Great review. I've been playing for 30 years and I started off on the pointiest guitars I could find, but recently I've settled on Ibanez because I've grown to appreciate the amazing ergonomics of their guitars. They are just so comfortable to play either sitting or standing and the thin necks are a revelation. The MIJ Genesis series are the sweet spot, but they hold their own at any price point.
Exact same here dude. My second ever guitar was an entry level Dean ML for Christ sake 😂. I do still love the pointy stuff but it's not what I want to be playing on the daily at my age. Thanks for watching!
@@gorsedhthe action is very low (good playability), there is some fret buzz on the low E string (the thicker one at the top). But it is fixable by a luthier. White pickups look extremely good on this guitar which can be considered while upgrading the pickups.
I bought an rga this weekend. Bought a set of active pickups to go along with it. Still under $500 CAD for everything. This truly is a great beginner/intermediate rig
I love this guitar on many ways. My first guitar is an Ibanez RGA 32 from 2009 (wizard II neck and active pick ups) and It's still my best guitar between my LTDs and my Jacksons. I never felt as confortable playing a guitar like my Rga 32. Thanks James for this very precise and unbiased presentation of this instrument ! your videos are are always very awaited!
Ive got the RG421 in mahogony oil so no real cosmetic issues, its by far the most playable, comfortable and best sounding guitar I own and its the cheapest, quick polish on the frets was all it needed
I have the 7 string version of this and it is amazing. I really want this 6 string now. Locking tunes would be the my only real upgrade besides the nut that I would do. I love the ergonomics. My favorite body style is the S series.
Playability and looks are key. You want something that doesn't hindrance your playing but encourages it and you want a guitar that looks great to you and inspires you to pick it up.
I have nothing but great things to say about this guitar. The form, fit, and finish are fantastic, and I probably will never swap the stock pickups. Why would I when they're perfect for my playing style?
Coil tapping on the midrange Ibanez guitars is such a cool feature. Also playability is king. The rest is not that important, because you can easily change parts like nut, bridge, tuners, pickups. You can polish or file frets, but you cannot change neck profile.
I have this guitar with their floating tremolo, metal nut and upside down head. I went shopping for a spec guitar and came across this and had to take it home. I paid something like $350 and I prefer it over my spec $1400 Jackson. The Quantum pickups are also surprisingly versatile and nice for me. They were fairly close to my strings and I haven’t had to adjust them.
Picked one up at a Store yesterday and couldnt Believe how solid the fretwork was! Agree on the PUPs and Nut, but weight- looks and fretwork are fabulous
There's a reason after 25 years of playing, I still have all of my Ibanez RGs in my collection. A 2002 Korean RG320, 2004 Japan RG7420, RG 2570 and RGA32, set to different tunings. I've owned all of them for more than 12 years. None of them have wanted anything other than a pick-up swap and yearly fettle. The body just feels so balanced in your laps or standing up, whether Basswood or Mahogany, but I do appreciate the subtle differences between the Wizard, Wizard Prestige, Wizard II and Wizard III necks. But that RGA42 is a value for money beaut.
Hey! Seems like you've got a good grip on Ibanez necks (pun intended :P). I'm an acoustic player with small hands, and aiming to buy an Ibanez as my first electric guitar. Which neck is the slimmest, the one you'd recommend for small hands? The WIZARD III is easily available in my country of residence
@@atharvaba To be honest, the differences are very very subtle. We're only talking about just a few mm on the depth and radius. You won't go wrong with either of them. You'll feel fine on a wizard III coming off the acoustic. The Wizard Prestige might feel too flat with it being 1mm thinner and larger diameter
I just ordered one of these yesterday, as my beginner (again) guitar, same beautiful Blue color. When I get good enough I'd planed on replacing the Pup's anyway (SD SH-4b Jeff Beck and SH-1n '59 PAF). But this is the 2'nd video where I hear the nut needs replaced, so if a bit of pencil graphite rubbed in, or other lube in the slots don't help, It'll be replaced fairly quickly. I had a used RG-350 years ago but life got in the way, so I know how playable Ibby's are. Good thing we play crafted wood, not paper specs! Thanks for the video!
I've had this exact same guitar for 5 years now and I love it to this day. It was the first guitar I bought with my own money and it was the best purchase of my life. I switched the pickups out for Seymour Duncan Nazgul and Sentient pickups so it sounds significantly better than it did out of the box. It's very easy to play and so comfortable
been playing air guitar since the 1980's, just got my first real guitar which is the dragon eye burst version of this guitar and i am 51 year old, hopefully not too late to start learning!
I play Cort KX and Squier Tele when Im recording or going after certain sound, but none of them offer the little joy and smile in my face when I pick up my Ibanez RG, it feels like Ibanez neck is built for my hand, so comfortable and easy to play, light and fast.
I bought this guitar from my local guitar shop recently and I pretty much agree that the pick ups aren’t as good as some of my other guitars but it plays like butter I mean even better then my 1000$ schecter, I went in buying this guitar knowing I wanted to build my own guitar and I gotta say it has potential to be one of if not my favorite guitars once I put some fishmans or dmarzio pick ups in it, it’s gonna be an absolute monster once I’m done with building it
You've been luckier than me as far as the pickups are concerned. Mine had a very poor note definition. But I have decided to keep this guitar because of how good it plays and how incredibly light it is (6.1 pounds ! ). I have changed the pickups and also wanted to change the nut and my luthier and I have discovered that the stock nut was a graphite nut. As good as graph tech according to the luthier, he has sensed it as soon as he has started working on it. So I do totally agree with you that this guitar should be in everyone's short list.
