Some years back I walked into my local guitar shop and said 'I want you to help me buy the best guitar I can afford'. I came out with this. Happy then and still happy. ❤ Enjoyed your review too!
Love your vids and your playing! I finally remembered to subscribe lol. I have this model and took the ZPS stop bar out so the trem floats. Still rock solid tuning stability. The premium lines are really great values.
I'm in my sixties and would love to here some Comfortably Numb on that. I'm planning on buying that guitar from AMS today. Like your demo, tells a lot about the guitar or at least everything I wanted to know. Got a strat but in my opinion Stat is not the king anymore. Have a bless day brother
Well, c'mon... how's a Strat, unchanged from 1960...going to keep up with a SuperStrat - the height of most advanced , high performance guitar making....? (That's rhetorical, lol!)
@@lueysixty-six7300 I do now own that guitar. Seems like peopl forget, don't know or what ever, tone comes from your amp, want great tone get a great amp. Before anyone gives me crap do your research. This Ibanez is extremely fast, have to beat it with a hammer to bring it out of tune. The down side is, it's a murder to restring and intonate. Yes I have the tool etc. to do the job with. Keep on pickin and grinnin from Nashville, Tenn.
yeah, all H-S-H are going to have that volume problem. Usually humbuckers will tend to be louder due to it's high gain, so it's normal. Other than that it looks beautiful, I order myself the S series of this guitar and can't wait to have it in my hands!!
Just picked up the s-series version of this guitar, the finish on the body does not have that line you were talking about, not sure if I still need to work on the setup but it sounds really good with high gain but when put clean sounds muddy to me. My RG actually sounds better clean. Also the trem arm if you take a small piece of plastic bag and put it on the inlet part of the bar it’ll stiffen it up but still let it fall
I wonder why they have that upper left angle. The S model doesn't have it. Your tremolo is working as designed. It's a feature, not a bug :) Got some good licks. Hope you are still playing brother! Best Regards!
Great video. Does the Edge Zero II stay in tune long term as well as a Floyd Rose ? I know you said it stays in tune but what about compared to a Floyd. How was the sustain on this guitar? Any dead notes or ghost notes? Thanks.
Hi Chris, I got myself RG1070PBZ recently I think it might be new old stock because everything was covered in plastic foil, Ibanez tool was sealed the guitar looks flawless apart from the fact that when it arrived the neck wasn’t perfectly square and high e string was slipping but it wasn’t off by much. I loosened the screws tinny bit and put some force to get it straight and got it screwed back without releasing the force now its perfect. Do you think that it might be damaged in the same way that your first guitar was ?
If it came with the same case as mine, that's likely why it had that issue. Ibanez made a huge mistake with those cases. They simply do not fit with the locking tuners. And having them resting on the bottom of the case, is a perfect recipe for damage...
Thanks Chris for your reply. So you say there shouldn’t be any wiggle on the neck socket after loosening the screws and if there is it is most likely that if I take off the neck completely I will reveal the damage?
I have the black version of this guitar and it is a work of art! I love it! At a fraction of the cost this guitar out performs others that I bought for 3 or 4 times the price. I can't put it down. The only issue I have is that the single volume control has no 'gradation' to it. I'm sure there a more appropriate word but the volume doesn't slowly increase as I roll it up. It seems to just virtually come on almost all at once. Like from zero to 80% in the first little twist of the knob. For example; there is no way to do Jeff Beck style swells (violin like) by rolling the knob. This also means that you can't roll the volume back just a touch to clean up the tone. I wonder if I have to install a new volume potentiometer. It was like this when I bought it new and should have spoken up at that time. This is my first Ibanez. Any thoughts on this?
@@ChrisTompkins-Music-And-Gear : I did a bunch of researched and then ordered a Dimarzio Custom Taper 500K volume pot. This should do the trick and will allow me to do those controlled volume swells and also roll back the volume a little to clean up the tone.
