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Ibanez RGR320EX
List: $900
The Ibanez RG series, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, is perhaps rock’s contemporary electric guitar. What began as the less dear offering of the JEM series years ago; is now the preferred instrument for the shred inclined, precision players & drive-hungry proponents. Unlike the offerings of yesteryears, this 2007 witnesses some of the most varied lineup in Ibanez’s catalogues after the arguably disturbing ‘90s, where partial attention were given to commercial artistes & coffer-bloating selections. This year also sees the inclusion of several reverse headstock models of which this RGR320 is a member of (the latter R in RGR indicates ‘reverse’ headstock).
Craftsmanship
Contrary to its RG320FM sibling of 2006 (Korea), the RGR320EX is of Indonesian descent. Initial misgivings aside, this guitar, upon handling, retains its series’ reputation of being a solid guitar in build & feel. After close scrutiny, there are gladly no anomalies to report; I must say that it has one of the neatest neck-binding in this price bracket. The reverse headstock is a very acceptable quirk considering its retention of overall balance (guitar played both sitting down/ strapped on).
The make/ break factor here is distinctively its satin-finished, textured body. What you get is a lacquerless offering with a granular overcoat to boot; yes, it’s like having fine sand peppered all over your guitar body. Despite this fractional discomfort, for those of us who are easily perturbed with the slightest ding in our guitar body, this granular coating act as ready concealment more than it is a protective shielding.
All in all, this RGR is one of the handful Indonesian models which are the epitome of good build despite the manufacturer’s cost-cutting measure of having it made in the aforementioned country. If Ibanez keeps this up, the standard upheld by its non-Japanese makes are surely on par with the upper tier models.
Rating: 90%
Playability
Owing to its superb craftsmanship, there is nothing here that makes the guitar a bad-playing unit. The maple neck on the current Indonesian models display some refined smoothness but the meaty (still slim by the industry’s standard) Wizard II neck assures plenty of grip. Credit also goes to the default action here which is very neutral; enough for fretboard acceleration & sumptuous bends. My only gripe here is the Edge III floating bridge which is a little too overpronated & pulled away from the body but the unlocked nut is an indicator of tuning tempering which explains the tension imbalance.
Rating: 90%
Tone
The RGR’s virtual throat here is a pair of ‘Designed by EMG’ (DBE) covered humbuckers which aren’t lost in the setting of a black body background. These very DBEs were also preferred pickups in the 320’s fixed bridge sibling; the RGR321. However, the sonic performances of these pickups are lacklustre, the chief culprit being the lighter guitar body. Due to its lacquer-free nature, the RGR320’s body isn’t as hefty as the aforementioned RGR321; the lack of bass response is indeed expected. The excessive lack in bottom end is further compounded by the presence of the Edge III floating bridge; the learned/ experienced among us would agree that for any floating bridge guitar to be useful tone-wise, a suitable bass-versed bridge pickup is crucial.
While the DBEs here are superb under tremendous amount of gain (love those harmonics!), they remain to be excessively trebly & vaguely impressive especially in the bridge. The same can be said with the clean settings, the only pleasantries coming from the neck’s isolated performance. The 3-way pickup selection also means that no split coil voicings are offered; the RGR320 remains to be a mundane performer in this department for want of a better tonal palette.
**Tone test equipment:
• Randall RG75 amp
• Peavey Triple XXX 1X12 amp
• Ibanez Toneblaster X 30R
Rating: 70%
Conclusion
The tone let-down aside, the RGR320EX in its entirety is simply an above-average guitar. If high gain output is all you have for this guitar, it’s a receptive performer; those DBE humbuckers are cut out for this specific task. However, this reviewer chooses to acknowledge the RGR320EX as a lesson in pickup appointment. The manufacturer did well to include the DBEs in the RGR321 which possesses enough inherent bass to balance the pickups’ concise treble range. The DBEs in the RGR320EX on the other hand, are less suitable pickups keeping in mind the satin finished body & Edge III’s reputation of depriving the acoustics of inherent bass. The urgent move, after you’ve decided to purchase this guitar, is a pickup swap & while you’re at it, a 5-way selector inclusion will do more good than harm to your beloved instrument.
The RGR320EX is a sensible inclusion in Ibanez’s 2007 catalogue; it’s a good playing guitar but could have been better tone-wise. It isn’t easy forking out that amount of money for something physically intriguing but sonically uninspiring.
Overall rating: 79%
Likes:
• Well-built
• Playability
Dislike:
• Overall tone
• No bag offered
Worthy competitors:
• Schecter C-1 FR
• OLP MM1F
**PS: Yes, I’ve revised the rating numericals to percentage indicators; I need more divisions to define the degree of good/ bad performances. The overall rating is not a mean of the various categories’ summation, please note.