I'm on a budget (who isn't these days) & and want a workhorse guitar to retool my technique. This one certainly seems a good choice because the last thing I want is something hard to play. I'm lefthanded too, & happily these are available.
Ibanez are one of the best for looking after Lefties. I feel for you guys as guitar shopping is enough of a minefield these days without that limitation. Thanks for watching 👍
I was torn between this guitar and RG421AHM. Went with the latter, and no regrets too! Ibanez mid-range is great. Even GIO series is superb, when compared to the entry-level of other brands like LTD, Epiphone, Squier, Jackson JS series
I bought the 7 string verson of this guitar as an entry into 7s with the plan to sell it and upgrade to something 'better' if i stuck with it the 7 thing. I loved it so much I opted to keep it and upgrade it. Pickups and some better tuners and its my most played guitar. Some of my others are worth 3x what it owes me.
I had a spare set of Seymours (SH4 bridge & ‘59 neck) that needed a home and this guitar was the perfect recipient. Graphite nut upgrade and some basic locking tuners and I had me an absolute weapon for $900NZD (£400).
Hi James, thanks a lot for your very professional, deep and complete review of this fantastic guitar. I'm looking for a strat body guitar with H H configuration guitar and this model is alreday in the list. As owner of Ibanez super strat AZ224 model to me this review is just a confirmation about the Ibanez quality also for entry level guitar. Hope to see on your channel other guitars review. Good Job. Cheers from Italy
A guitar like is just what i'm looking. I prioritize play-ability, comfort, weight but maybe interested in spending a little more money for hopefully better pickups idk. Not interested in a trem system so that kinda limits the more expensive ibanez guitars I can get. Also hoping to really experience a wizard III neck and it kinda makes me doubt this one. The search continues i guess. Other contender is prs se standard 24, but then i don't think it will have the playable neck i hope for.
I have an Ibanez RGAT62 with DiMarzio pickups that has become my number 1. I played a Les Paul Custom for 35 years, but it became too painful to gig with it (standing) because of back injuries. The Ibanez weighs 5 pounds and has a beautiful neck profile. To me, Playability is paramount. I've owned everything from a 1957 LP Custom Black Beauty to a Cheese Log with a baseball bat neck. It doesn't matter how good it sounds if you can't physically play it. You have a potential winner if it's playable and the guitar resonates properly when unplugged. As someone else said, you can change pickups, pots, bridges, and nuts. I don't care much about the cosmetics of a guitar. For an old guy who still gigs every week, it's an excellent choice. Change the nut and upgrade the electronics, and you'll have a great gigging tool that won't give you a heart attack if it gets dinged.
I got the Ibanez RGA42EXBAM, and my only complaints was that they filed the frets down a little too much so the high E slides off the fret board easily, and the pickups don't have much sustaine. Outside of those 2 things, it's pretty much flawless.
I've owned this guitar since 2021 and it plays great as is. I've been playing since 1986 and owned all kinds of guitars. Calling it a beginner guitar because of it's price is laughable. That goes for most guitars of that price. You made it seem like an issue to raise up your pickups. I do that on all my guitars to get my sound. At least your honest about how you feel. Good video.
Greetings, now I’m thinking of choosing an Ibanez rga 42 fm or harley benton fusion 3 with emg active, it’s very important for me to play comfortably, because I play not so long ago and play mostly metal, but I would like to get a very comfortable, at the same time good-sounding instrument (also I will be glad if you recommend something similar to these two guitars)
I have the Floyd rose version of this guitar, about $80 more expensive, very awesome guitar. Just got a Schecter Reaper-7 in not too long ago, if you haven’t tried a 7 string or a Schecter, I’d definitely recommend the Reaper 7.
Beautifully shot and well written review. Great playing too. According to the Ibanez North America website the 2nd position of the selector switch is for parralel/series on the humbucker rather than a spit. Is it wired differently for different markets?
Thanks so much for the kind comments my friend, I try and make these reviews stand out with production value as best I can! You know I could have been wrongly thinking it was a Split in the review? It sounded like one to me.
Thank you for this honest and interesting review. I am thinking of buying this guitar because of the playability you mentionned , the wizzard neck and especially the light body . I dould change the nut and put in other pick ups to improve the muddy budget sound . Which ones would you recommend ? Would this be enough to make it a great guitar?
If you're going to replace the Pickups as well as the Nut you could be better off buying a more expensive model to begin with. There are great models from the Iron Label range with proper branded pickups for example. Unfortunately putting more expensive pickups into a guitar rarely translates into being able to sell it for more, so you may find that despite dropping £200 worth of pickups into it this guitar will still only be worth £350!
Amazing review! I've still got my starter guitar after a decade and I finally decided to get my shit together and upgrade! I'm down to this guitar or the Schecter Omen Extreme-6 and both are just great!! It's so difficult to choose one coming from a goddamn Samick Strat Sunburst though. Any chance someone got hands-on reviews for both guitars and could share some nice words? 😉
We all have to start somewhere! My first guitar was a beaten up second hand Chinese Strat copy bought for £70! I did review the Schecter Omen Elite 6 on this channel which was only a touch more expensive than this. Great guitar!
