Ibanez has quit some cool e-guitars and e-bass :) I don't understand to much about this, but your calm voice and the lightning is pretty great for such explanations =) The guitar sounds preety epulic!
The sound of that microphone is so good. I know this is about guitars but I had to say it. What mic is that? Anyway, back to guitars. She's a beauty. I like the curves (of course) and the purple color is so unique. I'd love to try it out as I've never had an Ibanez but I know they sound and look great
Thanks dude! It's just a typical shure sm-7B. I added no post EQ, just a CLA-3A compressor plugin on default settings and the stock cubase brickwall limiter set to -6 dB. I am speaking close to the mic to get the proximity effect. It sure is nice! I like the simple flat finish with the binding and I'm personally a fan of light play wear so this is perfect. The most significant thing about playing an Ibanez is the neck, they're a super thin "D" profile shape. So it's heaven if you play thumb-behind-the-neck. When set up correctly, the guitar will noticeably improve your shreddy type plying. A lot of modern Ibanez guitars cater to all kinds of music styles, so really all you have to look out for is if there are neck alignment or wiring issues like with my white prestige or that black and gold one with the fishmans, respectively
My Ibanez Q52 also had it's high E a bit close to the edge of the fretboard, and I unscrewed the neck completely, and sanded down(a little bit) of the end of the bottom wood where it allowed me to turn the neck joint slightly and I screwed the neck back inside, and it's cool now! I did consider your advise before buying, checking the string placing, so thanks for the advise. You should see the Malmsteen signature Fender model, many people complain about High E slipping off fretboard, and it really does in a significant way, I did also see myself in the store, it's almost like you can't fret the high-E string lol. It can be on purpose I am not sure about that, Yngwie can touch strings softly I don't know or it's just an issue after all... Cheers
That's unfortunate the high e issue was present but great that you found a way to fix it! Terrible about the Malmsteen strats. You have to wonder how this kind of thing even happens!
Stunning guitar, love the look, style and finish. I was seriously considering getting this but went for the AZ Prestige instead for more versatility. This is definitely still on my wish list though especially being a southpaw and this being one of only two RG Prestige models the other being the 5320 Cosmic Shadow. How does this compare to the Cosmic Shadow?
Thanks man. The AZ is definitely the better choice if you need versatility. The fluence moderns are I credible pickups, objectively better than the fusion edges in the cosmic shadow. But definitely less versatile than both unless you wire up the coil split on the newer version of these pickups, or if you know how to use your gear/plugins really well Compared to the cosmic shadow I'd say the low pro on the cosmic feels better but unless you're planning on using the whammy a lot or are ok with blocking the bridge, the fixed bridge of this guitar is the wiser choice. Much easier to set up and the guitar is quality enough that you won't have string binding issues at the nut. I guess there's the difference in how the gloss vs flat finish feels against your arm too
Very nice guitar but obviously expensive for many people's budgets. Even if I like it, to buy it, I would have to be 100% sure about it. Interesting information on the 6th string too close to the edge, because yes, it is a problem which, geometrically, cannot be resolved. Excellent review, thanks for sharing, Cheers!
I'm happy I could share some useful information! Yeah especially now that the used market isn't as good to sell on as it was a few years ago, have to be 100% sure it's good like you said
Do you know that you can fix that issue with your neck? Loosen the neck screws very slightly push up on the bottom edge of the headstock, make small adjustments until the strings are centered.
Great video, beautiful cat! I came here because I haven’t decided about that guitar or a Solar (when you showed a solar I was like: “yeah, I’m in the right place!”) The Solar AB6H SVART (made in Europe) is the guitar I’m dreaming about lately, but I’m not sure it is worth 2000 euros. I think that, for this price, it should come with stainless steel frets. This Ibanez is 1600 euros and it seems to have a better configuration than this Solar. I would love to play a Solar and feel it, but they don’t have it available in local stores here. Since you have this Ibanez and some Solar, would you please have any advice for me?
Great question. I don't have that exact solar but I do have the EU made AC so I can speak to the wuakity and playing feel in that respect. The EU quality is really close to the made in Japan Ibanez, but I'd have to give ibanez the winning edge here. The caveat is that some Ibanezes have quality issues or have strings too close to the edge of the fretboard while I've never had that problem with any solar. It'll really come down to if you want a guitar with an evertune bridge and richlite fretboard (solar) or a fixed or floating bridge with an ebony fretboard (Ibanez). I like both but for different reasons, both have their strengths
@@HighZ man, that’s mind blowing! The AC, as far as I know, are the top tier Solar guitars, but they are 3400 euros, while this Ibanez is half the price and better quality. Can’t believe it! Well, I’m looking for a nice guitar with a fixed bridge mainly to play rock and metal. Now I just need to go to a store and see if I prefer the feeling of nickel or ss frets. Thank you so much! 🤘🏻
@raphaeloliveira89 hopefully the store has something good for you to try! It's true the edges of the body aren't my favorite on the Solar, but it is also my best-playing guitar with an evertune and it does give me the best rhythm tone. Good luck on your search!
