neck pickup and tone knob at zero for the most mellow sound. At the mere flip of the boost switch (located at a very convenient, yet out-of-the-way location) I could tear into a pure Metal lead.
As I said, this guitar can produce a great variety of tones, all without changing the settings on your amp.
The five-way switch also gives you 2 out-of-phase options (one for the neck, and one for the bridge pickup) for alternate tonal possibilities. I personally find that clean sounds are best done with the neck pickup in the out-of-phase position.
The naked neck feels great, in contrast to the painted neck on some guitars (Gibson) that impede playability. Not too thin like the Ibanez Wizard necks, but not too thick either. A soft C shape that is very comfortable to play.
The only improvement I would ask for is for the guitar to come equipped with some brand name pickups.
But the stock pickups are actually very good, and can accomodate many styles of playing.
I own 2 Yamaha guitars, the other being an RGX121S.
Both are of the highest construction quality. I have tried many much more expensive guitars (Gibsons, Fenders, PRS..etc) But except for the top-of-the-line models, the build quality tend to be very inconsistent. Some of the guitars they put out now are just plain appalling, even in the #2000-3000 ranges. (I hope someone from Gibson is reading this)
I would highly recommend any Yamaha guitar to any guitar player. They have been some of the most well built guitars I have played and owned. I plan to purchase more Yamahas in the future. Their price-to-quality ratio is simply un-matched by any other company in the industry that I am aware of.
Bottom Line is:
If you want a well-built guitar that can be used to play a lot of different styles and sounds good in all of them, then this is a guitar to seriously consider.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com