I might get this but between this and the rgrt 421, which would you choose? The rgrt 421 is a neck through and reverse neck. My first Ibanez was a rg470dx and it has the floyd rose. Its fun but definitely want a fixed bridge.
I always loved RGs they have been my favorite since early 90s. The recently lost my guitar,amp and pedal collection and it killed me so as I start again I just ordered this guitar and the headrush core. Going from highend guitars including a Helix floor it’s a step down hope I will be content
Sorry to hear that man. The good news is affordable kit these days is incredibly good! The HR Core sounds better than any Helix product with the right IR's IMO. Checkout the free downloads for Headrush across my channel 👍
For every video I improvise something and just make it up as I go along (or sometimes play parts of my own songs) so unfortunately I don't have tabs, I cant event remember what I played for this video! :-) . But if you wanted to try the same tuning I always play in Drop D or Drop D Flat (Same tuning but half a step down) on all my 6 strings. Thanks for watching!
Hi James thanks for the detailed review. Could you recommend an Ibanez in the same mould (mainly with a thin and wide neck) for someone who has a slightly higher (say 20% more) budget. I am a bit worried about the pick-up quality and won’t find it easy to swap them out where I live.
Thank you for watching! Look at the Iron Label range from Ibanez. They nearly all have branded pickups for reasonable money especially second hand. Should be just what you're looking for. Thanks for watching!
Beautiful guitar but if I need to make so many adjustments or changes ( me being a beginner-Intermediate player) I might as well pay more and get a Schecter?! Great review, THANKS!!
I'm actually looking for a nice guitar to gig with. The fact is I have expensive guitars but it would be really painful to see them damaged or stolen. And let be honest for a second, people are not going to notice if you're playing a private stock or a budget as long as you can play. it's not a studio recording session. Thank you for the review I think I can go for it
I agree 100% about having something cheap and comfortable is at times more important than spec shopping (except for the plastic nut, but that’s a 10 minute job to fix), this is a good example of a cheap and reliable noodle guitar. Also out of curiosity what strings do you use? I find throwing elixirs onto anything brings out a bunch of clarity (I personally use 10-48 for 25.5” and 11-52 on anything shorter)
Honestly my string usage is all over the place, the only Gauge set I'm married to is 7 string for my odd tuning which is 62 to 10 (two 13 Gauge strings on the top for the two B's). I tend to buy 3 or 5 packs in bulk of whatever is currently at the best price on eBay usually Ernie Ball or D'addario. I have tried some of the fancier stuff like M Steel, NYXL, Paradigm etc etc and never found they do anything like what they claim in terms of tone or longevity. The older I get the lighter the gauge I seem to prefer as well.... I quite enjoyed a set of 0.9's the other day god forbid.
@@komraderymcdermott5903 You did what!?! 😂 The last time I played a set of 9's I enjoyed it far more than I'd ever be willing to admit. Those full tone bends came so easy...
I want an intermediate guitar, I am in doubt if I should get this Ibanez RGA42 or tye Cort KX300 Etched. I would like a guitar for Rock/Metal. Which one you suggests?
Both great choices! If you can try and play them before you buy as the neck profiles between Cort and Ibanez are different so you may feel more comfortable with one over the other.
I think you're a little harsh with the criticism towards the nut. Yes, plastic is seen as "inferior" to other materials, but it is plenty hard and offers consistency across the material, both of which are desirable traits. Saying a change of nut would be necessary for live performances may scare some beginners away from this guitar, when really this is an easy fix with a pencil. I know the pencil/graphite trick made a word of difference on my MII Squier for tuning stability, so I think you should offer that as a quick & effective fix, instead of suggesting a nut replacement is warranted. Overall, nice review. I'm not in the market for a new guitar, but I enjoyed your presentation and thoughts anyway. And I certainly agree that for a beginner, the specs and sounds should be a secondary consideration to playability, which Ibanez excels at. Good work!
I hear you but I have tried every which way to fix a poor plastic nut including products like Nut Sauce and the bottom line is if you get a bad one, its bad no matter what you try. Certainly its possible to get a good plastic nut, for example the LTD EC1000 I reviewed on the channel. But a bad one absolutely kills the enjoyment and piece of mind for being a reliable live instrument, just last week I reviewed the new Solar X2.6 which had ATROCIOUS tuning stability for this reason. The Pencil trick is worth a go though. Thanks for watching!
Love the reviews, but you never mention the pots. On more affordable mid range stuff, I want to know if they've cheaped out on the pots. I know this guitar will have shitty smalls, but if you get to mid range stuff, it can vary.
“An aggresive high cut.” Please notice that there’s a Tone knob (on the guitar), that does that to perfection. Learn to use it. That’s what it’s there for. Cheers!
I've never liked the way tone knobs muddy up a sound, they basically remove anything beyond mid range frequencies far too comprehensively IMO. I'd prefer to use something like a 10 Band or Graphic EQ to roll off the nasties in a more precise way.