@@danielalejandro5674 Sorry that forgot to get back to everyone with my results. I swapped out the original volume pot for the Dimarzio pot as mentioned above. It provided a huge improvement. I have my "pinky swells" back now! I hightly recommend this. In fact, I bought 3 more and exchanged the volume pots in my PRS guitars.
I’m and experienced guitarist looking to buy this guitar but I’ve never dealt with Floyd rose like youve said in the comments...is there anything I should know before buying
As long as you understand the role of the springs in the trem cavity, you'll be alright. They are literally there to balance your tremolo, against the tension of the strings. if your trem is too high, tighten the springs, retune and check. If it's too low in the body, loosen the springs, retune and check. Don't forget, that every time that you tune any string, it will change the tuning of the other strings, because the springs gain (or lose) an advantage on the tension. It's a balance of tension. It can sometimes be frustrating, once it's good though, it's good!
@@allanaziz216 Did you buy one? Cause the Internet joke about what to know is "Don't buy one" I returned my first one years ago because it was baking my noodle to the the trem perfect. I recently purchased another and it's much experience this time. Best Regards!
Greetings and thanks for this review. One question if I may (3 years later) - do you tune the guitar and set up the Floyd Rose yourself. Is it hard to do. All indications are that it can be extremely difficult. Esp. for a relative beginner like me.
I do. And yes. It is a pain in the backside. As with any floating tremolo, you must make a balance between the strings and the springs. any change in tuning for any single string, ultimately also changes the tension/tuning of all of the other strings (if you loosen a string, the springs pull the other strings sharp and if you tune one string higher, the other strings go flat). It takes a good while to get the strings to all be in tune and with the appropriate tension on the springs to make the tremolo balanced and level. It's a back and forth between tuning and spring tension adjustments. One good thing though... Once you get it, it stays good for a long time. And if you always use the same gauge of strings and the same tuning, the next string change is not as difficult. It takes patience and time with your first few times doing a string change. Also, setting intonation is a giant pain with a floyd. Basically, floyds are for people who are gluttons for punishment. LOL!!
@@ChrisTompkins-Music-And-Gear Thanks for the reply! And ouch 😅 Maybe I need to re-evaluate my need for a tremolo. By the way, are vintage style floating tremolos as hard to tune/set up. Every time I change a string on one of those will I have to go through the same thing. Thinking of converting my Squier tremolo into a floating one.
Anything floating will have those same struggles. I must also say that a floyd rose (or any tremolo really...) setup as "dive only" (no up pull) will not be difficult, as long as the springs pull a bit harder than the strings.
@@ChrisTompkins-Music-And-Gear Yes thanks got it. I wanted to go for up and dive. But point taken, the dive only tremolo is quite stress free, so one can at least get on with that.
I understand they are completely different. I love the S series. Played a couple RGs, some were amazing, others not so much. Never played an Eart. The reason I ask is that the specs with your mods is similar to this minus the single coil. Is it worth 3x the price in your opinion?
@@emilianoemiliano9612 I personally LOVE this guitar. The 11 piece neck is without a doubt the most comfortable neck I've ever owned. I'd recommend this guitar to anyone willing to deal with a floyd rose equipped guitar.
The middle pickup is probably to low that’s why the volume drops. Bit annoying having the pickup set high and the pick huts it..reason why I’m hesitant to buy this model.
Only if this beginner, knows someone who can properly setup a floyd rose style bridge. Or is willing to pay to have it setup. These tremolo's can be a nightmare for the uninitiated.
@@ChrisTompkins-Music-And-Gear I was planning on going for the S. But your comment changes that. Many people say the S is the perfection of the evolution of electric guitars. Right up there with Parker guitars. Can I know the reason for preferring the RG over the S? Have you ever tried an S series and why do you prefer the RG over the S?
@@SiddharthKarunakaran I've owned a few "S" models over the years and for me and my body shape, having the forearm contour of the RG, helps me with the comfort and playability. The S digs into my forearm.