Good review bro!👍🏻 Considering to take the same one. But not sure about active Fishmans… What do you think if they will be replaced for pair of Bareknucke pups?
That would be a strong choice! You'll have to change the wiring to work with passive pickups. This guitar is a great platform that will sound good with many different pickups like a good ibanez with a mahogany body would
@@HighZ yeap)) the mahogany Ibanez with fixed bridge is my choice))) But the rgr652 with ash body and Fusion Edge pups is also very good. Have had it later as well
@@SonegPanasoneg Great choice. That looks cool. I think it doesn't have stainless steel frets so make sure you're good with that, but the fret wire should be reasonably high quality regardless
I absolutely love mine, the only gripe that I had with it was the absolutely horrible quality wiring,. garbage potentiometers that started making all kinds of noise within the first three months of owning it and a cheap switch. I ended up throwing in the Fishman Mick Thompson set and I replaced the tone control with a three-way rotary switch to select voicings and then I repurposed the original toggle switch to turn high frequency tilt on/off when things get too bright. retains original looks with zero modification to the guitar itself, and sounds 1 million times better with a little more versatility. i’m not sure what was going on with the original wiring, it was either in the switch or the potentiometers but I really didn’t even bother to check, just ripped all that shit out and replaced it. it was microphonic, noisy, and just overall garbage. I did end up hooking up the original pups in another guitar with better wiring, and the problem was not with the actual pups so they definitely could have done a better job with the wiring in this guitar for sure. everything else about it was amazing though LOL.
Those are some fantastic modifications! Much more useful than just a tone pot. Never thought of a high frequency tilt but that would come in handy so often. The wiring has been really hit or miss with the prestiges in the last few years unfortunately. I have an RG5170B that I absolutely love, or loved until the neck pickup cut out. I simply haven't had the time to investigate if the PCB 5 way switch is busted or what, not for the next few months, so really bummed there. This RG5121 and some others have been bullet proof so who knows, maybe they had they new guy put a few of these together
honestly, for the price they should use a better switch and pots, I purchased a usa spec crl switch, and cts 25k pot, heavy duty open frame 3 way rotary switch and for the hell of it, i replaced the output jack with a pure tone jack and at Consumer retail price I think I paid $50 for all of the components. that guitar was almost $2000 after tax, cmon ibanez… the entire guitar aside from that is perfection. i would rather spend $25/$50 upfront if it comes down to that then get a guitar that I have to take to my technician and spend twice as much getting it wired and purchasing the components. I would do it myself, but I am blind so that sucks lol. question, is the neck any different on your 5170b in comparison to the 5121 as far as profile? I have been told that the profiles on these prestige. necks can be wildly different from each other because they are handmade. I have played a buttload of premium models, but honestly have only had the pleasure of playing my prestige.
@@HighZ and I’m not sure if you’re familiar or not, the Fishman pups have some sort of hidden features that a lot of manufacturers do not choose to wire into the circuit such as the high frequency tilt mode and there is also a gain reduction mode. I imagine that probably just cuts the preamp signal in half so they are not as hot but I don’t use that mode. I just turned down my volume lol. I chose to use the high frequency tilt mode, and I hooked it up to the original toggle between the volume and original tone locations because I eliminated the tone so I figured once in a while if something gets too bright, I can flip that switch and kill some of the high frequencies and take the edge off. and because the Mick Thompson pups have 3 voicings instead of 2 like the original pups I decided that rep replacing the tone pot with a 3 way rotary switch would allow me to switch between all of the voicings and utilize the high frequency, tilt mode, simultaneously without drilling any additional holes. and best of all, looking at it you can’t even tell anything is different and if for some reason later on, I lose my mind and I want to sell it I can put it back exactly the way it was and no one would know any different. oh and one last small modification that I did, the washer on the toggle switch had a stupid little tab sticking up and so I replaced it with a flat washer lol.
Indeed even if you can do the wiring yourself, it's really easy to make mistakes. Would be better foe them to use higher quality stiff especially since these are called "prestige" right? 😆
Oh yeah I did see these pickups had more options, just never gave it a second thought since I usually stick to one voice. Somehow I'm more creative with fewer options
I'd say if you're a beginner, a guitar without an evertune and without a floyd would be best. The evertune won't make any sense and will be extremely frustrating until you get used to tuning the guitar with the headstock's tuners
@HighZ it's better than that stupid fluorescent orange on the 5221. Ibanez has a sadistic tendency to make their best specced guitars just look terrible (another example being that hideous polar lights color they put on their "metal" guitars).
you so many guitars/ expensive guitar reviews, are you rich? lol i saw this and the shadow, and custom so its weird to me to hear you say that premium is viable haha.