@@GuitarCinemaOfficial Fair enough. You’re reply is well thought out and comprehensive. To a degree, you’ve convinced me of your viewpoint. The Tone knob is a bit of a blunt instrument compared to what you cited, but it’s very quick to use, and seems to work for me. Cheers!!
I have one of these and the strings on it especially the low E and A are really rattley on the frets. Had it replaced and got a new one still same issue.
I agree with the importance of playability on a guitar for a starter. But for me playability is 50% design and 50% set-up.. Ibanez can be very playable but in my experience they do need some work from the box to reach their top-form
1000% this .. I don’t even know why people comment on how a guitar feels out the box, UNLESS, it’s super expensive/boutique, etc. custom shop, etc. even then… nature dictates, wood, glue, etc., moves and changes during transport and weather changes. I recently received a guitar delivered to me in -30 Celsius weather, and out the back of the UPS truck it came to me literally frozen … so any set up will be potentially compromised when it warms up in the house. Ive had 4 ibanez universes, played them for thousands of hours. Everyone says the premium Indonesia one sucks, isn’t quite like the Japanese. Guess what? I set mine up perfectly and aside from the bridge (which I actually dig, gives the premium universe a strat like sloppy feel) and slight difference in neck radius, I was able to make my Indonesian universe feel JUST AS GOOD as a Japanese prestige. Had I not done that, guess what? It would feel like clunky crap, didn’t feel anything like prestige. Conclusion: set up can make a huge difference! I agree it’s 50% design and component, 50% set up
Not in every case, its possible to get a good plastic nut (See the review of the LTD EC1000 on this channel). But a bad one will absolutely ruin the enjoyment of your guitar.
They're quite comparible these days yes. The Chinese Epiphone Extura I reviewed on the channel was great! This guitar? Not so much... I will cover it's issues in detail in the full review I'm currently working on...
Yes it`s light and it has a nice shape but the rest is just junk. I had to swap all hardware, i mean all apart from the knobs with some quality ones and even now that the cost is more than 2x of the original it`s still a shait wood on it. Ibanez has gone very cost saving recently. I`m not buying this brand anymore.
Great review. I've been playing for 30 years and I started off on the pointiest guitars I could find, but recently I've settled on Ibanez because I've grown to appreciate the amazing ergonomics of their guitars. They are just so comfortable to play either sitting or standing and the thin necks are a revelation. The MIJ Genesis series are the sweet spot, but they hold their own at any price point.
Exact same here dude. My second ever guitar was an entry level Dean ML for Christ sake 😂. I do still love the pointy stuff but it's not what I want to be playing on the daily at my age. Thanks for watching!
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This was my first electric guitar and I love it to this day. It’s very versatile and easy to play.
Still a great choice now!
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how is the action? i want to decide wether to buy one
@@gorsedhthe action is very low (good playability), there is some fret buzz on the low E string (the thicker one at the top). But it is fixable by a luthier. White pickups look extremely good on this guitar which can be considered while upgrading the pickups.
@@tarkgundogdu8940 okay so everything in line with usual ibanez, low action and some buzz. On my grg170 i fixed it myself. Thanks man!
a nut change and pickup swap is much easier to do down the line than a fret job or neck reprofiling.
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Absolutely
@@GuitarCinemaOfficialthis is not a good look mate
I bought an rga this weekend. Bought a set of active pickups to go along with it. Still under $500 CAD for everything. This truly is a great beginner/intermediate rig
I love this guitar on many ways. My first guitar is an Ibanez RGA 32 from 2009 (wizard II neck and active pick ups) and It's still my best guitar between my LTDs and my Jacksons. I never felt as confortable playing a guitar like my Rga 32.
Thanks James for this very precise and unbiased presentation of this instrument ! your videos are are always very awaited!
Agreed it plays far above its price point, thanks for the support mate!
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Ive got the RG421 in mahogony oil so no real cosmetic issues, its by far the most playable, comfortable and best sounding guitar I own and its the cheapest, quick polish on the frets was all it needed
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is it RG421 AHM how it is comparing with RGA42FM
I have the 7 string version of this and it is amazing. I really want this 6 string now. Locking tunes would be the my only real upgrade besides the nut that I would do. I love the ergonomics. My favorite body style is the S series.
One of the lightest and most comfortable 7 strings at this price point!
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Playability and looks are key.
You want something that doesn't hindrance your playing but encourages it and you want a guitar that looks great to you and inspires you to pick it up.
👆 This guy gets it.
I have nothing but great things to say about this guitar. The form, fit, and finish are fantastic, and I probably will never swap the stock pickups. Why would I when they're perfect for my playing style?
Playability is exceptional!
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You nailed it.
Coil tapping on the midrange Ibanez guitars is such a cool feature. Also playability is king. The rest is not that important, because you can easily change parts like nut, bridge, tuners, pickups. You can polish or file frets, but you cannot change neck profile.
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I have this guitar with their floating tremolo, metal nut and upside down head. I went shopping for a spec guitar and came across this and had to take it home. I paid something like $350 and I prefer it over my spec $1400 Jackson. The Quantum pickups are also surprisingly versatile and nice for me. They were fairly close to my strings and I haven’t had to adjust them.
What model is that? I'm interested in getting one.
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Picked one up at a Store yesterday and couldnt Believe how solid the fretwork was! Agree on the PUPs and Nut, but weight- looks and fretwork are fabulous
Nice, enjoy!