I am incredibly surprised by this. I own 6 RG Prestiges with model years from 1999 to 2015. NONE of them have the ball end frets like your Indonesian Premium.
I own this guitar and I can play the blues no problem, even some jazz but to be honest it really sounds the best when playing rock, although you can do get a warm sound and with little distorsion, you can play the blues really good !
Some years back I walked into my local guitar shop and said 'I want you to help me buy the best guitar I can afford'. I came out with this. Happy then and still happy. ❤ Enjoyed your review too!
Love your vids and your playing! I finally remembered to subscribe lol. I have this model and took the ZPS stop bar out so the trem floats. Still rock solid tuning stability. The premium lines are really great values.
Love the metal tone out of that git-fiddle. The trem on that is insanely good. Love the "Astroids" paint job. Solid guitar, man. Good find.
Nice Ibanez! Also, the Tone Zone and Air Norton are my favorite combo of all time, next to a Super Distortion/PAF.
I have blue Air Norton and Tone Zone pickups that I took out of my last RG, now I need to get a guitar to put them in 😂
Congrats, glad everything worked out on this one. These models are great, especially with those sexy necks.
I'm in my sixties and would love to here some Comfortably Numb on that. I'm planning on buying that guitar from AMS today. Like your demo, tells a lot about the guitar or at least everything I wanted to know. Got a strat but in my opinion Stat is not the king anymore. Have a bless day brother
Well, c'mon... how's a Strat, unchanged from 1960...going to keep up with a SuperStrat - the height of most advanced , high performance guitar making....? (That's rhetorical, lol!)
@@lueysixty-six7300 I do now own that guitar. Seems like peopl forget, don't know or what ever, tone comes from your amp, want great tone get a great amp. Before anyone gives me crap do your research. This Ibanez is extremely fast, have to beat it with a hammer to bring it out of tune. The down side is, it's a murder to restring and intonate. Yes I have the tool etc. to do the job with. Keep on pickin and grinnin from Nashville, Tenn.
yeah, all H-S-H are going to have that volume problem. Usually humbuckers will tend to be louder due to it's high gain, so it's normal. Other than that it looks beautiful, I order myself the S series of this guitar and can't wait to have it in my hands!!
Just picked up the s-series version of this guitar, the finish on the body does not have that line you were talking about, not sure if I still need to work on the setup but it sounds really good with high gain but when put clean sounds muddy to me. My RG actually sounds better clean. Also the trem arm if you take a small piece of plastic bag and put it on the inlet part of the bar it’ll stiffen it up but still let it fall
I have this same guitar and have toyed with taking out the stop bar in the trem cavity to make it fully-floating for those trem warbles. :)
Wes
I finally did that on mine. I enjoy the trem better in full float mode.
Use plumber's tape on the thread on your whammy bar
I wonder why they have that upper left angle. The S model doesn't have it. Your tremolo is working as designed. It's a feature, not a bug :) Got some good licks. Hope you are still playing brother! Best Regards!
Sounds great and it's pretty
Great video. Does the Edge Zero II stay in tune long term as well as a Floyd Rose ? I know you said it stays in tune but what about compared to a Floyd. How was the sustain on this guitar? Any dead notes or ghost notes? Thanks.
What's settings you have in that ID core? I had it and it never sounded good. Maybe with pedals?
Hi Chris, I got myself RG1070PBZ recently I think it might be new old stock because everything was covered in plastic foil, Ibanez tool was sealed the guitar looks flawless apart from the fact that when it arrived the neck wasn’t perfectly square and high e string was slipping but it wasn’t off by much. I loosened the screws tinny bit and put some force to get it straight and got it screwed back without releasing the force now its perfect. Do you think that it might be damaged in the same way that your first guitar was ?