List: $900
The Ibanez RG series, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, is perhaps rock’s contemporary electric guitar. What began as the less dear offering of the JEM series years ago; is now the preferred instrument for the shred inclined, precision players & drive-hungry proponents. Unlike the offerings of yesteryears, this 2007 witnesses some of the most varied lineup in Ibanez’s catalogues after the arguably disturbing ‘90s, where partial attention were given to commercial artistes & coffer-bloating selections. This year also sees the inclusion of several reverse headstock models of which this RGR320 is a member of (the latter R in RGR indicates ‘reverse’ headstock).
Craftsmanship
Contrary to its RG320FM sibling of 2006 (Korea), the RGR320EX is of Indonesian descent. Initial misgivings aside, this guitar, upon handling, retains its series’ reputation of being a solid guitar in build & feel. After close scrutiny, there are gladly no anomalies to report; I must say that it has one of the neatest neck-binding in this price bracket. The reverse headstock is a very acceptable quirk considering its retention of overall balance (guitar played both sitting down/ strapped on).
The make/ break factor here is distinctively its satin-finished, textured body. What you get is a lacquerless offering with a granular overcoat to boot; yes, it’s like having fine sand peppered all over your guitar body. Despite this fractional discomfort, for those of us who are easily perturbed with the slightest ding in our guitar body, this granular coating act as ready concealment more than it is a protective shielding.
All in all, this RGR is one of the handful Indonesian models which are the epitome of good build despite the manufacturer’s cost-cutting measure of having it made in the aforementioned country. If Ibanez keeps this up, the standard upheld by its non-Japanese makes are surely on par with the upper tier models.
Rating: 90%
Playability
Owing to its superb craftsmanship, there is nothing here that makes the guitar a bad-playing unit. The maple neck on the current Indonesian models display some refined smoothness but the meaty (still slim by the industry’s standard) Wizard II neck assures plenty of grip. Credit also goes to the default action here which is very neutral; enough for fretboard acceleration & sumptuous bends. My only gripe here is the Edge III floating bridge which is a little too overpronated & pulled away from the body but the unlocked nut is an indicator of tuning tempering which explains the tension imbalance.
Rating: 90%
Tone
The RGR’s virtual throat here is a pair of ‘Designed by EMG’ (DBE) covered humbuckers which aren’t lost in the setting of a black body background. These very DBEs were also preferred pickups in the 320’s fixed bridge sibling; the RGR321. However, the sonic performances of these pickups are lacklustre, the chief culprit being the lighter guitar body. Due to its lacquer-free nature, the RGR320’s body isn’t as hefty as the aforementioned RGR321; the lack of bass response is indeed expected. The excessive lack in bottom end is further compounded by the presence of the Edge III floating bridge; the learned/ experienced among us would agree that for any floating bridge guitar to be useful tone-wise, a suitable bass-versed bridge pickup is crucial.
While the DBEs here are superb under tremendous amount of gain (love those harmonics!), they remain to be excessively trebly & vaguely impressive especially in the bridge. The same can be said with the clean settings, the only pleasantries coming from the neck’s isolated performance. The 3-way pickup selection also means that no split coil voicings are offered; the RGR320 remains to be a mundane performer in this department for want of a better tonal palette.
**Tone test equipment:
• Randall RG75 amp
• Peavey Triple XXX 1X12 amp
• Ibanez Toneblaster X 30R
Rating: 70%
Conclusion
The tone let-down aside, the RGR320EX in its entirety is simply an above-average guitar. If high gain output is all you have for this guitar, it’s a receptive performer; those DBE humbuckers are cut out for this specific task. However, this reviewer chooses to acknowledge the RGR320EX as a lesson in pickup appointment. The manufacturer did well to include the DBEs in the RGR321 which possesses enough inherent bass to balance the pickups’ concise treble range. The DBEs in the RGR320EX on the other hand, are less suitable pickups keeping in mind the satin finished body & Edge III’s reputation of depriving the acoustics of inherent bass. The urgent move, after you’ve decided to purchase this guitar, is a pickup swap & while you’re at it, a 5-way selector inclusion will do more good than harm to your beloved instrument.
The RGR320EX is a sensible inclusion in Ibanez’s 2007 catalogue; it’s a good playing guitar but could have been better tone-wise. It isn’t easy forking out that amount of money for something physically intriguing but sonically uninspiring.
Overall rating: 79%
Likes:
• Well-built
• Playability
Dislike:
• Overall tone
• No bag offered
Worthy competitors:
• Schecter C-1 FR
• OLP MM1F
**PS: Yes, I’ve revised the rating numericals to percentage indicators; I need more divisions to define the degree of good/ bad performances. The overall rating is not a mean of the various categories’ summation, please note.
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