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Ibanez Iceman IC400
List: $1,250
Perhaps, Daron Malakian (System of a Down) is today’s prolific Iceman player but he certainly wasn’t the first to embrace this psychedelic but commanding guitar. Others before him included Steve Miller, KISS’ Paul Stanley & White Zombie’s J. Yuenger, among others. This guitar is a direct competitor to a certain dual humbucking, set necked, single cutaway model by Gibson in the ‘70s but the manufacturer had given it a radical outline to appeal to others who would like to move away from the boring silhouette of the aforementioned Gibson.
The Iceman of 2005 is still the bound mahogany guitar which took centre stage more than three decades ago, which is good news, really. If this is your first bout with it, be informed that it’s a departure from the skinny necked, hyper shred profile of its over-popularized cousin, the RG.
Construction/ fit/ finish
This is another testimony of a great Korean build, a well put together set neck unit no dissent whatsoever in this department. However, the body binding is the criminal here, uneven application was evident all round, only the neck/ headstock binding had a certain level of reputation enough to preserve the integrity of the cosmetics. There were also unsightly, black stains on the binding at the nut area of this guitar, a tell-tale sign of a post-production carelessness.
Playability/ tone
Lapped, this guitar made its protrusion felt, especially the bass side bout which houses the 3-way pickup selector. The bulk there is excessive; it poked into my chest throughout the audition. Despite its stretched-out body design, the guitar balanced well, sitting down. The treble side's elongated cutaway was especially useful in maintaining a grip on your lap. Intended or otherwise, this design gets my thumbs up. I can’t help but strum mahogany guitars unplugged to hear the inherent crisp before plugging in, the resonance of this Iceman is simply impressive, I can feel it resonante from one tip to the other. The amplifier beckons…
Clean, the IC400 sounded bland & a quick reference to the default pickups reminded me why this was so- the incorrigible Axis units. Driven, the Axis didn’t produce the thick bass chug we would expect from the guitar of this nature, but the low end was enough to indicate a presence. The midrange from this guitar was superb & harmonics were easily triggered from both humbuckers.
The neck isn’t a shred affair but fast phrasings were attainable here. It has a wide D profile, enough depth to give any Epiphone units a run for the money. Post 12th fret neck width is expansive but the IC400 features a smooth heel to ensure enough clearance for upper fret access.
Last say
I would forgive the unbecoming body binding of this guitar, in light of its splendid overall performance. The Axis humbuckers in there were no different in any other Ibanez guitars; midrange excessive. If you’d like to invest in a visually challenging instrument, the Iceman offers that & plenty of useful tones on board, so it’s not all about looks at the end of the day. The manageable body depth is a reminder to us all that good tones are achievable without excessive weight. Of course, at this price, we’d expect at least a bag in the package but none is offered. If you still doubt the Iceman’s capacity to fulfill rock/ blues/ extreme music requirements, you’d do well to plug one in & hear what it has to offer.