If it came with the same case as mine, that's likely why it had that issue. Ibanez made a huge mistake with those cases. They simply do not fit with the locking tuners. And having them resting on the bottom of the case, is a perfect recipe for damage...
Thanks Chris for your reply. So you say there shouldn’t be any wiggle on the neck socket after loosening the screws and if there is it is most likely that if I take off the neck completely I will reveal the damage?
I have the black version of this guitar and it is a work of art! I love
it! At a fraction of the cost this guitar out performs others that
I bought for 3 or 4 times the price. I can't put it down. The only issue I
have is that the single volume control has no 'gradation' to it. I'm
sure there a more appropriate word but the volume doesn't slowly
increase as I roll it up. It seems to just virtually come on almost all
at once. Like from zero to 80% in the first little twist of the knob.
For example; there is no way to do Jeff Beck style swells (violin like)
by rolling the knob. This also means that you can't roll the volume back
just a touch to clean up the tone. I wonder if I have to install a new
volume potentiometer. It was like this when I bought it new and should
have spoken up at that time. This is my first Ibanez. Any thoughts on
this?
Yeah, these don't ship with the best pots... A high quality volume pot can fix that issue.
@@ChrisTompkins-Music-And-Gear : I did a bunch of researched and then ordered a Dimarzio Custom Taper 500K volume pot. This should do the trick and will allow me to do those controlled volume swells and also roll back the volume a little to clean up the tone.
I'll let you know how I feel about the pot after I have it installed, Chris! I hope you're enjoying this guitar as much as I am. Play on.
@@flyme-z7b so how did it go?
@@danielalejandro5674 Sorry that forgot to get back to everyone with my results. I swapped out the original volume pot for the Dimarzio pot as mentioned above. It provided a huge improvement. I have my "pinky swells" back now! I hightly recommend this. In fact, I bought 3 more and exchanged the volume pots in my PRS guitars.
I’m and experienced guitarist looking to buy this guitar but I’ve never dealt with Floyd rose like youve said in the comments...is there anything I should know before buying
As long as you understand the role of the springs in the trem cavity, you'll be alright. They are literally there to balance your tremolo, against the tension of the strings. if your trem is too high, tighten the springs, retune and check. If it's too low in the body, loosen the springs, retune and check. Don't forget, that every time that you tune any string, it will change the tuning of the other strings, because the springs gain (or lose) an advantage on the tension. It's a balance of tension. It can sometimes be frustrating, once it's good though, it's good!
@@ChrisTompkins-Music-And-Gear lol thanks is there a video that you can link me to im a visual learner...or can you do like a tutorial haha
@@allanaziz216 Did you buy one? Cause the Internet joke about what to know is "Don't buy one" I returned my first one years ago because it was baking my noodle to the the trem perfect. I recently purchased another and it's much experience this time. Best Regards!
Greetings and thanks for this review. One question if I may (3 years later) - do you tune the guitar and set up the Floyd Rose yourself. Is it hard to do. All indications are that it can be extremely difficult. Esp. for a relative beginner like me.
I do. And yes. It is a pain in the backside. As with any floating tremolo, you must make a balance between the strings and the springs. any change in tuning for any single string, ultimately also changes the tension/tuning of all of the other strings (if you loosen a string, the springs pull the other strings sharp and if you tune one string higher, the other strings go flat). It takes a good while to get the strings to all be in tune and with the appropriate tension on the springs to make the tremolo balanced and level. It's a back and forth between tuning and spring tension adjustments. One good thing though... Once you get it, it stays good for a long time. And if you always use the same gauge of strings and the same tuning, the next string change is not as difficult. It takes patience and time with your first few times doing a string change. Also, setting intonation is a giant pain with a floyd. Basically, floyds are for people who are gluttons for punishment. LOL!!
@@ChrisTompkins-Music-And-Gear Thanks for the reply! And ouch 😅 Maybe I need to re-evaluate my need for a tremolo. By the way, are vintage style floating tremolos as hard to tune/set up. Every time I change a string on one of those will I have to go through the same thing. Thinking of converting my Squier tremolo into a floating one.