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thank you for an honest review - we need more of these for online buyers
I do my best! thanks for watching!
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There's a reason after 25 years of playing, I still have all of my Ibanez RGs in my collection. A 2002 Korean RG320, 2004 Japan RG7420, RG 2570 and RGA32, set to different tunings. I've owned all of them for more than 12 years. None of them have wanted anything other than a pick-up swap and yearly fettle. The body just feels so balanced in your laps or standing up, whether Basswood or Mahogany, but I do appreciate the subtle differences between the Wizard, Wizard Prestige, Wizard II and Wizard III necks. But that RGA42 is a value for money beaut.
Hey! Seems like you've got a good grip on Ibanez necks (pun intended :P).
I'm an acoustic player with small hands, and aiming to buy an Ibanez as my first electric guitar. Which neck is the slimmest, the one you'd recommend for small hands? The WIZARD III is easily available in my country of residence
@@atharvaba To be honest, the differences are very very subtle. We're only talking about just a few mm on the depth and radius. You won't go wrong with either of them. You'll feel fine on a wizard III coming off the acoustic. The Wizard Prestige might feel too flat with it being 1mm thinner and larger diameter
@@Titot182 thanks for clearing my doubt. Your cycling videos are crazy, subscribed!
I just ordered one of these yesterday, as my beginner (again) guitar, same beautiful Blue color. When I get good enough I'd planed on replacing the Pup's anyway (SD SH-4b Jeff Beck and SH-1n '59 PAF). But this is the 2'nd video where I hear the nut needs replaced, so if a bit of pencil graphite rubbed in, or other lube in the slots don't help, It'll be replaced fairly quickly. I had a used RG-350 years ago but life got in the way, so I know how playable Ibby's are. Good thing we play crafted wood, not paper specs!
Thanks for the video!
Be aware that direct mounted pickups have shorter legs generally, so check this before buying new pickups! FWIW
That was an excellent review. Good points were made.
Well done, sir!
Thank you and thanks for watching!
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I've had this exact same guitar for 5 years now and I love it to this day. It was the first guitar I bought with my own money and it was the best purchase of my life. I switched the pickups out for Seymour Duncan Nazgul and Sentient pickups so it sounds significantly better than it did out of the box. It's very easy to play and so comfortable
Great pickup choice!
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been playing air guitar since the 1980's, just got my first real guitar which is the dragon eye burst version of this guitar and i am 51 year old, hopefully not too late to start learning!
How’s it going???
If you were 81 it wouldnt be too late!
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I play Cort KX and Squier Tele when Im recording or going after certain sound, but none of them offer the little joy and smile in my face when I pick up my Ibanez RG, it feels like Ibanez neck is built for my hand, so comfortable and easy to play, light and fast.
Still the best thing about Ibby!
Would you say its more comfortable than the harley?
I bought this guitar from my local guitar shop recently and I pretty much agree that the pick ups aren’t as good as some of my other guitars but it plays like butter I mean even better then my 1000$ schecter, I went in buying this guitar knowing I wanted to build my own guitar and I gotta say it has potential to be one of if not my favorite guitars once I put some fishmans or dmarzio pick ups in it, it’s gonna be an absolute monster once I’m done with building it
Be sure to update us how it is with a proper set of pickups in!
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You've been luckier than me as far as the pickups are concerned. Mine had a very poor note definition. But I have decided to keep this guitar because of how good it plays and how incredibly light it is (6.1 pounds ! ). I have changed the pickups and also wanted to change the nut and my luthier and I have discovered that the stock nut was a graphite nut. As good as graph tech according to the luthier, he has sensed it as soon as he has started working on it. So I do totally agree with you that this guitar should be in everyone's short list.
That's interesting! I wonder how it came to have a graphite nut... Even some 1K Axion Label models babe PPS (Plastic) nuts.
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great review, going to be purchasing this and upgrading the pick ups.
Great let us know how you get on!
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I'm on a budget (who isn't these days) & and want a workhorse guitar to retool my technique. This one certainly seems a good choice because the last thing I want is something hard to play. I'm lefthanded too, & happily these are available.
Ibanez are one of the best for looking after Lefties. I feel for you guys as guitar shopping is enough of a minefield these days without that limitation. Thanks for watching 👍
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I was torn between this guitar and RG421AHM. Went with the latter, and no regrets too! Ibanez mid-range is great. Even GIO series is superb, when compared to the entry-level of other brands like LTD, Epiphone, Squier, Jackson JS series
I bought the 7 string verson of this guitar as an entry into 7s with the plan to sell it and upgrade to something 'better' if i stuck with it the 7 thing. I loved it so much I opted to keep it and upgrade it. Pickups and some better tuners and its my most played guitar. Some of my others are worth 3x what it owes me.
To get something significantly better you'd really have to spend more than double the price of this guitar IMO so totally get that!
Hi James, great review! This is definitely a guitar I'm thinking about getting one. Luckily replacing the nut isn't a big and expensive thing to do.
Still a great buy in 2024 my man!
Teemu Mantysarii uses an RGA42FM in the Wintersun Rehersals for Time 1 album.
I had a spare set of Seymours (SH4 bridge & ‘59 neck) that needed a home and this guitar was the perfect recipient. Graphite nut upgrade and some basic locking tuners and I had me an absolute weapon for $900NZD (£400).
Nice!!
Hi James, thanks a lot for your very professional, deep and complete review of this fantastic guitar.
I'm looking for a strat body guitar with H H configuration guitar and this model is alreday in the list. As owner of Ibanez super strat AZ224 model to me this review is just a confirmation about the Ibanez quality also for entry level guitar.
Hope to see on your channel other guitars review. Good Job. Cheers from Italy
@@ermenegildotosi7443 Ciao my friend thank you for watching and the support!
A guitar like is just what i'm looking. I prioritize play-ability, comfort, weight but maybe interested in spending a little more money for hopefully better pickups idk. Not interested in a trem system so that kinda limits the more expensive ibanez guitars I can get. Also hoping to really experience a wizard III neck and it kinda makes me doubt this one. The search continues i guess. Other contender is prs se standard 24, but then i don't think it will have the playable neck i hope for.
True story, I have never played a PRS. I need to get one for a video!
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I have an Ibanez RGAT62 with DiMarzio pickups that has become my number 1. I played a Les Paul Custom for 35 years, but it became too painful to gig with it (standing) because of back injuries. The Ibanez weighs 5 pounds and has a beautiful neck profile. To me, Playability is paramount. I've owned everything from a 1957 LP Custom Black Beauty to a Cheese Log with a baseball bat neck. It doesn't matter how good it sounds if you can't physically play it. You have a potential winner if it's playable and the guitar resonates properly when unplugged. As someone else said, you can change pickups, pots, bridges, and nuts. I don't care much about the cosmetics of a guitar. For an old guy who still gigs every week, it's an excellent choice. Change the nut and upgrade the electronics, and you'll have a great gigging tool that won't give you a heart attack if it gets dinged.
A cheese log with a baseball bat neck 😂😂😂
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I got the Ibanez RGA42EXBAM, and my only complaints was that they filed the frets down a little too much so the high E slides off the fret board easily, and the pickups don't have much sustaine. Outside of those 2 things, it's pretty much flawless.
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Have you considered an upgrade from the f106 bridge to anything nicer? just wondering i kind of want to upgrade but not sure what to
I've owned this guitar since 2021 and it plays great as is. I've been playing since 1986 and owned all kinds of guitars. Calling it a beginner guitar because of it's price is laughable. That goes for most guitars of that price. You made it seem like an issue to raise up your pickups. I do that on all my guitars to get my sound. At least your honest about how you feel. Good video.
If nothing else, I try to remain authentic. Thanks for watching!
Refreshing honesty. Thanks.
I do my best. Thank you for watching! 😁
Greetings, now I’m thinking of choosing an Ibanez rga 42 fm or harley benton fusion 3 with emg active, it’s very important for me to play comfortably, because I play not so long ago and play mostly metal, but I would like to get a very comfortable, at the same time good-sounding instrument (also I will be glad if you recommend something similar to these two guitars)
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Amazing review! Could you please tell me if the frets are made of stainless steel?
Thanks! You won't find any guitars at this price with stainless steel frets. Generally only £1K and up Guitars will have them.
I have the Floyd rose version of this guitar, about $80 more expensive, very awesome guitar. Just got a Schecter Reaper-7 in not too long ago, if you haven’t tried a 7 string or a Schecter, I’d definitely recommend the Reaper 7.
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Beautifully shot and well written review. Great playing too. According to the Ibanez North America website the 2nd position of the selector switch is for parralel/series on the humbucker rather than a spit. Is it wired differently for different markets?
Thanks so much for the kind comments my friend, I try and make these reviews stand out with production value as best I can! You know I could have been wrongly thinking it was a Split in the review? It sounded like one to me.
Thank you for this honest and interesting review. I am thinking of buying this guitar because of the playability you mentionned , the wizzard neck and especially the light body . I dould change the nut and put in other pick ups to improve the muddy budget sound . Which ones would you recommend ? Would this be enough to make it a great guitar?
If you're going to replace the Pickups as well as the Nut you could be better off buying a more expensive model to begin with. There are great models from the Iron Label range with proper branded pickups for example. Unfortunately putting more expensive pickups into a guitar rarely translates into being able to sell it for more, so you may find that despite dropping £200 worth of pickups into it this guitar will still only be worth £350!
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Amazing review! I've still got my starter guitar after a decade and I finally decided to get my shit together and upgrade! I'm down to this guitar or the Schecter Omen Extreme-6 and both are just great!! It's so difficult to choose one coming from a goddamn Samick Strat Sunburst though. Any chance someone got hands-on reviews for both guitars and could share some nice words? 😉
We all have to start somewhere! My first guitar was a beaten up second hand Chinese Strat copy bought for £70! I did review the Schecter Omen Elite 6 on this channel which was only a touch more expensive than this. Great guitar!
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I might get this but between this and the rgrt 421, which would you choose? The rgrt 421 is a neck through and reverse neck. My first Ibanez was a rg470dx and it has the floyd rose. Its fun but definitely want a fixed bridge.