Anything floating will have those same struggles. I must also say that a floyd rose (or any tremolo really...) setup as "dive only" (no up pull) will not be difficult, as long as the springs pull a bit harder than the strings.
@@ChrisTompkins-Music-And-Gear Yes thanks got it. I wanted to go for up and dive. But point taken, the dive only tremolo is quite stress free, so one can at least get on with that.
How does this compare to the EART explorer? To you, which feels better to play?. I would imagine the RG series is worth the price hike
I understand they are completely different. I love the S series. Played a couple RGs, some were amazing, others not so much. Never played an Eart. The reason I ask is that the specs with your mods is similar to this minus the single coil. Is it worth 3x the price in your opinion?
Hey Chris, so you can adjust the trem to only dive and not pull sharp? Like it's decked on an EVH?
Only by blocking the trem in the cavity.
can i get this guitar or a similar one without a tremolo ??? thanks!
Closest is probably the RG1121PB. But, it's HH pickup config.
I never knew the Blackstar ID Core 10 would sound so good. How were you recording this? Did you use the USB out?
It's just the microphone in my Samsung Galaxy S9+.
Does Ibanez make this guitar without the center PU?
The Ibanez RG1120PBZ, is just about the closest to this guitar without the middle pickup.
Do you like your whammy bar to be loose or floppy? I prefer mine nice and tight.
I prefer it to be a medium tight. So, not completely loose but also, not so tight that it won't gravity fall out of my way.
Do you personally recomend this guitar?
Be honest
@@emilianoemiliano9612 I personally LOVE this guitar. The 11 piece neck is without a doubt the most comfortable neck I've ever owned. I'd recommend this guitar to anyone willing to deal with a floyd rose equipped guitar.
Absolutely (i have a same one).
I heard the pickups can be noisy, and also the back of the bridge? I'm thinking to get this guitar or the Schecter GT
The middle pickup is probably to low that’s why the volume drops. Bit annoying having the pickup set high and the pick huts it..reason why I’m hesitant to buy this model.
Hey i just bought the guitar... can you explain how can i downtune it?
If that's your thang...you bought the wrong instrument, Guy!
It’s super easy with this trem system, drop D is really easy but idk about going lower than that
Would you recommend this guitar for a beginner?
Only if this beginner, knows someone who can properly setup a floyd rose style bridge. Or is willing to pay to have it setup. These tremolo's can be a nightmare for the uninitiated.
No, it's too valuable instrument for a beginner.
Why didn't you go for the S1070PBZ?
I prefer RG's over the "S" models. I personally feel more comfortable on them.
@@ChrisTompkins-Music-And-Gear I was planning on going for the S. But your comment changes that. Many people say the S is the perfection of the evolution of electric guitars. Right up there with Parker guitars. Can I know the reason for preferring the RG over the S? Have you ever tried an S series and why do you prefer the RG over the S?
@@SiddharthKarunakaran I've owned a few "S" models over the years and for me and my body shape, having the forearm contour of the RG, helps me with the comfort and playability. The S digs into my forearm.
@@ChrisTompkins-Music-And-Gear Thanks for your reply and roger that.
@@SiddharthKarunakaran Dude you should always try them out instead of basing your decision on other people's opinion.
I am incredibly surprised by this. I own 6 RG Prestiges with model years from 1999 to 2015. NONE of them have the ball end frets like your Indonesian Premium.
Is it good for blues?
I own this guitar and I can play the blues no problem, even some jazz but to be honest it really sounds the best when playing rock, although you can do get a warm sound and with little distorsion, you can play the blues really good !
@@bigmommaziga4095 he can also split the coil
Aka 2nd and 4th position
@@petruccijr2270 yeah
@@petruccijr2270 the 2nd and 4th position kinda remind me of a Stratocaster sound for some reason
💋