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I always loved RGs they have been my favorite since early 90s. The recently lost my guitar,amp and pedal collection and it killed me so as I start again I just ordered this guitar and the headrush core. Going from highend guitars including a Helix floor it’s a step down hope I will be content
Sorry to hear that man. The good news is affordable kit these days is incredibly good! The HR Core sounds better than any Helix product with the right IR's IMO. Checkout the free downloads for Headrush across my channel 👍
@@GuitarCinemaOfficial thank you
Hello James,❤️
Do you have the tabs of the music you play?
At the beginning of the video please ❤
For every video I improvise something and just make it up as I go along (or sometimes play parts of my own songs) so unfortunately I don't have tabs, I cant event remember what I played for this video! :-) . But if you wanted to try the same tuning I always play in Drop D or Drop D Flat (Same tuning but half a step down) on all my 6 strings. Thanks for watching!
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terrific review - the Honest truth helps us as online buyers! thanks
Thank you for watching!
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Hi James thanks for the detailed review. Could you recommend an Ibanez in the same mould (mainly with a thin and wide neck) for someone who has a slightly higher (say 20% more) budget. I am a bit worried about the pick-up quality and won’t find it easy to swap them out where I live.
Thank you for watching! Look at the Iron Label range from Ibanez. They nearly all have branded pickups for reasonable money especially second hand. Should be just what you're looking for. Thanks for watching!
@@GuitarCinemaOfficial Great will check that out thanks.
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Beautiful guitar but if I need to make so many adjustments or changes ( me being a beginner-Intermediate player) I might as well pay more and get a Schecter?!
Great review, THANKS!!
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I'm actually looking for a nice guitar to gig with. The fact is I have expensive guitars but it would be really painful to see them damaged or stolen. And let be honest for a second, people are not going to notice if you're playing a private stock or a budget as long as you can play. it's not a studio recording session.
Thank you for the review I think I can go for it
Checkout the Harley Benton Fusion-III I reviewed too. I said in that video it would make a great stage/studio beater 🤘
Hello sir,just forget about the price difference.If you were given a choice,which one would you choose?either the rga42fm or the ltd ec256?
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I agree 100% about having something cheap and comfortable is at times more important than spec shopping (except for the plastic nut, but that’s a 10 minute job to fix), this is a good example of a cheap and reliable noodle guitar.
Also out of curiosity what strings do you use? I find throwing elixirs onto anything brings out a bunch of clarity (I personally use 10-48 for 25.5” and 11-52 on anything shorter)
Honestly my string usage is all over the place, the only Gauge set I'm married to is 7 string for my odd tuning which is 62 to 10 (two 13 Gauge strings on the top for the two B's). I tend to buy 3 or 5 packs in bulk of whatever is currently at the best price on eBay usually Ernie Ball or D'addario. I have tried some of the fancier stuff like M Steel, NYXL, Paradigm etc etc and never found they do anything like what they claim in terms of tone or longevity. The older I get the lighter the gauge I seem to prefer as well.... I quite enjoyed a set of 0.9's the other day god forbid.
@@GuitarCinemaOfficial😂 you’re not the only one, I bought some 9-42’s and tuned *up* to F# standard on a 25.5” Ibanez
@@komraderymcdermott5903 You did what!?! 😂 The last time I played a set of 9's I enjoyed it far more than I'd ever be willing to admit. Those full tone bends came so easy...
this or the kort kx300 etched? specs wise and build quality
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What is your opinion on Sterling Axis ax3s is it worth buying then Ibanez RGA42FM
Apologies I have never played a Music Man guitar but will look to address this in future videos!
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Hello friend, I need your urgent help. I'm undecided between Jackson JS32 Kelly and this guitar, which one should I buy?
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I want an intermediate guitar, I am in doubt if I should get this Ibanez RGA42 or tye Cort KX300 Etched. I would like a guitar for Rock/Metal. Which one you suggests?
Both great choices! If you can try and play them before you buy as the neck profiles between Cort and Ibanez are different so you may feel more comfortable with one over the other.
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Another belter mate. Keep em coming.
Thanks mate ❤️
I have one of these (left handed) great product
Ibby are one of the few to still have good left hander support. Schecter too!
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I love this song 😉
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I have that same guitar I got it free from a friend only different is mine has a floyd rose
I think you're a little harsh with the criticism towards the nut. Yes, plastic is seen as "inferior" to other materials, but it is plenty hard and offers consistency across the material, both of which are desirable traits. Saying a change of nut would be necessary for live performances may scare some beginners away from this guitar, when really this is an easy fix with a pencil. I know the pencil/graphite trick made a word of difference on my MII Squier for tuning stability, so I think you should offer that as a quick & effective fix, instead of suggesting a nut replacement is warranted.
Overall, nice review. I'm not in the market for a new guitar, but I enjoyed your presentation and thoughts anyway. And I certainly agree that for a beginner, the specs and sounds should be a secondary consideration to playability, which Ibanez excels at. Good work!
I hear you but I have tried every which way to fix a poor plastic nut including products like Nut Sauce and the bottom line is if you get a bad one, its bad no matter what you try. Certainly its possible to get a good plastic nut, for example the LTD EC1000 I reviewed on the channel. But a bad one absolutely kills the enjoyment and piece of mind for being a reliable live instrument, just last week I reviewed the new Solar X2.6 which had ATROCIOUS tuning stability for this reason. The Pencil trick is worth a go though. Thanks for watching!
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Is this humbuckers good for clean songs? I want buy this guitar but not for heavy metal. Something like progressive metal and math rock
Should do a great job on cleans too!
Thanks you ❤
Fun fact: If you squint your eyes this guy looks like Jesse Pinkman in the last episode of Breaking Bad
Love the reviews, but you never mention the pots. On more affordable mid range stuff, I want to know if they've cheaped out on the pots. I know this guitar will have shitty smalls, but if you get to mid range stuff, it can vary.
Good point I'll see about removing the cavity plate on future reviews. Thanks for watching 👍
It has large pots. Actually, for reference, it’s pots are twice (Atleast) the size of my $1400 Jackson.
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“An aggresive high cut.” Please notice that there’s a Tone knob (on the guitar), that does that to perfection. Learn to use it. That’s what it’s there for. Cheers!
I've never liked the way tone knobs muddy up a sound, they basically remove anything beyond mid range frequencies far too comprehensively IMO. I'd prefer to use something like a 10 Band or Graphic EQ to roll off the nasties in a more precise way.
@@GuitarCinemaOfficial Fair enough. You’re reply is well thought out and comprehensive. To a degree, you’ve convinced me of your viewpoint. The Tone knob is a bit of a blunt instrument compared to what you cited, but it’s very quick to use, and seems to work for me. Cheers!!
I have one of these and the strings on it especially the low E and A are really rattley on the frets. Had it replaced and got a new one still same issue.
I imagine it needs a proper setup and possibly a fret levelling. Budget guitars often leave the factory with one or many frets sitting proud.
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i like the shape but would have to change the pickups.
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Does this have a tremolo option as well?
I'd tend to avoid a tremolo system at this price point IMO. So much potential for tuning stability problems.
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I agree with the importance of playability on a guitar for a starter. But for me playability is 50% design and 50% set-up..
Ibanez can be very playable but in my experience they do need some work from the box to reach their top-form
1000% this .. I don’t even know why people comment on how a guitar feels out the box, UNLESS, it’s super expensive/boutique, etc. custom shop, etc. even then… nature dictates, wood, glue, etc., moves and changes during transport and weather changes. I recently received a guitar delivered to me in -30 Celsius weather, and out the back of the UPS truck it came to me literally frozen … so any set up will be potentially compromised when it warms up in the house.
Ive had 4 ibanez universes, played them for thousands of hours. Everyone says the premium Indonesia one sucks, isn’t quite like the Japanese. Guess what? I set mine up perfectly and aside from the bridge (which I actually dig, gives the premium universe a strat like sloppy feel) and slight difference in neck radius, I was able to make my Indonesian universe feel JUST AS GOOD as a Japanese prestige. Had I not done that, guess what? It would feel like clunky crap, didn’t feel anything like prestige.
Conclusion: set up can make a huge difference! I agree it’s 50% design and component, 50% set up
Slappy*** not sloppy, lol, punchy and slappy, the opposite of sloppy is what I meant 😂 damn autocorrect
True, fortunately I really didn't need to do much to this Guitar out of the box other than tweak the Intonation and Pickup height.
@@GuitarCinemaOfficial awesome man, great video btw
@@AMSQUIRELALONDE thank you mate!
can you please do a review of Sterling Axis ax3s
Good shout never played a Musicman product will add it to the list.
Mate I do wonder, it’s sold for 400£ aren’t they? Not 329£.
PMT selling these for £329 at the time of making this video..
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Ibanez out here going from being THE beginner guitar king with the Gio series in the early 2000s to putting plastic nuts on 2.5k+ guitars lol
Yeah so apparently I need to change the nut if I get this
Not in every case, its possible to get a good plastic nut (See the review of the LTD EC1000 on this channel). But a bad one will absolutely ruin the enjoyment of your guitar.
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so sad to know that it has no tremolo
I would not recommend a Tremolo at this price point. You're just asking for unresolvable tuning issues..
Ur cheapest is my little over my budget range 😂
Replacing the nut is not very easily done. It is the most difficult part to replace on any guitar.
I've never had much of an issue? Heat gun to soften the glue helps but obviously need to be super careful with damaging any paint work.
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Review the chinese jacksons, their qc is...lacking and for the price point its absurd
who buys on specs? The goal is hold the guitar as low as possible, and make sure you look the part you're playing.
Greenfelder Via
Noice
Chinese made guitars are better quality than Indonesian made. My experience based on 3 Indonesian guitars and 2 Chinese.
They're quite comparible these days yes. The Chinese Epiphone Extura I reviewed on the channel was great! This guitar? Not so much... I will cover it's issues in detail in the full review I'm currently working on...
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Yes it`s light and it has a nice shape but the rest is just junk. I had to swap all hardware, i mean all apart from the knobs with some quality ones and even now that the cost is more than 2x of the original it`s still a shait wood on it. Ibanez has gone very cost saving recently. I`m not buying this brand anymore.
There are still some decent models to be had but unfortunately yes, I've found bad frets and plastic nuts on stuff nearly £1,000!
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Quality shocked me when it arrived, for that price rally bad quallity.
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Yap yap yap . This video is completely pointless without tone demos . All talk.
Best budget gtr ..❤it..ibanez .indon m
Is a 🔝